你每天會查看幾次手機？是三次，二十次，還是八十次？本期《隨身英語》和你探討手機是如何改變人與人之間的交流方式。

課文內容

詞匯: mobile phone 手機

How often do you check your phone? According to a study led by Nottingham Trent University in Britain, the average person looks at their device 85 times a day, browsing the internet or using apps. Updating their status on social media platforms also made people reach for their electronic companion frequently.

Even the study's participants thought that was a lot: this figure is twice as often as they thought they did. Our phones might be shaping our behaviour more than we realise, and changing the way we interact with people right next to us. Do you actually look at your surroundings more than at your phone? Is it rude to check your phone when someone is talking to you?

Sherry Turkle interviewed hundreds of college students about this. She's a clinical psychologist and a professor of social studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They talked about something they called 'the rule of three'.

The rule has to do with being considerate to others in spite of the allure of the little flat box. Turkle explains: "If you go to dinner with friends, you don't want to look down at your phone until you see that three people are looking up in the conversation. So there's a new etiquette where you don't look down unless three people are looking up in order to keep a little conversation alive."

Actually, if you are clever enough you might use your phone as a tool to connect with people next to you. How about showing them pictures stored in its memory? Sharing a bit of your life with them can bring you closer together. And you can also invite everyone to take a selfie with you.

But the best thing to deal with mobile phone addiction is to go cold turkey and leave the machine behind occasionally or just switch it off and keep it firmly in your pocket for a while. Who knows... 'life' might be what happens when you are too busy staring at a small screen.

詞匯表

device 設備
to browse  （通過網絡）瀏覽
app (application)  手機應用程序
to update (their) status  更新（個人網站上的）狀態
social media platform  社交媒體平臺
to shape  塑造，形成
to interact  互動，交流
surroundings  周圍的事物，環境
clinical psychologist  臨床心理學家
social studies  社會科學課程
technology  工業技術
considerate  體貼的
allure  誘惑力，吸引力
etiquette  規矩；禮節
to connect  （融洽地）溝通
memory (phone's)  （手機）內存
selfie  自拍照
to go cold turkey  快速、徹底地戒掉（壞習慣）

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How often do people check their phone, according to the survey?
2. True or false? Those who took part in the study were aware of their own phone habits.
3. What's the so called 'rule of three' for?
4. How does the author suggest you use your phone in a way that doesn't alienate people next to you?
5. Which word in the text is used to indicate unpleasant behaviour?

2. 請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. My mobile phone is running out of __________. I've been storing too many videos on it. 

internet     electronic companion     memory     etiquette 

2. I'm too busy to do my homework now. I have to go online and update _________ on Weibo.

a cold turkey     the internet     the rule of three     my status

3. If you want people to be nice to you, you should be __________ when dealing with them.

rude     considerate     looking up     clever

4. If you want to understand how people interact in a group you should take a course in __________.

social studies     clinical psychology     etiquette     technology

5. These new portable devices are __________ the world we live in.

browsing     shaping     sharing     closing

答案

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How often do people check their phone, according to the survey?
According to the study led by Nottingham Trent University in Britain, the average person checks their phone 85 times a day.

2. True or false? Those who took part in the study were aware of their own phone habits.
False. They were surprised as they thought the number of times they checked their phones was half of what the study revealed.

3. What's the so called 'rule of three' for?
To keep a conversation going.

4. How does the author suggest you use your phone in a way that doesn't alienate people next to you?
The author suggests people to show others pictures stored in their phone and invite them to take a selfie.

5. Which word in the text is used to indicate unpleasant behaviour?
Rude.

2.  請你在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處 。

1. My mobile phone is running out of memory. I've been storing too many videos in it.

2. I'm too busy to do my homework now. I have to go online and update my status on Weibo.

3. If you want people to be nice to you, you should be considerate when dealing with them.

4. If you want to understand how people interact in a group you should take a course in social studies.

5. These new portable devices are shaping the world we live in.