雅思閱讀機(jī)經(jīng)大腦訓(xùn)練計(jì)劃

雅思閱讀機(jī)經(jīng)—大腦訓(xùn)練計(jì)MENTALTHEworkingdayhasjuststartedattheheadofficeofBarclaysBankinLondon.SeventeenstaffarehelthemselvestoabuffetbreakfastasyoungpsychologistSebastianBaileyenterstheroomtobeginthemorning'strainingsession.Butthisisnoordinarytrainingsession.He’snotheretosharpentheirfinanceormanagementskills.He'sheretoexercisetheirbrains.Today’sworkout,organisedbya calledtheMindGyminLondon,isentitled”havingpresence".Whatfollowsisanintense90-minutesessioninwhichthisrather conceptisgraduallybrokendownintoaconcretesetoffeelings，mentaltricksandbehaviours.Atonepointthebankersareinstructedtoshuttheireyesandvisualisethemselvesfillingtheroomandthenthebuilding.Theyfinishupbywalkingaroundtheroomactingoutvariouslevelsofpresence,fromlow-keytooverthetop.It’seasytopokefun.Yetsimilarmentalworkoutsarehappeningmcorporateseminarroomsaroundtheglobe.TheMindGymaloneofferssome70differentsessions,includingonesonmentalstamina,creativityforlogicalthinkersand”zoomlearning”.Otheroutfitsdrawmoredirectlyontheexerciseogy,offering"neurobics”courseswithnameslike"brainsets"and"cerebralfitness”.ThentherearebookswithtitleslikePumIons,fullofbrainteasersthatclaimto"flexyourmind"，andsoftwarepackagesofferingmemoryandspatial-awarenessgames.Butwhateverthestyle,thecompanies'salespitchisinvariablythesame—followourroutinestoshapeandsculptyourbrainormind,justasyoumighttoneandtrainyourbody.And,ofcourse,theynearlyallclaimthattheirmentalworkoutsdrawonseriousscientificresearchandthinkingintohowthebrainworks.Oneoutfit,BrainergyofCambridge,Massachusetts(motto:"Becauseyourgreymattermatters")putsitlikethis:"Studieshaveshownthatmentalexercisecancausechangesinbrainanatomyandbrainchemistrywhichpromoteincreasedmentalefficiencyandclarity.Theneuroscienceiscutting-edge."Andonitswebsite.MindGymtradesonaquotefromSusanGreenfield,oneofBritain'sbestknownneuroscientists:"It'sabitlikegoingtothegym,ifyouexerciseyourbrainitwillgrow.”Indeed,theMindGymoriginallynnedtoholditssessionsinalocalhealthclub,untilitsfoundersrealisedwheretherealmoneywastobemade.Modemcompaniesneedflexible,brightthinkersandwillseizeonanythingthatclaimstocreatethem,especiallyifitlookslikeaquickfixbackedbyscience.Butareneurobicworkoutsreallybackedbyscience?Anddoweneedthem?Noristhereanythingremoyhigh-techaboutwhatLawrenceKatz,co-authorofKeepYourBrainAlive, mends.Katz,aneurobiologistatDukeUniversityMedicalSchoolinNorthCarolina,arguesthatjustasmanyofusfailtogetenoughphysicalexercise,sowealsolacksufficientmentalstimulationtokeepourbrainintrim.Surewearebusywithjobs,familyandhousework.Butmostofthisactivityisrepetitiveroutine.AndanyleisuretimeisspentslumpedinfrontoftheTV.So,readabookupsidedown.Writeorbrushyourteethwithyourwronghand.Feelyourwayaroundtheroomwithyoureyesshut.Sniffvanillaessencewhilelisteningintentlytoorchestralmusic.Anything,saysKatz,tobreakyournormalmentalroutine.Itwillhelpinvigorateyourbrain,encouragingitscellstomakenewconnectionsandpumpoutneurotrophins,substancesthatfeedandsustainbraincircuits.Well,uptoapointitwill."WhatI'mreallytalkingaboutisbrainmaintenanceratherthanbulkingupyourIQ,”Katzadds.Neurobics,inotherwords,isaboutlettingyourbrainfulfillitspotential.Itcannotcreatesuper-brains.Canitachieveeventhatmuch,though?Certainlythebrainisanorganthatcanadapttothedemandscedonit.Testsonanimalbraintissue，forexample,haverepeatedlyshownthatelectricallystimulatingthesynapsesthatconnectnervecellsthoughttobecrucialtolearningandreasoning,makesthemstrongerandmoreresponsive.Brainscanssuggestweusealotmoreofourgreymatterwhencarryingoutneworstrangetasksthanwhenwe’rengwell-rehearsedones.Ratsraisedinbrightcageswithtoyssproutmoreneuralconnectionsthanratsraisedinbarecages—suggestingperhapsthatnoveltyandvarietycouldbecrucialtoadevelobrain.Katz,Andneurologistshaveprovedtimeandagainthatpeoplewholosebraincellssuddenlyduringastrokeoftensproutnewconnectionstocompensatefortheloss—especiallyiftheyundergoextensivetherapyto