【媒體英語】Success and reward 勝利与誇獎

　　【導讀】社會经常對那些貿易上的樂成者賜與誇獎，那實在其實欠好。實正應噹受到讚揚的是那些存正在才坤但是其實不勝利的人。根据英國兩所大年夜教的攷察，勝利者之所以胜利经常同祸氣有閉。以下是BBC 記者 John McManus 的報導。

　　The message that society's top performers are not the most skilled and shouldn't be emulated, appears to be counter-intuitive. Yet this report says that those who appear to have achieved the most in their particular field of expertise, are often the beneficiaries of luck, an external, random force.

　　The authors of this study point to the example of Bill Gates, the co-founder of the computing giant Microsoft, and one of the world's richest men. They say that although he is undoubtedly talented, he achieved his initial success because his affluent family were able to send him to a school where programming was on the curriculum - at a time when most Americans didn't have access to computers. Family connections also helped, according to Professor Chengwei Liu from Warwick University Business School.

　　That kind of luck is often at work in the lives of the most successful, argues Mr Liu, which means their achievements aren't completelyattributable to their own skill. Instead, he advocates looking at those whom he calls '，翻譯;the second best'. They aren't relying on lucky chances, so their performances offer an opportunity to measure real success. The study also argues that there are dangers if colleagues try to emulate the achievements of those who've been overly fortunate.

　　This could explain the global Banking crisis, says Professor Liu, who also believes that studying the lives of people such as Bill Gates for tips on reaching the top is fruitless. Of course, some academics argue that individuals can in fact create their own, lucky circumstances, through using personal contacts, and pursuing all available opportunities. This research though，中英文翻譯, says that because those with the highest salaries haven't completely earned them through skill, they should be taxed more heavily - which would be very bad luck.

　　Quiz 聽力測試

　　True or false? The general message from the latest research is we should not copy the most successful people in society.

　　People who benefit from something are called____.

　　Which word is closest in meaning to the word ’affluent’: influential or rich?

　　Why should we learn from ‘the second best’?

　　Glossary 辭匯表

　　· emulated模儗

　　· affluent富有的

　　· attributable回功於...的

　　· advocates倡導者

　　· the second best位居其兩的優良者

　　· fruitless不結果的

　　·，日譯中; pursuing尋供