第一段
If you were to examine the birth certificates of every soccer player in 2006’s World Cuptournament, you would most likely find a noteworthy quirk: elite soccer players are more likely to have been born in the earlier months of the year than in the late months. If you then examined the European national youth teams that feed the World Cup and professional ranks, you would find this strange phenomenon to be ever morepronounced.
单词&词组搭配
certificate [səˈtɪfɪkeɪt]（出现2次）证书，证明，文凭
tournament [ˈtʊrnəmənt] 锦标赛
noteworthy [ˈnoʊtwɜːrði] 显著的，重要的，值得注意的
quirk [kwɜːrk] 怪现象
feed [fiːd]（出现5次）v.喂养，饲养，供养；n.饲料；[僻义]v.向...供给；满足
phenomenon [fəˈnɑːmɪnən]（出现13次）现象；[僻义]n.非凡的人或事物
pronounced [prəˈnaʊnst] adj.显著的
the ranks 成员
本段翻译
如果你去查看06年世界杯锦标赛所有足球队员的出生证，你将会发现一件引人注意的怪事：优秀的足球远动员更可能出生在一年中的头几个月而非后几个月。如果再看看为世界杯和职业球队输送人的欧洲各国国家青年队队员的出生证明，你会发现这一奇怪现象更为显著。
第二段
What might account for this strange phenomenon? Here are a few guesses: a) certainastrological signs confer superior soccer skills; b) winter-born babies tend to have higher oxygen capacity, which increases soccer stamina; c) soccer-mad parents are more likely toconceive children in springtime, at the annual peak of soccer mania; d) none of the above.
单词&词组
account for（是...原因）
astrological [ˌæstrə'lɑdʒɪk(ə)l]（出现3次）adj.占星的
stamina [ˈstæmɪnə] n.耐力
conceive [kənˈsiːv]（出现3次）v.构思，设想，怀孕
mania [ˈmeɪniə] n.狂热
本段翻译
这一个奇怪的现象的原因是什么呢？以下是几种猜测：a）某些星座赐予球员高超的足球技能；b）冬季出生的婴儿往往具有更高的血液携氧能力，这会增加踢足球时的耐力；c）痴迷足球的父母更可能在春天，也就是每年足球狂热的巅峰时期受孕；d）以上都不是。
第三段
Anders Ericsson, a 58-year-old psychology professor at Florida State University, says he believes strongly in “none of the above.” Ericsson grew up in Sweden, and studied nuclear engineering until he realized he would have more opportunity to conduct his own research if he switched to psychology. His first experiment, nearly 30 years ago, involvedmemory: training a person to hear and then repeat a random series of numbers. “With the first subject, after about 20 hours of training, his digit span had risen from 7 to 20,” Ericsson recalls. “He kept improving, and after about 200 hours of training he had risen to over 80 numbers.”
单词&词组
psychology [saɪˈkɑːlədʒi]（出现9次）心理学
involve [ɪnˈvɑːlv]（常用词）v.包含，涉及，要求/允许某人参与
recall （出现6次）回忆，撤销；n.记忆力，召回
switched to（转向）
本段翻译
佛罗里达州立大学一位58岁的心理学教授安德斯坚称“以上都是不对的”。埃里克森在瑞典长大，起初攻读核能工程专业，直到他意识到如果转学心理学，会有更多机会从事自己的研究。他的首次实验，大约在30年前，与记忆力有关：训练一个人听一组随机的数字，随后进行复述。“在约20个小时训练后，第一位实验者的数字记忆跨度从7个增加到20个,”埃里克森回忆到，“他不断进步，约200个小时的训练后，他能记住80多个数字”。
第四段
This success, coupled with later research showing that memory itself is not geneticallydetermined, led Ericsson to conclude that the act of memorizing is more of a cognitiveexercise than an intuitive one. In other words, whatever inborn differences two people may exhibit in their abilities to memorize, those differences are swamped by how well each person “encodes” the information. And the best way to learn how to encode information meaningfully, Ericsson determined, was a process known as deliberate practice. Deliberate practice entails more than simply repeating a task. Rather, it involvessetting specific goals, obtaining immediate feedback and concentrating as much on technique as on outcome.
