最初年龄带来的差异到此时依旧没有消除掉，

　　It persists.

　　还在继续发挥影响。

　　And for thousands of students, that initial disadvantage is the difference between going to college,

　　成千上万在起点就处于劣势的学生步入大学的时候显示了他们的差异，

　　and having a real shot of the middle class, and not.

　　而处于中间层次的学生却不存在这类现象。

　　"I mean, it's ridiculous," Dhuey says.

　　“说起来真好笑”杜伊说，

　　Think for a moment about what the story of hockey in early birth dates

　　让我们再反思一下曲棍球运动中出生日期

　　tells us about success.

　　与成功之间的关系。

　　It tells us that our notion that it is the best and the brightest

　　曲棍球的事例告诉我们，那种认为最好的、最聪明的人

　　who effortlessly rise to the top is much too simplistic.

　　几乎不用吹灰之力就能取得登峰造极的成就，这种想法实在太单纯了。

　　Yes, the hockey players who make it to the professional level

　　没错，那些拥有一定职业水准的曲棍球运动员

　　are more talented than you or me.

　　当然比你我都具有这方面的天赋，

　　But they also got a big head start,

　　但他们也是一出生就走了大运，

　　an opportunity that they neither deserved nor earned.

　　他们一开始就有机遇惠顾。这种机遇不是挣来的，不是理所当然的，

　　And that opportunity played a critical role in their success.

　　这种机遇在他们的成功历程中扮演着关键的角色。

　　The sociologist Robert Merton famously called this kind of phenomenon the "Matthew Effect".

　　著名的社会学家罗伯特·默顿曾把这种现象称为“马太效应”。

　　after the New Testament verse in the Gospel of Matthew:

　　《新约·马太福音》里面说：

　　"For unto everyone that hath shall be given,

　　“凡是有的，还要加给他，

　　and he shall have abundance

　　叫他有余。

　　But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."

　　没有的，连他所有的，也要夺过来。”

　　It is those who are successful,

　　也就是说，

　　who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities,

　　成功者能够获得更多的机会，

　　that lead to further success.

　　从而能变得更为成功。

　　It's the rich who get the biggest tax breaks.

　　税收越减免，富人获利越大；

　　It's the best students who get the best teaching and the most attention.

　　教育越优越，受到的鼓励越多，优秀的学生越优秀。

　　and it's the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds

　　9岁和10岁的孩子越是年龄偏大，

　　who get the most coaching and practice.

　　越是拥有最好的教练、最科学的培养。

　　Success is the result of what sociologists like to call "accumulative advantage."

　　套用社会学家的术语，成功是“累积效应”的结果。

　　The professional hockey player starts out a little bit better than his peers,

　　职业的曲棍球运动员在起点上，只是比他的同龄人表现得稍微好一些。

　　and that little difference leads to an opportunity that makes that difference a bit bigger

　　在起点上的这一点区别使得之后的差别越来越大，

　　and that edge in turn leads to another opportunity that makes the initially small difference bigger still

　　此后，这种刀锋效应又引起区別的进一步扩大一就这么一步一步地，

　　and on and on until the hockey player is a genuine outlier.

　　让一位曲棍球运动员成了一个出类拔萃的人。