-
2007 Text 1
①
If
you
were
to
examine
the
birth
certificates
of
every
soccer
player
in
2006
’
s
World
Cup tournament, you
would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite
soccer players are more
likely to have
been born in the earlier months of the year than
in the late months.
②
If you
then examined the European national
youth teams that feed the World Cup and
professional
ranks, you would find this
strange phenomenon to be ever more pronounced.
如果你打算在
2006
年世界杯锦标赛上调查
所有足球运动员的出生证明，
那么你很有可能发现
一个引人注目
的巧合：优秀足球运动员更可能出生于每年的前几个月而不是后几个月。如果你接
着调查
世界杯和职业比赛的欧洲国家青年队的话，那么你会发现这一奇怪的现象甚至更明显。
③
What might account for this
strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a)
certain
astrological
signs
confer
superior
soccer
skills;
b)
winter
born
babies
tend
to
have
higher
oxygen capacity, which increases soccer
stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to
conceive children in springtime, at the
annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.
什么可以解释这一奇怪的现象呢？下面是一些猜测：
a
）某种占星术征兆使人具备更高的足
球技能；
b
）冬季出生的婴儿往往具有更高的供氧能力，这增加了踢足球的持久力；
c
）热爱足球
的父母更可能在春季（每年足球狂热的鼎
盛时期）怀孕；
d
）以上各项都不是。
Anders
Ericsson, a 58-year-
old psychology professor at Florida State
University, says
he believes strongly
in
“
none of the
above.
”
Ericsson grew up in
Sweden, and studied nuclear
engineering
until he realized he would have more opportunity
to conduct his own research if
he
switched
to
psychology.
His
first
experiment,
nearly
30
years
ago,
involved
memory:
training
a
person
to
hear
and
then
repeat
a
random
series
of
numbers.
“
With
the
first
subject,
after
about
20
hours
of
training,
his
digit
span
had
risen
from
7
to
20,
”
Ericsson
recalls.
“
He
kept
improving,
and
after
about
200
hours
of
training
he
had
risen
to
over
80
numbers.
”
58
岁的安德斯
?
埃里克森是
佛罗里达州立大学的一名心理学教授，他说，他坚信
“
以上各项
都
不是
”
这一猜测。在瑞典长大的埃里
克森，一直研究核工程，直到他认识到，如果他转向心理学领
域，他将会有更多机会从事
自己的研究。他的首次试验是在大约
30
年以前进行的，与记忆
相关：
训练一个人先听一组任意挑选的数字，然后复述这些数字。
“
在经过大约
20
小时的训练之后，
第
一个试验对象（复述）的数字跨度从
7
个上升到
20
个，
”
埃里克森回忆说。
“
该试验
对象不断进
步，在接受大约
200
个小
时的训练后，他复述的数字已经达到
80
多个。
”
④
This
success, coupled with later research showing that
memory itself is not genetically
determined,
led
Ericsson
to
conclude
that
the
act
of
memorizing
is
more
of
a
cognitive
exercise than an intuitive one. In
other words, whatever inborn differences two
people may
exhibit in their abilities
to memorize, those differences are swamped by how
well each person
“
encodes
”
the
information.
And
the
best
way
to
learn
how
to
encode
information
meaningfully,
Ericsson
determined,
was
a
process
known
as
deliberate practice.
Deliberate
practice entails
more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it
involves setting specific goals,
obtaining immediate feedback and
concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.
这一成功，连同后来证明的记忆本身不是遗传决定的研究，使得埃里克森得出结论，即记
忆
过程是一种认知练习，而不是一种本能练习。换句话说，无论两个人在记忆力能力上可
能存在怎
样的天生差异，这些差异都会被每个人如何恰当地
“<
/p>
解读
”
所记的信息所掩盖。埃里克森确信
，了
解如何有目的地解读信息的最佳方法就是一个为人所知的有意练习过程。有意练习需
要的不仅仅
是简单地重复一个任务。
相反，
它包括确定明确的目标、
获得即时的反馈以及技术与结果的浓缩。
< br>
Ericsson
and
his
colleagues
have
thus
taken
to
studying
expert
performers
in
a
wide
range of pursuits, including soccer.
