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 later months. 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 even more pronounced.

如果你打算调查一下2006年世界杯锦标赛上所有足球运动员的出生证明，那么你很有可能发现一个值得注意的怪现象：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。如果你再调查一下那些为世界杯和各大职业联赛提供球员的欧洲国家青年队，你会发现这一奇怪的现象更为明显。

 

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）某种星象学的征兆使人具备更高的足球技能；b）冬季出生的婴儿往往有较高的血氧含量，这增加了踢足球所需要的耐力；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）以上各项都不对。

 

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Anders Ericsson是佛罗里达州立大学的一名心理学教授，他说，他坚信“以上各项都不对”这一猜测。在瑞典长大的埃里克森，早先从事核工程学的研究，直到后来他认识到如果自己转向心理学领域，就会有更多机会从事自己的研究。他的首次试验是大约30年以前进行的一个与记忆有关的试验：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广度从7个上升到20个，” 埃里克森回忆说。“该实验对象不断进步，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。”

 

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.

 

这一试验的成功，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，而不是一种本能行为。换句话说，无论两个人天生的记忆力能力存在怎样的差异，这些差异都会被个人如何恰当地对信息进行“编码”的能力消除。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众所周知的刻意练习过程。刻意练习需要的不仅仅是简单地重复一个任务。更确切地说，它包括确定明确的目标、获得即时的反馈以及对技巧和结果的同样重视。

 

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. 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各种不同领域中杰出表现者。他们收集了一切可能得到的资料，不仅包括统计数据和传记详细资料，还包括他们对成功人士进行的实验室实验结果。他们的研究得出了令人惊讶的结论——我们通常称为天分的作用被高估了。或者换句话说，杰出表现者 ------ 无论是在记忆方面还是外科手术方面，无论是跳芭蕾还是搞计算机编程------ 几乎总是后天练就的，而不是与生俱来的。

 

 

21． The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to__________.

[AI stress the importance of professional training.

[B] spotlight the soccer superstars in the World Cup.

[C] introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.

[D] explain why some soccer teams play better than others.

文中提到足球运动员中的出生现象是用来__________.

[A] 强调职业训练的重要性

[B] 聚焦世界杯上的足球巨星

[C] 引出什么决定了杰出表现这个话题

[D] 解释为什么一些足球队比其他足球队表现好

 

22. The word “mania” (Line 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means__________.

[A] fun.          

[B] craze.         

[C] hysteria.      

[D] excitement.

“mania”（第二段第四行）最有可能的意思是__________.

[A] 嬉笑

[B] 狂热

[C] 歇斯底里

[D] 兴奋

 

23. According to Ericsson, good memory__________.

[A] depends on meaningful processing of information.

[B] results from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises.

[C] is determined by genetic rather than psychological factors.

[D] requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration.

在Ericsson看来，好的记忆__________.

[A] 取决于对信息的有意义的处理

[B] 取决于天生能力还不是认知练习

[C] 由基因而不是心理因素决定

[D] 要求即刻的反馈和注意力高度集中

24. Ericsson and his colleagues believe that__________.

[A] talent is a dominating factor for professional success.

[B] biographical data provide the key to excellent performance.

[C] the role of talent tends to be overlooked.

[D] high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture.

Ericsson和他的同事相信__________.

[A] 天生的才能对于职业的成功是一项主要的因素

[B] 传记数据提供了优秀表现的关键因素

[C] 天生才能的角色通常被忽略

[D] 取得突出成就的人大多数由于后天塑造取得成功

 

25. Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey?

[A] “Faith will move mountains.”

[B] “One reaps what one sows.”

[C] “Practice makes perfect.”

[D] “Like father, like son.”

下面的那一句谚语与文章所传递的信息最接近？

[A]  精诚所至，金石为开

[B]  善有善报，恶有恶报

[C]  熟能生巧

[D]  有其父必有其子

B选项的翻译说明：

you reap what you sow 不同的老师有不同的翻译，有的翻译“一分耕耘一分收获”，有的翻译为“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆”，其实都和牛津和朗文的字典解释有出入：

一、朗文当代英语词典的解释为：
used to say that if you do bad things, bad things will happen to you, and if you do good things, good things will happen to you
二、牛津高阶英语词典的解释为：

you reap what you sow (saying) you have to deal with the bad effects or results of sth that you originally started

所以，本人翻译为善有善报，恶有恶报。另外，个人觉得“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆”在汉英词典中的解释应该翻译为：Plant melons and you get melons, sow beans and you get beans. 而不应该翻译为： We reap what we sow. 或 As a man sows,so he shall reap.