2012四级阅读：自言自语其实没那么可怕

 本篇阅读材料“自言自语其实没那么可怕”选自《时代》（原文标题：Talking to Yourself: Not So Crazy After All 2012.5.23）How and when you "self-talk" can increase your concentration and improve performance. 推荐信息   愚人节恶作剧完美进阶   电脑文字隐藏功能   现代组织服务的范围   社交媒体和后隐私社会In the privacy of our minds, we all talk to ourselves — an inner monologue¹ that might seem rather pointless. As one scientific paper on self-talk asks: “What can we tell ourselves that we don't already know?” But as that study and others go on to show, the act of giving ourselves mental messages can help us learn and perform at our best. Researchers have identified the most effective forms of self-talk, collected here — so that the next time you talk to yourself, you know exactly what you should say.

　　Self-talk isn't just motivational messages like “You can do it!” or “Almost there,” although this internal cheering section can give us confidence. A review of more than two dozen studies, published last year in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, found that there's another kind of mental message that is even more useful, called “instructional self-talk.” This is the kind of running commentary we engage in when we're carrying out a difficult task, especially one that's unfamiliar² to us. Think about when you were first learning to drive. Your self-talk might have gone something like this: “Foot on the gas pedal, hands on the wheel, slow down for the curve here, now put your blinker on…”  【外语教育&网www.for68.com】

　　Over time, of course, giving yourself instructions becomes unnecessary — but while you're learning, it does three important things. First, it enhances our attention, focusing us on the important elements of the task and screening out distractions⁴. Second, it helps us regulate our effort and make decisions about what to do, how to do it, and when. And third, self-talk allows us to control our cognitive⁵ and emotional reactions, steadying us so we stay on task.

　　In a recent study of students learning to throw darts⁶ in a gym class, Athanasios Kolovelonis and his colleagues at the University of Thessaly in Greece found that self-talk is most effective when incorporated into a cycle of thought and action. First comes forethought, when you set a goal for yourself and make a plan for how to get there. That's followed by performance, when you enact⁷ the plan to the best of your ability. Last comes self-reflection, when you carefully evaluate what you've done and adjust your plan for the next time.

　　Self-talk can play a key part in this cycle. During the forethought phase, consider carefully what you'll say to yourself. You can even write out a script. Repeat these self-instructions during the performance phase. With practice, you may find that your self-instructions become abbreviated⁸; research has found that these so-called “cue words” can become powerful signals. In a study of elite⁹ sprinters, for example, the runners spoke¹¹ certain words to themselves at certain times: “push” during the acceleration¹² phase of the sprint¹⁰, “heel” during the maximum-speed phase, and “claw” during the endurance phase. When they used these cue words, the athletes ran faster.

　　After the action is over, consider how you might change your self-talk to improve your performance next time—so that at the moment it matters, the right words are ringing in your ears.

　　【重点单词及短语】

　　commentary n. 评论；注释；评注；说明carry out 执行；贯彻be unfamiliar to 与……不熟悉enhance v. 加强；提高screen out 筛选distraction³ n. 注意力分散；消遣；心烦意乱steady v. 稳固；使稳定 adj. 稳定的；沉着的stay on 继续停留；保持enact v. 颁布；制定法律forethought n. n. 深谋远虑；先见；考虑将来abbreviated adj. 简短的；小型的cue words 提示语ring in one's ears  （话语）在耳边回荡Question time:

　　1. What is self-talk indeed?

　　2. What's the benefit of self-talk according to the passage?

1 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

2 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

3 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

4 distractions   

n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 )；娱乐，消遣；心烦意乱；精神错乱

参考例句：

• I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难，因为使人分心的事太多。
• There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多，使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

6 darts   

n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• His darts trophy takes pride of place on the mantelpiece. 他将掷镖奖杯放在壁炉顶上最显著的地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I never saw so many darts in a bodice! 我从没见过紧身胸衣上纳了这么多的缝褶！ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

8 abbreviated   

adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He abbreviated so much that it was hard to understand his article. 他的文章缩写词使用太多，令人费解。
• The United States of America is commonly abbreviated to U.S.A.. 美利坚合众国常被缩略为U.S.A.。

9 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

10 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。