Introduction

Many people feel uncomfortable about the idea of talking to people they don't know, but this is something that could be good for their state of mind. Neil and Georgina discuss research that says that seemingly inconsequential conversations with new people can have a beneficial effect on our mood and wellbeing.?And our presenters feel good about teaching you related vocabulary!

This week's question

According to the Oxford English dictionary, approximately how many words are in use in the English language??

a)???171,146

b)???271,146?

c)???371,146

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript??

Neil

Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Neil. Joining me for our discussion is Georgina.

Georgina

Hello!

Neil

Now, Georgina, you’re a chatty, sociable kind of person, aren’t you?

Georgina

Well, yes, I think so.

Neil

But would you go up to a stranger and strike up a conversation?

Georgina

That might be going too far – if you don’t know them, what are you going to start talking about?

Neil

A good question. But maybe you should – because in this programme we’re looking at how talking to strangers might actually be good for you! But first, let me talk to you about today’s question. I’d like you to answer this. To make conversation we need words – so according to the Oxford English dictionary, approximately how many words are in use in the English language? Is it…

a)???171,146

b)???271,146

c)???371,146

Georgina

We use a lot of words in English, but not 371,000 – so I’ll go for a) 171,146.

NeilOK. Well, as always I will reveal the answer later in the programme.?

Now, let’s continue our conversation about having conversations with strangers! Many of us spend part of every day surrounded by strangers, whether on our commute to work, sitting in a park or cafe, or visiting the supermarket.

Georgina

But we rarely reach out and talk to them because we fear it would make us both feel uncomfortable – or awkward. And Gillian Sandstrom, social psychologist from Essex University in the UK, can explain why. Here she is speaking on BBC Radio 4’s All In The Mind programme….

Gillian Sandstrom, Social psychologist, Essex University

We kind of?underestimate, we have this negative voice in our head that's telling us "I shouldn't have said that, why did I do that? I said that story better last time". But the other person doesn't know any of that and they’re probably… they might be?anticipating?that they won't have a positive conversation and then they do. And they think, wow, that person was amazing. So we walk round with this fear that the other person isn’t going to be interested in talking to us.

Georgina

Fascinating stuff. So we have a negative voice in our head telling us about all the bad things that might happen. We basically?underestimate?ourselves.

Neil

To underestimate means to think that something is smaller or less important than it really is. We worry that what we say won’t be interesting or important enough.

Georgina

Ah, but the other person doesn’t know that. They’re also?anticipating?– or guessing - the outcome. They're thinking that if they have a conversation, it won’t go well. But of course, when strangers do talk to each other it normally goes well.

Neil

Yes, it’s just fear that is stopping us. But if we get over that fear, and get chatting, people might actually like us – and we might make new friends.

GeorginaAnother reason why you should?pluck up the courage?to talk to strangers is that it’s good for our health!

Neil

‘Pluck up the courage’ – that’s a good phrase, Georgina, meaning force yourself to do something that you’re scared about and… research by the University of Chicago found we may often underestimate the positive impact of?connecting?with others for both our own and others' wellbeing.

Georgina

And?connecting?here means starting or having a good relationship with someone. So the research found that, for example, having a conversation with a stranger on your way to work may leave you both feeling happier than you would think.

Neil

Gillian Sandstrom also spoke about her research and the power of talking to strangers on the You and Yours programme. Listen out for the word ‘connected’…

Gillian Sandstrom, Social psychologist, Essex University

What we've shown in the research is that it's really good for your mood. So people are in a better?mood?after they reach out and have a conversation, however minimal, and the other thing that the research has shown is that just makes people feel more?connected?to each other.

Neil

There you go! Talking to strangers is good for our?mood?– and?mood?means the way we feel. It’s good for our mental health – and we might discover people actually like us!?And even if we’re an?introvert?– a person who prefers to be alone rather than with other people - experiments have shown that talking to others can make us happier.

GeorginaThe problem remains, Neil, that when speaking to someone new, what do you talk about?

