2019.07.13

周六 Saturday

opposite
?['?p?z?t]?
adj.相反的

圖片來源：視覺中國

You've probably seen ads for apps promising to make you smarter in just a few minutes a day. Hundreds of so-called "brain training" programs can be purchased for download.

你很可能看見過App的廣告，說每天用上幾分鐘，就能讓你變得更聰明。成百上千的所謂“大腦訓(xùn)練”軟件可以付費(fèi)下載。

These simple games are designed to challenge mental abilities, with the ultimate goal of improving the performance of important everyday tasks.

這些簡單的游戲是為了挑戰(zhàn)思考能力設(shè)計(jì)的，終極目標(biāo)是改善在日常重要任務(wù)中的表現(xiàn)。

But can just clicking away at animations of swimming fish or flashed streets signs on your phone really help you improve the way your brain functions?

但是僅僅在手機(jī)上點(diǎn)擊游泳的魚的動(dòng)畫或者閃爍的路標(biāo)真的能幫助你改善大腦運(yùn)行的方式嗎？

Two large groups of scientists and mental health practitioners published consensus statements, months apart in 2014, on the effectiveness of these kinds of brain games.

兩組科學(xué)家和精神健康從業(yè)者在2014年間隔幾月分別出版了有關(guān)此類益智游戲的有效性的共識(shí)聲明

Both included people with years of research experience and expertise in cognition, learning, skill acquisition, neuroscience and dementia. Both groups carefully considered the same body of evidence available at the time.

兩項(xiàng)聲明都包括了在認(rèn)知、學(xué)習(xí)、技能習(xí)得、神經(jīng)科學(xué)和癡呆方面的有數(shù)年研究經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人員。兩組也都仔細(xì)考慮了當(dāng)時(shí)可以獲取的同樣的大批證據(jù)。

Yet, they issued exactly opposite statements.

是的，他們發(fā)布了完全相反的聲明。

One concluded that "there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better navigate a complex realm of everyday life."

一項(xiàng)聲明得出結(jié)論，“幾乎沒有證據(jù)可以表明玩益智游戲能改善潛在的廣闊認(rèn)知能力，或者能讓一個(gè)人更好地應(yīng)對(duì)日常生活的復(fù)雜情況。

The other argued that "a substantial and growing body of evidence shows that certain cognitive training regimens can significantly improve cognitive function, including in ways that generalize to everyday life."

另一項(xiàng)則稱“大量的、越來越多的證據(jù)顯示，某些認(rèn)知訓(xùn)練法能顯著改善認(rèn)知功能，包括了可以推廣至日常生活的方式。

Brain training programs are an appealing shortcut, a "get smart quick" scheme. But improving or maintaining cognition is likely not going to be quick and easy. Instead, it may require a lifetime – or at least an extended period – of cognitive challenge and learning.

大腦訓(xùn)練軟件是很具有吸引力的捷徑，一個(gè)“快速變聰明”的計(jì)劃。但是改善或者維持認(rèn)知很可能不會(huì)快速便捷。相反，認(rèn)知能力的挑戰(zhàn)和學(xué)習(xí)可能需要一生的時(shí)間--或者至少一個(gè)延長的周期。

If you're worried about your cognition, what should you do?

如果你擔(dān)心自己的認(rèn)知能力的話，應(yīng)該怎么做呢？

First, if you do engage in brain games, and you enjoy them, please continue to play. But keep your expectations realistic. If you're playing solely to obtain cognitive benefits, instead consider other activities that might be as cognitively stimulating, or at least more fulfilling – like learning a new language, for instance, or learning to play an instrument.

首先，如果你在玩益智游戲并且很享受的話，就繼續(xù)玩吧。但是讓自己的期待現(xiàn)實(shí)一點(diǎn)。如果你僅僅是為了獲得認(rèn)知上的好處而玩游戲的話，就考慮其他的可能刺激認(rèn)知，或者至少更讓人有成就感的活動(dòng)，比如學(xué)習(xí)一門新語言，或者學(xué)習(xí)樂器。

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今日詞匯

opposite
?['?p?z?t]?
adj.相反的

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opposite views 截然相反的觀點(diǎn)

The proposed change could have the opposite effect.

這項(xiàng)提議的改革可能會(huì)產(chǎn)生相反的作用。