如何在压力下保持冷静 - 诺阿·影山 (Noa Kageyama) 和 陈本本 (Pen-Pen Chen)：英语精读讲义

Your favorite athlete closes in for a victorious win. 短語動詞

你最喜欢的运动员正向着胜利冲刺。

The crowd holds its breath, 習語

观众屏住了呼吸，

and at the crucial moment,

然而在关键时刻，

she misses the shot.

她失手了。

That competitor just experienced the phenomenon known as choking, 用詞

这名选手刚刚经历了被称为“怯场”的现象，

where despite months, 語法

在这种情况下，尽管有几个月，

even years of practice,

甚至几年的练习，

a person fails right when it matters most. 短語搭配

一个人却在最关键的时刻失败了。

Choking is common in sports,

怯场在体育运动中很常见，

where performance often occurs under intense pressure and depends on key moments. 短語搭配

因为运动表现通常是在巨大的压力下进行的，并且取决于关键时刻。

And yet, 表達脈絡

然而，

performance anxiety also haunts public speakers, 習語

表现焦虑也困扰着公开演讲者、

contestants in spelling bees, 文化背景

拼字比赛的参赛者，

and even world-famous musicians.

甚至是世界著名的音乐家。

Most people intuitively blame it on their nerves, 短語搭配

大多数人凭直觉将此归咎于紧张，

but why does being nervous undermine expert performance? 用詞

但是为什么紧张会破坏专家的表现呢？

There are two sets of theories,

有两套理论，

which both say that primarily choking under pressure boils down to focus. 短語動詞

它们都认为在压力下怯场主要归结于注意力。

First,

首先，

there are the distraction theories.

是分心理论。

These suggest that performance suffers when the mind is preoccupied with worries, 短語搭配

该理论认为，当大脑被担忧、

doubts, or fears,

怀疑或恐惧占据，

instead of focusing its attention on performing the task at hand. 短語搭配

而不是将注意力集中在手头的任务上时，表现就会受到影响。

When relevant and irrelevant thoughts compete for the same attention, 語法

当相关和不相关的想法争夺同样的注意力时，

something has to give. 習語

必然会有所牺牲。

The brain can only process so much information at once. 語法

大脑一次只能处理有限的信息。

Tasks that challenge working memory, 用詞

挑战工作记忆的任务，

the mental scratchpad we use to temporarily store phone numbers and grocery lists,

也就是我们用来临时存储电话号码和购物清单的心理便签本，

are especially vulnerable to pressure. 短語搭配

特别容易受到压力的影响。

In a 2004 study,

在 2004 年的一项研究中，

a group of university students were asked to perform math problems, 語法

一组大学生被要求解答数学题，

some easy, 語法

有些很容易，

others more complex and memory-intensive

另一些则更复杂且需要大量记忆。

Half the students completed both problem types with nothing at stake, 習語

一半的学生在毫无压力的情况下完成了这两种类型的题目，

while the others completed them when calm and under pressure.

而另一半学生则在平静和有压力的情况下完成了这些题目。

While everyone did well on the easy problems, 語法

虽然每个人在简单的题目上都做得很好，

those who were stressed performed worse on the more difficult memory-intensive tasks.

但那些承受压力的人在更困难、更依赖记忆的任务上表现较差。

Explicit monitoring theories make up the second group of explanations for choking under pressure. 講解

外显监控理论是对压力下怯场的第二组解释。

They're concerned with how pressure can cause people to overanalyze the task at hand. 用詞

它们关注压力如何导致人们过度分析手头的任务。

Here,

在这里，

the logic goes that once a skill becomes automatic, 講解

逻辑是，一旦某项技能变得自动化，

thinking about its precise mechanics interferes with your ability to do it. 語法

思考其精确的机制就会干扰你执行它的能力。

Tasks we do unconsciously seem to be most vulnerable to this kind of choking.

我们下意识完成的任务似乎最容易受到这种怯场的影响。

A study on competitive golfers compared their performance when instructed to simply focus on putting as accurately as possible 表達脈絡

一项对竞技高尔夫球手的研究比较了他们在被指示只需专注于尽可能准确地推杆时的表现，

versus when they were primed to be acutely aware of the mechanics of their putting stroke. 短語搭配

与被引导去敏锐地意识到推杆动作的机制时的表现。

Golfers usually perform this action subconsciously,

高尔夫球手通常是下意识地执行这个动作的，

so those who suddenly tuned in to the precise details of their own moves also became worse at making accurate shots. 講解

所以那些突然关注自己动作精确细节的人，在击球的准确度上也变得更差。

Choking may not be inevitable for everyone, 表達脈絡

怯场对每个人来说未必都是不可避免的，

though.

不过。

Research suggests that some are more susceptible than others, 短語搭配

研究表明，有些人比其他人更敏感，

especially those who are self-conscious,

尤其是那些有自我意识、

anxious, and afraid of being judged negatively by others. 語法

焦虑、害怕被别人给予负面评价的人。

So,

那么，

how can we avoid choking when it really counts? 習語

我们怎样才能在真正关键的时刻避免怯场呢？

First,

首先，

it helps to practice under stressful conditions. 語法

在有压力的条件下练习是有帮助的。

In a study on expert dart players,

在一项针对飞镖专家的研究中，

researchers found that those who hadn't practiced under stress performed worse when anxious,

研究人员发现，那些没有在压力下练习过的人在焦虑时表现更差，

compared to those who had become accustomed to pressure. 短語搭配

相比那些已经习惯了压力的人。

Secondly,

其次，

many performers extol the virtues of a pre-performance routine, 用詞

许多表演者称赞表演前惯例的好处，

whether it's taking a few deep breaths, 語法

无论是深呼吸几次，

repeating a cue word,

重复一个提示词，

or doing a rhythmic sequence of movements.

还是做一组有节奏的动作。

Studies on golfing,

关于高尔夫、

bowling, and water polo

保龄球和水球的研究

find that short rituals can lead to more consistent and accurate performance under pressure. 短語搭配

发现，简短的仪式可以在压力下带来更稳定和准确的表现。

And thirdly,

第三，

researchers have shown that having an external focus on the ultimate goal works better than an internal focus, 語法

研究人员表明，将注意力集中在最终目标上比内部聚焦效果更好，

where someone is tuned into the mechanics of what they're doing.

内部聚焦是指某人专注于他们正在做的动作机制。

A study of experienced golfers revealed that those who hit chip shots while focused on the flight of the ball 文化背景

一项对经验丰富的高尔夫球手的研究显示，那些在专注于球的飞行轨迹时击打劈起球的人

performed significantly better than those who focused on the motion of their arms.

表现明显好于那些专注于手臂动作的人。

So,

所以，

perhaps we can modify that age-old saying, 短語搭配

也许我们可以修改那句古老的谚语，

practice under pressure, 表達脈絡

在压力下练习，

with focus,

保持专注，

and with that glorious end goal in sight makes perfect. 短語搭配

并在视线中确立那辉煌的最终目标，才能熟能生巧。

For a nail-biting example of persevering under pressure, 習語

如果想看一个在压力下坚持不懈、令人紧张得咬指甲的例子，

we highly recommend The Boys in the Boat.

我们强烈推荐《The Boys in the Boat》（船上的男孩）。

It tells the gripping true story of nine American rowers and their quest for gold at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. 文化背景

它讲述了九名美国赛艇运动员在 1936 年纳粹德国奥运会上争夺金牌的扣人心弦的真实故事。

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您可以在 audible.com/teded 免费下载本书的音频版本。

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通过此链接开始的每一次免费试用都有助于支持 TED-Ed 的非营利使命。