21C英语.docx
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21C英语.docx
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21C英语
Unit1
genetics遗传学psychiatry精神病学
persistent坚持不懈的
WhoIsGreat?
MichaelRyan
Asayoungboy,AlbertEinsteindidsopoorlyinschoolthatteachersthoughthewasslow.TheyoungNapoleonBonapartewasjustoneofhundredsofartillerylieutenantsintheFrenchArmy.AndtheteenageGeorgeWashington,withlittleformaleducation,wasbeingtrainednotasasoldierbutasalandsurveyor.
Despitetheirunspectacularbeginnings,eachwouldgoontocarveaplaceforhimselfinhistory.Whatwasitthatenabledthemtobecomegreat?
Weretheybornwithsomethingspecial?
Ordidtheirgreatnesshavemoretodowithtiming,devotionand,perhaps,anuncompromisingpersonality?
Fordecades,scientistshavebeenaskingsuchquestions.And,inthepastfewyears,theyhavefoundevidencetohelpexplainwhysomepeopleriseabove,whileothers—similarlytalented,perhaps—areleftbehind.Theirfindingscouldhaveimplicationsforusall.
Whoisgreat?
Definingwhoisgreatdependsonhowonemeasuressuccess.Buttherearesomecriteria."Someonewhohasmadealastingcontributiontohumancivilizationisgreat,"saidDeanKeithSimonton,aprofessorofpsychologyattheUniversityofCaliforniaatDavisandauthorofthe1994bookGreatness:
WhoMakesHistoryandWhy.Butheaddedawordofcaution:
"Sometimesgreatpeopledon'tmakeitintothehistorybooks.Alotofwomenachievedgreatthingsorwereinfluentialbutwentunrecognized."
Inwritinghisbook,Simontoncombinedhistoricalknowledgeaboutgreatfigureswithrecentfindingsingenetics,psychiatryandthesocialsciences.Thegreatfigures/hefocusedonincludemenandwomen/whohavewonNobelPrizes,ledgreatnationsorwonwars,composedsymphoniesthathaveenduredforcenturies,orrevolutionizedscience,philosophy,politicsorthearts.Thoughhedoesn'thaveaformulatodefinehoworwhycertainpeopleriseabove(toomanyfactorsareinvolved),hehascomeupwithafewcommoncharacteristics.
A"neversurrender"attitude.Ifgreatachieversshareanything,saidSimonton,itisanunrelentingdrivetosucceed."There'satendencytothinkthattheyareendowedwithsomethingsuper-normal,"heexplained."Butwhatcomesoutoftheresearchisthat/therearegreatpeople/whohavenoamazingintellectualprocesses.It'sadifferenceindegree.Greatnessisbuiltupontremendousamountsofstudy,practiceanddevotion."
HecitedWinstonChurchill,Britain'sprimeministerduringWorldWarII,asanexampleofarisk-takerwhowouldnevergiveup.Thrustintoofficewhenhiscountry'smoralewasatitslowest,ChurchillrosebrilliantlytoleadtheBritishpeople.InaspeechfollowingtheAlliedevacuationatDunkirkin1940,heinspiredthenationwhenhesaid,"Weshallnotflagorfail.Weshallgoontotheend...Weshallneversurrender."
Canyoubeborngreat?
InlookingatChurchill'sroleinhistory—aswellastherolesofotherpoliticalandmilitaryleaders—Simontondiscoveredastrikingpattern:
"Firstbornsandonlychildrentendtomakegoodleadersintimeofcrisis:
They'reusedtotakingcharge.Butmiddle-bornsarebetteraspeacetimeleaders:
Theylistentodifferentinterestgroupsbetterandmakethenecessarycompromises.Churchill,anonlychild,wastypical.Hewasgreatinacrisis,butinpeacetimehewasnoteffective—notevenpopular."
Timingisanotherfactor."IfyoutookGeorgeWashingtonandputhiminthe20thcenturyhewouldgonowhereasapolitician,"Simontondeclared."Hewasnotaneffectivepublicspeaker,andhedidn'tlikeshakinghandswiththepublic.Ontheotherhand,I'mnotsureFranklinRooseveltwouldhavedonewellinWashington'stime.Hewouldn'thavehadtheradiotodohisfiresidechats."
Canyoubetoosmart?
OnesurpriseamongSimonton'sfindingsisthatmanypoliticalandmilitaryleadershavebeenbrightbutnotoverlyso.Beyondacertainpoint,heexplained,otherfactors,liketheabilitytocommunicateeffectively,becomemoreimportantthaninnateintelligenceasmeasuredbyanIQtest.ThemostintelligentU.S.Presidents,forexample—ThomasJefferson,WoodrowWilsonandJohnF.Kennedy—hadahardtimegettingelected,Simontonsaid,whileotherswithIQsclosertotheaverage(suchasWarrenG.Harding)wonbylandslides.Whilepoliticalandeconomicfactorsalsoareinvolved,havingageniusIQisnotnecessarytobeagreatleader.
Inthesciences,thosewith"geniuslevel"IQsdohaveabetterchanceatachievingrecognition,addedSimonton.Yetevidencealsoindicatesthatovercomingtraditionalwaysofthinkingmaybejustasimportant.
Hepointedtoonerecentstudywherecollegestudentsweregivenasetofdataandwereaskedtoseeiftheycouldcomeupwithamathematicalrelation.Almostathirddid.Whattheydidnotknowwasthattheyhadjustsolvedoneofthemostfamousscientificequationsinhistory:
theThirdLawofPlanetaryMotion,anequationthatJohannesKeplercameupwithin1618.
