2007考研英語閱讀理解真題解析第一篇“天才非天生”[共5頁]

1、2007 TEXT 1If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006s 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 late months. If you then examined the Eur

2、opean national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be ever more pronounced.如果你打算在2006年世界杯錦標(biāo)賽上調(diào)查所有足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員的出生證明，那么你很有可能發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)引人注目的巧合：優(yōu)秀足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員更可能出生于每年的前幾個(gè)月而不是后幾個(gè)月。如果你接著調(diào)查世界杯和職業(yè)比賽的歐洲國(guó)家青年隊(duì)的話，那么你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這一奇怪的現(xiàn)象甚至更明顯。certificate n.證書【巧】certif (y證明) +i

3、c（形容詞后綴）+ate（作名詞后綴表“物”）具證明性質(zhì)的東西證書?！纠縜 leaving certificate 畢業(yè)（肄業(yè), 離職）證書; academic certificate學(xué)歷證書;I must discard riches, the certificate of slavery.我必須拋棄財(cái)富這張奴隸證書。quirk kw:k n. 怪癖；急轉(zhuǎn)；借口elite n.精英（中頻詞）來自elect選舉，選出來的【巧】諧音：“愛理他”“精英人士”每個(gè)人都愛理他。1、If you were to examine the birth certificates of every socce

4、r player in 2006s 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.【譯文】 如果你查看一下參加2006年世界杯賽的所有足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員的出生證，你極有可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)引人注意的怪事：優(yōu)秀的足球運(yùn)動(dòng)員大多是在年頭出生，而不是在年尾出生?！疚鼍洹?這是一個(gè)典型的虛擬條件句，但是

5、主句的賓語后面跟著一個(gè)同位語從句。此句并不難理解?！局v詞】birth certificate意為出生證。certificate的意思是證書；證明書；憑證。對(duì)于學(xué)生來說，certificate是指結(jié)業(yè)證，即完成了某門課程或一段時(shí)間學(xué)習(xí)的證明。相近的單詞有diploma（文憑；畢業(yè)證書；證明權(quán)力、特權(quán)、榮譽(yù)等的證書或獎(jiǎng)狀）。大學(xué)畢業(yè)取得的學(xué)位，英語是用degree來表示，degree主要有三個(gè)：學(xué)士(bachelor)學(xué)位、碩士(master)學(xué)位和博士(doctor或PhD)學(xué)位。noteworthy表示值得注意，引人注意的。quirk 意為怪癖;怪事，巧合，在句中表示奇怪的現(xiàn)象。elite 意

6、為精英，菁華；杰出人士。2、If you then examine the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be even more pronounced.【譯文】如果你再查看一下為世界杯和職業(yè)聯(lián)賽輸送人才的歐洲各國(guó)的國(guó)家青年隊(duì)，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)這種奇怪的現(xiàn)象更加明顯?！疚鼍洹恐骶鋣ou would find.，this strange phenomenon是賓語，to be even more

7、pronounced是賓語補(bǔ)足語?！局v詞】feed的基本意思是喂；飼養(yǎng)，但在本句中則表示輸送。pronounce通常表示發(fā)音；宣布，而pronounced顯然是過去分詞作形容詞，表示講出來的；顯著的，斷然的，明確的。分析句子，可知表示顯然的，明顯的。rank 可以表示等級(jí)；行列；階級(jí)，professional ranks表示職業(yè)隊(duì)伍，即各級(jí)職業(yè)聯(lián)賽的隊(duì)伍。What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certain astrological signs confer superior soc

8、cer 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.什么可以解釋這一奇怪的現(xiàn)象呢？下面是一些猜測(cè)：a）某種占星術(shù)征兆使人具備更高的足球技能；b）冬季出生的嬰兒往往具有更高的供氧能力，這

9、增加了踢足球的持久力；c）熱愛足球的父母更可能在春季（每年足球狂熱的鼎盛時(shí)期）懷孕；d）以上各項(xiàng)都不是。astrological adj.占星的, 占星術(shù)的stamina n.毅力, 持久力, 精力【例】exhibit enough stamina to master English. 表現(xiàn)出掌握英語的充足的毅力;That young man lacks stamina.那個(gè)年青人缺乏毅力。conceive v.懷孕, 考慮, 設(shè)想【例】conceive prejudices抱偏見；conceive a child 懷孕；Scientists first conceived the idea

10、of atomic bomb in the 1930s. 20世紀(jì)30年代科學(xué)家們初次設(shè)想原子彈的計(jì)劃。annual adj.每年的（中頻詞）【例】annual report / income / production年度報(bào)告 / 收入 / 產(chǎn)量peak n.頂點(diǎn), (記錄的)最高峰 mania n.癖好, 狂熱【例】She has a mania for ponies. 她特別喜歡小馬。3、What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses： a) certain astrological signs

