真正的天赋其实不是天生有才【刻意练习 02A】

If you talk to these extraordinary people,you find that they all understand this at one level or another. They may be unfamiliar with the concept of cognitive adaptability, but they seldom buy into the idea that they have reached the peak of their fields because they were the lucky winners of some genetic lottery. They know what is required to develop the extraordinary skills that they possess because they have experienced it firsthand.

One of my favorite testimonies on this topic came from Ray Allen, a ten-time All-Star in the National Basketball Association and the greatest three-point shooter in the history of that league.Some years back, ESPN columnist Jackie MacMullan wrote an article about Allen as he was approaching his record for most three-point shots made. In talking with Allen for that story, MacMullan mentioned that another basketball commentator had said that Allen was born with a shooting touch—in other words,an innate gift for three-pointers. Allen did not agree.

“I’ve argued this with a lot of people in my life,” he told MacMullan. “When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, ‘Don’t undermine the work I’ve put in every day.’ Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee, and ask them. The answer is me.” And, indeed, as MacMullan noted, if you talk to Allen’s high school basketball coach you will find that Allen’s jump shot was not noticeably better than his teammates’ jump shots back then; in fact, it was poor. But Allen took control, and over time, with hard work and dedication, he transformed his jump shot into one so graceful and natural that people assumed he was born with it. He took advantage of his gift—his real gift.

Key words & phrases

1)      at one level or another   某种水平上，或多或少地

2)      cognitive   adj. 认知的; 认识的

3)      buy into   买进，接受

4)      lottery   n. 彩票

5)      firsthand   adj./adv. 第一手的[地]

6)      testimony   n. 证词，证明，证据

7)      shooter   n. 射手

8)      commentator   n. 评论员

9)      a shooting touch   投篮手感

10)   innate   adj. 天生的，特有的

11)   three-pointer   三分球

12)   jump shot   跳投

13)   piss somebody off   使…生气，使…厌烦

14)   undermine   v. 逐渐削弱，从根基处破坏

15)   noticeably   adv. 显著地，明显地

16)   dedication   n. 奉献，献身精神