They gather all the data they can, not just
performance
statistics
and
biographical
details
but
also the
results
of
their
own
laboratory
experiments
with high
achievers.
⑤
Their work makes
a rather startling assertion: the trait we
commonly
call talent is highly
overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers
–
whether in memory
or surgery, ballet or computer
programming
–
are nearly
always made, not born.
因此，埃里克森和他的同事开始研究
包括足球领域在内的广泛领域中专业执行者。他们收集
了能够收集的所有资料，不只是表
现方面的统计数据和传记详细资料，还包括他们自己对取得很
高成就的人员进行的实验室
实验结果。他们的研究得出了一个非常令人惊奇的结论
——
我们
通常
称为天分的特征被高估了。或者，换句话说，专业执行者
―
―
无论是在记忆还是手术方面，在芭
蕾还是计算机编程领域
――
几乎总是培养的，而不是天生的。
2007 Text 2
For the past several years,
the
Sunday newspaper supplement
Parade
has featured a
column called
“
Ask
Marilyn.
”
People are invited
to query Marilyn vos Savant, who at age 10 had
tested
at
a
mental
level
of
someone
about
23
years
old;
that
gave
her
an
IQ
of
228
–
the
highest
score
ever
recorded.
IQ
tests
ask
you
to
complete
verbal
and
visual
analogies,
to
envision paper after it has been folded
and cut, and to deduce numerical sequences, among
other
similar
tasks.
So
it
is
a
bit
confusing
when
vos
Savant
fields
such
queries
from
the
average Joe (whose IQ is
100) as, What
’
s the
difference between love and fondness? Or what
is the nature of luck and
coincidence?
①
It
’
s
not obvious how the capacity to visualize objects
and to figure out numerical patterns
suits one to answer questions that have eluded
some of
the best poets and
philosophers.
在过去的几年，
《星期日报》的增刊
《漫步》开设了一个名为
“
询问玛丽琳
”
的专栏。人们被邀
请去询问玛丽琳
?
沃斯
?
萨文特，
玛丽琳
?
沃斯
?
萨文特在
10
岁时测试的智力水平达到别人
23
岁时的
水平，
这使得她的
智商高达
228
――
是有记录的最高水
平。
智商测试要求你完成口头和视觉分析，
要求你在纸张被折叠
、剪切后想象它的形状，要求你推论数字的顺序，还有其他类似的项目。所
以，当沃斯<
/p>
?
萨文特面对普通人（智商为
100
）提出的像
“
热爱与喜爱之间的区别是什么
？
”
或者
“
运
气与巧合的特征是什么？
”
这样的问题
时，
她感到有点困惑。
设想物体、
判断
数字模式的能力如何
使一个人能够回答难倒了一些最杰出的诗人和哲学家的问题，这可并
不那么显而易见。
Clearly,
intelligence encompasses more than a score on a
test. Just what does it mean to
be
smart?
How
much
of
intelligence
can
be
specified,
and
how
much
can
we
learn
about
it
from
neurology, genetics, computer science and other
fields?
毫无疑问，智力包含的不仅仅是一次测试所得的分数。而聪明意味着什
么？可以明确显示智
力有多少？我们能够从神经学、遗传学、计算机科学以及其他领域了
解的智力又有多少？
The defining term
of intelligence in humans still seems to be the IQ
score, even though IQ
tests are not
given as often as they used to be. The test comes
primarily in two forms: the
Stanford-
Binet
Intelligence
Scale
and
the
Wechsler
Intelligence
Scales
(both
come
in
adult
and
children
’
s version).
Generally costing several hundred dollars, they
are usually given only
by
psychologists, although variations of them
populate bookstores and the World Wide Web.
②
Superhigh scores like vos
Savant
’
s are no longer
possible, because scoring is now based on
a statistical population distribution
among age peers, rather than simply dividing the
mental
age
by
the
chronological
age
and
multiplying
by
100.
Other
standardized
tests,
such
as
the
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and
the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), capture the main
aspects of IQ tests.