11、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.【譯文】 怎樣解釋這一奇怪的現(xiàn)象？有幾個(gè)猜想：1. 某些星相賦予超強(qiáng)的足球技能。2. 冬天的嬰兒

12、大多攝氧量更高，可以增加足球體能。3. 狂愛足球的父母更有可能在春天懷孕，這一段時(shí)間是足球狂熱的高峰。4. 以上選項(xiàng)都不正確?！疚鼍洹?冒號(hào)之后是四個(gè)選項(xiàng)，其中包括三個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單句和一個(gè)名詞短語結(jié)構(gòu)。【講詞】account for主要表示解釋，說明，即是explain的意思。例如：Bad weather accounted for the long delay of the flight.（航班長(zhǎng)期的延緩是因?yàn)閴奶鞖?。）The suspect couldnt account for his time that night.（嫌犯不能說明那天晚上他的時(shí)間安排。）astrological sign 指星

13、座或星相（zodiac，黃道），共有12個(gè)：水瓶座（Aquarius)，雙魚座（Pisces），白羊座（Aries)，金牛座（Taurus），雙子座（Gemini），巨蟹座（Cancer)，獅子座（Leo），處女座（Virgo），天秤座（Libra)，天蝎座（Scorpio)，人馬座（Sagittarius)，摩羯座（Capricorn）。confer 意為贈(zèng)予；授予；給予，其同義詞包括：give,bestow,invest等。也可表示協(xié)商，交換意見，其同義詞包括advise,consult,parley等。stamina意為毅力，持久力，精力，即physical or moral stren

14、gth。conceive 基本上有兩個(gè)意思，即構(gòu)思或懷孕。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

15、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 af

16、ter about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers.”58歲的安德斯埃里克森是佛羅里達(dá)州立大學(xué)的一名心理學(xué)教授，他說，他堅(jiān)信“以上各項(xiàng)都不是”這一猜測(cè)。在瑞典長(zhǎng)大的埃里克森，一直研究核工程，直到他認(rèn)識(shí)到，如果他轉(zhuǎn)向心理學(xué)領(lǐng)域，他將會(huì)有更多機(jī)會(huì)從事自己的研究。他的首次試驗(yàn)是在大約30年以前進(jìn)行的，與記憶相關(guān)：訓(xùn)練一個(gè)人先聽一組任意挑選的數(shù)字，然后復(fù)述這些數(shù)字?！霸诮?jīng)過大約20小時(shí)的訓(xùn)練之后，第一個(gè)試驗(yàn)對(duì)象（復(fù)述）的數(shù)字跨度從7個(gè)上升到20個(gè)，” 埃里克森回憶說。“該試驗(yàn)對(duì)象不斷進(jìn)步，在接受大約200個(gè)小時(shí)的訓(xùn)練后，他復(fù)述

17、的數(shù)字已經(jīng)達(dá)到80多個(gè)。”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 abil

18、ities 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

19、, it involves setting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.這一成功，連同后來證明的記憶本身不是遺傳決定的研究，使得埃里克森得出結(jié)論，即記憶過程是一種認(rèn)知練習(xí)，而不是一種本能練習(xí)。換句話說，無論兩個(gè)人在記憶力能力上可能存在怎樣的天生差異，這些差異都會(huì)被每個(gè)人如何恰當(dāng)?shù)亍敖庾x”所記的信息所掩蓋。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一個(gè)為人所知的有意練習(xí)過程。有意練習(xí)需要的不僅僅是簡(jiǎn)單地重復(fù)一個(gè)任務(wù)。相反

20、，它包括確定明確的目標(biāo)、獲得即時(shí)的反饋以及技術(shù)與結(jié)果的濃縮。coupled with 加上， 外加intuitive adj.直覺的cognitive adj.認(rèn)知的, 認(rèn)識(shí)的, 有感知的【例】a childs cognitive development小孩認(rèn)識(shí)能力的發(fā)展swamp v. 使陷入困境【例】be swamped by heavy debts 債臺(tái)高筑；The horse was swamped in the mud. 馬陷入泥潭。A big wave swamped the boat.一個(gè)大浪淹沒了小船。I am swamped with work.我工作忙得不可開交。delib

21、erate adj.深思熟慮的, 故意的, 預(yù)有準(zhǔn)備的【例】a deliberate decision 慎重的決定pursuit / n.追求；職業(yè)【習(xí)】hell-for-leather pursuit 全力追擊, 拼命追趕；in pursuit of 追蹤, 追求；in hot 4、This success,coupled with later research showing that memory itself as not genetically determined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is mor

