都说婚姻是爱情的坟墓,经营一段成功的婚姻难度不小。如今有研究人员用一系列调查数据统计出了婚姻幸福的方程式,据说能够预测众人的婚姻寿命。
8 t* q4 Y$ C2 H/ ?5 ?; K Want to know if your marriage is going to last? Learn about the mathematical marriage predictor on this Moment of Science.
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You might not think that mathematicians(数学家) 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(坎坷崎岖的路) of romance.
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Here’s what the two did. They (2)videotaped(将…录到录像带上) hundreds of volunteer couples discussing such things as sex and money. You know–the sorts of things on which everybody always agrees, right?- G1 p' z0 X% d" ^- C# S( U
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Then they (3)broke down(分解) behavioral responses to these high-pressure(高压的) discussions into recognizable(可辨认的,可认识的) groups, such as whether partner A can be persuaded by partner B, or whether partner A (4)takes offense(生气) when partner B makes a cutting(尖刻的) remark.
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A set of equations(方程式,等式) was (5)drawn up(草拟,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?
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Four years later Murray and Gottman did a follow-up(随访,跟进) to see whether the equation had made the right prediction. It sure had–their Mathematical Marriage Predictor was right an astonishing(令人惊讶的) ninety-four percent of the time.
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% \" h. F; t" M/ E Some conspicuous(显著的,显而易见的) findings included the fact that, in marriages that lasted, laughing occurred five times more frequently than in couples (6)destined for(驶往;去往) break-up. The team also found that the one behavior that most consistently( 一贯地) predicted divorce was the appearance of a contemptuous(轻蔑的) or mocking(嘲弄的) facial expression on one partner’s face when the other one spoke.7 |( `; t* z! l- _5 K
5 r, ~( f2 n* f' d# e According to the Mathematical Marriage Predictor, it’s “roll your eyes and say goodbyes.”
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(1)team up v.合作;结成一队;协作8 z1 y) W a, L
9 q4 Q2 l0 O+ w. x+ L5 v The two universities have teamed up for a research project.
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- k0 M, \9 J- x q* L+ f4 M 两所大学已在某一科研项目上进行协作。
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(2)videotape ['vidiəuteip] n.录像带 vt.将…录到录像带上: o3 f. l' @/ g0 P- v5 f
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1.Videotape a performance of the advertisement to view for yourselves.4 b; g; K; Z7 A, _+ G( E4 w7 P9 e- l
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从表演的广告录像带看自己的表现。 |