英語聽力文摘婚姻幸福方程式

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The Mathematical Marriage Predictor

倫敦:一位數學家說,他可以94%的準確率來預測某對新婚夫婦是否會享有長久的婚姻。西雅圖華盛頓大學數學教授默里說他發(fā)明的兩個公式基于一項為期10年對700對美國夫婦進行的研究。心理學家要對新婚夫婦之間的15分鐘談話加以觀察,默里說道,夫婦間對諸如性、撫養(yǎng)子女和錢等問題相互交流的能力會通過一種尺度來衡量,對那些好的表示,如微笑、親昵的姿態(tài),就可以加分;對那些不好的表示,如不耐煩地轉眼睛、嘲笑、冷漠,則減分。"我們使用廣為接受的一種心理學測量體系來評分,比如輕蔑的態(tài)度減3分,幽默加2分。"默里對倫敦的《每日電訊報》說道。這些分值接著被轉換為代數語言,從而使該項研究的創(chuàng)始者們進行離婚預測。這些數據被放到兩個方程式中進行計算———一個是丈夫的,一個是妻子的。對這些夫婦每兩年調查一次,而預測哪對夫婦的婚姻會失敗的模型幾乎是完全準確。

Want to know if your marriage is going to last? Learn about the mathematical marriage predictor on this Moment of Science.

You might not think that mathematicians(數學家) have anything particularly relevant to say about your love life. But you’d be wrong–if we’re talking about James Murray, a mathematician at the University of Washington in Seattle who (1)teamed up(合作) with Psychologist John Gottman to explore the rocky road(坎坷崎嶇的路) of romance.

Here’s what the two did. They (2)videotaped(將…錄到錄像帶上) 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 (3)broke down(分解) behavioral responses to these high-pressure(高壓的) discussions into recognizable(可辨認的，可認識的) groups, such as whether partner A can be persuaded by partner B, or whether partner A (4)takes offense(生氣) when partner B makes a cutting(尖刻的) remark.

A set of equations(方程式，等式) was (5)drawn up(草擬，起草) that represented the interactions(相互作用) 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(隨訪，跟進) to see whether the equation had made the right prediction. It sure had–their Mathematical Marriage Predictor was right an astonishing(令人驚訝的) ninety-four percent of the time.

Some conspicuous(顯著的，顯而易見的) findings included the fact that, in marriages that lasted, laughing occurred five times more frequently than in couples (6)destined for(駛往;去往) break-up. The team also found that the one behavior that most consistently( 一貫地) predicted divorce was the appearance of a contemptuous(輕蔑的) or mocking(嘲弄的) facial expression on one partner’s face when the other one spoke.

According to the Mathematical Marriage Predictor, it’s “roll your eyes and say goodbyes.”

Notes:

(1)team up v.合作;結成一隊;協(xié)作

The two universities have teamed up for a research project.

兩所大學已在某一科研項目上進行協(xié)作。

(2)videotape ['vidi?uteip] n.錄像帶 vt.將…錄到錄像帶上

1.Videotape a performance of the advertisement to view for yourselves.

從表演的廣告錄像帶看自己的表現。

2.Stiles is accused of molesting a three-year-old girl and recording it on videotape.

并被指控調戲一位僅三歲的小女孩，調戲過程被記錄在錄像帶上。

(3)break down 分解;發(fā)生故障;失敗;毀掉;制服

1.The bridge broke down in last earthquake.