Neil

How about some interesting facts – like approximately how many words are in use in the English language? Which is what I asked you earlier. Is it?

a)???171,146

b)???271,146

c)???371,146

What did you say, Georgina?

Georgina

I said 171,146. Was I right?

Neil

Spot on, Georgina. Well done! Yes, there are an estimated 171,146 words currently in use in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary –plus many more obsolete words.

GeorginaI shall pick a few of them and make conversation with someone on the Tube later, but not before we recap some of the vocabulary we’ve explained.

NeilYes – so we highlighted six words, starting with?underestimate?which is to think that something is smaller or less important than it really is.

Georgina

Anticipating?means guessing or expecting a certain outcome. I anticipate this programme to be 6 minutes long!

NeilThat’s a given! Next, we mentioned the phrase?to pluck up the courage,meaning to force yourself to do something that you’re scared or nervous about.

Georgina

When you?connect?with someone, it means you start or have a good relationship with someone. I think we’ve connected on this programme, Neil!

Neil

Absolutely, Georgina. And that’s put me in a good mood –?mood?means the way we feel.

Georgina

And finally, an?introvert?is a person who prefers to spend time on their own.

NeilThanks, Georgina.?Well, that’s our conversation over, but you can hear more from us on our website and on our app. Goodbye!

Georgina

Bye!

Vocabulary

underestimate

think that something is smaller or less important than it really is

anticipating

guessing or expecting a certain outcome?

to pluck up (the) courage

to force yourself to do something that you’re scared or nervous about

connect

start or have a good relationship with someone

mood

the way we feel

introvert

person who prefers to spend time on their own?

雙語版Transcript

Hello.?Thisis 6 Minute English and I'm Neil.

大家好。這里是六分鐘英語，我是尼爾。

Joining me forour discussion is Georgina.

和我搭檔進(jìn)行討論的是喬治娜。

Hello!

大家好。

Now, Georgina,you're a chatty, sociable kind of person, aren't you?

喬治娜，你是一個健談、善交際的人，不是嗎？

Well, yes, Ithink so.

嗯，是的，我想是那樣的。

But would yougo up to a stranger and strike up a conversation?

但你會走向一個陌生人，開始一段對話嗎？

That might begoing too far – if you don't know them, what are you going to start talkingabout?

那可能太過了——如果你不認(rèn)識他們，你要開始談?wù)撌裁茨兀?/p>

A goodquestion.

好問題。

But maybe youshould – because in this programme we're looking at how talking to strangersmight actually be good for you!

但也許你應(yīng)該那么做——因?yàn)樵诒酒诠?jié)目中，我們要看看怎樣與陌生人交談會可能實(shí)際上對你有益！

But first, letme talk to you about today's question.

但首先，讓我跟你聊聊今天的問題。

I'dlike you to answer this.

我想讓你回答這個問題。

To makeconversation we need words?– so according to the Oxford EnglishDictionary,?approximately how many words are in use in the Englishlanguage?

為進(jìn)行對話，我們需要單詞——所以根據(jù)《牛津英語詞典》，英語中大約有多少個單詞在使用？

Is it… a)171,146 b) 271,146 or c) 371,146?

是a) 171，146個?b) 271，146個，還是c) 371，146個？

We use a lot ofwords in English, but not 371,000 – so I'll go for a) 171,146.

在英語中我們使用很多單詞，但不是371，000個——所以我選a) 171，146個。

OK.?Well,as always I will reveal the answer later in the programme.

好的。和往常一樣，稍后我將在節(jié)目中揭曉答案。

Now, let'scontinue our conversation about having conversations with strangers!

現(xiàn)在，讓我們繼續(xù)關(guān)于和陌生人交談的談話。

Many of usspend part of every day surrounded by strangers,?whether on our commute towork, sitting in a park or cafe, or visiting the supermarket.

我們中的許多人每天都有一部分時(shí)間被陌生人包圍著，無論是我們通勤上班的路上，坐在公園或咖啡館里，還是去超市。

But we rarelyreach out and talk to them because we fear it would make us both feeluncomfortable – or awkward.

