The Forty Most Importnt Minutes Each Day 一天最重要的40分钟

缪兰

Recently I had a talk in Beijing with an adult Chinese friend who was complaining (抱怨) how difficult it is to study English. No surprises there. It is a difficult language to learn, just like Chinese。

最近我在北京听一位中国朋友吐槽英语难学。这并不奇怪，英语跟中文一样，都不好学。

I made a few suggestions based on my own experience. One involved a very valuable fact which I learned from my high school Latin and Greek teacher. He had an amazing ability to memorize (记忆) things, like poetry (诗歌), speeches, etc.

根据亲身经历，我有几点建议，其中也包括我高中拉丁语和希腊语老师的真传。那位老师对诗歌、演讲等记忆力超群。

His advice to us students was that there are forty minutes each day in which our memory is better than it is during the other 23 hours and 20 minutes. This 40-minute “super memory” period is divided into two parts: the 20 minutes before we sleep, and the 20 minutes after we first awake.

他告诉我们这些学生，人在一天之中有40分钟记忆力比其余23小时20分更佳。而这“记忆超强”的40分钟又可以分为两段：临睡前的20分钟和醒来后的20分钟。

The reason is pretty simple. First, the last information you get into your brain before a good nights sleep has a better chance of taking root (扎根) than information you get during the hustle and bustle (熙熙攘攘) of normal daily routine; and, second, your mind is focused (集中的) when you first awake in the morning — so you can get more information, just like a blank sheet of paper.

理由十分简单。首先，在进入梦乡前把信息植入脑海比在白天乱哄哄的情景下更容易扎根；其次，早晨醒来精力不容易分散，能记下更多的信息，就像一张白纸。

I took the advice to heart and it served me well in my school years. In my university days, our Chinese teacher would teach us 200 new words each day, on which we would be quizzed (测验) the following day. Without the “magic” forty minute technique, theres no way I would have passed those daily quizzes.

我牢记他的教诲，上学期间身体力行，受益良多。大学期间，我的中文老师每天都会教200个新单词，次日还要搞小测验。幸亏有这“魔力40分钟”秘笈，否则我早就“挂科”了。

The technique really works, but like many things, it needs practice and self-discipline (自律).

这个办法真的很管用，但和其他很多事一样，也需要练习和自律。

As far as language study goes, its not only useful for memorizing vocabulary. Its also a very useful period of time in which to listen to the language youre studying, even as background noise, and even if its at a level you find difficult to comprehend (理解).

随着语言学习的深入，这个方法不仅对背单词有帮助。在这个过程中,听你正在学习的语言，甚至是背景的噪音，或者是你觉得难以理解的难度的内容，也可以成为锻炼听力的最佳时段。

Beyond our years of formal education, memory skills are also important in any career.

记忆力除了上学必需外，在各行各业中也很重要。

How many times have you heard a speaker read their speech from a prepared text, or read the word-by-word content of a powerpoint presentation as they present each slide (幻灯片)?

你听过几个演讲人会照本宣科，又见过几个人在做演示时会逐字逐句地朗读每张幻灯片的文字？

These are boring, and ineffective ways of communicating. They are no doubt to lose the audiences close attention and interest. And yet lots of people still make this mistake.

这样的沟通方式枯燥乏味、效率低下，无疑会让听众兴趣索然，味同嚼蜡。但仍有很多人会犯这样的错误。

If you use the “forty minute” technique, you may not succeed in memorizing your presentation contents word by word, but youll be familiar enough that you can spend much more time making eye contact with your audience. You will attract them in the process, while glancing at your text instead of staring at it.

运用“40分钟”技巧，也许你并不能一字不落地背诵演示稿，却可以充分熟悉内容，从而留出更多时间与听众进行眼神交流。你可以吸引观众注意力，抽空儿再扫一眼屏幕，不用紧盯不放。

Memory is of course a big challenge for any language learner, especially as we grow older. Possibly an even bigger challenge, which starts around the early years for most people and gets worse later, is the fear of looking or sounding stupid. Younger children learn language so quickly, because they are not afraid to make mistakes.

不管学习哪国外语，记忆都是个难题，特别是随着年龄的增长。另外一个更大的难题可能是大多数人从年少时起就害怕出丑，而且越老越怕。小孩子学习语言会更快，因为他们不怕犯错。

So, for young people learning English, my advice would be: to seize the forty-minute learning window; dont be afraid of making mistakes; and to find ways to use the language outside of the classroom, as much as possible。

所以，对学英语的年轻人，我有以下几个建议：要抓住四十分钟的学习时间，要克服害怕犯错的心态，要在课余时间尽量找机会多用。

One basic rule of language learning is: “Use it, or lose it.”

语言学习的根本法则就是“用进废退”。