7.appreciate ： vt 欣赏，鉴赏，感激，感谢

　　派生词：appreciation n. 欣赏，鉴赏

　　用法：appreciate 后接动名词作宾语。

　　We shall appreciate hearing from you again. 我们将乐于再收到你的信。

　　You can‘t appreciate English poetry unless you understand its rhythm.

　　你不懂英文诗的韵律，就不能欣赏英文诗。

　　 课文精讲

　　Controlling your concentration

　　CONCENTARATION IS CENTERING YOUR ATTENTION

　　Psychologically defined， concentration is the process of centering one‘ s attention over a period of time. In practical application， however， concentration is not as simple to deal successfully with as the definition may imply. For this reason， it is helpful to keep the following points in mind.⑴

　　1.For this reason， it is helpful to keep the following points in mind.

　　be helpful to …。 对… 很有益；

　　keep …。 in mind 把… 记在心里；

　　译文：因此，记住下列几点是很有帮助的。

　　Your attention span varies

　　Even with the greatest effort， our span of attention fluctuates. You can demonstrate for yourself this fluctuation of attention. In a quiet room， place a watch so that it can just scarcely be heard. ⑵Listen carefully and notice how the ticking increases in apparent intensity， fades to a point where it cannot be heard， and then increases again.⑶ This phenomenon reveals how our span of attention fluctuates， for the intensity of the ticking is actually constant.

　　2.In a quiet room， place a watch so that it can just scarcely be heard.

　　该句主句是祈使句 place a watch

　　so that 引导目的状语从句

　　译文：在一个安静的房间里，放一块表，表的声音几乎刚刚能听见。

　　3.Listen carefully and notice how the ticking increases in apparent intensity， fades to a point where it

　　cannot be heard， and then increases again.

　　where it cannot be heard 是定语从句修饰 point

　　译文：注意听表的走动声，并且注意表的嘀嗒声怎样明显增大，然后小到听不见，然后又变大。

　　You pay attention to one thing at a time

　　Evidence to date indicates that you attend to one idea at a time. It is possible for your attention to shift so rapidly that it seems that you attend to several concepts at once.⑷ But apparently this is only an illusion. In high concentration the shift from the focus of attention is of short duration and relatively infrequent.

　　4.It is possible for your attention to shift so rapidly that it seems that you attend to several concepts at once.

　　so …that…结果状语从句

　　全句意为：你的注意有可能转移得十分迅速，以至于好像你同时能够专心于几个想法。

　　An illustration of periods of high， moderate， and low attention

　　High attention has long periods of attending and short distraction periods. In low attention the periods of attending are short and the distraction periods long. In moderate attention there is a mixture of the extremes. Thus it is easy to see that it is highly unlikely that the student who has most of his attention centered on fancying at large will be able to recall even the major points of a lecture.⑸

　　Thus it is easy to see that it is highly unlikely that the student who has most of his attention centered on

　　fancying at large will be able to recall even the major points of a lecture.

　　see 之后是一个由that引导的宾语从句，在 that 引导的宾语从句中， 含有一个who引导的定语从句

　　修饰the student

　　译文：这样我们可以很容易地看到，如果一个学生的大部分注意力用于自由幻想，即使是讲课要点，他也不可能回想起来。

　　Lack of concentration is a symptom， not the cause， of difficulty. When a student says “I can‘t concentrate”， what he is really saying is， “I can’t attend to the task at hand because my distractors are too strong.”

　　DISTARCTORS ARE OF TWO SORTS -PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL

　　A distractor is anything which causes attention to vary from a central focal point. In the study situation distractors may be thought of as either psychological or physical in nature. ⑹Both types of distractors must be understood before the student can attempt to remedy his lack of concentration.

　　In the study situation distractors may be thought of as either psychological or physical in nature.

　　thought of as 把…看作，认为…

　　译文：在学习的情况下，干扰物实际上可以被认为是心理的或者是物质的。

　　Emotions are the most powerful distractors

　　The angry man forgets the pain of injury， the fearful man finds it difficult to enjoy pleasure and the tense or anxious person may react violently to the smallest of matters.⑺ In the student‘s life there are many psychological pressures and tensions which block effective productivity. The fears about making the grade， the doubts of the friendliness of a friend’s behaviour and the pressures of limited friendliness of a friend‘s behaviour and the pressures of limited finances - these are only a few of the emotional forces which affect the student.

