Passage 15 一万小时理论 The 10,000-Hour Rule

Step 1 阅读行不行

The 10,000-Hour Rule says that you need approximately1 10,000 hours of practice to become a world-class expert in a field. There is no other way: if you want to be a world-class expert in your field, you must do your 10,000 hours of practice.

Then, where should you invest your 10,000 hours of practice?

This question is important because 10,000 hours is a lot of time. If you consistently2 practice 4 hours a day for 6 days a week, you will still need 8 years to get 10,000 hours. So answering this question is essential3 . If you need to invest such a huge amount of time, you'd better do it right. You'd better find your niche4 .

To find your niche, I find the three questions below helpful. Answer them and you will have an idea of where you should go. Here they are:

1．Where have you invested your time?

One way to know where to invest your time is simply to look at where you have invested your time. For example, in the last few years you might have learned how to play music for one or two hours a day. Or you might have blogged about a certain topic. Or you might have spent a lot of time on gardening.

Those are good signs of where you should invest your 10,000 hours. You already invest part of that 10,000 hours so you only need to invest the rest. The difference is now you do it consciously5 and deliberately6 . You will be more effective that way.

2．What are your passions?

In fact, that's one reason why 10,000 hours is a magic number to become a world-class expert: almost everyone else fails before reaching that point. Only a few people can reach the 10,000 hours mark and that's why they become world class.

To help you reach the 10,000 hours mark, doing something you love is really helpful. It will help you go through difficult times. It will help you overcome boredom. Without it, the 10,000 hours will feel like a painful journey. It's highly unlike that you will ever reach the 10,000 hours mark that way.

3．What opportunities does the age give you?

Ask yourself: what opportunities does your birth date give you? What opportunities does the history give you at this point in time?

Answering these questions is not easy because it's difficult to see whether or not something will be hot. When Bill Gates did his 10,000 hours of practice to learn programming, he might not know that it would eventually put him in a perfect position to be a software mogul. You need to have faith in something and believe that the dots will eventually connect.

keywords and phrases

1 approximately /əˈprɒksɪmətlɪ/ adv. 近似地，大约

2 consistently /kən'sɪstəntlɪ/ adv. 一贯地，坚持地

3 essential /ɪ'senʃl/adj. 基本的；必要的n. 必需品；基本要素；必不可少的东西

4 niche /ni:ʃ/ n. 合适的位置（工作等）；商机

5 consciously /'kɒnʃəslɪ/ adv. 有意识地；自觉地

6 deliberately /dɪˈlɪbərətlɪ/ adv. 故意地；深思熟虑地

phrase to know

go through 在文中表示“经历，经受（尤指苦难或艰难时期）”，如：go through difficult times表示“度过困难时期”。此外，go through还可以表示“仔细察看，详细研究”，如：go through a company's accounts意为“仔细审查公司账目”；如果go through与法律、合同等词连用，则表示“（法律、合同等正式）通过，达成”，如：The deal did not go through. 意为“这笔交易未谈成”。

have faith in 表示“对……有信心”，如：I have great faith in you. 意为“我对你很有信心”。而lose faith in则表示“对……失去信心”, restore faith in表示“恢复信心”。如果要表示“对某人守信用”，可以说keep faith with sb；而break faith with sb则表示“对某人不守信用，不忠诚于某人”。

Step 2 手写行不行

★ 这次旅行大约花了50英镑。(approximately)

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★ 这是我们一贯坚持的原则。(consistently)

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★ 对我们来说，守时是非常必要的。(be essential for)

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★ 他在房地产市场找到了一个商机。(niche)

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★ 他在有意识地回避这个问题。(consciously)

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★ 他当时觉得那个人是故意取笑他。(be teased by)

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Step 3 口语行不行

Q1 What have you invested your time in the last few years？最近几年你把时间都花在哪里？

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Q2 How do you understand“10,000-hour Rule”？你如何理解“一万小时理论”？

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Q3 Give an example to explain“Practice makes perfect”. 举例说明“熟能生巧”的含义。

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试题解答篇

Step 2 手写行不行答案

1．The trip cost approximately 50 pounds.

2．This is the principle we have adhered to consistently.

3．It is essential for us to be punctual.

4．He found a niche in the property market.

5．He is consciously trying to evade the issue.

6．He felt that he had been deliberately teased by that man.

Step 3 口语行不行答案

1．In the last few years, I have spent most of my free time in cross stitch, which is a time-honored tradition, an elevated art form that has transcended many eras and lifestyles. For centuries, people have been stitching and I feel honored to participate in such a wonderful craft. I am fascinated in working patterns on pieces of fabric and hang them on the wall for decoration. Cross stitch puts me in my comfort zone. When there are so many day-to-day distractions that tax the brain, cross stitch has been a life saver. Cross stitch is also a daily reminder that there is still beauty in this world.

2．According to the rule, if someone wants to become an expert in a certain field, be that art, sport or business—he can. Contrary to popular belief, it's not always innate genius or talent that will make someone a success, it's the hours that he puts in, which means that anyone can do it. I first came across the 10,000 hour rule when I read Learning from Wonderful Lives by Nick Baylis and immediately it made sense. I just wish that I had discovered this when I was younger! Fortunately, it is not too late.

3．The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to“deliberate practice”. Tiger Woods is a textbook example. His father introduced him to golf at an extremely early age—18 months—and encouraged him to practice intensively. Woods had racked up at least 15 years of practice by the time he became the youngest-ever winner of the US Amateur Championship, at age 18. Also in line with the findings, he has never stopped trying to improve. That's exactly what makes him to be great.