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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
My Brilliant Brain 神奇大脑
by Kevin Lustig
Geniuses amaze us, impress us, and make us all a little jealous. How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer. Tune1 in to the National Geographic2 Channel to find out about the discoveries they're making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano. After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven. Now he's a world-renowned concert pianist at age eight. He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears. He seems to be specially3 designed for music. In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies4 to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Genius didn't come naturally to Tommy McHugh. His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain. After recovering, McHugh's head was filled with new thoughts and pictures. So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art. Now, he's a seemingly unstoppable creative machine. Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease. Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence. Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately. As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards. Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we'd all be one. Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky. Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic's My Brilliant Brain.
1. What is the main idea of the article?
(A) There's no such thing as a true genius.
(B) People can only be born as geniuses.
(C) Scientists completely understand the brain.
(D) There are many factors in being a genius.
2. An example of a child prodigy5 is _____.
(A) a person who can do complex math at a young age
(B) a kid who works really hard to do well in school
(C) a student who practices an instrument a lot
(D) a child who is eager to learn new things
3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
(A) People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.
(B) New things about the brain are still being discovered.
(C) Some people naturally have more active brains.
(D) People without natural abilities can learn to do things very well.
4. What would be the best way to describe Susan Polger's special abilities?
(A) Native.
(B) Standard.
(C) Developed.
(D) Restricted.
单字小铺
1. brilliant a. 聪明的
2. impress vt. 使印象深刻
3. world-renowned a. 世界知名的
4. born a. 天生的
5. prodigy n. 天才（尤指神童）
child prodigy 神童
6. bleeding n. 出血
7. poetry a. 诗（集合名词，不可数）
poem n. 诗（可数名词）
8. unstoppable a. 停不下来的，止不住的
9. autism n. 自闭症
10. extraordinary a. 不寻常的；非凡的
11. chess n. 西洋棋
12. recognize vt. 认出，辨识出
13. skilled a. 技巧专精的
be skilled in/at... 专精于……
14. board n. 棋盘
15. factor n. 因素
16. complex a. 复杂的
17. native a. 天生的；本土的
native intelligence 天生的才智
词组小铺
1. tune in to... 转到……（电视、电台频道）
2. with ease 轻松地，容易地
3. die from... 死于……（外伤等其它因素）
die of... 死于……（疾病、饥饿、衰老等）
4. turn A into B 将 A 变成 B
5. recover from... 从……复原
精解字词词组
1.jealous a. 嫉妒的
be jealous of... 嫉妒……
= be envious6 of...
例:Aging stars are often jealous of their younger co-stars.
（年华老去的明星通常会嫉妒同台演出的年轻演员。）
2.differ from... 和……不同
= be different from...
例:Monique's personality differs from her twin sister's.
（莫妮可的个性和她的双胞胎姊妹迥异。）
3.make discoveries/a discovery 发现
例:Scientists are now making discoveries they hope will someday cure cancer.
（科学家希望现在的发现有朝一日能治愈癌症。）
4.identify vt. 辨识；确定
例:Can you identify the problem, doctor?
（医生，你能确定是什么毛病吗？）
5.be designed for... 为……而设计
be designed to V 被设计来……
例:This new aircraft is specially designed for space travel.
（这架新的飞行器是专为太空旅行而设计的。）
例:The chair was designed for overactive children.
（这种椅子是为过动儿而设计的。）
例:The knife is designed to carve wood.
（这把刀是设计来雕刻木头的。）
6.without limits 无限制地
within limits 在限度内，有限度的
例:I can help you, but within limits.
（我可以帮助你，不过是有限度的。）
7.be filled with... 充满着……
= be full of...
例:Henry was filled with compassion7 for the earthquake victims.
（亨利对地震灾民满怀同情。）
8.in the form of... 以……的形式
= in the shape of...
例:The director tried to present this fable8 in the form of a cartoon.
（该导演试图以卡通的方式来呈现这个寓言。）
9.seemingly adv. 看来；似乎
例:It was a seemingly innocent comment, but for some reason it upset me.
（那些话似乎没有恶意，但不知为何却使我不高兴。）
10.puzzling a. 令人困惑的
puzzled a. 感到困惑的
puzzle vt. 使困惑
be puzzled about... 对……感到困惑
= be confused about...
例:My friend told me a riddle9 that was extremely puzzling.
（我的朋友跟我说了一个极度令人困惑的谜题。）
例:Police are puzzled about how the thief avoided the security cameras.