单词&词组
genetically [dʒə'nɛtɪklɪ] adv.遗传地
cognitive [ˈkɑːɡnətɪv]（出现2次）认知的
intuitive [ɪnˈtuːɪtɪv]（出现4次）直觉的
inborn [ˌɪnˈbɔːrn] adj.先天的
exhibit [ɪɡˈzɪbɪt]（出现4次）v.展览，表现；n.展览会，展品
swamp [swɑːmp]（出现1次）n.沼泽，湿地；v.浸没，使...应接不暇
encode v.编码
entail [ɪnˈteɪl]（出现2次）v.涉及，使必须
feedback （出现3次）反馈
outcome（出现5次）结果，效果
coupled with（与...相结合，加上）
be more of A than B（与其说，不如说）=more A than B
set specific goals（制定明确目标）
more than ＋名词”表示“不仅仅是”//＋形容词”等于“很”或“非常”//+ (that)从句，其基本意义是“超过（=over）”，但可译成“简直不”“远非”
immediate feedback（及时反馈）
本段翻译
这次成功，加上后续的表明记忆力本身并非由基因决定的研究，使得埃里克森得出这样的结论：记忆力行为与其说是一种直觉活动，倒不如说是一种认知活动。换句话说，不论两个人在记忆能力方面表现出什么先天性的差异，这些差异都被个人“编码”信息能力的强弱所掩盖。埃里克森断定，学习有目的的编码信息的最佳方法是一个被称为“刻意练习的过程”。“刻意练习”需要的不仅仅是简单的重复任务，确切的说，它需要制定明确的目标，获取及时反馈并且要技巧与结果并重。
第五段
Ericsson and his colleagues have thus taken to studying expert performers in a wide range of pursuits, including soccer. They gather all the data they can, not justperformance statistics and biographical details but also the results of their own laboratory experiments with high achievers. Their work makes a rather startling assertion: the trait we commonly call talent is highly overrated. Or, put another way, expert performers—whether in memory or surgery, ballet or computer programming—are nearly always made, not born.
单词&词组
pursuit [pərˈsuːt]（出现8次）v.追求，跟踪，事业，消遣
biographical [,baɪə'græfɪkl]adj.传记的
startling ['stɑrtlɪŋ]（出现1次）令人吃惊的
assertion [əˈsɜːrʃn]（出现5次）n.断言，声明主张，结论
trait [treɪt]（出现4次）特征，特点，特性
overrate [ˌoʊvərˈreɪt] v.高估
surgery [ˈsɜːrdʒəri]（出现2次）n.外科，手术室
programming [ˈproʊɡræmɪŋ] 编程
take to doing（沉迷于，养成）
a wide range of（大范围的）
put another way（换句话说）
本段翻译
埃里克森和他的同事由此开始沉湎于研究众多领域（包括足球）的出色表现者。他们收集能够收集到的所有资料，不仅包括工作表现统计数据和生平详细资料，还包括他们在自己实验室里对杰出人才所做实验的结果。他们的研究结论相当令人震惊：我们通常称之为“天赋”的这一特质被过于高估了。或者换句话说，不管是在记忆力还是在外科手术领域，是在芭蕾舞还是在计算机编程方面，表现出色的人几乎都是后天早就的，而不是天生的。
文章略读
这篇文文章讲的内容主题是：人的成就取决于后天的培养而非先天遗传。这是一篇典型的先驳斥后理论型的文章，可以归纳为观点论证型的文章，该类文章再近20年的真题中占到百分之30，可以说每年都有一篇。该类文章意在劝说大家接受正确的观点，摒弃错误的观点，所以在阅读的时候要重点把握作者的观点态度，文章中人物的观点，另外要留意作者态度和文章中人物态度是否一致，所以命题一定会出现观点态度类的题目（作者态度/文中人物的态度）。
前两段以优秀的足球运动员生日日期情况开启文章内容，可以得出一个问题：优秀源于什么？后面三段主要围绕心理学家埃里克森的研究展开，驳斥前面的天赋论，提出后天努力才是关键的观点并用记忆实验证明改观点。
5道题
21. The birthday phenomenon found among soccer players is mentioned to
[A] stress the importance of professional training.
[B] spotlight the soccer superstars at the World Cup.
[C] introduce the topic of what makes expert performance.[D] explain why some soccer teams play better than others.
22. The word "mania"(Line 4, Paragraph 2) most probably means
[A] fun.
[B] craze.
[C] hysteria.
[D] excitement.
23. According to Ericsson, good memory
[A] depends on meaningful processing of information.
[B] results from intuitive rather than cognitive exercises.
[C] is determined by genetic rather than psychological factors.
[D] requires immediate feedback and a high degree of concentration.
24. Ericsson and his colleagues believe that
[A] talent is a dominating factor for professional success.
[B] biographical data provide the key to excellent performance.
[C] the role of talent tends to be overlooked.
[D] high achievers owe their success mostly to nurture.
25. Which of the following proverbs is closest to the message the text tries to convey?
[A]"Faith will move mountains."
[B]"One reaps what one sows."
[C]"Practice makes perfect."
[D]"Like father, like son."
参考答案
CBADC
