①If 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 late months. ②If you then
examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and
professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be ever more
pronounced.
③What 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."
④This 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. ⑤Their 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.
[A] 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.
22. The word "mania" (Line 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means
[A] fun.
[B] craze.
[C] hysteria.
[D] excitement.
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.(A)
[D] requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration.
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)
[D] high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture.
25. Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey?
[A] "Faith will move mountains."
[B] "One reaps what one sows."
[C] "Practice makes perfect."(C)
[D] "Like father, like son."