英语_课本_8A_Unit03_curious minds

【B】 Keeping your curious mind (Speaking)

Yiming: Hey, Bailing! How was your holiday?
Bailing: Pretty good! I read seven books.
Yiming: Wow, that's a lot!
Bailing: My brother kept asking me strange questions, so I had to look for answers in books.
Yiming: Really? So, what did he ask?
Bailing: Well, why do we have two eyes when we can see even with just one? Do you know?
Yiming: No, I don't!
Bailing: I didn't, either. Luckily, books seem to have the answer to everything! And the more I read, the more I wanted to find out.
Yiming: Good for you! Any good books to recommend?
Bailing: Tons! But don't read them all at once, or you'll ruin your eyesight!
Yiming: Maybe that's why we have two eyes instead of one! So we can read more!

一鸣：嘿，百灵！假期过得怎么样？
百灵：挺不错！我读了七本书呢。

一鸣：哇，这么多！
百灵：我弟弟总问我些奇怪问题，害得我只好去书里找答案。

一鸣：真的吗？他都问什么了？
百灵：比如——明明一只眼睛也能看见，为什么人长两只眼睛？你知道吗？

一鸣：不知道哎！
百灵：我之前也不知道。幸好书上什么答案都有！而且越读越想弄明白。

一鸣：真厉害！有什么好书推荐吗？
百灵：多着呢！不过可别一口气全看完，会把眼睛看坏的！

一鸣：说不定这就是人类长两只眼睛的原因——为了能多看点儿书！

【C】 Benefits of curiosity (Reading)

The power of curiosity

“Why?” the little girl asks her father. He gives an answer, and she asks again, “Why?” To the parent, these questions may seem never-ending, even a little annoying. But a child's curiosity is very important for the growing mind.

Curiosity helps the brain to better take in new information.
In a 2014 study, the researcher invited some people to rate their curiosity about some questions before telling them the answers.

One hour later, the researcher tested how well they remembered the answers. Results showed that when people
were very curious about the fact, they were 30% more likely to remember it.

Curiosity also leads to more exciting ideas. In 1918, magician Harry made a big elephant disappear on the stage. In a recent experiment, people were asked how curious they were about Harry's trick and then given a few minutes to design their own magic tricks. It turned out the more curious group came up with more wonderful ideas.

Curiosity encourages people to deepen knowledge and understanding in different areas. Jeff Armstrong, a successful. engineer, designs cars. “As a kid, I was crazy about cars,” says Jeff.

“I learned to do simple repairs to the family car. This led me to study engineering.” Dr Fiona Grey, a leading heart doctor, says, “As a girl, I was very curious about how the human body worked, so I studied medicine.”

As Richard Feynman said, “Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough.”

Therefore, keep a curious mind-keep asking why. You never know where it may lead you!

"为什么？"小女孩不停地追问父亲。每当父亲给出答案，她总会再次抛出这个疑问。在父母眼中，这些问题或许永无止境，甚至令人心烦。但对成长中的大脑而言，孩童的好奇心至关重要。

好奇心能帮助大脑更高效地吸收新信息。2014年的一项研究中，研究者先让受试者对某些问题的好奇程度进行评分，再告知答案。一小时后测试记忆效果发现：人们对特别好奇的事实，记忆准确率要高出30%。

这种特质还能激发绝妙创意。1918年，魔术师哈里让大象在舞台上凭空消失。最新实验中，研究者先询问受试者对该魔术的好奇程度，再让其设计魔术创意。结果显示：好奇心越强的组别，提出的点子越精彩。

好奇心更能推动跨领域深度学习。成功汽车工程师杰夫·阿姆斯特朗坦言："儿时对汽车的痴迷，让我从修理家用车起步，最终走上工程学道路。"著名心脏外科医生菲奥娜·格雷博士同样表示："少女时代对人体运作机制的好奇，促使我投身医学。"

正如物理学家理查德·费曼所言："世间万物，只要钻研得足够深入，都会变得趣味盎然。"保持追问"为什么"的习惯吧——你永远不知道好奇心会把你引向何方！