Tips forlmproving Learning Ability 提高學習能力的小竅門

苗淑華

Do you have a hard time learning or studying？ Do you want to become a better learner？ Well if you follow this guide， you will have no problem mastering the art of learning.

你有學習遇到困難的時候嗎？你想成為一個更好的學習者嗎？那么如果你按照這個方法指導，掌握好學習的藝術就沒有問題。

1. First， you must prepare yourself for the learning ahead by getting the disturbances1 out of your way.

1. 首先，你必須事先為學習做好準備，避免生活瑣事的干擾。

Take a piece of paper and quickly write down everything that is bothering you or any-thing that might be a disturbance for you when you are about to learn. If this is in preparation for a school day， try to do this BEFORE you go to school.

拿出一張紙，快速寫下所有困擾你的事情，或者在你即將學習時會對你產生干擾的事情。如果這是為了上學做準備，那么在你去學校之前嘗試一下。

Once you have your list written up， start at the most important problems and fix them， working your way from your biggest problems to your smallest. This should include ANYTHING that might be bothering you be-cause anything， even the smallest of disturbances will affect2 how well your brain processes3 information. Your disturbances should fully be taken care of （if you have to go to the bathroom， DO IT！）.

一寫好清單，就從最重要的問題開始解決，按你的方式從最大的問題到最小的問題。這應該包括任何可能會困擾你的事情，因為任何事情，即使是最小的干擾都會影響到大腦處理信息的效率。所有干擾都應該完全解決掉（如果你得去一下洗手間，就快去吧！）。

2. To begin focusing4 in on learning， you must remove all disturbances from your area of study. Find a quiet area and remove all distur-

bances from it.

2. 要開始專心學習，你必須從學習領域中排除所有干擾。找一個安靜的地方，并消除所有的干擾。

If you have a computer on， and its not the source of learning， turn it off. Make the room as quiet as possible.

如果你的電腦開著，而且它不是用來學習的，請將其關閉。盡可能保持房間安靜。

Close the shades and windows so as little light as possible enters the room and then turn on lights to a level that allows you to see your material clearly but while still being dimmer than normal. This step is very important to keeping your brain from focusing on your en-vironment. When choosing a room， try a place with a comfortable armchair or bed/coach to lie down on. A good place is your own bedroom， as long as it is empty of any people and totally quiet.

關上百葉窗和窗戶，這樣可以盡可能減少光線進入房間。然后開燈，光線亮度足夠讓你看清學習資料，但仍比正常情況下昏暗一些。這一步對防止你的大腦關注周圍環境而言至關重要。選擇房間時，請試著找一間有可以舒適躺著的扶手椅或床/沙發的。最佳地點是你自己的臥室，只要那兒沒有別人并且完全安靜。

3. Now onto the learning. After your 10 minutes in the shower or some other similar activity， you need to relax. Now， gather your learning materials in front of you， and begin. Take deep breathing and pay no attention to anything around you BUT what you are learn-ing. Read EVERY line， and every important piece of information. You will remember it if you follow these instructions！

3. 現在開始學習。在沐浴10分鐘或其他類似活動后，你需要徹底放松一下。現在，收集整理好你面前的學習資料，開始學習吧。深呼吸，不要被身邊任何事物影響，只關注你在學習的內容。讀每一行字和每一個重要信息。如果你按照以下方法做，就能牢牢記住它們！

4. Every 15 minutes， stop and practice what youve just learned （or if this is impossi-ble， go back and re-read only the most impor-tant parts of the article/topic）.

4. 每隔15分鐘暫停，并練習剛才學到的東西（或者如果做不到，請返回并重新閱讀文章/科目中最重要的部分）。

5. Remember， your brain is more likely to remember something big and loud than some-thing dull and boring.

5. 請記住，比起沉悶和無聊的事物，大腦更容易記住那些體積大而聲音大的事物。

For instance， a tiger escapes from the zoo and chooses to chase you. You will most likely remember that event more than the cereal you ate for breakfast less than a week ago. This tiger attack5 will cause your brain to snap6 pictures twice as fast and all at once focusing in on the one event. This， by accident， takes all other information in your brain， and saves it along with the memory of the tiger. Without even meaning to， you will probably find， had you really been attacked by a tiger and survived7， that you will probably have noticed EVERY detail.

例如，一只老虎從動物園逃跑并選擇追你。比起不到一周前早餐吃的麥片，你更有可能記得這個事情。老虎攻擊這種事會讓你的大腦以兩倍的速度拍攝照片，并立即聚焦于這次事件。大腦中的所有其他信息與老虎的記憶一起偶然間被保存下來。你很可能會發現，如果你真的遭到一只老虎的襲擊并幸存下來，那么你可能會不自覺地注意到每一個細節。

The point now is to make your brain think learning your dull and boring topic is as im-portant as remembering how you escaped from that tiger！Dont worry. Its easier done than said in this case！

現在的重點是，讓你的大腦認為學習那些沉悶而無聊的課程與記住你如何逃離虎口一樣重要！不用擔心，這種情況下說起來比做起來容易！

Allow yourself to think of important events， or listen to music. Both will allow you to associate8 yourself with the topic when you hear or think of those things.

讓自己想起重要的事件，或聽音樂。當你聽到或想到這些事情時，兩者都可以讓你將自己與這個題目聯系起來。

6. Once you have finished the last step， relax yourself and repeat the processes of learning. Do this for about 1 to 2 hours per session， breaking every 15 minutes. After your desired session length is over， dont start the process again for at least 4 hours！Your brain needs this time to sort， organize， process， and store this new information！

6. 一完成前一個步驟，就可以放松自己并重復學習過程。每個課程大約1至2小時，每15分鐘休息一次。如果完成了所需的課程時長，請不要在至少4小時內再次進行該過程！大腦需要這個時間對這些新信息進行排序、整理、處理和存儲！

7. If you follow these steps to the line， and use your best judgement9， you will suc-ceed in learning your topic. You will notice at once that this will become an easy and efficient10 task for you and you should also find that your brain remembers far better than you had ever thought it could. So away with you， and happy learning！

7. 如果你按照這些步驟行事，并用理智控制，你就會順利學好功課。你會立即注意到，學習對你來說變得簡單而有效，你也會發現自己的大腦記憶比你想象的要好得多。所以快去吧，學習快樂！

Notes：

1. disturbance n. 干擾

2. affect vt. 影響

3. process n. 過程，進行；方法，步驟；作用；程序

4. focus vt. 使集中；使聚焦

5. attack n. & v. 攻擊；抨擊

6. snap v. 快照

7. survive vi. 幸存；活下來

8. associate vt. 聯想；使聯合；使發生聯系

9. judgement n. 意見；判斷力；[法]審判；評價

10. efficient adj. 有效率的；（直接）生效的；能干的