英语听力精选进阶版 7256（在线收听）

社会往往对那些商业上的成功者给予奖赏，这其实并不好。真正应该受到赞颂的是那些具有才能但是并不成功的人。根据英国两所大学的调查，成功者之所以成功往往同运气有关。

The message that society's top performers are not the most skilled and shouldn't be emulated, appears to be counter-intuitive. Yet this report says that those who appear to have achieved the most in their particular field of expertise, are often the beneficiaries of luck, an external, random force.

The authors of this study point to the example of Bill Gates, the co-founder of the computing giant Microsoft, and one of the world's richest men. They say that although he is undoubtedly talented, he achieved his initial success because his affluent family were able to send him to a school where programming was on the curriculum - at a time when most Americans didn't have access to computers. Family connections also helped, according to Professor Chengwei Liu from Warwick University Business School.

That kind of luck is often at work in the lives of the most successful, argues Mr Liu, which means their achievements aren't completely attributable to their own skill. Instead, he advocates looking at those whom he calls 'the second best'. They aren't relying on lucky chances, so their performances offer an opportunity to measure real success. The study also argues that there are dangers if colleagues try to emulate the achievements of those who've been overly fortunate.

This could explain the global Banking crisis, says Professor Liu, who also believes that studying the lives of people such as Bill Gates for tips on reaching the top is fruitless. Of course, some academics argue that individuals can in fact create their own, lucky circumstances, through using personal contacts, and pursuing all available opportunities. This research though, says that because those with the highest salaries haven't completely earned them through skill, they should be taxed more heavily - which would be very bad luck.

Quiz 听力测试

True or false? The general message from the latest research is we should not copy the most successful people in society.

True. There are dangers if colleagues try to emulate the achievements of those who've been overly fortunate.

People who benefit from something are called____.

Beneficiaries.

Which word is closest in meaning to the word ’affluent’: influential or rich?

Rich.

Why should we learn from ‘the second best’?

Because they are not relying on luck.

Glossary 词汇表

emulated 模仿

affluent 富有的

attributable 归功于...的

advocates 提倡者

the second best 位居其二的优秀者

fruitless 没有成果的

pursuing 追求