时间:2018-12-03 作者:英语课 分类:初学者听力文摘精选


英语课

The mathematical marriage predictor.



You might not think that mathematicians 2 have anything particularly relevant to say about your love life. But you'd be wrong--if we're talking about James Murray, a mathematician 1 at the University of Washington in Seattle who teamed up with Psychologist John Gottman to explore the rocky road of romance. Here's what the two did. They videotaped hundreds of volunteer couples discussing such things as sex and money. You know--the sorts of things on which everybody always agrees, right?



Then they broke down behavioral responses to these high-pressure discussions into recognizable groups, such as whether partner A can be persuaded by partner B, or whether partner A takes offense 3 when partner B makes a cutting remark. A set of equations was drawn 4 up that represented the interactions of these different factors in mathematical form, leading to...Ding!...a prediction as to whether this marriage would last.



Sound like a stretch? Think you can't possibly tell that much about a couple from a single interview and some calculations? Four years later Murray and Gottman did a follow-up to see whether the equation had made the right prediction. It sure had--their Mathematical Marriage Predictor was right an astonishing ninety-four percent of the time.



Some conspicuous 5 findings included the fact that, in marriages that lasted, laughing occurred five times more frequently than in couples destined 6 for break-up. The team also found that the one behavior that most consistently predicted divorce was the appearance of a contemptuous or mocking facial expression on one partner's face when the other one spoke 7. According to the Mathematical Marriage Predictor, it's "roll your eyes and say goodbyes."



1 mathematician
n.数学家
  • The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
  • The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。
2 mathematicians
数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )
  • Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗? 来自英汉文学
  • Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分
3 offense
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪
  • I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
  • His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。
4 drawn
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
5 conspicuous
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
6 destined
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的
  • It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
  • The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。
7 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
学英语单词
acenaphthenylene
Acer yaoshanicum
advanced vertical
agitated depression, agitated melancholia
anti-reflexion
attojoule
auriferous pyrite
bainum
bandying around
barbach
Bratsk
bridgings
cake boys
carbon-14
carpathianss
Celebes (Sulawesi, Pulau)
chain type hay loader
Chemodenervation
communtatorless
compulsive settlement
corrosion mechanism
cotton fibre
dae-jung
dallen
dampening force
decationize
dualistic theory
El Hidjer
equivalent test
factory-farms
family Scolopacidae
fhwa
fillet in red wine
finger fucks
flesh tunnel
floating insertion
full nut
grant pension
health care organization
heroic age
hub bolt (joint bolt)
in the shadow of someone
induline
inland revenue office
internal rhythm
isaria cryptotympanae
ivory point
Jemmapes
keelhaling
Kossel lines
kovels
laser light
limit of proportion
liquid state fermentation
luxuriate in
masticator
mea (maintenance engineering analysis)
mediated co-ordination
modulon
neutropoenia
nitrile oil 101
oral segment
pales javana
palm off on
parametric measurement
Parenchyma glandulare
PB(Pushbutton or Pull Box)
plant mucilage
police agency
pursuing course indication
radar distance meter
red kauris
revenue export duty
reverse commute
right of publicity
scattering-type pressure gauge
screw in compression
sexual partners
shortheaths
single-movements
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan
special aeronautical requirement
spool up
standard three blade propeller
strainer well
superconducting
supercritical nuclear chain reaction
SVRI
synchronizing amplifier
text-to-speech synthesis system
three speed gear
timucu
tool post rocker
tractographies
trops
ulie
unorders
unpigmented base coat
vertical knee and column milling machine
vucin
within the limits expressly stated by law
woman-hour