像婴儿一样学习能提高智力

 People who are furrowing¹ their brows over weighty arithmetic puzzles or sweating over wordy text books might want to take note.

对超难度算术题皱眉头或对冗长的课本冒汗的人需要记笔记。

Adults can significantly bulk up their brains in just a couple of hours by carrying out simple learning tasks that are on the same intelligence level as a baby.

成人通过完成跟婴儿同样智力的简单学习任务，能够有效地提高智力。

Scientists had previously² believed that the human brain was incapable³ of adding grey matter over short periods of time.

科学家们以前认为人类大脑灰质不能在短时间内增加。

But adults quickly boosted their grey matter when they were given simple learning tasks that could be completed by a baby, according to a study.

但是根据该研究，成人可以通过完成婴儿般简单任务来增加大脑灰质。

The ground-breaking discovery could pave the way for a range of new treatments for brain disorders⁴ that doctors had previously thought were beyond help.

这项独创性发现为大脑紊乱的新治疗方法做好准备，大脑紊乱在以前医生是无能为力的。

'Our finding suggests that the adult human brain is far more plastic than previously believed,' researcher Li-Hai Tan, a cognitive⁵ neuroscientist at the University of Hong Kong, told LiveScience. 

“我们的研究表明成人大脑比以前的发现更有可塑性。”香港大学认知神经科学家谭力海在《生活科学》上说。

'We are very excited about the finding, because we think that it offers hope to adult people with brain development disorders.

“我们对这项发现感到非常兴奋，因为我们觉得它可以为患脑部发育紊乱的成人提供希望。”

'With appropriate intervention⁶ strategies, adults' brains may still be able to quickly develop structure to acquire skills. 

“随着适当的干预策略，成人大脑依然可以快速开发组织获得技能。”

'This will be a welcome relief to many families.'

“这对许多家庭来说将会是一种安慰。”

Researchers have known for many years that the brains of young children are able to grown rapidly.

研究人员从多年前已经知道儿童的大脑可以迅速发育。

In recent years, studies have also found that the adult brain is still relatively⁷ malleable⁸ and capable of increasing its grey matter after learning for several weeks.

最近几年，研究也表明成人大脑在学习几个星期之后依然可塑，能够增加大脑灰质。

But never before have doctors known that the human brain can be 'pumped up' over such short periods of time.

但是以前从没有医生知道人类大脑可以在短时间内“快速发育”。

In the experiment, adults were given four different coloured cards and asked to associate nonsensical words with them. 

实验中，给成年人4张不同的彩色卡片，让他们自己把卡片跟没有意义的单词联系在一起。

The tasks were the same processes that babies go through when learning how to associate language with objects.

The participants were then asked to accept the new words as actual descriptors for the new colours.

该项任务跟婴儿学习如何把语言跟物体联系起来过程一样。

由于对新颜色有真正描述，参与者就要认识这些新单词。

They had to memorise⁹ them so that they could reply with the correct colour name at a later date and to match them with the descriptions when asked.

他们必须记住这些单词，因为晚些时候他们要回答准确的颜色名并把它们跟所描述的搭配起来。

The tasks were carried out in five sessions that were spread over three days but the total amount of time spent on learning only came to one hour and 48 minutes.

整项任务分成5个部分花了3天时间进行，但是用在学习的总体时间只有1小时48分钟。

Researchers then performed MRI scans on the adults and it was revealed that new grey matter had formed in the left hemisphere of their brains.

研究人员又对成人进行核磁共振扫描，表明新的灰质在他们左半脑形成。

It is not yet clear if the new matter was comprised of new neuron formation or if they were simply dendrites (branches).

但是对于该物质是由新神经元构成还是只是树突（分支）还不清楚。

The experiment initially¹⁰ started to try and discover if people perceive the world differently according to which language they speak. 

该实验起初是为了试验人们看待世界不同是否由于他们所说的语言不同。

Although that question was not answered, the findings, which have been published in the journal Proceedings¹¹ of National Academy of Sciences, could help millions of people who suffer with learning disabilities.

尽管那个问题没解决，但是发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》的研究结果可以帮助成千上万患有学习障碍的人。

'We were so surprised, we could not believe it — the adult human brain structure changes so fast,' Tan added.

“我们感到非常惊奇，不敢相信——成人大脑结构会变得这么快。”谭教授说。

1 furrowing   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• In spring, farmers are busy furrowing the fields. 春天，农民忙于犁地。 来自辞典例句
• The gasoline's machine is used for mowing, flooding, furrowing, every kind of machine power supply. 我公司为农机产品开发的动力源，该产品主要是用于收、、、等机械。 来自互联网

2 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

3 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 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 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 malleable   

adj.(金属)可锻的;有延展性的；(性格)可训练的

参考例句：

• Silver is the most malleable of all metals.银是延展性最好的金属。
• Scientists are finding that the adult human brain is far more malleable than they once thought.科学家发现成人大脑的可塑性远超过他们之前认识到的。

9 memorise   

vt.记住，熟记

参考例句：

• An actor must be able to memorise his lines.演员须善于熟记台词。
• I shall try to memorise all these phrases.我要熟记所有这些词组。

10 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

11 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