考試拿高分的五個(gè)秘訣(雙語(yǔ))

　　Five secrets to revising that can boost your grades

　　復(fù)習(xí)考試：拿高分的五個(gè)秘訣

　　A huge new study of how people learn reveals the best techniques for exam success

　　一個(gè)關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)方式的新的大型調(diào)查揭示了考試拿高分的最好的技巧

　　How do you get the most out of your revision time, and end up with the best grades you can? Or, if you're a different sort of student, how can you get the same grades you're getting now, but spend less time revising?

　　怎樣復(fù)習(xí)最有效，同時(shí)能讓你在考試時(shí)取得最好的成績(jī)? 或者，如果你屬于另一類(lèi)學(xué)生，怎樣用更短的復(fù)習(xí)時(shí)間拿到和現(xiàn)在一樣的成績(jī)?

　　Either way, you need to know how to learn better. And fortunately, decades of research carried out by psychologists about learning and memory has produced some clear advice on doing just that.

　　無(wú)論你屬于哪種情況，都需要知道怎樣能學(xué)得更好。幸運(yùn)的是，心理學(xué)家關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)和記憶的數(shù)十年的研究，為我們?cè)谶@方面提供了一些清晰的建議。

　　As an experimental psychologist, I am especially interested in learning. Most research on learning is done in a lab, with volunteers who come in once or twice to learn simple skills or lists of words.

　　作為一名實(shí)驗(yàn)心理學(xué)家，我對(duì)學(xué)習(xí)這一話題尤其感興趣。大多數(shù)關(guān)于學(xué)習(xí)機(jī)理的研究都是通過(guò)讓志愿者來(lái)一次或者兩次實(shí)驗(yàn)室，學(xué)習(xí)簡(jiǎn)單的技能和單詞表的方式進(jìn)行的。

　　Wouldn't it be better, I thought, if we could study learning by looking at a skill people are practising anyway? And could we draw links between how people practise and how good they eventually get?

　　我在想，如果可以通過(guò)觀察人們?cè)鯓油ㄟ^(guò)練習(xí)掌握一門(mén)技能或者找到聯(lián)系練習(xí)和結(jié)果的規(guī)律，豈不是更好?

　　Computer games provide a great way to study learning: they are something people spend many hours practising, and they automatically record every action people take as they practise. Players even finish the game with a score that tells them how good they are.

　　電腦游戲?yàn)檠芯繉W(xué)習(xí)機(jī)理提供了一個(gè)極好的例子：人們花很多時(shí)間玩游戲，而游戲會(huì)同時(shí)自動(dòng)記錄玩家練習(xí)時(shí)的每個(gè)動(dòng)作。游戲結(jié)束的時(shí)候，玩家甚至?xí)玫椒从匙约核降姆謹(jǐn)?shù)。

　　Using data from a simple online game, my colleague Mike Dewar and I could analyse how more than 850,000 people learned to play. The resulting scientific paper, which has just been published, shows in unprecedented detail the shape of the learning curve, allowing us to test existing theories of learning, as well as suggesting some new ideas on the best ways to learn.

　　通過(guò)一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲的數(shù)據(jù)，我和我的同事邁克·杜瓦分析出八十五萬(wàn)余人是如何玩這個(gè)游戲的，這一研究結(jié)果剛剛以科學(xué)論文的形式發(fā)表。在論文中我們以前所未有的細(xì)節(jié)展示了學(xué)習(xí)曲線形狀，由此我們得以測(cè)試現(xiàn)有學(xué)習(xí)理論，同時(shí)針對(duì)最好的學(xué)習(xí)方式提出一些新的想法。

　　So here are my five evidence-based tips on how to learn:

　　因而在此提出五條關(guān)于怎樣學(xué)習(xí)的基于事實(shí)依據(jù)的建議：

　　1. Space your practice

　　1. 延長(zhǎng)練習(xí)間隔時(shí)間

　　Our analysis showed that people who leave longer gaps between practice attempts go on to score higher. In fact, the longer the gaps, the higher the scores.

　　我們的分析表明，練習(xí)間隔時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)的人，更傾向于得高分。實(shí)際上，間隔時(shí)間越長(zhǎng)，得分會(huì)越高。

　　The difference is huge: people who leave more than 24 hours between their first five attempts at the game and their second five attempts score as highly, on average, as people who have practiced 50% more than them.

　　間隔時(shí)間不同導(dǎo)致的區(qū)別是巨大的：第一波五次嘗試和第二波間隔時(shí)間超過(guò)24小時(shí)的人群平均得分高達(dá)那些比他們多練習(xí)了50%的人群。

　　Our finding confirms lots of other research: if you want to study effectively, you should spread out your revision rather than cramming. This is easier said than done, but if you are organised enough, you can spend less time revising and remember more.

