吃饭时看剧，运动时听歌，刷牙洗澡时思考人生，如今人们似乎很少能够静下心来只干一件事。而人们这种同时干多件事的倾向，也诞生了一个新名词 —— 多任务强迫症。
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You’re chatting with friends on your phone, but you can’t help browsing through shopping websites in the meantime. You’re having lunch alone in the canteen, but it only feels right when you start playing a show on your phone – as if it’s a necessary “side dish”.
在和朋友煲电话粥的同时，你忍不住刷起了购物网站。独自一人在餐厅吃饭时，打开手机追个剧才会让你感觉好些 —— 仿佛这是道必备的“配菜”。
We’re now living in a world that bombards us with information. It seems unnatural to do only one thing at a time. It’s as if we’re all suffering from what a recent Qdaily article called “multitasking OCD”.
我们如今生活在一个信息轰炸的世界里。一次只做一件事似乎有点反常。我们似乎都得了一种病，《好奇心日报》近日的一篇文章称其为“多任务强迫症”。
“With news reduced to 140 characters and communication increasingly by emojis, we have developed the ability to focus our attention on several activities and devices at once,” Sabry Otmani, founder of Pulpix website, once wrote. “We need lots of stimulation to keep us interested and to fight off boredom.”
“如今新闻已经缩短到140个字，人们使用表情包沟通的频率也日益增多，我们已经形成了同时关注多种活动以及电子设备的能力，”Pulpix网站的创始人萨布里·奥曼尼曾如此写道。“我们需要众多刺激元素来令自己保持兴趣，打发无聊的时间。”
But perhaps “fighting off boredom” is not the only reason.
但或许“打发无聊的时间”并非唯一原因。
My own obsession with multitasking mainly comes from the fact that everyone around me seems to be constantly studying. Each minute I’m not taking in something new feels like a waste of time. So I always have my headphones on, whether I’m commuting, exercising or walking in the park. I’m forever listening to something – a course on classical music, or on new media management, and heaven knows what else – just so I can keep up with the world.
我自己喜欢同时干几件事，主要是因为我周围的人似乎都在不断学习。哪怕只有1分钟没有学习新知识，我都会觉得是种浪费时间。所以不论是通勤、做运动或者在公园里散步，我都会把耳机带上。我总是要听点东西 —— 一堂古典音乐课，一堂新媒体管理课，天知道还有些别的什么 —— 从而跟上时代的步伐。
People who can’t stay away from social media are known by the acronym “FOMO” (fear of missing out): They have to be constantly updated about what their friends are doing and saying. But I’d guess that “FOFO” better describes me – “fear of falling out”.
无法放下社交媒体的人被称为“FOMO”（错失恐惧症）：他们需要即时获知自己的朋友们在说些什么，做些什么。但我觉得“FOFO”（掉队恐惧症）一词来形容我更为贴切。
No matter what reason you’re doing it for, “multitasking” is already a part of the modern lifestyle. Just make sure you make the most out of it.
不论你同时处理多项事情的原因是什么，这都已经成为了现代生活方式的一部分。只要你能充分利用这种能力就行了。
以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一744期
本文英文音频由我报外籍编辑 Joe Willetts朗读
