【英语时差8,16】现在这帮小孩

 Do you think kids don't pay attention these days? There could be some scientific evidence of that, as Don and Ya?l discuss in this Moment of Science.   Don: Kids these days! They have no respect. They don't know the value of a dollar. They can't pay attention to anything for long.

Ya?l: Actually, that last one may be true.

D: You mean the others aren't?

Y: Well, the older generation always complains about kids. But researchers who study the effects of television actually have data to suggest that young people today don't pay attention in the way their parents do.

D: What's the connection to t.v.?

Y: Annie Lang and her colleagues at Indiana University have done a series of studies in which college-age people and middle-aged¹ people were shown a string of t.v. and movie clips². In one trial they showed images which changed at a fast rate -- over eleven shots every thirty seconds.

D: Sounds like MTV!

Y: Other trials had images that changed at slower rates -- five to six changes, or zero to three changes, every thirty seconds. People from all three groups were quizzed after watching the videos to see how much they could remember.

D: The results?

Y: The results differed depending on a couple of factors, such as how arousing³ the images themselves were. But in general they found that young people have a much harder time than adults in paying attention to, and remembering, slower-moving material.

D: I knew it! Those lazy kids!

Y: It's not quite laziness. They try, but slow material is hard for them. And adults fared worse at remembering fast-moving material!

D: Gosh...do you think MTV teaches kids to have short attention spans⁴?

Y: That's just speculation⁵. But you gotta wonder!   

1 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

2 clips   

n.剪（ clip的名词复数 ）；剪短；剪报；（塑料或金属的） 夹子v.用别针别在某物上，用夹子夹在某物上（ clip的第三人称单数 ）；剪掉；缩短；给…剪毛（或发）

参考例句：

• toe clips on a bicycle 自行车上的踏脚夹套
• Use the crocodile clips to attach the cables to the battery. 用鳄鱼嘴夹把电缆接到蓄电池上。

3 arousing   

v.引起( arouse的现在分词 )；唤醒；激起性欲；使行动起来

参考例句：

• They drove away slowly to avoid arousing suspicion. 他们缓缓驾车离去，以免引起怀疑。
• They abused their power and bullied the people, thus arousing intense discontent among the masses. 他们仗势欺人，引起群众强烈的不满。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 spans   

跨度( span的名词复数 )； 持续时间； 一段时间； （五指张开时的）指距

参考例句：

• A steel railway bridge spans the Yalu River. 鸭绿江上有一座钢铁大桥。
• The wire door was a couple of hand-spans from his face. 铁笼门距他的脸只有一两个巴掌远。 来自英汉文学

5 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。