The Gold Standard(Part 1)

表达

1.According to the World Memory Sports Council, which oversees international memory competitions, there are now at least five people who have managed to remember 300 or more digits in a memory competition, and several dozen who have memorized at least 100 digits.

oversee

监督；监视；监管If someone in authority oversees a job or an activity, they make sure that it is done properly.

【语法信息】：V n

•Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

•...the agreement to set up a commission to oversee the peace process.设立委员会以监督和平进程的协议

造句：The teacher oversaw the whole stage of test to ensure the exam discipline.

联想到overlook

1.VERB动词 俯瞰；俯视；眺望If a building or window overlooks a place, you can see the place clearly from the building or window.

【语法信息】：V n

【语法信息】：V-ing

•Pretty and comfortable rooms overlook a flower-filled garden...漂亮舒适的房间俯视着花团锦簇的花园。

•Jack Aldwych lived in a huge, old two-storeyed house overlooking Harbord.杰克·阿尔德维奇住在一幢可以看见哈博德的巨大的两层旧房子里。

2.VERB动词 忽略；忽视；未注意到If you overlook a fact or problem, you do not notice it, or do not realize how important it is.

【语法信息】：V n

•We overlook all sorts of warning signals about our own health.我们忽视有关自身健康的种种预警信号。

•...a fact that we all tend to overlook.我们所有人往往视而不见的事实

3.VERB动词 宽容；宽恕If you overlook someone's faults or bad behaviour, you forgive them and take no action.

【语法信息】：V n

•...satisfying relationships that enable them to overlook each other's faults.能使他们互相包容对方缺点的舒心的关系

2. zero in on

全神贯注于（问题或主题）If you zero in on a problem or subject, you give it your full attention.

【语法信息】：V P P n

•Many of the other major daily newspapers have not really zeroed in on the problem...其他许多重要日报并未将注意力集中在这个问题上。

•Critics have zeroed in on his plan to raise gasoline taxes 10 cents a gallon.批评者将矛头对准他打算将汽油税每加仑提高10美分的计划上。

造句：The journalists zero in on his scandal rather than his achievements.

其余是一些小点

1.note有“音符”的意思

2.folk dance

n.民间舞蹈

形容词: folk-dance

名词: folk dancer

名词: folk dancing

3.head-to-head

ADJ形容词 正面交锋的;短兵相接的A head-to-head contest or competition is one in which two people or groups compete directly against each other.

N-COUNT可数名词 正面交锋的比赛A head-to-head is a head-to-head contest or competition.

4.virtuous cycle

良性循环

5.superstars-in-waiting

明日之星

6.intimidate

原文中出现在此处：These were the superstars-in-waiting, the students who intimidated all their classmates.

恫吓;恐吓;威胁If you intimidate someone, you deliberately make them frightened enough to do what you want them to do.

【语法信息】：V n

【语法信息】：V n into -ing

•Jones had set out to intimidate and dominate Paul...琼斯开始恐吓并控制保罗。

我觉得这里需要意译，应该是技艺超群的意思。

7.in essence

本质上；其实；大体上

8.may as well

In the right hands no instrument sounds more beautiful, but put it in the wrong hands and you may as well step on a cat’s tail and listen to the sounds that result.

may as well…为习语,意为“不妨”、“还是……为好”等。如:

We may as well stay here for another day.我们不妨在这里再待一天。

注:有时可用might代替may,语气更委婉。如:

I expect I might as well be going.我想我该走了。

Since it’s a fine day we might as well walk.既然天气很好,我们不妨走着去。

【注】might as well还可用于指过去的情况或用于比较两个令人不愉快的情况。如:

This holiday isn’t much fun; we might as well be back home.这个假日过得真没意思,我们还不如呆在家里。

与其比较-may well

may well主要用于加强推测的语气，表示具有较大的可能性。如：

It may well be true.那很可能是真的。

What you say may well be true.你说的很可能是事实。

【注】may well中的may也可换成might或could，但语气更不确定。如：

He might well lose his job.他多半会丢了那份工作。

He might [could] well find that the course is too difficult.他很可能觉得这门课太难。

感悟

    作者讲到了重大发现。首先说明研究限定范围——可客观测量以及评定优劣（with objective measures of performance）。

所研究领域的特征

  First, there are always objective ways. Second, these fields tend to be competitive enough. Third, these fields are generally well established. Fourth, these fields have a subset of performers who also serve as teachers and coaches and who, over time, have developed increasingly sophisticated sets of training techniques that make possible the field’s steadily increasing skill level.

        人们一般认为决定一个人在一个领域做的好的重要因素是他的动力motivation,但是通过仔细的研究作者发现更重要的是练习时间。他研究了三组小提琴演奏家——good, better, best，以及芭蕾舞演员，发现这些领域决定水平高低的恰恰不是人们认为的动力，而是练习时间长短。甚至在对小提琴演奏者的调查中，发现他们在其他方面几乎相同，值得注意的是都不喜欢为达到更高水平而付出的努力练习。差异明显的是练习时间。

       从小提琴演奏者中得出的结论是：First, to become an excellent violinist requires several thousand hours of practice. Second, even among these gifted musicians—all of whom had been admitted to the best music academy in Germany—the violinists who had spent significantly more hours practicing their craft were on average more accomplished than those who had spent less time practicing.

       我对这一点的体会是：这几天每天去做实验，从一开始什么都不会，战战兢兢，到现在已经可以独立进行许多操作，并且还能在操作中自己提出优化。有一点不好的地方是，操作太多次的实验就已经没有了新鲜感，做的时候就感觉很机械——可能进入了comfort zone~

       还终于讲到了刻意练习，具体下一天仔细写。