Ifyou’restudyingEnglishoranotherforeignlanguage,youmightbethinking,“Howisthisgoingtohelpmeinmylife”Itturnsout,juststudyingandthinkinginaforeignlanguagehasitsownbenefits(益处)!
Ina2012study,BoazKeysar,aprofessorattheUniversityofChicagointheUS,ledanexperimentabouttherelationship(关系)betweenforeignlanguagesandpeople’swayofthinking.
Intheexperiment,peopleneededtomakeachoice:Takeaguarantee(保证)ofonepoundortakea50%chanceofwinning2.50pounds.Whengiventhischoiceintheirmotherlanguage,mostpeopletookthesafechoiceofgettingonepound.Buttheywouldliketomaketheriskier(更冒险的)choicewhenaskedinaforeignlanguage,accordingtoTheGuardian.Keysarsaid,“Peoplejusthatethepossibilityoflosing,buttheyhateitlessinaforeignlanguage.”
Theevidence(证据)isclear:Bylearningaforeignlanguage,you’renotjustlearningalanguage—you’regaininganewstateofmind.
【推荐1】Ifsomeonesaysyouaresmart,whatdotheymean1Theanswerisnotaseasyasyoumightthink.Thisisbecausethewordsmarthasmanymeanings.
Forexample,someonecouldsayyoulooksmartoryouaredressedsmartly.2Touseadailyexpression,theycouldsay,“Youlookreallycool!”
3Ifyoufalldownfromachair,youmightshout,“Wow!Thatsmarts!”Orifafriendsayssomethingthathurtsyourfeelings,youcansayyouaresmartingfromthehurtfulwords.Infact,maybethatpersonisnolongeryourfriend.
Ifyouarestandingtooclosetoacampfire,youcouldsayyoureyesaresmartingfromthesmokeofthefire.4
Butthemostcommonmeaningof“smart”istobeclever.Ifsomeoneissmartasawhip(鞭),heisabletothinkveryquickly.
5Somepeopleareconsideredstreetsmart.Theymaynothaveastrongeducation,buttheyaregoodatdealingwithpeopleandproblemsintherealworld.Otherpeoplemightbebooksmart.Theyhavespentmanyyearsinschool,buttheymaynotbesosmartwhendealingwithpeopleorreal-worldproblems.
DoyouhaveanEnglishnameIfso,chances(机会)aregoodthatyoueitherpickedyournameyourself,orperhaps(也许)yourEnglishteacherhelpedyouchoose(选择)one.ButI’vegotonething:1
OneofmygoodfriendscallsherselfBigBird,likethecharacter(角色)fromthechildren’sTVshowSesameStreet(《芝麻街》).2Inoneofherclasses,shehadstudentswiththenamesTomatoandPotato.
3Sometimesit’sbecausesomeonefamouschosethenamefirst.Forexample,thefamouswriterSanMaochoseEchoasherEnglishname,inspiring(启发)manygirlsafterhertochooseitaswell.
Formanyyounglearners,havingasillyEnglishnameisn’tabigdeal(大事).4Butthoseworkinginprofessionalenvironments(职业环境)withnative(本地的)English-speakersusuallychoosemoretypical(典型的)names.
5Sojusthavefunandhavesomethinginteresting.Infact,myfavoriteunusualEnglishnamecomesfromagirlnamedShmily.Itmeans“seehowmuchIloveyou”.
【推荐3】
DoyouwanttospeakEnglisheasilyandwellInthislesson,we’llhelpyouimproveyourspokenEnglishwithsomereallyusefulexpressions.Forexample,“Tomwentmissingduringtherainstormlastnight,butluckily,hewasfound________.”Bestofall,Americansusethemalot.Theyarereallyuseful!OKLet’sstart!
【推荐1】Whatwillourlifebelikein50yearsNooneknowstheanswerexactly,butwearesurethatitwillbeverydifferentfromthelifetoday.MybrotherJillWhitemakessomepredictions(预测).Herearesomeofhisideas.
First,peoplewillhavelessworktodo,androbotswilldomostwork.Peoplewilluserobotstomakecars,dothehousework,lookaftersickpeopleandteachstudents.Peoplewillspendmostoftheirtimeplayingsportsandtraveling.Sopeoplewillbecomestrongerandhealthier,andtheywilllivetobeabout200yearsold.
Second,carswillbecomeverysmallandcomputerswillcontrol(控制)theirspeed.Sotherewillbefeweraccidentsontheroad.Planeswillbeverypopular,andmostpeoplewouldliketotakethemtotravel.
Third,peoplewillbeabletoliveinthesea,onthemoonoronMars.Theearthwon’tbecrowdedornoisy.Sotherewillbemuchspaceforpeopletoplanttrees.Therewillbelesspollution,andtheairwillbecomemuchfresher.
Finally,watershortagewillbecomeoneofthemostseriousproblems.Ifpeopledon’tsavewaternow,therewillbewaterwarsin50years.
【推荐2】Manypeoplethinkit’simportantandgoodforhealthtowashthefoodbeforecookingit.However,forsomefoodlikeeggs,washingcandomoreharm(坏处)thangood.
Peopleliketowashtheshell(壳)beforetheycooktheegg.Theywanttomakesuretheeggiscleanandtherearenogerms(细菌)onit.Buttheydon’tneedtodothis,becausefactorieswilldothecleaningworkwhentheyselltheeggs.
Thereisacoatingontheshelloftheegg.Withthecoating,germscannotgetintotheeggeasily.Whenfactoriesdothecleaningwork,theywashawaythecoatingandputakindofspecialthingontheeggshell.Itistheretokeepgermsfromcomingintotheegg.
“Ofcoursethere’regermsontheegg,butbywashingit,youmakeitworse(更糟糕的).Theeggshellisporous(可渗透的).Thewatercangetgermsintotheeggwhenyouwashit,”sayshealthscientistAmyLeighMercree.“Andthiscanhappenmoreeasilywhenyouusecoldwaterorrunningwater.”
“Sodon’twasheggs—saveyourselfsometimeandkeepthegermswheretheyare,”Mercreesays.
【推荐3】Carnival
CarnivalisthelastbigfestivalinsummerinBrazil,whichmaybegin40daysbeforeEastereveryyear.Duringthefestival,tocelebratetheirtraditions,Brazilianssinganddanceindancehallsandclubs,onthestreetsandbeachesoranywhereelseinBrazil.
DragonBoatFestival
TheDragonBoatFestivalisoneofthemostpopulartraditionalfestivalscelebratedinChina,fallingonthefifthofthefifthlunar(阴历的)month.ThemostfamousandgreatesttraditionisholdingDragonBoatraces.Inaddition,duringthefestival,peoplemakeandeatZongzi.Hanging(悬挂)herbs(草药)onthefrontdoorisalsopopular,whichismeanttoprotectpeoplefromevil(邪恶)andillness.
Solnal
KoreanscelebrateSolnal,thelunarNewYear,withotherEastAsiancountries.SolnalisatimeforKoreanstocelebratethetraditionswiththeirfamily.OnNewYear’sDay,peopleputontraditionalclothesandputfoodonaspecialtableforthedeadmembersoftheirfamily.Familyenjoyactivitiessuchaskiteflyinganddancing.
Thanksgiving
ThanksgivingisoneofthemostimportantholidaysintheUSanditiscelebratedonthefourthThursdayofNovembereachyear.Ontheday,Americanssay“Thankyou”totheirfamily,friendsandpeoplethathelpthem.OnThanksgiving,peopleusuallyhaveabigturkeydinnerandaspecialpartywiththeirfamily.
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