#99 因果效应

各位听众大家好，欢迎回到《与Neal学英语》播客。这是第99期节目，今天我们要讨论因果关系的概念。因果关系属于形而上学领域的范畴。不过本期我们不会深入探讨形而上学，因为这是个极其复杂的课题。即便我作为英语母语者，在阅读有关形而上学的文章或书籍时，许多概念也常令我难以理解，因为这个主题确实太过深奥。

Hello listeners and welcome back to the English with Neal podcast. This is episode number 99, and today we are going to talk about cause and effect. Cause and effect is a concept in the area of metaphysics. Now we're not going to cover metaphysics in this episode because metaphysics is a very very complicated topic. Even I, as a native English speaker, when I read articles or read books on metaphysics, a lot of these ideas go way over my head because it's such a complex topic.

要完全理解形而上学，最好能有朋友或老师为你讲解。仅靠自行阅读的话——当我研究这个领域时——很多概念都超出了我的理解范围。所以本期我们不会涉及形而上学，但在该领域中存在一个概念，叫做因果关系。原因（cause）指的是某件事发生的缘由。

In order to fully understand metaphysics, it's probably better if someone explained it to you like a friend or a teacher. But just reading this on your own, when when I researched it, a lot of these ideas went way over my head. So we're not gonna get into metaphysics in this episode, but inside the area of metaphysics, there is a concept. There's an idea of this thing called cause and effect. Cause means the reason that something happened.

它是人们采取的某个行动。结果（effect）则是行动带来的后果，是原因导致的产物。简单来说，每个结果都有其成因。下面我举几个例子帮助大家更好理解。

It is the action that someone takes. Effect is the result of the action. It is the result of the cause. So just to break it down very easily, every result has a cause. And let me give you a couple examples so you can get a better idea.

假设你想在某方面变得非常出色，比如成为优秀的计算机程序员。这就是结果（effect）。那么成因（cause）是什么？成因是你长期积累这项技能的过程。

So if you want to get really good at something, if you like, if you're really good let's say, if you're a really good computer programmer. K? And this is the effect. Now what is the cause of that? The cause is that you built up this skill over a long period of time.

再举个例子。如果你的英语说得非常流利——假设英语并非你的母语——这就是结果（effect）。成因则是因为你投入时间锻炼了口语能力。

Okay? Let me give you another example. If you speak really good English, like, if English is not your first language, but you speak really good English, K? This is the effect. The cause is because you spent time building up your speaking skills.

这就是原因所在。从这两个例子就能看出，因果关系几乎支配着我们生活的方方面面。比如你去医院体检——体检就是检查眼睛、耳朵等，确保身体机能正常——如果医生说：

This is the cause. So you see just in these two examples that cause and effect governs pretty much every aspect of our lives. Alright? If you go to the doctor and you get a checkup, a checkup is when they check your eyes, check your ears, you know, they're making sure that your body is running properly. And if the doctor says, hey.

『你的健康状况非常好』，这就是结果（effect）。那么成因是什么？可能是因为你饮食健康，可能是因为你坚持每日锻炼，

You're in really good health. That is the effect. Well, what is the cause? Well, the cause is probably because you're eating healthy foods. It's probably because you're exercising every day.

更可能是因为你保持着健康的生活方式，所以才拥有强健体魄。这就是结果。明白吗？正如我所说，它影响着我们生活的每个维度。关于因果关系，我想特别强调从《原子习惯》这本书学到的观点。

It's probably because you are living a healthy lifestyle that's why you have great health. This is the effect. Okay? So like I said, it governs it governs every aspect of our lives. Now one thing I wanna highlight within cause and effect is this idea that I learned from a book called Atomic Habits.

这是本非常流行的自助类书籍，主要讲述如何培养更好的习惯。有兴趣可以看看，书名《原子习惯》，作者詹姆斯·克利尔。他在书中的某个观点——这可能是我最受启发的部分——

This is a very popular, self help book. It's a book about creating better habits. You can check that out if you'd like. It's called Atomic Habits, and the author is James Clear. Now what he said in his book, this is like probably one of my favorite things that he said.

他说：『若想取得好结果，就不要执着于目标本身。』也就是说，想要好的结果（effect），就不要盯着结果看，而应该聚焦于成因（cause），专注于培养良好的习惯。明白了吗？

He said, If you want to achieve good results, don't focus on the outcome. So if you want to achieve good results, if you want to have a good effect, don't focus on the effect. Rather, focus on the cause. Focus on building good habits. Okay?

举个例子，你知道，观察别人的生活表面很容易。比如你看到某人开着豪车，住着豪宅，从外表看一切都光鲜亮丽。对吧？这就是结果。但我们应该追问的是原因。

So for example, like, you know, it's e it's really easy to look at someone's life. Let's say let's say you see someone with a a nice car, a nice house, and from the outside, everything just looks amazing. Right? This is the effect. But what we should be asking is how.

背后的原因是什么？他们怎么得到那辆豪车的？怎么拥有这栋豪宅的？这才是根源。所以原因才是最重要的，因为如果有好的起因，养成好的习惯，结果自然就会显现。

What was the cause? How did they get that nice car? How did they get this nice house? This is the cause. So the cause is really the most important thing because if you have a good cause, if you have good habits, automatically the effect will show up.

明白吗？回到豪宅的例子，如果你看到某人开着价值不菲的豪车，你可能会问：你是怎么得到这辆豪车的？怎么拥有这么棒的房子的？看，这是结果。

Okay? Going back to this house example, if you see someone with a really nice car, it's really expensive, you might ask, hey, how did how did you get this nice car? How did you get this really nice house? Okay. The effect.

他们会告诉你原因：嗯，因为我一直在做这份高压工作，虽然收入丰厚但压力巨大。为了缓解压力，我买了这栋豪宅和豪车之类的。知道吗？那个真实原因可能会让你震惊。

They'll tell you the cause. Well, it's because you know, I've been working, you know, I've been working at this job, this high stress job. It, you know, it pays a lot of money, but it's really stressful. And, you know, in order for me to feel better, I bought this nice house and this nice car and what have you. You know, the the cause may shock you.

懂我意思吗？这个原因可能不是你愿意效仿的生活方式。明白吧？不是所有原因都值得推崇，但每个原因确实都会导致相应结果。比如说看到职业运动员时，你会感叹：哇。

You know? It may not be it may not be a cause that you would like to adopt into your life. Okay? So every cause isn't isn't great, but, you know, every cause does have an effect. And sometimes if you see, let's say, for example, like a professional athlete, you say, wow.

这家伙是顶尖足球运动员，那家伙是篮球巨星。他们的成功原因是什么？根源在于他们从孩提时代就开始训练，做出了牺牲。

You know, this guy's a great football player. This guy's a great basketball player. What was the cause of that? Well, the cause is they've been doing this sport ever since they were a little kid. They sacrificed.

他们没有出去玩乐，而是花时间磨练技艺。最终才成为优秀运动员——这就是结果。所以记住，当你追求某个目标时，专注耕耘原因，结果自会水到渠成。好了朋友们。

You know, they didn't go out and have fun. Instead, they practiced and they spent time working on their skills. And as a result, they are a good athlete, the effect. So just remember, if you're working towards something, focus on the cause and the effect will happen automatically. Alright, my friends.

感谢收听本期内容，期待下期再会。大家保重，我们很快再见。祝安好。

Thank you for listening to today's episode. I look forward to speaking with you in the next one. Take care everyone and talk to you soon. Peace.