【BBC 听力】6 Minute English：限制孩子屏幕时间

来源: BBC Learning English
等级: B1 (Intermediate)
学习目标: Listening & Vocabulary

播放音频

核心介绍

在这期 6 Minute English 节目中，Neil 和 Becca 讨论了孩子屏幕使用时间这一全球热门话题。许多家长担心孩子在屏幕前花费过多时间，英国、澳大利亚、中国等国政府正出台网络安全措施，限制儿童屏幕时间或禁止其访问社交媒体。两位主播分享了自己的手机使用习惯，并教学 6 个实用词汇与短语。

重点词汇释义

精彩选段与解析

• [屏幕时间定义]

  “Screen time — that’s how much time you spend using devices like smart phones, tablets and laptops.”
  解析：Neil 给出了 “screen time” 的清晰定义，这是现代英语中极高频的词汇，指使用智能手机、平板、笔记本等电子设备的时间总和。

• [关于被有意图地使用技术]

  “I think it’s not as much as getting them away from technology but being intentional about how we use technology with children.”
  解析：Dr Emily Goodacre 认为关键不是让孩子远离科技，而是有意图地使用。be intentional about 是高频搭配，意为"有目的地、有计划地"。

• [提高标准/期望]

  “For me, the bar absolutely needs to be higher…”
  解析：the bar 隐喻"标准、门槛"。the bar is low = 要求低；the bar needs to be higher = 需要提高要求/期望。常用于教育、育儿、职场表现等语境。

• [微小改变带来大不同]

  “…make little shifts that feel better.”
  解析：Dr Becky Kennedy 建议做微小的改变。shift 作名词指"微小变化"，作动词指"稍微改变"。搭配 make a shift / make little shifts 很地道。

• [为成功做准备 vs 为失败埋单]

  “I wasn’t setting you up for success.”
  解析：set someone up for success = 为某人创造成功条件；反义 set someone up for failure = 让某人注定失败。Becky 指出：把屏幕放在视线内，就是没给孩子成功的机会。

学习思考

1. 关键数据：根据英国媒体监管机构 Ofcom 的数据，五分之一（1/5）的 3-4 岁儿童拥有智能手机。这个比例是否超出你的预期？在你所在的国家/地区情况如何？

2. 育儿策略：Dr Becky 建议"把设备移到看不见的地方"。你认为这是否有效？还有哪些"微小改变"可以帮助减少孩子屏幕时间？

3. 词汇迁移：set someone up for something 既可用于积极语境，也可用于消极语境。试着用这个短语造两个句子，分别表达"为成功铺路"和"埋下失败伏笔"。

Teacher’s Tip

• 语音语调：intentional 重音在第三音节 /ɪnˈtenʃənl/；enable 重音在第二音节 /ɪˈneɪbl/。练习时注意重音位置，避免中式发音。
• 短语辨析：the bar needs to be higher 与 raise the bar 意思相近，但前者强调"现状不够、必须提高"，后者强调"主动提高标准的动作"。
• 实战应用：下次讨论育儿、教育、职场标准时，尝试用 set the bar higher 或 be intentional about 表达观点，显得更地道专业。
• 避坑指南：eager 后接 to do，不可说 eager for doing。❌ eager for learning → ✅ eager to learn。

完整听力原文

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Neil
Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.

Becca
And I’m Becca. Neil, I’ve noticed that you’re pretty good at not checking your phone at work. How much time do you spend on your phone outside of work?

Neil
Yes, I probably was. You know, Becca, I spend far too much time looking at my phone, and I really don’t like it. How about you?

Becca
I don’t think you’re alone. I also spend way too much time looking at my phone.

Neil
Well, Becca, we are both adults, but today we’re talking about screen time and children screen time. Screen time — that’s how much time you spend using devices like smart phones, tablets and laptops.

Becca
Yes, and it’s a particular worry of many parents that their children spend too much time on these devices. At the end of last year, Australia banned access to social media apps for under 16s, and countries like the UK are considering similar measures.

