2007年Text 1

　　If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006's World Cup tournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the later months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.

　　What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely to conceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.

　　Anders Ericsson, a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes strongly in "none of the above." Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and studied nuclear engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years ago, involved memory: training a person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. "With the first subject, after about 20 hours of training, his digit span had risen from 7 to 20," Ericsson recalls. "He kept improving, and after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers."

　　This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person "encodes" the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.

　　Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers -- whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming -- are nearly always made, not born.

　　21.The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to

　　[A] stress the importance of professional training.

　　[B] spotlight the soccer superstars in the World Cup.

　　[C] introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.

　　[D] explain why some soccer teams play better than others.

　　[答案] C

　　[解題思路]

　　本文第一段采用足球運動員的例子正如新聞寫作的傳統手法一樣，是用來引出文章的主要話題的。文章第二段開頭的問句"What might account for this strange phenomenon"( 出現這一奇怪的現象原因是什么呢)，即從這一現象切入主題。A和B選項均與第一段內容無關，而D選項只是就事論事，沒有從宏觀上理解第一段在文中的作用。

　　[題目譯文]

　　文中提到足球運動員中的出生現象是用來

　　[A] 強調職業訓練的重要性

　　[B] 聚焦世界杯上的足球巨星

　　[C] 介紹專業表現的因素這個話題

　　[D] 解釋為什么一些足球隊比其他足球隊表現好

　　23. According to Ericsson, good memory

　　[A] depends on meaningful processing of information.

　　[B] results from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises.

　　[C] is determined by genetic rather than psychological factors.

　　[D] requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration.

　　[答案] A

　　[解題思路]

　　本題的主要對應信息在文章的第四段。該段第二、三句話指出"In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person "encodes" the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate practice"( 換句話說，無論兩個人天生的記憶力能力存在怎樣的差異，這些差異都會被個人如何恰當地"解讀"記憶信息所消除。埃里克森確信，了解如何有目的地解讀信息的最佳方法就是眾所周知的刻意練習過程)，四個選項中只有A選項是對這幾句話的總結概括，因而是正確答案。B和C選項的表述顯然與原文意思相反，可以排除。D選項具有一定的迷惑性，該選項對應于第四段最后一句話"Rather, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome"( 相反，它包括確定明確的目標、獲得即時的反饋以及技術與結果的結合等)，而選項中的"a high degree of concentration"與文中的"concentrating"(重視)的意思不同，因此D是錯誤選項。

　　[題目譯文]

　　在埃里克森看來，好的記憶

　　[A] 取決于對信息的有意思處理

　　[B] 取決于天生能力還不是認知練習

　　[C] 由基因而不是心理因素決定

　　[D] 要求即刻的反饋和注意力高度集中

　　24. Ericsson and his colleagues believe that

　　[A] talent is a dominating factor for professional success.

　　[B] biographical data provide the key to excellent performance.

　　[C] the role of talent tends to be overlooked.

　　[D] high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture.

　　[答案] D

　　[解題思路]

　　本題對應于文章最后一段，該段最后一句話指出"Or, put another way, expert performers -- whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming -- are nearly always made, not born"( 或者換句話說，專業人員--無論是在記憶還是手術方面，在芭蕾還是計算機編程領域--幾乎都是后天培養的，而不是天生的)，即埃里克森的主要觀點就是一個人的成才不是先天決定的，而主要靠后天培養塑造出來的，需要不斷地練習和實踐。因此C選項是最能與原文觀點呼應的。A選項與文章的中心思想無關，而B和D選項均與文章的意思相反。

　　[題目譯文]

　　埃里克森和他的同事相信

　　[A] 天生的才能對于職業的成功是一項主要的因素

　　[B] 傳記數據提供了優秀表現的關鍵因素

　　[C] 天生才能的角色通常被忽略

　　[D] 取得突出成就的人大多數由于后天塑造取得成功

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