VOA慢速英语2014 你怎么那么聪明?

 

How Did You Get so Intelligent? 你怎么那么聪明?

You may have heard people say that hard work is more important than the intelligence¹ you are born with. Recently, researchers noted² changes in the brains of individuals immediately after they were told this.

Hans Schroder led a study at Michigan State University. Mr. Schroder is a student at the university. As he noted, whether or not what people were told was true, “giving people messages that encourage learning³ and motivation may promote⁴ more efficient performance.”

In the study, two groups read different stories about intelligence.  One story said intelligence levels are a product of our genetic⁵ material and cannot be changed. The researchers called this, the “fixed mindset.” The other story discussed how difficult living environments probably made individuals like Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein highly⁶ intelligent. Researchers called this the “growth⁷ mindset.”

Later, the researchers tested the groups’ members on what they had just read. Mr. Schroeder and his team watched their brain activity as they answered questions about the main subjects in the story.

The researchers say they found that small messages about our abilities can have a big effect on our beliefs about what we are able to do.

The people who read that intelligence comes from genes⁸ worked to answer the questions correctly. But their test results did not improve on later exams.

But the opposite was true among those who read that intelligence can come from hard work. They showed what the researchers called a more efficient brain response after they were told their answer was wrong. This suggests they thought they could give the correct answer on the next test. And the more these individuals thought about their mistakes, the faster they answered the questions on the next test.

The researchers say the study showed that those who had a growth mindset made efforts to improve and adapt. They say even a small amount of time spent on changing the mindset, or beliefs, of individuals can affect how their brain operates. In their words, “messages about how much our abilities can change affect learning, achievement, and performance.”

1 intelligence   

n.智力，聪明，智能；情报

参考例句：

• He was a man of intelligence and of firmness of will.他是个聪明而又意志坚定的人。
• He equals me in strength but not in intelligence.他和我力气相等，但智力不同。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 promote   

vt.促进；提升；发起，创立；宣传，推销

参考例句：

• He was in town to promote his new books.他在城里推销他的新书。
• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

7 growth   

n.生长，栽培

参考例句：

• All living things depend on the sun for their growth.万物靠太阳生长。
• Youth is the time of physical growth.青年时期是长身体的时期。

8 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