　　我們的發(fā)現(xiàn)證實(shí)了很多其他的研究：如果想要有效地學(xué)習(xí)，你應(yīng)該擴(kuò)展和分散你的復(fù)習(xí)時(shí)間而不是臨時(shí)抱佛腳。這說(shuō)來(lái)容易做來(lái)難，但如果你足夠有條理，你可以花更少的時(shí)間復(fù)習(xí)同時(shí)記住更多內(nèi)容。

　　2. Make sure you fail occasionally

　　2. 確保你偶爾會(huì)失誤

　　A new result from our analysis shows that people who are most inconsistent when they first start have better scores later on.

　　我們的分析得到一個(gè)新的結(jié)論：開(kāi)始玩的時(shí)候分?jǐn)?shù)不穩(wěn)定的人會(huì)在后面的時(shí)候得到更高的比分。

　　Our theory is that these people are exploring how the game works, rather than trying to get the very highest score they can every time.

　　我們的理論是這些人開(kāi)始的時(shí)候是在探索這個(gè)游戲是怎樣運(yùn)行的而不是每次都盡最大努力得到最高的分?jǐn)?shù)。

　　The moral is clear: invest some time in trying things out, which may mean failing occasionally, if you want to maximise learning in the long run.

　　道理是明顯的：從長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)角度，如果你想要最大化地學(xué)習(xí)，首先投資些時(shí)間去嘗試，這也許意味著偶爾的失誤。

　　3. Practise the thing you'll be tested on

　　3.練習(xí)要被測(cè)試的內(nèi)容

　　The big mistake many students make is not practising the thing they will be tested on. If your exam involves writing an essay, you need to practise essay-writing. Merely memorising the material is not enough.

　　很多學(xué)生犯的最大錯(cuò)誤在于沒(méi)有練習(xí)他們要被測(cè)試的內(nèi)容。如果你的考試涉及寫(xiě)文章，你需要練習(xí)文章寫(xiě)作。單純地記憶材料是不夠的。

　　Writing exam answers is a skill, just like playing an online game is a skill. You wouldn't try and improve at a game by trying to memorise moves, you'd practise making them.

　　考試作答是一項(xiàng)技能，就像玩網(wǎng)游一樣。你不會(huì)通過(guò)嘗試記憶游戲的每個(gè)操作去提高技能，你會(huì)練習(xí)這些操作。

　　Other research confirms that practising retrieving information is one of the best ways to ensure you remember it.

　　其他研究證實(shí)：練習(xí)提取信息是確保記憶的最好方式之一。

　　4. Structure information, don't try to remember it

　　4.將信息結(jié)構(gòu)化，而不是嘗試去記憶

　　Trying to remember something has been shown to have almost no effect on whether you do remember it. The implication for revision is clear: just looking at your notes won't help you learn them.

　　嘗試記憶一些內(nèi)容已經(jīng)被證實(shí)對(duì)于你是否真的記住幾乎沒(méi)有任何效果。這一點(diǎn)對(duì)于復(fù)習(xí)的暗示是明確的：只是翻閱筆記不會(huì)有助于你的學(xué)習(xí)。

　　Instead, you need to reorganise the information in some way – whether by making notes of your notes, thinking about how what you're reading relates to other material, or practising writing answers. This approach, called "depth of processing", is the way to ensure material gets lodged in your memory.

　　相反，你需要以某種方式重組信息-無(wú)論是根據(jù)已有的筆記做筆記，思考你讀的東西怎樣關(guān)聯(lián)到其他材料，還是練習(xí)寫(xiě)出答案。這種被稱為“深度處理”的方法能確保這些材料扎根于你的記憶。

　　5. Rest and sleep

　　5. 休息和睡覺(jué)

　　New research shows that a brief rest after learning something can help you remember it a week later. Other experiments have shown that a full night's sleep helps you learn new skills or retain information.

　　新的研究表明學(xué)習(xí)新東西后短暫休息會(huì)幫助你在一個(gè)星期以后仍能記起。其他實(shí)驗(yàn)表明一個(gè)晚上的充足睡眠有助于新技能的學(xué)習(xí)和大腦的信息儲(chǔ)存。

　　Even napping can help consolidate your memories, and maybe even make you more creative. This is great news for those of us who like to nap during the day, and is a signal to all of us that staying up all night to revise probably isn't a good idea.

　　甚至連打盹兒也可以幫你加固記憶，甚至讓你更具創(chuàng)造力。這對(duì)于喜歡白天打盹的人而言是個(gè)好消息，也是對(duì)所有人的一個(gè)警示：晚上熬夜復(fù)習(xí)恐怕不是個(gè)好主意。