NTD

Just like GTG for “got to go” or TTYL for “talk to you later,” meeting participants may type NTD (“need to drop”) in the chat when a meeting is running over time or they need to dismiss themselves—to jump to another call, take a bio break, tend to a distressed child. McConnaughey points out that when leaders see a lot of N’ingTD or dropping off, they may want to reaffirm to their team that they should build in breaks between engagements, and that meetings should ideally not be a full 30 or 60 minutes long . Then teams should adhere to those time limits, she says: “If meetings always ended on time, you wouldn’t ever NTD.”

Goblin mode

Oxford named it the 2022 Word of the Year , defining goblin mode as “a type of behavior which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations.” Plug the term into TikTok, however, and you’ll see influencers reclaiming goblin mode as a point of pride—a rejection of self-image and the “immaculate self-presentation” of the glossy Instagram era. Stallbaumer embraces this more empowering take. “Goblin mode can look like showing up to work as more of yourself,” she says. “It’s shedding a version of ourselves in a way that feels freeing. Being in goblin mode might be joining a video meeting in a T-shirt and hoodie with no makeup on. But appearance is not what we want to value in the workplace anyway. We want to value people’s contributions, impact, and ideas.”

Embracing goblin mode can even be considered a business imperative. When leaders create cultures where people feel free to be themselves, they also lay the groundwork for the close, authentic interactions that help employees develop stronger relationships with each other—which in turn leads to both higher productivity and better wellbeing.

BBC LEARNING ENGLISH

Take Away English 隨身英語

Is it bad to be lazy?

懶惰是壞事嗎？

Take Away English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2023

bbclearningenglish.com/chinese Page 1 of 4

字彙：laziness 懶惰

Would you call yourself lazy? If you live in a messy house and are reluctant to lift a finger to

help out, maybe you are. But laziness is a subjective thing – sloppiness to one person might

be a form of relaxation to another. And if you can be bothered to read on, you'll see that

opinion is divided on whether laziness is a bad thing.

Generally speaking, we tend to look on our laziness as a negative thing. Inertia, slothfulness,

idleness and apathy are used as criticisms and insults against individuals and groups of

people. We think of lazy people as unproductive or that they don't really care about things.

And when we find ourselves doing nothing, we feel guilty about it. Could this be because we

are not instinctively lazy creatures? And is that why we often do things we don't need to do

and which are sometimes painful – like running a marathon? Writing for BBC Future, Claudia

Hammond explains that "enforced and extended rest, unless we are ill and our bodies

demand it, leads not to feelings of being relaxed but of restlessness and irritability."

Others may suggest we are naturally lazy, and that we can't help taking it easy, though it's

hard to believe because we're constantly told to do more. But kicking back and living life in

the slow lane could be better for our health. A study by psychologist Dr Robert Levine in

1999, for example, concluded that people living in cities with a fast pace of life had the

highest rates of coronary heart disease.

Laziness has also been shown to be good for our mental health, so having a nap or some

downtime shouldn't be frowned upon. And there are other possible benefits too. Dr Masud

Husain, Professor of Neurology at the University of Oxford, told the BBC: "We found that

people who have tended to be more apathetic might in some ways be more creative, so that

although they might be a couch potato, they might be coming up with one great idea that

might be very interesting and useful." So, in our frenetic lives, maybe we should chill out,

get into goblin mode and contemplate the benefits laziness can bring.

Take Away English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2023

bbclearningenglish.com/chinese Page 2 of 4

字彙表

lift a finger 幫忙，盡舉手之勞

sloppiness 懶散

relaxation 消遣，放鬆

laziness 懶惰

inertia 惰性

slothfulness 懶散，懈怠

idleness 懶散，無所事事

apathy 漠不關心，懈怠

unproductive 效率低的，徒勞的

restlessness 焦躁不安

irritability 煩躁，易怒

take it easy 放鬆，休息

kick back 放鬆

life in the slow lane 慢半拍的生活

coronary heart disease 冠心病

nap 小睡，打盹

downtime 休養期

apathetic 懈怠的，（對重要事情）無動於衷的

couch potato “沙發土豆”，總看電視的人，

懶惰的人

frenetic 極為忙碌的，瘋狂的

chill out 放鬆一下

goblin mode “躺平模式”，心安理得地好吃懶做的

行為和生活態度

Take Away English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2023

bbclearningenglish.com/chinese Page 3 of 4

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. According to one idea, why do we do things we don't need to do?

2. True or false? According to Claudia Hammond, doing nothing for a period of time

makes us feel relaxed.

3. According to some experts, how can being lazy help us?

4. According to a study by psychologist Dr Robert Levine, where did people with

the highest rates of coronary heart disease live?

5. What kind of idea might a couch potato come up with?

2. 選擇意思恰當的單字或片語來完成下列句子。

1. My brother is so lazy, he never ________.

relaxation relaxing lifts a finger lifts his finger

2. I can't wait for my holiday when I can ________ on the beach.

couch potato downtime kick back restlessness

3. Sorry for being late. It's been quite ________ at work today.

apathetic frenetic unproductive idleness

4. There's so much on TV to watch these days, I've become a ________.

goblin mode irritability chill out couch potato

5. Since I retired, I've been taking ________.

life in the fast lane a slow lane life life in the slow lane live in the slow lane

Take Away English © British Broadcasting Corporation 2023

bbclearningenglish.com/chinese Page 4 of 4

答案

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. According to one idea, why do we do things we don't need to do?

We often do things that we don't need to do and which are sometimes painful

because we are not instinctively lazy creatures.

2. True or false? According to Claudia Hammond, doing nothing for a period of time

makes us feel relaxed.

False. Claudia Hammond explains that "enforced and extended rest, unless we are ill and

our bodies demand it, leads not to feelings of being relaxed but of restlessness and

irritability."

3. According to some experts, how can being lazy help us?

Being lazy might help our mental health, and, according to Dr Masud Husain,

could make us more creative.

4. According to a study by psychologist Dr Robert Levine, where did people with

the highest rates of coronary heart disease live?

The study found those living in cities with a fast pace of life had the highest

rates of coronary heart disease.

5. What kind of idea might a couch potato come up with?

A couch potato might come up with one great idea that might be very

interesting and useful.

2. 選擇意思恰當的單字或片語來完成下列句子。

1. My brother is so lazy, he never lifts a finger.

2. I can't wait for my holiday when I can kick back on the beach.

3. Sorry for being late. It's been quite frenetic at work today.

4. There's so much on TV to watch these days, I've become a couch potato.

5. Since I retired, I've been taking life in the slow lane.