Neil
So, why is this? In this episode, we’ll hear from a clinical psychologist and research associate at the University of Cambridge talking about screentime and children. As usual, we’ll be learning some useful new words and phrases. And remember, you’ll find all this episode’s vocabulary, along with a transcript, on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Becca
But first Neil, I have a question for you. According to The UK media regulator, how many children aged three to four have a smartphone? Is it:

a) one in twenty
b) one in ten, or
c) one in five?

Neil
Wow. Well, I’m going to guess 1 in 20, but I think it’s probably more than that.

Becca
Well, we’ll find out the answer later. Dr Emily Goodacre is a research associate at the University of Cambridge. Here, she tells Shiona McCallum, presenter of BBC World Service programme, Tech Life, her thoughts on whether we should take away children’s screen devices completely.

Dr Emily Goodacre
Yeah, I think it’s not as much as getting them away from technology but being intentional about how we use technology with children. For me, the bar absolutely needs to be higher, and therefore I think about how to design products that think about childhood first and really think about how children at different stages learn and develop and then see if there’s a way that technology can enable that.

Neil
Emily highlights how, rather than stopping children from using technology, parents need to be more intentional about how their children use it. An intention is a plan or reason to do something. So, to be intentional is to act with that plan or reason in mind. It may make you act more carefully as a result.

Becca
Emily also says the bar needs to be higher. The idiom the bar is low means that the standards, expectations, or requirements are minimal and very easy to meet. Therefore, she believes that the bar needs to be higher — parents need to make their expectations higher. They need to think or act more carefully when considering how much time children spend with technology. You might also hear people say set the bar higher or lower.

Neil
Emily believes that being more intentional and setting the bar higher will enable children to learn and develop alongside technology. If you enable something, you encourage somebody’s ability to do something, or to make something possible.

Becca
Now let’s hear Dr Becky Kennedy, a clinical psychologist and founder of an online parenting platform, talking about how parents feel about tech and children, for BBC World Service programme, Tech Life:

Dr Becky Kennedy
I find parents are very, very eager to understand what’s really happening around technology in kids and then have practical, realistic things they can do in their home to make little shifts that feel better.

Neil
Becky has found that many parents are eager to understand their children’s use of technology. Eager is an adjective that describes wanting to do or have something very much.

Becca
Becky also talks about making little shifts. A shift is a small change. It can be used as a verb or a noun. Becky shares an example of a shift that can help parents reduce children’s screen time, moving the device somewhere it can’t be seen:

Dr Becky Kennedy
You can even say to a kid, you know why I moved it? It’s actually because it’s a really hard thing for me to expect from you, to see a screen in a room and not want to use it. I wasn’t setting you up for success.

Neil
Becky explains how it’s difficult for children to be expected to reduce their screen time if they can see their device. Having the device in view doesn’t set them up for success. If you set someone up for something, you prepare them for it.

Becca
Yes. For example, earlier, I set Neil up for a shock when I asked him a question about screen time. Neil, I asked you, according to The UK media regulator, how many children ages three to four have a smartphone.

Neil
And I said 1 in 20.

Becca
Well, it is in fact, c) one in five.

Neil
Wow. I thought it might be more than I said. Now, let’s recap the vocabulary we’ve learned, starting with intentional. It’s an adjective that describes acting with a plan or reason in mind.

Becca
We had the expression the bar needs to be higher. To set the bar higher is to make your expectations higher.

Neil
We also had enable. This is to encourage someone’s ability to do something, or to make something possible.

Becca
To be eager is to want to do or have something very much.

Neil
A shift is a small change. You can also use it as verb with to mean changing something slightly.

Becca
And if you set someone up for something, you prepare them for it. Once again, our six minutes are up. If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll find a quiz and worksheet to practise the vocabulary we’ve learnt on our website, bbclearningenglish.com. See you again soon. But for now, it’s goodbye.

Neil
Goodbye!