【在生活中學習語言】《中英對照讀新聞》Drummers are natural intellectuals鼓手是天生的聰明人
◎鄭寺音

Drummers are better known for their beats than their brain power, but research has suggested that they might actually be natural intellectuals.

鼓手的節奏比他們的腦力更為人所知，但研究顯示，他們可能其實是天生的聰明人。

Scientists who asked volunteers to keep time with a drumstick before taking intelligence tests discovered that those with the best sense of rhythm also scored highest in the mental assessments.

科學家請志願者在接受智能測驗前先以鼓棒打拍子，發現節奏感最好的人，心理評量的得分也最高。

Prof Frederic Ullen, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, concluded that there was a link between intelligence, good timing and the part of the brain used for problem-solving.

斯德哥爾摩卡洛琳斯卡研究所的烏利恩教授總結道，智力、善打拍子以及腦部用來解決問題的區塊彼此相關。

For the study, Prof Ullen and Guy Madison, from Sweden’s Umea University, asked 34 right-handed men aged between 19 and 49 to tap a drumstick at a variety of different intervals.

瑞典烏米亞大學的烏利恩與馬迪森教授，為了這份研究，請34名年齡在19到49歲之間的慣用右手男性，以各種時間長短不同的間斷敲打鼓棒。

They were then given a psychometric test of 60 questions and problems.

他們接著接受一份包括60個問題與困難的心理測量學測試。

Prof Ullen said : "We found that people with high general intelligence were also more stable on a very simple timing task."

烏利恩教授說：「我們發現高智商的人，在非常簡單的打拍子任務的表現也較為穩定。」

新聞辭典

time︰拍子，打拍子。例句：Small children often have difficulty singing in time with the music.（小孩唱歌，通常趕不上節拍。）

interval︰間隔，距離。例句：The interval between the two posts measures thirty meters.（那2根柱間的距離為30公尺。）

自由時報-970501
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++