TED演講-偶爾自言自語?很正常！

在TED的演講節(jié)目中，演講者清晰的口語表達及其內(nèi)容的寫作手法都是值得我們學習借鑒的。你是否偶爾會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在自言自語呢？在本期的TED演講中，演講者將從科學研究的角度告訴我們這是種正?，F(xiàn)象。請結(jié)合視頻內(nèi)容，開始口語學習吧！
原文及翻譯

As your morning alarm blares, you mutter to yourself, “why did I set it so early?” While brushing your teeth, you think, “I need a haircut.” Unless, rushing out the front door, you reach for your keys and realize they're not there. Frustrated, you shout, “I can't do anything!”—right in time to notice your neighbor. Being caught talking to yourself can feel embarrassing, and some people even stigmatize this behavior as a sign of mental instability. But decades of psychology research show that talking to yourself is completely normal.
早晨鬧鐘響起時，你會自言自語：“我為什么把它定得這么早？”刷牙時，你會想：“我需要理發(fā)。”但當你沖出前門時，你伸手去拿鑰匙，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)鑰匙不在。你沮喪地大喊：“我什么也做不了！”——這時你注意到了你的鄰居。被發(fā)現(xiàn)自言自語會讓人感到尷尬，有些人甚至認為這種行為是精神不穩(wěn)定的表現(xiàn)。但幾十年的心理學研究表明，自言自語是完全正常的。

In fact, most—if not all of us—engage in some form of self-talk every single day. So why do we talk to ourselves, and does what we say matter? Self-talk refers to the narration inside your head, sometimes called inner speech. It differs from mental imagery or recalling facts and figures. Specifically, psychologists define self-talk as verbalized thoughts directed toward yourself or some facet of your life. This includes personal conversations like, “I need to work on my free throw,” but it also includes reflections you have throughout the day, like, “the gym's crowded tonight. I'll come back tomorrow.” And while most self-talk in adults tends to be silent, speaking to yourself out loud also falls into this category.
事實上，我們大多數(shù)人（如果不是所有人）每天都會進行某種形式的自言自語。那么我們?yōu)槭裁匆匝宰哉Z呢？我們說的話重要嗎？自言自語是指你頭腦中的敘述，有時也稱為內(nèi)心語言。它不同于心理意象或回憶事實和數(shù)據(jù)。具體來說，心理學家將自言自語定義為針對自己或生活某些方面的口頭想法。這包括個人對話，例如“我需要練習罰球”，但也包括你一整天的反思，例如“今晚體育館人很多。我明天再來。”雖然成年人的大多數(shù)自言自語往往是無聲的，但大聲對自己說話也屬于這一類。

In fact, psychologists believe our first experiences with self-talk are mostly vocal, as children often speak to themselves out loud as they play. In the 1930s, Russian psychologist Lev Vigotsky hypothesized that this kind of speech was actually key to development. By repeating conversations they've had with adults, children practice managing their behaviors and emotions on their own. Then, as they grow older, this outward self-talk tends to become internalized, morphing into a private inner dialogue. We know this internal self-talk is important and can help you plan, work through difficult situations, and even motivate you throughout the day.
事實上，心理學家認為我們第一次自言自語的經(jīng)歷大多是有聲的，因為孩子們在玩耍時經(jīng)常大聲自言自語。20世紀30年代，俄羅斯心理學家列夫·維果茨基假設這種言語實際上是發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵。通過重復與成年人的對話，孩子們練習自己管理自己的行為和情緒。然后，隨著年齡的增長，這種外在的自言自語往往會被內(nèi)化，演變成一種私人的內(nèi)心對話。我們知道這種內(nèi)在的自言自語很重要，可以幫助你制定計劃、解決困難情況，甚至激勵你一整天。

But studying self-talk can be difficult. It relies on study subjects clearly tracking a behavior that's spontaneous and often done without conscious control. For this reason, scientists are still working to answer basic questions like: why do some people self-talk more than others? What areas of the brain are activated during self-talk? And how does this activation differ from normal conversation? One thing we know for certain, however, is that what you say in these conversations can have real impact on your attitude and performance.
但研究自言自語可能很困難。它依賴于研究對象明確地追蹤一種自發(fā)的、通常不受意識控制的行為。因此，科學家們?nèi)栽谂卮鹨恍┗締栴}，例如：為什么有些人比其他人更愛自言自語？自言自語時大腦的哪些區(qū)域會被激活？這種激活與正常對話有何不同？然而，有一件事我們可以肯定，那就是你在這些對話中所說的話會對你的態(tài)度和表現(xiàn)產(chǎn)生真正的影響。

Engaging in self-talk that's instructional or motivational has been shown to increase focus, boost self-esteem, and help tackle every day tasks. For example, one study of collegiate tennis players found that incorporating instructional self-talk into practice increased their concentration and accuracy. And just as chatting to a friend can help decrease stress, speaking directly to yourself may also help you regulate your emotions. Distanced self-talk is when you talk to yourself as if in conversation with another person, so rather than "I'm gonna crush this exam," you might think, "Caleb, you are prepared for this test." One study found that this kind of self-talk was especially beneficial for reducing stress when engaging in anxiety inducing tasks, such as meeting new people or public speaking.
研究表明，進行指導性或激勵性的自言自語可以提高注意力、增強自尊心，并幫助解決日常任務。例如，一項針對大學網(wǎng)球運動員的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，將指導性的自言自語融入到練習中可以提高他們的注意力和準確性。就像和朋友聊天可以幫助減輕壓力一樣，直接對自己說話也可能有助于你調(diào)節(jié)情緒。疏遠的自言自語是指你像和另一個人交談一樣自言自語，所以你可能會想，“Caleb，你已經(jīng)為這次考試做好了準備”，而不是“我要通過這次考試”。一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種自我對話對于在從事引起焦慮的任務（例如結(jié)識新朋友或公開演講）時減輕壓力特別有益。

以上就是本期TED演講的分享，希望對您的口語、寫作水平都有幫助！您也可以訪問網(wǎng)站主頁，獲取最新的英語學習資料，全方位提升英語水平。