（警方很纳闷小偷如何避开监视摄影机。）
11.show no signs of... 没有显露……的迹象
例:The poker10 players showed no signs of emotions about their cards.
（那些扑克牌玩家对自己拿到的牌没有露出任何情绪。）
12.examine vt. 检查，审查
= go over...
例:I examined Peter's plan five times and could find nothing wrong with it.
（我把彼得的计划审查了五遍，找不出有任何不对的地方。）
13.be eager to V 渴望（做）……
例:Jeremy is eager to start working at his new job.
（杰若米渴望开始他的新工作。）
14.restrict vt. 限制；禁止
restrict sb from... 限制∕禁止某人（做）……
例:The hospital staff restricts visitors from entering patients' rooms without permission.
（医院的工作人员禁止访客未经允许进入病房。）
中文翻译＆标准答案
天才让我们惊艳，让我们印象深刻，让我们有点嫉妒。他们和一般人有何不同呢？科学家正努力找出答案。锁定国家地理频道的《神奇大脑》，看看他们有什么新发现。
余马克两岁就开始弹钢琴。一年之后，他开始学习贝多芬的曲子。八岁的他现在是世界知名的钢琴家。他能轻易学会更新、更难的乐曲，也可以辨识出任何他听到的音符。他似乎是为音乐而生。在 Born Genius 中，国家地理频道将瞧一瞧神童背后的科学现象，并解释为何有些孩子天生就不可限量。
Tommy McHugh 不是天生的天才。他的天赋异秉在经历脑出血而几乎进了鬼门关后才出现。复原后，McHugh 的脑子里充斥着各种新奇的想法和画面。因此，他开始以诗和艺术的形式来表达这些东西。现在他宛如一部停不下来的创意机器。自闭症和脑部创伤的患者显示出巨大的精神能力有时来自于创伤或疾病。Accidental Genius 将探索这令人费解的关联性。
一般人可以被训练成天才吗？Susan Polger 一点都没有天才的迹象。不过她从小研习数千盘西洋棋局，并学会立即辨识出这些棋局。结果，她十岁的时候就能打败棋艺精湛的成年棋士，甚至还能不看棋盘同时下五盘棋。Make Me a Genius 将检视要将一般平庸的脑子变成天才的脑袋需要什么条件。
如果成为天才很容易，我们都可以变成天才。然而，聪明绝顶除了好运之外，应该还有更多其它原因。这个月在国家地理频道的《神奇大脑》中一起探索更多了不起的大脑。
1.本文主旨为何？
(A) 没有真正的天才这回事。
(B) 只有天生的天才。
(C) 科学家完全了解大脑。
(D) 成为天才的因素很多。
题解:根据本文第二、三、四段，分别举出天生的、疾病康复后和后天训练的天才，可知成为天才的因素有很多，故选 (D)。
2.天才儿童的例子之一是 _____。
(A) 年纪轻轻就能算出复杂数学题的人
(B) 很用功以求在学校表现杰出的孩子
(C) 经常练习一种乐器的学生
(D) 渴望学习新事物的孩子
题解:根据第二段的例子，天才儿童是指一个人年幼时就有某方面的天赋异秉，选项中只有 (A) 符合这个范畴，故选之。
3.根据本文，下列叙述何者为非？
(A) 脑部受创的人复原后通常比较聪明。
(B) 关于脑部的新知仍持续发掘中。
(C) 有些人的脑子天生比较活跃。
(D) 没有天赋的人可以靠学习把事情做好。
题解:根据本文第三段，脑部受创伤的患者有时会显出巨大的精神能力，但这并非常态，而其它选项在本文其它段落均提及，故 (A) 为错误叙述。
4.下列何者最能描述 Susan Polger 的特别能力？
(A) 天生的。
(B) 标准的。
(C) 培养的。
(D) 限制的。
题解:根据本文第四段，Susan Polger 从小研习数千盘西洋棋局，并学会立即辨识出棋局。结果，她十岁时就能打败棋艺精湛的成年棋士，由此可知，她是透过训练和学习得到这项技能，故应选 (C)。
标准答案: 1. (D) 2. (A) 3. (A) 4. (C)
收听单词发音 |
1
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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2
geographic
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| adj.地理学的，地理的 | |
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3
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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4
prodigies
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| n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 ) | |
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5
prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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6
envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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7
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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8
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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9
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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10
poker
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| n.扑克；vt.烙制 | |
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