走遍全世界27: Are People Who Speak More than One Language Smarter? 会多种语言的人更聪明吗？

摘要：日常生活中，我们见到或听说某人会几国语言的话，自然而然就会觉得此人很厉害，会觉得这样的人比较聪明。那么，事实到底是怎样的呢？本文给了一个科学的答案。

英语听力原文：

In the early nineteen fifties, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke¹ more than one language. Research in the sixties found the opposite. Bilingual people scored higher than monolinguals-people who speak only one language. So which is it?
20世纪50年代早期，研究人员发现掌握超过一门语言的人在智力测试上得分更低。而60年代研究的发现则恰恰相反，“双语者”比只懂一种语言的“单语者”得分更高。那么，哪个发现是正确的呢？

Researchers presented their newest studies last month at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement² of Science. The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter. But researcher Ellen Bialystock says it probably does make you better at certain skills.
研究人员上个月在美国科学促进会的一次会议上介绍了他们的最新研究成果。最新证据表明，通晓双语并不能使人更聪明。但研究人员艾伦·比亚斯表示，它会使你在某些技能上表现更好。

Ellen  Bialystock:"Imagine driving down the highway. There are many things that could capture your attention and you really need to be able to monitor all of them. Why would bilingualism make you any better at that?"
比雅利斯托克：“想像一下在高速公路上开车，可能会有很多吸引你注意力的东西，你必须能够同时关注所有这一些。为什么双语环境可能会让你在这方面表现更好呢？”

And the answer, she says, is that bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention - a function called the executive control system.
她表示，答案就是“双语者”更善于控制自己的注意力，这种能力也被称为行为控制系统。

Ellen Biaystock:'It's quite possibly the most important cognitive³ system we have because it's where all of your decisions about what to attend to, what to ignore, what to process are made."
艾伦·比亚斯托：“这可能是人类具备的最重要的认知系统。因为你做出专注、忽略、执行的决定时都离不开它。”

Ms. Biaystock is a psychology⁴ professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. She says the best method to measure the executive control system is called the Stroop Test. A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the word but say the color. The problem is that the words are all names of colors.
比亚斯托是加拿大约克大学的心理学教授。她表示，衡量行为控制系统能力最好的办法是斯特鲁测验（Stroop Test）。该测试向被测试者展示各种不同颜色的单词。被测试者需要忽略单词本身，说出字体的颜色。难点在于，这些单词都是一些颜色的名称。

Ellen Bialystock:"So you would have the word blue written in red, but you have to say red. But blue is so salient, it's just lighting⁵ up all these circuits in your brain, and you really want to say blue. So you need a mechanism⁶ to override⁷ that so that you can say red. That's the executive control system."
艾伦·比亚斯托：“因此，‘蓝色’这个单词可能是用红色书写的，而你必须说‘红色’。但‘蓝色’这两个字非常突出，它一直闪现在你的大脑中，你很想说‘蓝色’。这时你就需要一种抑制该想法的系统，你才能说出‘红色’。这就是行为控制系统。”

Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function. They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time. They need to suppress one to be able to speak in the other.
她的研究表明，“双语者”在不断锻炼这种能力，因为两种语言同时都在他们大脑中活跃，他们必须抑制一种语言，才能用另一种语言表达。

英语单词整理：

1. score vt. 获得；评价

eg: We need other players to score as well. 
我们也需要其他的球员来得分。

短语：
on the score of 由于；因为
on that score 在那点上
in scoread 用总谱
score for 为（某队）进球/得分；为…得分；把…改写成器乐曲

2. bilingual adj. 双语的

eg: Today I would like to try writing a bilingual blog. 
今天，我想试着写一篇双语的博客。

短语：
bilingual program 双语节目
bilingual dictionary 双语词典
bilingual edition 双语版

3. monolingual adj. 单语的；仅用一种语言的

eg: As many people in America are discovering, being monolingual is no laughing matter.
很多美国人都逐渐发现，只会一种语言，不再是一件好事了。

短语：
monolingual glossary⁸ 单语词汇
monolingual subtitling 单语字幕翻译
monolingual dictionary 单语词典

4. cognitive adj. 认识的，认知的

eg: As children grow older, their cognitive processes become sharper.
随着孩子们长大，他们的认知过程也变得越来越敏锐了。

短语：
cognitive psychology 认知心理学
cognitive linguistics⁹ 认知语言学
cognitive function 认知功能
cognitive process 认识过程
cognitive ability 认知能力

5. psychology n. 心理学；心理状态

eg: She held a BA in psychology. 
她有心理学学士学位。

短语：
social psychology 社会心理学
applied¹⁰ psychology 应用心理学

6. salient adj. 显著的；突出的；跳跃的

eg: Honesty is his most salient characteristic.
诚实是他最显著的特点。

短语：
salient angle 凸角
salient features 特征，特色

7. circuit n. 巡回；一圈

eg: For many years he was top banana on the circuit.
几年来,他是巡回剧团里的主角。

短语：
go a circuit 绕道，迂回
make a circuit 兜一个圈子，绕一个大弯
make the circuit of 绕…兜一圈，巡视一遍
ride circuit 周游全国；巡回审判

8. override vt. 推翻；不顾；践踏

eg:The president vetoed the bill, and the Senate failed by a single vote to override his veto.
总统否决了议案，而参议院因一票之差未能推翻他的否决。

短语：
override protection 过载保护
running override 整体替代
manual override 手动超越控制

9. suppress vt. 抑制；镇压

eg: He continued to suppress the people and serve the imperialists.
他继续镇压人民,为帝国主义效劳。

短语：
suppress inflation 遏止通货膨胀
suppress wonder 抑制漂移
suppress gambling¹¹ 禁赌

佳句采摘：
The latest evidence shows that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter. But researcher Ellen Bialystock says it probably does make you better at certain skills.
最新证据表明，通晓双语并不能使人更聪明。但研究人员艾伦·比亚斯托表示，它会使你在某些技能上表现更好。

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

8 glossary   

n.注释词表；术语汇编

参考例句：

• The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
• For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便，我们在附录中也提供了术语表。

9 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

10 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

11 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。