Our Bored Brains

12/27/2021 1:22:32 PM

Do you know?

Boredom is described as the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest. Feeling bored is a common feeling and at times, is unavoidable.
However, boredom also has its benefits such as improving our mental health, increasing creativity and motivating the pursuit of new goals.

Let's explore more in the following passage!

Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:

Listen to the passage Our Bored Brains and complete the sentences by dragging the correct word to each blank.

Do you sometimes feel wiggly and not know why? You 1.1 in your chair or doodle on a piece of paper. Time is passing slower than normal, and you don't know what to do. Guess what? You are bored! Everybody gets bored sometimes, even animals. Boredom is part of our everyday lives. Why do you think this happens? What is the point of being bored? Boredom happens when your mind is not actively engaged in what you are doing. You feel unsatisfied but don't know what else to do. So you blame your environment for your bad feelings. You think, "This movie is so boring," or you think "There just isn't anything to do." There are many different causes of boredom. Maybe you are having trouble paying attention. You just can't 1.2. You are 1.3 distracted, even if you are doing something you usually enjoy. Maybe what you are doing is too easy, and you don't feel challenged. It could be that you are doing the same thing over and over. Imagine if you had to wash the same plate 200 times. That would be really boring! Maybe what you are doing is too hard. People get bored when they don't understand something, so they stop paying attention. Being bored isn't always bad. It can 1.4 you to be more mentally active. Boredom is a wake up call from your brain telling you that you should pay attention or do something else. If you are bored at school, try to concentrate better. Work really hard to understand the lesson. If you are at home, find a creative activity to do, such as a puzzle or an art project. You might discover a new 1.5 or solve a problem. The important thing is to listen to your brain and do something about your boredom. The one thing you should definitely never do is say, "I'm bored!"

Read and answer the following questions.

Our Bored Brains

Written by Krista Garver

Boredom can inspire creativity. Image: theparentwebsite.com.au

Do you sometimes feel wiggly and not know why? You squirm in your chair or doodle on a piece of paper. Time is passing slower than normal, and you don't know what to do. Guess what? You are bored! Everybody gets bored sometimes, even animals. Boredom is part of our everyday lives. Why do you think this happens? What is the point of being bored?

Boredom happens when your mind is not actively engaged in what you are doing. You feel unsatisfied but don't know what else to do. So you blame your environment for your bad feelings. You think, "This movie is so boring," or you think "There just isn't anything to do."

There are many different causes of boredom. Maybe you are having trouble paying attention. You just can't concentrate. You are constantly distracted, even if you are doing something you usually enjoy.

Maybe what you are doing is too easy, and you don't feel challenged. It could be that you are doing the same thing over and over. Imagine if you had to wash the same plate 200 times. That would be really boring! Maybe what you are doing is too hard. People get bored when they don't understand something, so they stop paying attention.

Being bored isn't always bad. It can stimulate you to be more mentally active. Boredom is a wake up call from your brain telling you that you should pay attention or do something else. If you are bored at school, try to concentrate better. Work really hard to understand the lesson.

If you are at home, find a creative activity to do, such as a puzzle or an art project. You might discover a new talent or solve a problem. The important thing is to listen to your brain and do something about your boredom. The one thing you should definitely never do is say, "I'm bored!"

Source: Mobymax Reading Stories G3.0-3.3

Based on the article, what is one way you get bored?

playing some thrilling games
sleeping too much
doing something repetitive
feeling challenged

How might being bored make you more mentally active?

Being bored gives you more energy.
You'll do something to stop being bored.
Boredom urges you to go out often.
You're stimulated to draw colorful pictures.

According to the passage, boredom occurs _____.

if you are willing to be involved in what you have to do
when your mind doesn't actively focus on what you're doing
if your surrounding environment is not interesting at all
when you feel dissatisfied with what you have to do

What does the word "distracted" mean?

disgusted
disturbed
disabled
disappointed

Which of the following can be inferred from the last paragraph?

All you need to do when you feel bored is to do a puzzle or an art project.
You should force yourself to think of creative activities to do whenever being bored.
If you feel unsatisfied, just say to yourself "I'm very bored" in order to face the truth.
When you feel bored, you should think positively and find something interesting to do.

What is the main idea of the passage?

Everybody can get bored for many reasons, but boredom can help you to improve.
Boredom is very normal and even happens among animals.
Boredom usually occurs when you do not concentrate on what you are doing.
Scientific research has proved that our brains are easy to get bored.

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms

Parents often have trouble to find good carers for their children.

Parents
have
to find
for

I've stopped the newspaper because now I read the news online.

I’m busy right now, but I’ll try _____ the yard this afternoon.

to clean
cleaning

Rearrange the words in the correct order to make a complete sentence.

Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning to the first.

It is nobody's fault that the meeting was cancelled.

=> Nobody is to ..................