The next time you’re struggling to finish up a task at work, throwing on some Bach or Beethoven may worth a try. That’s the main conclusion of an experiment on British workers that found listening to classical music at work can improve productivity by 15%.

下次你在努力完成工作任务的时候，听听巴赫或贝多芬的音乐也许是个不错的尝试。一项针对英国员工的实验得出结论，在工作时听古典音乐可以让效率提高15%。

An initial survey of 2,000 UK employees revealed that half regularly listen to music on the job. Some of those employees’ bosses reportedly encourage the practice, but others are strictly against it, believing it hurts work performance. So, British classical music station Scala Radio and psychologist Dr. Becky Spelman set out to determine if background music hurts or hinders workplace efficiency.

一项对2000名英国员工的初步调查显示，半数员工经常在工作时听音乐。据报道，一些老板鼓励这种做法，但其他老板则对此严格反对，认为这会损害工作表现。因此，英国古典音乐电台Scala Radio和心理学家贝基·斯佩尔曼博士着手研究背景音乐是否会损害或妨碍工作效率。

Four office workers were asked to transcribe two 600-word sets of song lyrics. The first set was transcribed with no music playing, while the other was completed with classical music playing in the background.

四名办公室职员被要求抄写两套600字的歌词，第一套是在没有音乐播放的情况下抄写的，而另一套则是在播放古典音乐的背景下完成的。

The first task, completed in silence, was completed in an average time of 20 minutes and 59 seconds. However, the second transcription exercise that involved music was completed in an average time of 17 minutes and 42 seconds; a difference of three minutes and 17 seconds, or 15%.

第一项在静默中完成的抄写任务，平均完成时间为20分59秒。而在听音乐时执行的第二个任务平均完成时间为17分42秒，相差3分17秒，即15%。

“Music has a very powerful impact on the brain. It affects mood, mental performance and physical performance,” says Dr. Spelman in a media release. “Many people find that listening to certain types of instrumental music can help them with their productivity levels. The music can function as a sort of ‘white noise’, cancelling out potentially distracting ambient noise.”

斯佩尔曼博士在媒体发布会上表示：“音乐对大脑有着非常强大的影响，它会影响情绪、心理表现和身体表现。许多人发现，听某些类型的器乐可以帮助他们提高工作效率古典音乐英语：调查发现：工作时听古典音乐能提高效率（双语），音乐可以起到某种白噪音的作用，抵消了环境噪音的潜在干扰。”

ambient[ˈæmbiənt]: adj. 周围的;外界的;环绕的;产生轻松氛围的

Scala Radio’s initial research had found that many British workers put headphones on first thing when they sit down at their desks to help them concentrate or block out distractions. A third of those respondents said they work harder while listening to music, and 40% think they get more work done.

Scala Radio的初步研究发现古典音乐英语，许多英国员工坐在办公桌前时，第一件事就是戴上耳机，以帮助他们集中注意力或排除干扰。三分之一的受访者表示，他们在听音乐的时候工作更努力，40%的人认为他们在听音乐时完成了更多的工作。

Many respondents said they listen to music simply to avoid silence (10%), and more than two-thirds of respondents who work from home said they would struggle to concentrate without music playing in the background.

也有10%的参与者表示，他们听音乐仅仅是为了避免环境太安静。超过三分之二在家工作的受访者表示古典音乐英语，不播放背景音乐，他们很难集中注意力。

In all, 47% of those polled on their work listening habits said they feel less stressed with background music playing, while over a third said their productivity improves.

总的来说，47%的受访者表示他们在听背景音乐的时候感觉压力变小了，超过三分之一的人表示听音乐时他们的工作效率提高了。

“Provided the music has a calm, regular beat, it can actually help us to stay calm, reducing our stress, slowing our heartrate, and moderating our pulse,” says Dr. Spelman. “This makes it easier for us to focus on the task at hand rather than entering into ‘flight or fight’ mode, in which it can be very difficult to think clearly because of our elevated levels of adrenaline and cortisol.”

斯佩尔曼博士表示：“如果背景音乐的节拍比较平静、有规律，它实际上可以帮助我们保持平静，减轻我们的压力，减缓我们的心跳，调节我们的脉搏。这使我们更容易专注于手头的任务，而不是进入‘逃跑或战斗’模式，在这种模式下，由于肾上腺素和皮质醇水平升高古典音乐英语，我们会很难清晰地思考问题。”