人类有关智力的
定义性术语似乎仍然是智商分数，即使人们并不像以前那样经常进行智商测
试。智
商测试主要表现为两种形式：斯坦福
—
比奈特智力衡量表和威斯
勒智力衡量表（两种都包
含成人和儿童测试类型）
。
由于这些测试一般要花费几百美元，
因此通常只有心理学家才进行这些
测试，
尽管这些测试的变种存在于书店和环球网上。
像沃斯
?
萨文特得到这样的超高分数也再不可
能，因为现在的分数依据的是相同年龄者的统计学群体分布状况，而不是简单地通过实足年龄乘<
/p>
以
100
来划分智能年龄。其他标准测试
，比如学术能力检测以及研究生入学考试，包含了智商测
试的主要方面。
Such
standardized
tests
may
not
assess
all
the
important
elements
necessary
to
succeed
in
school
and
in
life,
argues
Robert
J.
Sternberg.
In
his
article
“
How
Intelligent
Is
Intelligence
Testing?
”
,
③
Sternberg
notes
that
traditional
test
best
assess
analytical
and
verbal skills but fail to measure
creativity and practical knowledge, components
also critical
to problem solving and
life success. Moreover, IQ test do not necessarily
predict so well once
populations
or
situations
change.
Research
has
found
that
IQ
predicted
leadership
skills
when the tests were given under low-
stress conditions, but under high-stress
conditions, IQ
was negatively
correlated with leadership
–
that is, it predicted the opposite. Anyone who has
toiled through SAT will testify that
test-taking skill also matters, whether
it
’
s knowing when
to guess or what questions to skip.
罗伯特
?
杰
?
斯顿伯格认为，这样的标准测试不可能评估在学校和生活中取得成功所需的所有
重要因素。在其名为
“
智力测试如何明智？
”
的文章中，斯顿伯格指出，传统的测试最恰当地评估
了分析能力和语言表达能力，但没有测量创造性和实际知识，这些也是解决问题和在生活中取得
成功的关键因素。而且，一旦种群或环境发生变化，智商测试就不一定预测得那么准确。研究发
现，如果在低压力状况下进行智商测试，那么这种测试就可以预测出领导才能，但是，在高压力
状况下，智商测试所得的结果与领导才能的关系是否定的，也就是说，它预测的结果是相
反的。
任何经历过学术能力检测的人都会认为，应试能力也很重要，无论是知道何时应该
进行推测，还
是知道应该忽略什么问题。
2007 Text 3
①
During the past generation,
the American middle-class family that once could
count on
hard work and fair play to
keep itself financially secure had been
transformed by economic
risk and new
realties.
Now a pink slip, a
bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce
a
family from solidly middle class to
newly poor in a few months.
在过去的十几年里，美国
那些曾经可以依靠辛勤劳动和公平条件以维持其收入稳定的中产阶
层家庭被经济风险和新
现实改变了。如今，一份解雇通知书、一个不利的诊断结果或者配偶的去
世都可能在几个
月之内将一个家庭从稳定的中产阶层家庭降格成为一个新贫困家庭。
In just one generation, millions of
mothers have gone to work, transforming basic
family
economics.
②
Scholars,
policymakers,
and
critics
of
all
stripes
have
debated
the
social
implications of these
changes, but few have looked at the side effect:
family risk has risen as
well.
Today
’
s families have
budgeted to the limits of theirs new two-paycheck
status.
③
As a
result, they have lost the parachuted
they once had in times of financial setback
–
a back-up
earner (usually Mom) who could go into
the workforce if the primary earner got laid off
or fell
sick.
④
This
“
added-worker
effect
”
could support the
safety net offered by unemployment
insurance or disability insurance to
help families weather bad times. But today, a
disruption
to
family
fortunes
can
no
longer
be
made
up
with
extra
income
from
an
otherwise-stay-at-home partner.
在仅仅一代人的时间里，数百万母亲出去工作，改变了基本的家庭经济状况。学者、决策者
以及各类批评人士对这些变化的社会意义争论不休，但是，很少有人关注这些变化的副作用：家