但我們很少主動與他們交談，因?yàn)槲覀儞?dān)心那會讓雙方都感到不舒服——或者說尷尬。

And GillianSandstrom, social psychologist from Essex University in the UK, can explainwhy.

英國埃塞克斯大學(xué)的社會心理學(xué)家吉莉安·桑德斯羅姆可以解釋原因。

Here she isspeaking on BBC Radio 4's All In The Mind programme… .

這是她在BBC廣播4頻道All In The Mind節(jié)目中談到的……

We kind ofunderestimate,?we have this negative voice in our head that's telling us"I shouldn't have said that,?why did I do that?

我們有點(diǎn)低估了，我們腦海中有一個消極的聲音告訴我們"我不應(yīng)該說那個的，我為什么要那樣做？

I said thatstory better last time".

我上次講這個事的時(shí)候明明講得更好。"

But the otherperson doesn't know any of that and they're probably… they might beanticipating that they won't have a positive conversation and then they do.

但是另一個人不知道那些，他們可能……你知道的，他們可能預(yù)料到他們不會有一段積極的對話，然后他們就確實(shí)沒有。

And they think,wow,?that person was amazing.

他們會想，哇，那個人太棒了。

So we walkround with this fear that the other person isn't going to be interested intalking to us.

所以我們帶著這種恐懼走來走去，害怕別人對我們沒興趣。

Fascinatingstuff.

很有意思。

So we have anegative voice in our head telling us about all the bad things that mighthappen.

所以我們頭腦中有一個消極的聲音告訴我們所有可能發(fā)生的壞事。

We basicallyunderestimate ourselves.

我們基本上低估了自己。

Tounderestimate means to think that something is smaller or less important than itreally is.

低估的意思是認(rèn)為某事物沒有它實(shí)際上那么重要。

We worry thatwhat we say won't be interesting or important enough.

我們擔(dān)心我們說的話不夠有趣或不夠重要。

Ah, but theother person doesn't know that.

啊，但另一個人對此并不知情。

They're alsoanticipating – or guessing - the outcome.

他們也在預(yù)料或猜測結(jié)果。

They'rethinking that if they have a conversation, it won't go well.

他們認(rèn)為如果他們進(jìn)行交談，交談不會順利。

But of course,when strangers do talk to each other it normally goes well.

當(dāng)然，當(dāng)陌生人互相交談時(shí)，通常情況下是順利的。

Yes, it's justfear that is stopping us.

是的，正是恐懼阻止了我們。

But if we getover that fear, and get chatting,?people might actually like us – and wemight make new friends.

但如果我們克服了這種恐懼，開始聊天，人們可能真的會喜歡我們——我們可能會交到新朋友。

Another reasonwhy you should pluck up the courage to talk to strangers is that it's good forour health!

你應(yīng)該鼓起勇氣和陌生人說話的另一個原因是它對我們的健康有好處！

"Pluck upthe courage" – that's a good phrase, Georgina,?meaning force yourselfto do something that you're scared about and…?research by the Universityof Chicago found we may often underestimate the positive impact of connectingwith others for both our own and others' wellbeing.

"鼓起勇氣"——這是一個不錯的短語，喬治娜，意思是強(qiáng)迫自己做一些你害怕的事情，而且……芝加哥大學(xué)的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們可能經(jīng)常低估與他人聯(lián)系對我們自己和他人健康的積極影響。

And connectinghere means starting or having a good relationship with someone.

這里的"聯(lián)系"指的是同某人開始或擁有良好關(guān)系。

So the researchfound that, for example,?having a conversation with a stranger on your wayto work may leave you both feeling happier than you would think.

所以研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，例如，在你上班的路上和一個陌生人交談，可能會使你們雙方都感到比自己認(rèn)為的更快樂。

GillianSandstrom also spoke about her research and the power of talking to strangerson the You and Yours programme.

吉莉安·桑德斯羅姆也在You and Yours節(jié)目中談到了她的研究以及與陌生人交談的力量。

Listen out forthe word "connected"…

注意聽"有聯(lián)系的"這個詞……

What we'veshown in the research is that it's really good for your mood.