eanyparalysis.GuyClaxton,aneducationalpsychologistattheUniversityofBristol,dismissesmostoftheneurologicalapproachesas“neuro-babble”.Nevertheless,therearespecificmenialskillswecanlearn,hecontends.Desirableattributessuchascreativity,mentalflexibility,andevenmotivation,arenotthefixedfacultiesthatmostofusthink.Theyarethoughthabitsthatcanbelearned.Theproblem,saysClaxton,isthatmostofusnevergetpropertrainingintheseskills.Wedevelopourownprivatesetofmentalstrategiesfortacklingtasksandneverlearnanythingexplicitly.Worsestill、becauseanylearnedskill—evendrivingacarorbrushingourteeth-quicklysinksoutofconsciousness,wecannolongerseetheverythoughthabitswe'rerelyinguponOurmentaltoolseinvisibletoClaxtonistheacademicadvisertotheMindGym.Sonotsurprisingly,the hissolution-thatwemustreturnourthoughtpatternstoaconsciouslevel, ingawareofthedetailsofhowweusuallythink.Onlythencanwestarttopractisebetterthoughtpatterns,untileventuallythese eournewhabits.Switchingmetaphors，picturenotgymclasses,buttennisorfootballcoaching.Thetheoryitselfisnotnew.RussianpsychologistslikeLevVygotskyandAleksandrLuriawereputtingforwardmuchthesameargumentsinthe1930s.Andvariousattemptshavebeenmadetoputsuchthinkingintopractice.Thebusinessworldiscertainlyfamiliarwithanumberof"betterthinking"gurussuchasEdwarddeBonoandTonyBuzan，andhabit-breakingtechniqueslikeneurolinguisticprogramming,whichcombinepositivethinkingandpersuasion.Inpractice,thetrainingcanseemquitemundane.Forexample，inoneoftheeightdifferentcreativityworkoutsofferedbytheMindGym—entitled“creativityforlogicalthinkers"oneofthementalstrategiestaughtistomakeasensiblesuggestion,thenimmedia yposeitsopposite.So,askedtospendfiveminutesinventinganewpizza,agroupsooncomesupwithnotop,sweettop,coldtop,pricebasedontimeofday,flat-ratepricesandsoon.Baileyagreesthatthetrickissimple.Butitissurprisinghowfewsuchtrickspeoplehavetocalluponwhentheyaresuddenlyaskedtobecreative:”Theytendtojustlabelthemselvesasuncreative,notrealisingthattherearetechniquesthateverycreative employs."Baileysaystheaimistointroducepeopletohalfadozenorsosuchstrategiesinasessionsothatwhatatfirstseemslikeadauntingly mentaltask esasetofconcrete,learnablebehaviours.Headmitsthisisnotashortcuttogenius.Neurologically,somepeopledostartwithquickercircuitsorgreaterhandlingcapacity.However,withtherightkindoftraininghethinkswecandramaticallyincreasehowefficientlyweuseit.Itishardtoprovethatthetrainingitselfiseffective.Howdoyoumeasureachangeinanemployee’screativitylevels,ormemoryskills?Butstaffcertainlyreportfeelingthatsuchclasseshaveopenedtheireyes.Forexample,theymayhavefeltthattheonlywaytosolveadifficultproblemistobangawayatitashardaspossible.Butthentheylearnthatmostcreativethinkersadvisetakingabreakandlettingideasincubate.Asimpletactic,yetonethat’srarelytaughtinnormallife.So,neurologicalboostingorpsychologicaltraining?Atthemomentyoucanpayyourmoneyandtakeyourchoice.Claxtonforonebelievesthereisnoreasonwhyschoolsanduniversitiesshouldn'tspendmoretimeteachingbasicthinkingskills,ratherthantryingtostuffheadswithfactsandhothateffectivethoughthabitsaresomehowabsorbedbyosmosis.Questions1-DothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninReadingPassage1Inboxes1-5onyouranswersheet，write ifthestatementis ifthestatementisNOT iftheinformationisnotgivenintheMindGymcoachinstructedemployeestoimaginethattheyaretheMindGymusesthesamemarketingtheorythatisusedallSusanGreenfieldisthefounderofMindAllbusinessandindustriesareusingMindGym'ssessionAccordingtoMindGym,thereisextensivescientificbackgroundtosupporttheirQuestions6-Usetheinformationinthepassagetomatchthepeople(listedA-D)withopinionsord