赏析版2011年7-12月经济学人文章(英汉双语对照)汇(11)

vocabulary quickly show more activity in the hippocampus. Krebs‘s brain, preserved in slices at a laboratory in Düsseldorf, shows various unusual features.

不同的假说也许能够解释语言学习者的部分天赋。有一些精通超多语言者显现出自闭的倾向。Erard先生以剑桥大学Simon Baron-Cohen的理论作为例证，即自闭症患者拥有―极端男性大脑‖以寻求对事物系统性地掌握。另一个假设则是―Geschwind-Galaburda‖的特征簇。这一被推测为因孕期非正常接触到荷尔蒙而导致的特征包括男性向、同性恋、左撇子、立体空间辨别力差、免疫系统紊乱，也可能是学习语言的天赋。大脑的区域与特定的人体机能相联系。专业语音学者的左听皮质区比常人大，而能够快速学习新词汇的人大脑海马区域较常人活跃。Kreb的大脑切片被保存在杜塞尔多夫的一个实验室里，其显示出多种不同寻常的特质。

The discovery of the FOXP2 brain gene, a mutation of which can cause language loss, was met with considerable excitement when it was announced over a decade ago. But the reality is that many parts of the brain work together to produce speech and no single gene, region of the brain or theory can explain successful language-learning. In the end Mr Erard is happy simply to meet interesting characters, tell fascinating tales and round up the research without trying to judge which is the best work.

十多年前，对FOXP2大脑基因突变会导致语言能力丧失这一发现的公布使众人激动不已。事实上，话语能力是大脑的许多部分共同运作而产生的，没有任何单独的基因、大脑区域或理论的不同领域可以成功解释语言学习。最后，Erard先生只能满足于结实有趣之人、叙述精彩故事和搜集科研的喜悦之情，而非对这些研究的优劣妄加评判。

At the end of his story, however, he finds a surprise in Mezzofanti‘s archive: flashcards. Stacks of them, in Georgian, Hungarian, Arabic, Algonquin and nine other tongues. The world‘s most celebrated hyperpolyglot relied on the same tools given to first-year language-learners today. The conclusion? Hyperpolyglots may begin with talent, but they aren‘t geniuses. They simply enjoy tasks that are drudgery to normal people. The talent and enjoyment drive a virtuous cycle that pushes them to feats others simply shake their heads at, admiration mixed with no small amount of incomprehension.

然而，在著述的末尾，他在Messofanti的档案资料中找到令人惊讶的发现：抽认卡——一大堆的抽认卡，格鲁吉亚语，匈牙利语，阿拉伯语，阿尔贡金语以及另外九中语言——举世最著名的通晓超多语言者也要依靠这一现今我们为语言初学者所准备的工具。结论呢？精通超多语言者最初确实可能由能力而起，但他们也并非天才而只是能够对一般人觉得单调乏味的工作感到乐在其中。这一由天赋和兴趣所形成的良性循环驱策着他们成就另他人望而却步的事业，而在得到他人钦佩的同时也伴随着更多的不解。 译者：stella_tang

[2011.12.31] Kim Jong Il 少帅金正日

Kim Jong Il, dictator of North Korea, died on December 17th, aged 69 or 70

朝鲜独裁者金正日少帅12月17日撒手人寰，享年69或70岁

Dec 31st 2011 | from the print edition

IT WAS all bogus, he said once. The gaggle of pretty young women jumping up and down at a state reception, screaming out praises of Kim Jong Il, didn‘t really mean it. It was a lie, too, he said, to show North Korean children on television with plump, rosy cheeks singing hymns to the Motherland. It would have been more truthful to show them in rags and starving. But he preferred to maintain the illusion.