Hello and welcome back1 to
"As It Is". I’m Jim Tedder in Washington, with a program designed
to2 help you learn3 and improve4
your American English.
Today we are going inside the human brain5 to
see how and what people think. Some researchers6
say there is a connection between how you feel about yourself, and how
you do your job.
Then we will hear about children and
music. Young people who study music and
play instruments are smarter than7 those who do
not. Right? Some folks8 at
Harvard University say, “Hold on.”9
We are very happy to have your brains thinking
about what we are sending10 your way today on As It
Is.
A new study says people who feel they lack11
social power find it harder12 to perform13
physical work. The researchers
say their study is the first to show that people who believe they lack
influence in society feel the weight14 of the world.
Eun Hee Lee is a candidate for a doctoral
degree15 in the psychology department at Britain’s
University of Cambridge. She says the
people in the study were not suffering from16 the
continuing deep sadness17 known as18 clinical
depression.
Instead19, Ms. Lee said, the study was based on how the participants saw
themselves20. They rated21
themselves on what level they thought22 they held23
in the social order. They
compared themselves to people they thought of as powerful24 and
in control. She described25
what the study team meant by26 “powerful.”
“We
defined being powerful as the one who has control over their own27
and others’ resources28; whereas29
being powerless30 as being the ones who31
[don’t] have their control over theirs and others' resources, and also
have to [be] dependent to gain32 the resources that
they need.”
She said powerless people continually feel unsure33.
Researchers in the study examined participants to learn their feelings about
their status, or level34, in society. They presented them with a statement35
such as36, “I can get people to listen to what I say.”
The participants were asked to lift37
a number of boxes and guess38 their weight39. The more40 powerless
the people, the higher41 they estimated the weight of
the containers42.
In a second test the researchers asked
participants to sit in ways43 that seemed
powerful44. In one
example they sat45 with one elbow46
on the arm of a chair47.
That position is domineering48, or commanding49. Or, they sat with their hands under50
their thighs51, a restrictive position.
People in the restrictive positions thought52
the boxes weighed more than they really did. Those who sat in the more powerful way made
better estimates of the boxes’ weight.
Finally, a number of participants were asked
to remember a time in which53 they felt54
powerful or powerless. Those who
thought of a powerful time gave55 the best answers for
the weight of several boxes56. Those who remembered moments of powerlessness57
repeatedly58 said the boxes were heavier59
than they were.
Ms. Lee believes feelings of lack of power in
humans might have developed from prehistoric times. She says it might have been60
a way to keep61 early man from using up
limited resources. But she says that
today, these feelings might not be good for people at work.
“It might mean62 we
are kind of63 preventing64 ourselves
automatically putting 100 percent effort65 into the
work without us realizing [it], which could be damaging66.”
1. welcome back = bem-vindo de volta
2. designed to = projetado para
3. learn = aprender
4. improve = aperfeiçoar
5. brain = cérebro
6. researchers = pesquisadores
7. smarter than = mais inteligentes do que
8. Some folks = algumas pessoas
9. “Hold on.” = espere um pouco
10.
sending =
enviando
11.
lack =
carecem de
12.
find it
harder = acham mais dificil
13.
perform =
realizar
14.
weight =
peso
15.
doctoral
degree = doutorado
16.
suffering
from = sofrendo de
17.
deep
sadness = tristeza profunda
18.
known as =
conhecida como
19.
Instead =
ao invés disso
20.
saw themselves
= viam a si mesmos
21.
rated = classificaram
22.
thought = achavam
23.
held = ocupavam
24.
powerful =
poderoso(a)
25.
described =
descreveu
26.
meant by =
queria dizer por
27.
control
over their own = controle sobre eles proprios
28.
resources =
recursos
29.
whereas = enquanto que
30.
powerless = impotente
31.
the ones who = aqueles que
32.
gain =
adquirir
33.
unsure =
inseguro
34.
level =
nível
35.
statement =
declaração
36.
such as =
tais como
37.
lift =
levantar
38.
guess =
adivinhar
39.
weight =
peso
40.
The more =
quanto mais
41.
higher =
mais alto
42.
containers
= recipientes
43.
ways =
maneiras, formas
44.
seemed
powerful= pareciam poderosos
45.
sat =
sentaram
46.
elbow =
cotovelo
47.
on the arm
of a chair = no braço de uma cadeira
48.
domineering
= autoritario, dominador
49.
commanding
= autoritario, dominante
50.
under = sob
51.
thighs =
coxas
52.
thought =
achavam, pensavam
53.
in which =
no qual
54.
felt =
sentiam-se
55.
gave =
deram
56.
several
boxes = várias caixas
57.
powerlessness
= impotencia
58.
repeatedly
= repetidamente
59.
heavier = mais pesado
60.
it might have been = pode ter sido
61.
to keep =
manter, impedir
62.
mean =
significar, querer dizer
63.
kind of =
como que, de certa forma
64.
preventing
= impedindo
65.
effort =
esforço
66.
could be
damaging = poderia ser prejudicial