VOA慢速英语 2008 0306a

Education Report - Children, Self-Control and 'Executive¹ Function'

Experts say there are ways to improve problems with organizational skills. Transcript² of radio broadcast:

05 March 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Executive function. What do you suppose that is? Mental health professionals, educators and others use this term when talking about ways that people exercise self-control. Executive function involves the skills we need to organize our lives.

Experts at the National Center for Learning³ Disabilities say we use executive function to study situations, plan, act and change our minds. They say problems with executive function are strongly linked to attention deficits⁴ and learning disabilities.

All of these problems can have some of the same signs -- for example, trouble with working memory.

What is working memory? This term is commonly used now in place of short-term⁵ memory. It describes the brain's ability to store recent information temporarily, but also to use and make sense of it.

Researchers say good executive function is important for success in school.

Students with poor executive function need help to organize research. They have serious trouble deciding which of two or three tasks to do first. They have difficulty changing tasks or working on one project for a long period of time.

A person might have trouble waiting and cooperating⁶, and might say or do things even if it offends⁷ others.

Laura Berk in the psychology⁸ department at Illinois State University is an expert on the subject. She says executive function skills can be improved.

For example, Professor Berk says games of Simon Says can help young children learn to exercise self-control by NOT doing something. Children are given directions but told to follow them only when the leader begins a direction by saying "Simon says ... "

She also suggests a game called Freeze. Children dance to music until the music stops. Then they have to place their bodies in a position shown in a picture.

She says giving children a chance to use their imaginations for make-believe play can also help them develop executive function skills.

Teenagers and adults can write lists and establish ways to make sure they do important tasks. Technology can help. For example, online banking⁹ services can be set up to pay bills automatically¹⁰. And alarm clocks on cell phones can remind someone when it is time to go to work or be in class.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. This was part seven in our series on learning disabilities. The series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

5 short-term   

adj.短期的

参考例句：

• The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
• For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此，他们办了短训班和夜校。

6 cooperating   

共同运转的，协同操作的

参考例句：

• We have abundant experience in cooperating with a lot of companies. 我们拥有与大量公司合作的丰富经验。
• The interview will generally center round managing and cooperating skills. 访谈将围绕管理和合作技巧展开。

7 offends   

v.触怒( offend的第三人称单数 )；得罪；冒犯；使反感令人不适

参考例句：

• His behaviour offends against the canons of good manners. 他的行为违背了礼法的准则。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His English offends against the rules of grammar. 他的英语不符合语法规则。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。

9 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

10 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。