Kepler'sgenius,Simontonsaid,wasnotsomuchinsolvingamathematicalchallenge.Itwasinthinkingaboutthenumbersinauniqueway—applyinghismathematicalknowledgetohisobservationsofplanetarymotion.Itwashisboldnessthatsethimapart.
Loveyourwork.Asachild,Einsteinbecamefascinatedwiththewaymagnetsaredrawntometal."Hecouldn'tstopthinkingaboutthisstuff,"Simontonpointedout."Hebecameobsessedwithproblemsinphysicsbythetimehewas16,andheneverstoppedworkingonthem.It'snotsurprisingthathemademajorcontributionsbythetimehewas26."
"Formostofus,it'snotthatwedon'thavetheability,"Simontonadded,"it'sthatwedon'tdevotethetime.Youhavetoputintheeffortandputupwithallthefrustrationsandobstacles."
Likeothercreativegeniuses,Einsteinwasnotmotivatedbyadesireforfame,saidSimonton.Instead,hisobsessionwithhisworkwaswhatsethimapart.
Wheresuchdrivecomesfromremainsamystery.Butitisfoundinnearlyallcreativegeniuses—whetherornottheirgeniusisacknowledgedbycontemporaries.
"EmilyDickinsonwasnotrecognizedforherpoetryuntilafterherdeath,"saidSimonton."Butshewasnotwritingforfame.ThesamecanbesaidofJamesJoyce,whodidn'tspendalotoftimeworryingabouthowmanypeoplewouldreadFinnegansWake."
Today,researchershaveevidencethatanintrinsicpassionforone'sworkisakeytorisingabove.Ina1985studyatBrandeisUniversityconductedbyTeresaAmabile,nowaprofessorofbusinessadministrationatHarvardUniversity,agroupofprofessionalwriters—nonefamous—wereaskedtowriteashortpoem.Eachwriterwasthenrandomlyplacedinoneofthreegroups:
Onegroupwasaskedtokeepinmindtheideaofwritingformoney;anotherwastoldtothinkaboutwritingjustforpleasure;andathirdgroupwasgivennoinstructionatall.
Thepoemsthenweresubmittedanonymouslytoapanelofprofessionalwritersforevaluation.Thepoetrywrittenbypeoplewhothoughtaboutwritingformoneyrankedlowest.Thosewhothoughtaboutwritingjustforpleasuredidthebest."Motivationthatcomesfromenjoyingtheworkmakesasignificantdifference,"Amabilesaid.
(1214words)
NewWords
artillery
n.heavyguns,oftenmountedonwheels,usedinfightingonland,branchofanarmythatusesthese火炮;大炮;炮兵(部队)
surveyor
n.apersonwhosejobistoexamineandrecordtheareaandfeaturesofapieceoflandbymeasuringandcalculating(土地)测量员;勘测员
unspectacular
a.ordinary;notexcitingorspecial不引人注意的;不惊人的
spectacular
a.(attractingattentionbecause)impressiveorextraordinary引人注目的;出色的;与众不同的
carve
vt.1.form(sth.)bycuttingawaymaterialfromwoodorstone雕刻;雕刻成
2.build(one'scareer,reputation,etc.)byhardwork靠勤奋创(业),靠勤奋树(名声)
uncompromising
a.notreadytomakeanycompromise;firmorunyielding.不妥协的,坚定的;不让步的
influential
a.havingalotofinfluenceonsb./sth.有影响的;有权势的
genetics
n.thescientificstudyofthewaysinwhichdifferentcharacteristicsarepassedfromeachgenerationoflivingthingstothenext遗传学
psychiatry
n.thestudyandtreatmentofmentalillness精神病学;精神病治疗
compose
vt.write(music,opera,poetry,etc.)创作(音乐、歌剧、诗等)
symphony
n.alongcomplexmusicalcompositionforalargeorchestra,usu.inthreeorfourparts交响乐
characteristic
n.atypicalfeatureorquality特点
unrelenting
a.notbecominglessstrongorsevere;continuous不松懈的,不放慢的;持续的
endow
vt.provide(sb./sth.)withagoodquality,ability,feature,etc.给予,赋予
super-normal
a.超出一般的;超常的;非凡的
amazing
a.extremelygood;esp.inasurprisingandunexpectedway惊人的,令人吃惊的
cite
vt.mention(sb./sth.)asanexampleortosupportanargument;referto引用,引证;举出
risk-taker
n.apersonwhodarestotakerisks敢于冒险的人
thrust
vt.push(sth./sb./oneself)suddenlyorviolently(用力)推;强使
morale
n.stateofconfidence,enthusiasm,determination,etc.thatapersonorgrouphasataparticulartime士气,精神状态
brilliantly
ad.inanoutstandingmanner杰出地;才华横溢地
Allied
a.oftheAllies(agroupofcountriesfightingonthesamesideinawar,esp.thosewhichfoughtwithBritaininWorldWarsIandII)(第一次世界大战时期)协约国的;(第二次世界大战时期)同盟国的
ally
n.person,country,etc.joinedwithanotherinordertogivehelpandsupport同盟者;同盟国
evacuation
n.leavingaplaceofdangerforasaferplace撤离;撤退
evacuate
v.1.remove(sb.)fromaplaceofdangertoasaferplace撤退,撤出
2.leaveorwithdrawfrom(aplace)撤离(某处)
flag
vi.becometiredorweak;begintoloseenthusiasmorenergy疲乏;变弱;(热情、精力等)衰退,低落
striking
a.attractingattention;unusualorinterestingenoughtobenoticed引人注目的;显著的,突出的
firstborn
n.achildbornbeforeotherchildren长子(或长女)
peacetime
n.aperiodwhenacountryisnotatwar和平时期
fireside
n.partofaroombesid
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