In the news, the Economist carried a story (Bright Sparks, February 8, 2007) on how to bring up gifted children, citing the example of Hungarian Laszlo Polgar, who is known for turning all three of his daughters into world-beating chess masters.
Here, I want to talk about three words that appear in the story: gift, genius and graft.
Gift, by definition, is a natural ability, something innate, that one's born with. The Polgar sisters all have a gift for playing chess, or so it seems.
Genius is an exceptional gift - a very high level of intelligence, mental skill, or artistic ability, which only a few people have (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English). Obviously to the rest of the world, all three Polgar sisters have a genius for playing chess.
Not so, according to father Polgar, whose favorite saying is "Geniuses are made, not born". Says the Economist: "Mr Polgar thought any child could be a prodigy given the right teaching, an early start and enough practice."
Enough practice? That means graft, which is British English for lots of hard work.
Indeed, the article goes on to point out:
"Some say the key to success is simply hard graft. Judit, the youngest of the Polgar sisters, was the most driven, and the most successful; Zsofia, the middle one, was regarded as the most talented, but she was the only one who did not achieve the status of grand master. 'Everything came easiest to her,' said her older sister. 'But she was lazy.'"
In China, almost all parents seem bent on turning their often only children into a prodigy (one who shows their gift or genius at a young age). To these keen parents, Mr Polgar's philosophy should be useful reference.
Gift, genius, graft, these three;but the greatest of these is craft.
I know, I know but the last quality, on the part of parents, may very well be the missing piece to the jigsaw. More children are not turned into prodigies because their parents lack the craftsmanship.
In other words, aspiring parents should begin to look within.
anything but是什么意思
“be said+不定式”考点归纳
any用法详解
有关after的三个重要搭配
like与unlike
有关deal的几个短语
有关case的几个重要短语与搭配
anxious用法精解
allow搭配详解
certain句式与搭配
appear用法三句型
有关admit的几个短语用法
such...that与such...as
ashamed的用法与搭配
ask的常用短语和搭配
because of与just because
话说America
有关year的若干短语
apply的三种有用搭配
attend短语用法归纳
anything用法说明
straight还是straightly
英语可说disagree to do sth吗
集合名词audience的用法要点
anything也可指人
anywhere用法小议
air短语的用法
有关alone的几个重要习语的用法
动词feel用法详解
charge的短语与搭配
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |