自考英語(二)閱讀理解輔導(dǎo)(7)

1、自考英語(二閱讀理解輔導(dǎo)(7Jet Lag: Prevention and CureThe problem of Jet Lag is one every international traveller comes across at some time. But do you have to suffer? Understand what it is, and how a careful diet can minimize its worst effects, and your flights will be less stressful.The effects of rapid trave

2、l on the body are actually far more disturbing than we realize. Jet Lag is not a psychological consequence of having to readjust to a different time zone. It is due to changes in the body's physiological regulatory mechanisms, specifically the hormonal systems, in a different environment.Confuse

3、d? So was John Foster Dulles, the American Secretary of State, when he flew to Egypt to conduct negotiations on the Aswan Dam.He later blamed his poor judgement on Jet Lag.The effects can be used to advantage, too. President Johnson once conducted an important meeting in Guam and kept the entire pro

4、ceedings at Washington DC time. The White House working personnel were as fresh as paint, while the locals, in this case, were jet-lagged.Essentially, they had been instantaneously transported to America.Now that we understand what Jet Lag is, we can go some way to overcoming it. A great number of t

5、he body's events are scheduled to occur at a certain time of day. Naturally these have to be regulated, and there are two regulatory systems which interact.One timing system comes from the evidence of our senses and stomachs, and the periodicity we experience when living in a particular time zon

6、e. The other belongs in our internal clocks (the major one of which may be physically located in a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus which, left alone, would tie the body to a 25 hour - yes, 25 - rhythm. Normally the two timers are in step, and the external cues tend to regularise

7、 the internal clocks to the more convenient 24 hour period.If, however, you move the whole body to a time zone which is four hours different, the two clocks will be out of step, like two alarm clocks which are normally set together, but which have been reset a few hours apart. Whereas the two clocks

8、 would normally sound their alarms together, now they ring at different times. Similarly, the body can be set for evening while the sun is rising.In time the physiological system will reset itself, but it does take time. One easily monitored rhythm is palm sweating. A man flown to a time zone differ

9、ent by 10 hours will take eight days to readjust his palm sweat. Blood pressure, which is also rhythmical, takes four days to readjust.One reason for this discrepancy is that different bodily events are controlled by different factors. The hormone cortisol, which controls salt and water excretion, i

10、s made in the morning, wherever the body is. But the growth hormone is released during sleep, whenever in the day that sleep occurs. Normally these two hormones are separated by seven or eight hours, but if the body arrives at a destination in the early morning (local and goes to sleep as soon as po

11、ssible, the two hormones will be released simultaneously.What can we do about it? It is not feasible to wait four days until the body is used to the new time zone. Fortunately there is a short cut. It relies on two things - the power of the stomach to regulate the timing of other events, and the pha

12、rmacological actions of coffee.The basic assumptions are:Coffee delays the body clock in the morning, and advances it at night. Coffee at mid-afternoon is neutral.Protein in meals stimulates wakefulness, while carbohydrates promote sleep.Putting food into an empty stomach helps synchronize the body

13、clock.時差綜合癥的預(yù)防和治療高速飛行時因時差而引起的生理節(jié)奏的推敲是每一個跨國旅行者有時會遇到的問題。但你必須得忍受嗎?如果你了解它是怎么回事,并且知道如何注意飲食才可以將其最壞影響減到最小程度,你的飛行就不會那么緊張了?？焖俾眯袑ι眢w的影響實際上比我們所意識到的更加令人不安。調(diào)整的習(xí)行因時差而引起的生理節(jié)奏的破壞不是必須重新調(diào)整去適合不同時區(qū)的心理影響。它是由人體內(nèi)的生理調(diào)節(jié)結(jié)構(gòu),特別是荷爾蒙系統(tǒng)在不同環(huán)境的變化引起的。感到困惑了嗎?美國國務(wù)卿約翰·福斯·特杜勒斯飛往埃及進行關(guān)于阿斯旺大壩的談判時也是這樣。后來,他把他的不理想的判斷歸咎于時差反應(yīng)的不良影響。時差的影

14、響也可以加以利用。約翰遜總統(tǒng)曾經(jīng)在關(guān)島召開重要會議,其所有活動都按華盛頓時間進行。白宮工作人員個個精神煥發(fā),而在這種情況下,當?shù)厝藚s受時差反應(yīng)之苦。實際上,好像他們剛剛被飛機送到美國一樣。既然我們懂得了什么是高速飛行時差綜合癥。很自然,這些活動不得不加以調(diào)節(jié),人體現(xiàn)人有兩套相互影響的調(diào)節(jié)系統(tǒng)。一個定時系統(tǒng)表現(xiàn)在我們的感覺和胃以及居住在一個特定時區(qū)時,我們所經(jīng)歷的周期。另一個定時系統(tǒng)在我們的人體時鐘內(nèi),這些人體時鐘在不受干擾時,會使人體有一個25小時,是的25小時的生理節(jié)奏。一般情況下,這兩種定時器是步調(diào)一致的。外部信號常常調(diào)節(jié)人體時鐘命使之達到更為便利的24小時周期。然而,如果你將整個身體轉(zhuǎn)移

