Bob 趴在書桌上，看起來懶洋洋的，Sofia 上前找他聊天。
Sofia: What’s the matter, Bob? You look troubled.
Sofia：怎麼啦 Bob？你看起來好像有困難。
Bob: I don’t want to face the final paper…
Bob：我不想面對期末報告啊啊…
Sofia: You mean the one that is due on next Friday?
Sofia：你是說下週五要繳的期末報告嗎？
Bob: Yeah… I haven’t started yet.
Bob：對啊…我都還沒開始。
Sofia: (Surprised) That paper has to be 10,000 words! In English!
Sofia：(驚訝) 那份報告至少要用英文寫一萬字！而且是用英文！
Bob: I suppose that’s why I’ve been procrastinating. I just don’t want to face it.
Bob：我想那正是為什麼我一直拖延，我就是不想面對。
Sofia: But you’ll flunk the class if you don’t hand it in on time.
Sofia：但是沒有如期繳交就會被當的！
Bob: I know… (moaning) Sofia, do you have any tips on how to improve my efficiency?
Bob：我知道… (呻吟) Sofia，你有任何提高效率的秘訣嗎？
在聽 Sofia 公佈她的「打擊拖延症」妙招前，先來學學這些單字吧！
due (adj.) 到期的
due 的中文為「到期的；預期的；預計的」。而常見片語 due to 意思則是「由於」，同 because of。
These library books are due on Monday.
這些圖書館的書週一到期。
Mary and John’s baby is due on April 21.
Mary 和 John 的寶寶預計在 4/21 誕生。
The marathon has been canceled due to bad weather.
由於天氣不佳，馬拉松取消了。
procrastinate (v.) 拖延
procrastinate 的中文為「拖延；延遲」，這個字源自拉丁文 procrastinus，該字由 pro- ( forward「往後」、until「直到」) 加上 crastinus ( tomorrow「明天」)，字面意思就是「推到明天或直到明天」。
Bob tends to procrastinate, and waits until the last minute to do his work.
Bob 往往將凡事拖延到最後一刻。
名詞 procrastination 則是「拖延症」。
Someday you shall pay for your procrastination.
有一天你會為你的拖延症付出代價的。
efficiency (n.) 效率
efficiency 的中文為「效率」，例如：improve the efficiency (提升效率)。形容詞 efficient 則表示「有效率的」。
Tommy was fired because he lacked efficiency at work.
Tommy 因為工作沒效率而被辭職。
該如何打擊拖延症呢？
Sofia: I always make a to-do list.
Sofia：我都會寫一張待做清單。
Bob: I’m listening.
Bob：嗯嗯。
Sofia: Divide your goal into smaller goals. Each one shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish on its own. These smaller goals will make up your to-do list.
Sofia：把你的目標分成一個個小目標，每一個都不要難到沒辦法一次完成。這些就是你待做清單上的小目標。
Bob: Okay, so my goal is to finish a 10,000-word paper before Friday.
Bob：好，我的目標就是週五前完成一萬字報告。
Sofia: Right, okay but that’s still a big goal. It’s Saturday today, you’ve still five days, so split the task into five parts. Make a smaller goal of writing 2,000 words each day.
Sofia：對，好，但那還是個大目標。今天是星期六，你還有五天，所以就把它分成五個部分。所以你可以訂定每天完成兩千字的小目標。
Bob: Alright, and then?
Bob：好，然後呢？
Sofia: Then, each time you accomplish a smaller goal, give yourself a reward! For example, I watch two episodes of my favorite show Netflix.
Sofia：然後每當你完成一個小目標，你就犒賞一下自己！舉例來說，我的獎勵是看兩集我最愛的 Netflix 節目。
Bob: Okay… maybe that could work.
Bob：嗯…這或許管用。
Sofia: It works pretty well on me. It has increased my productivity and gives me a sense of accomplishment. But you know what they say Bob: The ultimate inspiration is the deadline!
Sofia：對我來說很管用。幫助我提升生產力，獲得成就感。不過呢你知道大家都這樣說，沒什麼比截止日更能激發靈感！
小 V 覺得 Sofia 最後一句才是重點！來學習單字吧！
productivity (n.) 生產力
productivity 的中文為「生產力」。此字由動詞 produce 衍生而來，意思為「生產；出產」，名詞 product 則表示「產品」。
The workers received an order to increase their productivity.
工人們接到提高生產力的指令。
This factory produces all kinds of plastic products.
這間工廠生產各式塑膠製品。
inspiration (n.) 靈感
動詞 inspire 的中文為「激勵；激發」，其名詞形即是 inspiration (靈感)，例如：draw inspiration from… (從…汲取靈感)。
The painter was inspired by the song.
這位畫家為一首歌所啟發。
Dali drew inspiration from his dreams.
Dali 從夢境汲取靈感。
deadline (n.) 截止日
deadline 的字面意思為「死線」，引申義為「截止日；期限」，例如：meet the deadline (趕上截止日)。
I stayed up late last night working on my paper in order to meet the deadline.
為了趕上截止日，我整夜都在飆報告完全沒睡。
