如何在壓力下保持冷靜 - 諾亞·影山 (Noa Kageyama) 和 陳本本 (Pen-Pen Chen)：英語精讀講義

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

你最喜歡的運動員正朝著勝利衝刺。

The crowd holds its breath, 慣用語

觀眾屏住了呼吸，

and at the crucial moment,

然而在關鍵時刻，

she misses the shot.

她失手了。

That competitor just experienced the phenomenon known as choking, 用詞

這名選手剛剛經歷了被稱為「怯場」（choking）的現象，

where despite months, 文法

在這種情況下，儘管有幾個月，

even years of practice,

甚至幾年的練習，

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

一個人卻在最關鍵的時刻失敗了。

Choking is common in sports,

怯場在體育運動中很常見，

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

因為運動表現通常是在巨大的壓力下進行的，並且取決於關鍵時刻。

And yet, 表達脈絡

然而，

performance anxiety also haunts public speakers, 慣用語

表現焦慮也困擾著公開演講者、

contestants in spelling bees, 文化背景

拼字比賽的參賽者，

and even world-famous musicians.

甚至是世界著名的音樂家。

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

大多數人憑直覺將此歸咎於緊張，

but why does being nervous undermine expert performance? 用詞

但是為什麼緊張會破壞專家的表現呢？

There are two sets of theories,

有兩套理論，

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

它們都認為在壓力下怯場主要歸結於注意力。

First,

首先，

there are the distraction theories.

是分心理論。

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

該理論認為，當大腦被擔憂、

doubts, or fears,

懷疑或恐懼佔據，

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

而不是將注意力集中在手頭的任務上時，表現就會受到影響。

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

當相關和不相關的想法爭奪同樣的注意力時，

something has to give. 慣用語

必然會有所犧牲。

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

大腦一次只能處理有限的資訊。

Tasks that challenge working memory, 用詞

挑戰工作記憶的任務，

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

也就是我們用來臨時存儲電話號碼和購物清單的心理便簽本，

are especially vulnerable to pressure. 片語搭配

特別容易受到壓力的影響。

In a 2004 study,

在 2004 年的一項研究中，

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

一組大學生被要求解答數學題，

some easy, 文法

有些很容易，

others more complex and memory-intensive

另一些則更複雜且需要大量記憶。

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

一半的學生在毫無壓力的情況下完成了這兩種類型的題目，

while the others completed them when calm and under pressure.

而另一半學生則在平靜和有壓力的情況下完成了這些題目。

While everyone did well on the easy problems, 文法

雖然每個人在簡單的題目上都做得很好，

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

但那些承受壓力的人在更困難、更依賴記憶的任務上表現較差。

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

外顯監控理論是對壓力下怯場的第二組解釋。

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

它們關注壓力如何導致人們過度分析手頭的任務。

Here,

在這裡，

the logic goes that once a skill becomes automatic, 講解

邏輯是，一旦某項技能變得自動化，

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

思考其精確的機制就會干擾你執行它的能力。

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

我們下意識完成的任務似乎最容易受到這種怯場的影響。

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

一項對競技高爾夫球手的研究比較了他們在被指示只需專注於盡可能準確地推桿時的表現，

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

與被引導去敏銳地意識到推桿動作的機制時的表現。

Golfers usually perform this action subconsciously,

高爾夫球手通常是下意識地執行這個動作的，

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

所以那些突然關注自己動作精確細節的人，在擊球的準確度上也變得更差。

Choking may not be inevitable for everyone, 表達脈絡

怯場對每個人來說未必都是不可避免的，

though.

不過。

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

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識、

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

焦慮、害怕被別人給予負面評價的人。

So,

那麼，

how can we avoid choking when it really counts? 慣用語

我們怎樣才能在真正關鍵的時刻避免怯場呢？

First,

首先，

it helps to practice under stressful conditions. 文法

在有壓力的條件下練習是有幫助的。

In a study on expert dart players,

在一項針對飛鏢專家的研究中，

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

研究人員發現，那些沒有在壓力下練習過的人在焦慮時表現更差，

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

相比那些已經習慣了壓力的人。

Secondly,

其次，

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

許多表演者稱讚表演前慣例的好處，

whether it's taking a few deep breaths, 文法

無論是深呼吸幾次，

repeating a cue word,

重複一個提示詞，

or doing a rhythmic sequence of movements.

還是做一組有節奏的動作。

Studies on golfing,

關於高爾夫、

bowling, and water polo

保齡球和水球的研究

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

發現，簡短的儀式可以在壓力下帶來更穩定和準確的表現。

And thirdly,

第三，

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

研究人員表明，將注意力集中在最終目標上比內部聚焦效果更好，

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

內部聚焦是指某人專注於他們正在做的動作機制。

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

一項對經驗豐富的高爾夫球手的研究顯示，那些在專注於球的飛行軌跡時擊打劈起球的人

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

表現明顯好於那些專注於手臂動作的人。

So,

所以，

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

也許我們可以修改那句古老的諺語，

practice under pressure, 表達脈絡

在壓力下練習，

with focus,

保持專注，

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

並在視線中確立那輝煌的最終目標，才能熟能生巧。

For a nail-biting example of persevering under pressure, 慣用語

如果想看一個在壓力下堅持不懈、令人緊張得咬指甲的例子，

we highly recommend The Boys in the Boat.

我們強烈推薦《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

它講述了九名美國賽艇運動員在 1936 年納粹德國奧運會上爭奪金牌的扣人心弦的真實故事。

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您可以在 audible.com/teded 免費下載本書的音訊版本。

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透過此連結開始的每一次免費試用都有助於支持 TED-Ed 的非營利使命。