15、到相差四個小時的時區(qū),這兩個小時鐘就不協(xié)調(diào)了。就像兩個鬧鐘通常一起設(shè)置,但被重新設(shè)置時相差了好幾個小時。雖然這兩個時鐘通常會一起鬧時,但現(xiàn)在它們在不同時刻響起。類似的,當太陽升起時身體可能被設(shè)定為晚上。經(jīng)過一段時間以后,生理系統(tǒng)將會重新調(diào)整過來。但這的確需要時間。一個容易監(jiān)測的節(jié)律是手掌出汗的節(jié)律。血壓也是有節(jié)律的,需要四天時間才能得到重新調(diào)整。形成這種差異的百不同的身體活動由不同因素的支配。不管身在何處,控制鹽和水分排泄的皮質(zhì)醇激素是早上產(chǎn)生的。但不論何時睡眠,生長激素是在睡眠中釋放的。通常這兩種激素相隔七、八個小時釋放,但如果人體在一大早到達目的地,并且盡快入睡,這兩種激素將同時釋放。關(guān)于

16、這點我們能做些什么呢?等待幾天直到身體適應(yīng)新的時區(qū)是不可取的。幸好,有一條捷徑。它依靠兩點胃調(diào)節(jié)其他活動定時的能力和咖啡的藥物作用?；镜牡览硎?咖啡在早上可以延遲人體時鐘,在晚間可以提早人體時鐘?？Х仍谙挛缛c左右是中性的。食物中的蛋白質(zhì)使人不眠,而碳水化合物卻使人易于入睡?？崭钩允澄飵椭梭w時鐘準時。Controlling Your ConcentrationCONCENTRATION IS CENTERING YOUR ATTENTIONPsychologically defined, concentration is the process of centering one's

17、 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.Your attention span variesEven with the greatest effort, our span of attentio

18、n 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.Listen carefully and notice how the ticking increases in apparent intensity, fades to a point where it cannot be heard, and then increases again. This phe

19、nomenon reveals how our span of attention fluctuates, for the intensity of the ticking is actually constant.You pay attention to one thing at a timeEvidence 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

20、several concepts at once. But apparently this is only an illusion. In high concentration the shift from the focus of attention is of short duration and relatively infrequent.An illustration of periods of high, moderate, and low attention High attention has long periods of attending and short distrac

21、tion 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

22、 recall even the major points of a lecture.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."DISTRACTORS ARE O

23、F TWO SORTS - PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICALA 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. Both types of distractors must be understood before the student can attempt

24、to remedy his lack of concentration.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. In the student's life there are many psyc

25、hological 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 finances - these are only a few of the emotional forces which affect the student.Emotional reaction varies gr

26、eatly from person to person. Some persons 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.Physical distractors are always present and rarely understood.Our environment is much more i

27、mportant to how we feel and react than we often think. Particularly is this true of the effect of physical distractors on mental tasks. 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 af

28、fected, 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 affec ts adversely higher mental task output. Still, the effe

29、ct of distractors is seldom fully appreciated by students.ROUTING AND REASONING TASKS ARE AFFECTED DIFFERENTLY BYDISTRACTORSTypically 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."

30、 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. Either of these factors could account for some individuals being abl

31、e to do well using inefficient methods. The fact that some exceptional people do well under adverse conditions scarcely justifies your assuming that you are exceptional in the same manner. Your chances of success are higher if you avoid the distractors which are known to hinder the typeical student.

32、控制你的注意力聚精會神就是集中你的注意力按心理學(xué)定義,專心是一段時間內(nèi)集中注意力的過程。然而,在實際應(yīng)用中,成功地對待專心這個問題并不像定義中所說的那么簡單。正因為這樣,把以下幾點記在心里是有幫助的。你的注意力范圍是變化的即使付出最大努力,我們注意力的范圍還是波動的。你可以自己證明這種注意力的變化。在一個安靜的房間里,把一塊表放在剛剛能聽到它聲音的地方,仔細聽,注意到嘀嗒聲是如何明顯地提高強度,繼而,衰弱到聽不到,然后又提高了。這種現(xiàn)象揭示了我們注意力范圍是如何波動的,因為嘀噠聲的強度實際上并無變化。你在同一時刻注意一件事情至今為止的資料表明,在同一時刻你只能注意到一個念頭。你的注意力可能轉(zhuǎn)移得很快,似乎能立刻注意到幾個概念。但顯然這只是一個錯覺。在注意力集中時,注意力的焦點轉(zhuǎn)移是在很短時間內(nèi),而且比較而言是很少發(fā)生的。高度、適度、低注意力的說明高度注意有較強的注意期和很短的注意力分散期。在低注意力下,注意到短期而注意力分散期長。適度注意力融合了兩種極端。因此,顯而易見,把自己的注意力集中在