【一起听英语】中年危机

中年危机，是从多少岁开始的呢......

Callum: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Callum Robertson and with me

today is Kate. Hello Kate.

Kate: Hello Callum.

Callum: Now today a subject which I am far too old to know anything about and that's a

quarter-life crisis¹. Are you familiar with this term Kate?

Kate: Yes, I think I have heard it. Though there is a much more common expression

'a mid-life crisis'

Callum: Yes, I'm more familiar with that expression too! But quarter-life crises² was a

new one for me, I only heard it for the first time this weekend just gone. Today

we'll be learning³ a bit more about this expression. But first, as always, a

question. There was a recent survey which asked people in Britain when they

thought middle-age began. What did the survey say? Does middle-age begin

at …

a: 35 years old?

b: 40 years old?

c: 45 years old ?

Kate?

Kate: Well I think people tend to think they're staying younger much longer these

days. So I'm going to go for c: 45 years old. 

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Callum: We'll find out if you're right later on.

What is a quarter-life crisis? Well this phrase comes from a more established

phrase, which we were talking about before, a mid-life crisis. So first, let's look

at that phrase. Kate, what can you tell us about the meaning of that phrase – a

mid-life crisis?

Kate: Well, a mid-life crisis describes the emotions of someone who is in their 40s or

50s and who realises that they are more than half way through their life. In

other words they are beginning to realise that they are getting old and are closer

to death than to birth. For some this causes them to become depressed⁴ or to

look for ways to recapture their youth, to be young again. So you might see a

middle-aged⁵ man buying a leather jacket and a motorbike, or leaving his wife

for a much younger woman. These are some examples of what people have

described as symptoms of a mid-life crisis. But essentially⁶ is a worry and fear

of getting old.

Callum: From your examples there it seems that it's only something that affects men. Is

that right?

Kate: No, I think women are affected⁷ by it too. I think everyone worries about getting

old and becoming middle-aged and never going to be young again.

Callum: So if that's a mid-life crisis, what's a quarter-life crisis? Damian Barr has

written a book about the subject and in an interview with the BBC he explains

what it is.

Damian Barr

It's that kind of, you know, people asking who they are, where they're going that are doing it

in their twenties rather than their forties. A lot of people being really depressed, very anxious

and very kind of status conscious in a way that their parents certainly were not. 

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Callum: Kate, what was he saying there?

Kate: He was saying that it was something that happened in people's 20s rather than

40s. Young people being worried about who they are and what they were doing.

Callum: He also mentioned that people were 'status conscious in a way that there

parents weren't'. What does he mean by that, being 'status conscious'?

Kate: I think he was saying that young people feel a pressure that their parents didn't

- a pressure to have the latest gadgets⁸ or most fashionable clothes, for example.

These things seem to be more important now than in the past. Young people

are more 'status conscious'. These material things are seen to give status.

Callum: Let's listen again

Damian Barr

It's that kind of, people asking who they are, where they're going that are doing it in their

twenties rather than their forties. A lot of people being really depressed, very anxious and

very kind of status conscious in a way that their parents certainly were not.

Callum: Apart from material pressures, what are other reasons for a quarter-life crisis?

Here's Damian Barr again. How many different things does he mention?

Damian Barr

I think it's kind of caused by student debt, unaffordable property and a really competitive⁹ jobs

market in the recession¹⁰.

Callum: A few reasons there, could you run over them again for us?

Kate: Oh dear! Yes, he mentioned three things: the first was student debt – the

money that young people owe from the loans¹¹ they took out to pay for their 

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university education. The second thing was unaffordable property – so it's very

difficult for young people to afford to buy a house or flat. The third thing was a

very competitive job market in the recession. So lots of qualified¹² people are all

looking for jobs and there just aren't that many jobs around.

Callum: Let's listen again.

Damian Barr

I think it's kind of caused by student debt, unaffordable property and a really competitive jobs

market in the recession.

Callum: Oh dear, it all sounds so depressing¹³!

Kate: Yes, doesn't it?

Callum: But is this something new? Is this different from a mid-life crisis or is it just the

same thing but 20 years earlier?

Kate: Well no, I actually think they're very different things. I think begin in your 20s

is a very stressful time. I mean I remember being very worried about the job

market and finding¹⁴ a place to live. And I think a lot of my friends at the time

felt the same. And I think actually it's getting worse for the young people now.

Callum: Oh dear, how things have changed. I mean, there was always pressures but I

don't think when I was in my 20s I had the same kind of pressure that I think

young people feel themselves under these days.

Just time now for the answer to today's question. According to a recent survey

in Britain, when does middle age begin? Is it …

 

a: at 35?

b: at 40? 

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c: at 45?

 

Kate, you said?

Kate: Well no one likes to think of themselves as middle-aged really, so I went for

the oldest option – c: 45 years old.

Callum: Well, in fact the answer, according to this survey was a: 35 years old.

Kate: Really? Gosh that seems very young to be middle-aged.

Callum: I know, I don't feel middle-aged now myself and I'm, what, nearly 100.

That's all we have time for today, but do join us again next time for another 6

Minute English. Good bye.

Kate: Goodbye. 

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 crises   

n. 危机；危险期

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically. 经济危机周期性地发生。
• Great crises often call forth gifted leaders. 危急存亡之际常能产生天才的领袖。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

5 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

9 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

10 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

11 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

13 depressing   

a.令人沮丧的；令人忧愁的

参考例句：

• Laundromat is really depressing. 自助洗衣店真闷。
• The retrospect was depressing. 回想起来令人沮丧。

14 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。