9月23日英语：女性低头族们的颈椎更受伤？Women suffer more neck pain

Women suffer more neck pain

女性低头族颈椎更受伤?

A new study finds that women suffer more neck pain than men because of the way they look at their smartphones. Researchers found men tend to bend their neck where their head meets their spine, while women look down towards their chest and stick their head out further. 

一项新研究指出：由于看智能手机的姿势不同，女性比男性更容易颈椎痛。研究人员发现，男性往往会在头部与脊柱相交的地方弯曲颈部，而女性颈部弯曲更甚，甚至能低到胸前。

Dr Claire Terhune, senior author of the study from the department of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, said: "Our advice to people in general would probably be to try to avoid spending hours looking down at a tablet or a mobile phone. But the advice to women would be to be aware of their posture and try to put themselves in a better position if they are using a device."

研究报告的高级作者、阿肯色大学人类学系的克莱尔·特休恩博士说："我们给所有人的建议是，尽量避免长时间低头看平板电脑或手机。我们给女性的建议是，使用电子设备时要留意自己的姿势，尽量调整到更舒服的位置。"

Practice doesn't always help

熟能生巧定律或不成立

With blatant disregard for the public benefits of motivational idioms, researchers have concluded that practice does not, necessarily, make perfect. A study of violinists found that merely good players practised as much as, if not more than, better players, leaving other factors such as quality of tuition, learning skills and perhaps natural talent to account for the difference. 

近日，一些研究人员公然无视熟能生巧的普世道理，得出结论说：熟不一定能生巧。一项对小提琴演奏者的研究发现，如果不考虑教学质量、学习技巧和天分等因素的差异，水平过得去的演奏者和杰出的演奏者练习的时间一样多，甚至可能更多。

The work is the latest blow to the 10,000-hour rule, which means that enough practice will make an expert of anyone. Brooke Macnamara, a psychologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, believes practice is less of a driver. "Once you get to the highly skilled groups, practice stops accounting for the difference. Everyone has practised a lot and other factors are at play in determining who goes on to that super-elite level," she said. "

这一研究结果是对"一万小时定律"的最新挑战。该定律的意思是只要练习得足够多，任何人都可以成为专家。美国俄亥俄州克利夫兰凯斯西储大学的心理学家布鲁克·麦克纳马拉认为，练习的作用并没有那么大。她说："一旦你达到了较高的水平，练习带来的差别就消失了。每个人都进行了大量练习，能否达到精英水平就开始取决于其他因素了。

The factors depend on the skill being learned: in chess it could be intelligence or working memory, in sport it may be how efficiently a person uses oxygen. To complicate matters further, one factor can drive another. A child who enjoys playing the violin, for example, may be happy to practise and be focused on the task because they do not see it as a chore."

这些因素依据学习的技能不同而发生改变：如果学的是国际象棋，决定因素可能是智力或工作记忆；如果学的是运动，决定因素可能是一个人利用氧气的效率。还有更复杂的情况是，有时候一个因素还会作用于另一个因素。举例而言，一个喜欢拉小提琴的孩子可能比较愿意练习，注意力也比较集中，因为他们不把练琴看成苦差。"

Extroverts are happier

内向者'假装'外向更快乐

If you are an introvert, force yourself to be an extrovert. You'll be happier. That's the suggestion of the first-ever study asking people to act like extroverts for a prolonged period. For one week, the 123 participants were asked to push the boundaries of their willingness to engage, by acting as extroverts. For another week, the same group was asked to act like introverts. 

如果你是性格内向的人，强迫自己当个外向的人，你会更快乐。上述建议来自一项前所未有的研究，该研究要求人们在较长时间内像外向者那样行事。研究人员要求123名参与者在一周内，超越自我意愿参加活动，像外向者那样为人处世。

UC Riverside researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky wanted to extend the faux extroversion to see if it would result in better well-being. The participants were told to go forth, and to be as talkative, assertive, and spontaneous as they could stand. Later, the same group was told to be deliberate, quiet, and reserved. Three times a week, participants were reminded of the behavioral change via emails. 

另一周里，研究人员要求这群人像内向者那样行事。加利福尼亚大学里弗赛德分校的研究员柳博米尔斯基希望延长这种虚假的外向性，从而观察这么做能否带来更多幸福感。研究人员要求参与者在可接受的范围内尽可能表现得健谈、坚定自信和积极主动。之后研究人员又让这组人从容谨慎、安静高冷。

According to all measures of well-being, participants reported greater well-being after the extroversion week, and decreases in well-being after the introversion week. Interestingly, faux extroverts reported no discomfort or ill effects.  

研究人员通过邮件对参与者进行一周三次的行为改变提醒。所有的幸福感指标显示，参与者在经过外向行为周后表示获得的幸福感更多，而在经过内向行为周后获得的幸福感减少。有趣的是，假装外向的人未表示不舒服或出现不良反应。

Students made to wear boxes

墨西哥为防作弊出大招

学生被迫头戴纸箱考试 

A Mexican teacher has come under fire for making high-school students wear cardboard boxes on their heads to block their peripheral vision and prevent them from copying on an exam. Luis Juarez Texis, the director of Campus 01 "El Sabinal" at the College of Bachelors, in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala, has been accused of humiliating and breaking the basic human rights of his students, after a photo of him overseeing an exam where the students wore cardboard boxes on their heads went viral online. 

近日，一名墨西哥老师让高中生们头戴纸箱考试，目的是阻挡他们的周边视线、防止作弊。他的这一举动受到了抨击。路易斯·华雷斯·泰克西斯是墨西哥特拉斯卡拉州学士学院第一校区"萨比纳尔"的主任。一张泰克西斯监考时学生们头戴纸板箱的照片在网上疯传后，他被指责羞辱学生并侵犯了学生的基本人权。

The students' parents issued a public statement asking educational authorities in Mexico to dismiss Texis. The photo of the students wearing cardboard boxes with cut-out eye holes that only allowed them to see in front without turning their heads was shared thousands of times since last week and was eventually picked up by mainstream media as well. 

这些学生的父母发表了一份公开声明，要求墨西哥的教育部门解雇泰克西斯。在这张照片中，学生们全都头戴着一个大纸箱，只在前方留了两个观察孔让其阅读试卷，而令他们无法扭头张望。这张照片自上周以来已经被分享了数千次，并且最终吸引了主流媒体的报道。

However, instead of condemning the teacher, most internet users congratulated him for finding an effective way to prevent cheating. "Excellent work, teacher, this does not harm them and in fact parents should worry more about their children studying than about some boxes that teach them a great lesson," one person commented.

然而，大多数网友不但没有谴责这位老师，反而祝贺他找到了防止作弊的有效方法。一位网友评论道："老师好样的，此举不会对他们造成伤害，事实上，父母应该更多地担心自己孩子的学习，而不是操心这些让孩子们长了教训的纸盒子。"