BBC随身英语｜人天生就爱学习吗？

Are we born to love learning?

Are you the kind of person who hated school? Or are you more like Michael Nicholson, who can't stop learning? He currently has 30 degrees including 22 master's and a doctorate! If you're also passionate about studying, you might be a philomath – a person who loves to learn and study. The word comes from Greek with 'phil' meaning 'a lover of' and 'math' meaning 'learning'.

Humans are all philomaths to an extent – our brain is hardwired to be curious. We want to learn and understand, partly to make sense of the world but also because of something called neoteny. This is a term that refers to the juvenile characteristics of some animals, including humans, being retained into adulthood. One of these traits is neuroplasticity, which helps our brains stay flexible – this gives us the ability to learn throughout our lives. Many creatures which are genetically close to us, like primates, can't do this and only learn during their adolescence.

But for every person who loves learning, there are plenty who can't stand it. Lots of people remember their school days as being boring or even pointless. Why is this? Educational anthropologists have suggested that if a concept or idea is too complex or dull, it becomes harder to link old and new ideas together. If that's the case, we lose motivation and absorb less information. This negative experience of education at school may lead to people avoiding learning opportunities in later life.  ­

So, don't let a bad educational experience prevent you learning something new as an adult. Evolution has made us lifelong learners, so take advantage of your biology and discover your inner philomath. Who knows what you could achieve?

词汇表
master's [ˈmɑːstə(r)z] 硕士学位
doctorate [ˈdɒkt(ə)rət] 博士学位
be passionate about ['pæʃ(ə)nət] 对…充满激情
philomath ['fɪləmæθ] 爱学习的人
to an extent [ɪk'stent] 在某种程度上
hardwired ['ha:dwaɪəd] 天生的，本能的
make sense of  [ni:'ɒtɪnɪ] 理解，弄懂
neoteny [ni:'ɒtɪnɪ] 幼态持续
juvenile characteristics [ˈdʒuːvənaɪl][ˌkærɪktəˈrɪstɪks] 幼年特征，青少年特征
retain [rɪ'teɪn] 保留，保持
trait [treɪt] 特征，特性
neuroplasticity [ˌnjʊərəʊplæsˈtɪsəti] 神经可塑性
genetically close [dʒə'netɪklɪ] 基因相近的
primate [ˈpraɪmeɪt] 灵长类动物
adolescence [ˌædəˈlesəns] 青春期，青春
educational anthropologist [ˌænθrə'pɒlədʒɪst] 教育人类学家
complex [ˈkɒmpleks] 复杂的，难懂的
dull [dʌl] 枯燥的，沉闷的，无聊的
absorb [əbˈzɔː(r)b] 理解，掌握（信息）
lifelong learners [ˈlaɪfˌlɒŋ] 终身学习者
take advantage of [ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ] 充分利用，利用
biology [baɪˈɒlədʒi] 生物学，生理

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