22、e of a cognitive exercise than an intuitive one.【譯文】 這一成功，以及后來顯示記憶本身并非由基因所決定的研究，讓埃里克森得到這樣的結(jié)論，即記憶行為是一種認(rèn)識(shí)練習(xí)，而不是一種直覺練習(xí)。【析句】 句子雖長(zhǎng)，卻是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單句，主語是This success，謂語是led，后面接兩個(gè)賓語，一是Ericsson，一是不定式to conclude。不定式本身接that引導(dǎo)的賓語從句?！局v詞】couple 作名詞表示(一)對(duì)，(一)雙；夫婦，作動(dòng)詞表示連接；結(jié)合；結(jié)婚。to be coupled with意為to be together with。例如：She

23、 coupled her refusal with an explanation.（她解釋了拒絕的原因。）genetically determined意為（是）由基因決定的。genetically的名詞是gene（基因），形容詞是genetic，它們與generate,general,generation等來自同一詞根。cognitive 意為認(rèn)知的，其名詞是cognition（認(rèn)知，認(rèn)知力）。Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits

24、, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not just performance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory lbrtri experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. O

25、r, put another way, expert performers whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programmingare nearly always made, not born.因此，埃里克森和他的同事開始研究包括足球領(lǐng)域在內(nèi)的廣泛領(lǐng)域中專業(yè)執(zhí)行者。他們收集了能夠收集的所有資料，不只是表現(xiàn)方面的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)和傳記詳細(xì)資料，還包括他們自己對(duì)取得很高成就的人員進(jìn)行的實(shí)驗(yàn)室實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果。他們的研究得出了一個(gè)非常令人驚奇的結(jié)論我們通常稱為天分的特征被高估了?；蛘?，換句話說，專業(yè)執(zhí)行者無論是在記憶還是手術(shù)方面，在芭蕾還是計(jì)算機(jī)編

26、程領(lǐng)域幾乎總是培養(yǎng)的，而不是天生的。pursuit 窮追【例】daily pursuits 日常事務(wù)；in ones pursuit of happiness 追求幸福statistics n.統(tǒng)計(jì)學(xué), 統(tǒng)計(jì)表(中頻詞)assertion n.主張, 斷言, 聲明【例】stand to ones assertion 堅(jiān)持已見5、Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert perfo

27、rmers-whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming-are nearly always made, not born.【譯文】 他們的工作得出了一個(gè)驚人的觀點(diǎn)：我們通常稱之為天才的特性被高估了。換句話說，在記憶、外科、芭蕾或計(jì)算機(jī)程序方面的專業(yè)人士，他們幾乎都是后天努力的結(jié)果，并非天生如此?！疚鼍洹?第一句是簡(jiǎn)單句，冒號(hào)后的成分是賓語assertion的同位語，而同位語中又包含一個(gè)定語從句修飾the trait。在第二句中，or和put another way是插入語，句子的主干是expert. are. mad

28、e, not born。whether in. programming作定語?！局v詞】startling 意為驚人的，令人吃驚的，其同義詞有surprising、astonishing、stunning、astounding等。assertion 表示主張；斷言；聲明。talent 意為天才；才干；才能，注意中文的人才市場(chǎng)，英語應(yīng)用job market來表示。overrate 高估，其反義詞是underrate（低估）。expert 句中的意思是專家的，專業(yè)的，expert performers 表示專業(yè)人士。made 句中意為通過后天努力而成就的（人）。born 指天生的，如：She is

29、a born star.21.The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned toA stress the importance of professional training.B spotlight the soccer superstars at the World Cup.C introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.（C）D explain why some soccer teams play better than others.21.C例

30、證題。請(qǐng)問提及著名運(yùn)動(dòng)員的生日的目的是什么?第一段是一個(gè)引子，作用就是為了引出主題，不是為了說明這個(gè)例子的。因此首先就能排除選項(xiàng)B和選項(xiàng)D，因?yàn)槎汲霈F(xiàn)了soccer，而選項(xiàng)A中的“professional training”是文中未提及的信息。很明顯和主題相關(guān)的就是C“引出文章的主題”。該類題型也是近兩年每年必考的題型，考生只要注意答案只和主題相關(guān)。22.The word “mania” (Line 4, Paragraph 2) most probably meansA fun.B craze.C hysteria.（B）D excitement.22.B詞義題。請(qǐng)問mania在文中的意思是

31、什么?首先返回原文，在上文中找到soccer-mad和soccer mania正好對(duì)應(yīng)，因此應(yīng)該找一個(gè)mad的同義詞。選項(xiàng)A fun沒有瘋狂的意思;選項(xiàng)Chysteria解釋為歇斯底里，明顯帶有貶義，不符合原文意境;選項(xiàng)D excitement只是興奮,沒有達(dá)到瘋狂的程度。因此選B craze。23.According to Ericsson, good memoryA depends on meaningful processing of information.B results from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises.C is determined by genetic