托福閱讀材料之三歲看大真有可能

　　對于那些被任性小孩搞得焦頭爛額的父母來說，下面這個消息將讓他們感到憂心。

　　But scientists claim that children who have low levels of self-control at three are more likely to have health and money problems and a criminal record by the age of 32, regardless of background and IQ.

　　科學家稱，不管成長背景和智商如何，如果一個孩子在三歲時表現(xiàn)出偏弱的自制力，那么他在32歲以前有金錢和健康問題、甚至犯罪記錄的可能性會更高。

　　Researchers from Britain, the US and New Zealand analysed data from two large studies in which children completed a range of physical tests and interviews to assess genetic and environmental factors that can shape their lives.

　　英國、美國和新西蘭的研究人員分析了兩項大型研究中的數(shù)據(jù)后得出以上結(jié)論。在這兩項研究中，研究人員要求接受調(diào)查的孩子完成一系列體能測試和面談，以評估影響他們生活的基因和環(huán)境因素。

　　They found that children with low self-control were more likely to have health problems in later life including high blood pressure, being overweight, breathing problems and sexually transmitted infections.

　　科學家們發(fā)現(xiàn)，自制力弱的孩子在日后的生活中患高血壓、肥胖、呼吸系統(tǒng)疾病和性傳染病等健康問題的可能性更大。

　　They were also more likely to be dependent on substances such as tobacco, alcohol and drugs, more likely to be single parents, have difficulty managing money and have criminal records.

　　這些孩子同時也更容易依賴煙酒和毒品等藥物、更有可能成為單身父母、在金錢管理方面更容易出現(xiàn)問題、有犯罪記錄的可能性也更大。

　　'Mastering self-control and managing impulses are some of the earliest demands that society places on children,' said lead researcher Dr Terrie Moffitt, of King's College London and Duke University in the US.

　　同時在倫敦國王學院和美國杜克大學任職的首席研究員特里 莫菲特博士說：“克制自己和抑制沖動是社會對孩子們的一些最早的要求。”

　　'Our study shows, for the first time, that willpower as a child really does influence your chances of a healthy and wealthy adulthood.'

　　他接著說：“我們的研究第一次發(fā)現(xiàn)，孩子們的意志力確實會影響到他們成年后的健康和財富。”

　　The researchers firstly looked at data from around 1,000 children born in New Zealand between April 1972 and March 1973.

　　研究人員首先分析了約1000個于1972年4月到1973年3月間出生在新西蘭的孩子們的資料。

　　The participants' self-control was assessed by teachers, parents, observers and the children themselves and included things like having low frustration tolerance, lacking persistence in reaching goals, being over-active and acting before thinking.

　　參與者的自控能力由老師、父母、觀察員和孩子自己作出評估。自控能力差的表現(xiàn)包括挫折容忍度低、實現(xiàn)目標時缺乏毅力、過分活躍、以及沒想好就行動等。

　　Dr Moffitt's team then found that when the participants reached their early 30s, this impulsivity and relative inability to think about the long-term gave them more problems with finances, including savings, owning a home and credit card debt.

　　后來，莫菲特博士的團隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，當參與者到了三十出頭時，這種易沖動的性格和做長遠打算的能力的欠缺會給他們帶來更多的金錢問題，包括存款、買房以及信用卡債務。

　　The children with lower self-control scores also scored highest for things like sexually transmitted diseases, weight problems, having high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

　　在自控方面得分較低的孩子在性傳染病、體重問題、患高膽固醇和高血壓方面的得分也最高。

　　The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.