　　7.The angry man forgets the pain of injury， the fearful man finds it difficult to enjoy pleasure and the tense of anxious person may react violently to the smallest of matters.

　　react … to 对…有反应

　　全句大意：愤怒的人会忘记伤痛，人害怕的时候很难享受快乐，人在紧张或焦虑的时候可能对非常小的事情做出强烈的反应。

　　Emotional reaction varies greatly from person to person.⑻ Some person gain goal and direction from their tensions and actually do better because of them . Others fall apart under pressure ，while a few people do well despite the pressure.

　　 8.Emotional reaction varies greatly from person to person.

　　vary … from …。 to …

　　全句大意：人与人的情绪反应差异很大。

　　Physical distractors are always present and rarely understood

　　Our environment is much more important to how we feel and react than we often think.⑼ Particularly is this true of the effect of physical distractors on mental tasks.⑽ One research report has shown that comprehension and retention of reading were decreased when students listened to lively music. However， rate of reading was not affected ， so that many students were not aware that they were affected by the background distractor. Another study found that the ability to recall accurately was affected by distracting conditions. Most of the evidence indicates that noise affects adversely higher mental task output. Still， the effect of distractors is seldom fully appreciated by students.

　　9.Our environment is much more important to how we feel and react than we often think.

　　本句中much more … than … 结构表示“远比…要…得多”，

　　…。how we feel and react 是介词to 的宾语从句

　　全句大意：环境对于我们如何感觉和反应的重要性比我们所想的要大得多。

　　10.Particularly is this true of the effect of physical distractors on mental tasks.

　　此句是倒装句结构，正常语序为：This is particularly true of the effect of physical distractors on mental tasks.

　　全句大意为：物理性干扰对需要动脑筋完成的作业的影响尤其如此。

　　ROUTINE AND REASONING TASKS ARE AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY BY DISTARCTORS

　　Many routine tasks can be performed with distraction in the background with little or no adverse effect on output. Most students have found this fact to be true from their own experience. They may have had high school homework which was drill or merely copying assignments. It was possible to do such work with the latest recordings or the television set playing in the background. In time such students began to feel certain that they could do all work - routine or problem- solving -in the same manner.⑾ The evidence indicates the contrary conclusion.

　　11.In time such students began to feel certain that they could do all work——routine or problem-solving ——in the same manner.

　　In time 最后，在不定的时间内，最终

　　feel certain 相当于feel sure，意为“感到肯定”

　　本句中that引导宾语从句，

　　最后（终于）这些学生开始确信，他们能用同样的方式完成作业，无论是常规性的还是解决问题性的。

　　EXCEPTIONS MAY MISLEAD YOU

　　Typically when students are faced with the evidence on distractors the argument is given that their cousin， friend， or classmate can study in “Grand Central Station.”⑿ And he makes “all A‘s” too！ There is evidence， of course. That motivation plays an important role in overcoming the effects of distractors and that there are considerable differences in individual spans of attention. ⒀Either of these factors could account for some individuals being able to do well using inefficient methods. ⒁The fact that some exceptional people do well under adverse conditions scarcely justifies your assuming that you are exceptional in the same manner. ⒂Your chances of success are higher if you avoid the distractors which are known to hinder the typical student.

　　12.Typically when students are faced with the evidence on distractors the argument is given that their cousin， friend， or classmate can study in “Grand Central Station”。

　　that　引导同位语从句，修饰the argument

　　典型的情况是，当要求学生们拿出关于干扰物的证据时，他们提出自己的表兄弟、朋友或同学能在纽约的“中央火车站”学习。

　　13.There is evidence， of course， that motivation plays an important role in overcoming the effects of distractors and that there are considerable differences in individual spans of attention.

　　Play an important role in …。在… 起到一个重要作用。

　　当然，有证据表明，学习动机在克服干扰的影响方面起作用，并且每个人的注意力广度相差很大

　　14.Either of these factors could account for some individuals being able to do well using inefficient methods.

　　account for ： 解释…的原因，

　　这两种因素中哪一种都能解释某些人用效率不高的方法都能学得很好。

　　15.The fact that some exceptional people do well under adverse conditions scarcely justifies your assuming that you are exceptional in the same manner.

　　第一个 that　引导同位语从句， 第二个that 是动名词assuming 的宾语从句

　　justify 意为 “证明…”，它的宾语是动名词assuming，

　　物主代词your 是动名词assuming的逻辑主语。

　　译文：一些特殊的人在不利条件下能学得好，这一事实绝不能证明，你有理由认为自己在同样的条件下也是特殊的。