我們在研究中表明的是，它真的對你的心情有好處。

So people arein a better mood after they reach out and have a conversation, howeverminimal,?and the other thing that the research has shown is that justmakes people feel more connected to each other.

所以人們在交談之后心情會更好，不管交談程度有多低。而研究表明的另一件事是，交談讓人們覺得彼此之間的聯(lián)系更多了。

There you go!

就是那樣！

Talking tostrangers is good for our mood – and mood means the way we feel.

與陌生人交談對我們的心情有好處——心情就是我們的感受。

It's good forour mental health – and we might discover people actually like us!

它對我們的心理健康有好處——我們可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)人們其實(shí)是喜歡我們的！

And even ifwe're an introvert – a person who prefers to be alone rather than with otherpeople - experiments have shown that talking to others can make us happier.

即使我們是內(nèi)向的人——一個喜歡獨(dú)處而不是和別人一起的人——實(shí)驗(yàn)表明，和別人交談可以讓我們更快樂。

The problemremains, Neil, that when speaking to someone new, what do you talk about?

還是那個問題，尼爾，當(dāng)你和陌生人說話時(shí)，你會說什么？

How about someinteresting facts – like approximately how many words are in use in the Englishlanguage?

說些有趣的事實(shí)，怎么樣？比如英語中大約有多少個單詞在使用？

Which is what Iasked you earlier.

這是我早些時(shí)候問你的。

Is it. . . a)171,146 b) 271,146 or c) 371,146?

是……a) 171，146個b) 271，146個，還是c) 371，146個？

What did yousay, Georgina?

你說是什么，喬治娜？

I said 171,146.Was I right?

我說是171，146個。對嗎？

Spot on,Georgina.

完全正確，喬治娜。

Well done!

做得好！

Yes, there arean estimated 171,146 words currently in use in the English language,?accordingto the Oxford English Dictionary?–plus many more obsolete words.

是的，據(jù)《牛津英語詞典》統(tǒng)計(jì)，目前英語中估計(jì)有171，146個單詞在使用，此外還有更多被淘汰的詞。

I shall pick afew of them and make conversation with someone on the Tube later,?but notbefore we recap some of the vocabulary we've explained.

我將挑選其中幾個單詞，稍后用于在地鐵上與人交談，但并不是在我們回顧我們已經(jīng)解釋過的一些詞匯之前。

Yes – so wehighlighted six words,?starting with underestimate which is to think thatsomething is smaller or less important than it really is.

是的——所以我們強(qiáng)調(diào)了六個單詞，從"低估"開始，它是指認(rèn)為某事物沒有它實(shí)際上那么重要。

Anticipatingmeans guessing or expecting a certain outcome.

"預(yù)料"指的是猜測或預(yù)期某種結(jié)果。

I anticipatethis programme to be 6 minutes long!

我預(yù)料這個節(jié)目會有6分鐘長！

That's a given!

那是既定的！

Next, wementioned the phrase to pluck up the courage,?meaning to force yourself todo?something that you're scared or nervous about.

接下來，我們提到了短語"鼓起勇氣"，意思是強(qiáng)迫自己去做你害怕或緊張的事情。

When youconnect with someone,?it means you start or have a good relationship withsomeone.

當(dāng)你和某人聯(lián)系時(shí)，這意味著你同某人開始或擁有良好關(guān)系。

I think we'veconnected on this programme, Neil!

尼爾，我想我們已經(jīng)在這個節(jié)目中有聯(lián)系了！

Absolutely,Georgina.

當(dāng)然，喬治娜。

And that's putme in a good mood – mood means the way we feel.

那讓我心情很好——心情就是我們的感受。

And finally, anintrovert is a person who prefers to spend time on their own.

最后，內(nèi)向的人是更喜歡獨(dú)處的人。

Thanks,Georgina.

謝謝你，喬治娜。

Well, that'sour conversation over,?but you can hear more from us on our website and onour app.

好了，我們的談話結(jié)束了，但是你可以在我們的網(wǎng)站和應(yīng)用程序上聽到更多內(nèi)容。

Goodbye!

再見！

Bye!