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Your Brain at Work 职场脑力聪明用

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How can we make our minds cooperate at the office?  如何让我们的心智在职场上配合无间？

As a business consultant, leadership coach, author and researcher, David Rock knows a little bit about the business mind. Although he is not a neuroscientist, for many years he has been studying the brain and how the latest in brain science can help people improve their work. His new book, Your Brain at Work, is the result of many seminars, surveys and interviews with dozens of top neuroscientists. It is a book in which Rock explains the deep connection between how our brains function and the ways we can tap into the latest discoveries in the field of neuroscience to become more effective and efficient in our jobs.

身为商业顾问、领导学指导教练、作家及研究者，戴维．洛克对职场脑力的运用多少有所涉猎。虽然他不是神经科学家，但多年来一直在研究脑部，并持续了解脑科学的新发展如何能协助人们改进工作表现。他的新书《职场脑力聪明用》（暂译）是历经许多研讨会、调查以及访谈数十位顶尖神经科学家的成果。洛克在书中阐释脑部运作与神经科学领域最新发现之间的深层关连，而大家可以充分运用这些新发现让职场表现更有效益与效率。

In Your Brain at Work, Rock not only describes the lessons he has learned from his studies, but he also applies that information to the format of his book and the way he formulates his delivery of the information he has gathered. For example, his research – and that of many leading scientists in the field of brain studies – has shown him that the brain can quickly become overwhelmed by too much information received too quickly. Keeping this lesson in mind, he taps into a few simple tools that help him share his discoveries. By applying those tools to the way he has written his book, the science he delivers is much more appealing to his readers’ brains than an avalanche of facts and statistics.

在《职场脑力聪明用》一书中，洛克不仅阐述他的研究心得，同时也将心得运用到书的型式、以及将所收集到的知识铺陈传达出去的方式上。例如，不论是他自己、或是许多在脑部研究领域居领导地位的科学家的研究在在显示，脑部如果在太短的时间里接收过多的信息，可能很快就会吃不消。有鉴于此，他便改用几项简单的技巧来分享自己的发现。借着运用这些技巧，他笔下的科学对读者脑子的吸引力就远比堆砌大量事实与统计数字来得有趣得多。

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seminar [ˋsɛmə͵nɑr] n.【主美】专家讨论会

tap into 利用，开发 to take advantage of

format [ˋfɔrmæt] n. 方式; 样式

overwhelm [͵ovɚˋhwɛlm] v. 使受不了；使不知所措; 覆盖；淹没

appealing [əˋpilɪŋ] adj. 有吸引力的; 有趣的

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The power of storytelling  说故事的力量

One of the tools Rock uses is basic storytelling. By telling stories about the daily routines of a couple of fictional professionals, he presents his readers with many scenarios to which anyone can relate. By connecting his lessons directly to the decisions and actions of his realistic protagonists, Rock captures the abstract ideas from neuroscience and brings them down to earth. While developing and guiding his characters he makes use of the idea that our brains can retain more information faster when we use visual stories to tack it to our memory.

洛克使用的技巧之一是说故事的基本功夫。经由描述两个虚构的专业人士的日常生活例行公事，他呈现给读者许多能引发人人共鸣的场景。洛克将自己的研究心得和书中写实主角的决定与行为直接连结，得以掌握神经科学的抽象概念并加以落实。在发展及引领故事中的主角时，他运用了一个概念，那就是可视化的故事能让脑部更快地接收更多信息，有助加深记忆。

Another tool that can help anyone plan his or her day better and become more effective at work is the idea that our brains have a limited amount of energy. Rock explains that our capacity to make sense of our thoughts gets depleted over time as we engage in mentally challenging tasks. Since our brainpower is a resource that can easily be drained and our focus can dwindle when we are involved in difficult work for too long, we need to treat our mental energies as a limited resource, he writes. This means we should remember to put tighter controls on how and when we make our most brilliant decisions.

另一项技巧则可协助人们将日常生活规划得更为得宜、并更有工作效益，它基于一个概念，那就是人类脑部的能量有限。洛克解释说，当我们在从事耗费心智的任务时，理解思考的能力会随着时间日久而减弱。他写道，因为我们的脑力是一种很容易耗尽的资源，当我们从事困难的工作过久时，注意力会减退，因此我们必须将心智活力视为有限的资源。也就是说，我们应当记住要密切掌控做出最明智决策的方式及时间点。

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routine [ruˋtin] n. 例行公事；日常工作

scenario [sɪˋnɛrɪ͵o] n. 可能发生的事; 可能出现的情况

bring something down to earth（从幻想中）回到现实 to help something which is euphoric become more realistic

deplete [dɪˋplit] v. 削减; 损耗

drain [dren] v. 渐渐枯竭

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Complicated thinking  复杂的思考

Rock points out that complicated thinking can be very taxing. When we get to work, open our e-mails, and handle the vast variety of complex tasks involved in responding to those requests and demands, our brains can get tired. Once we have used up our early stores of mental energy with so much brain activity, we have less energy to focus on other important mental activities, such as prioritizing our day. Rock suggests that we should start our days by prioritizing our activities; then dig into the other complicated aspects of our work, such as dealing with e-mail. This way, the vital activity of prioritizing can get the better of our attention rather than the leftovers.

洛克指出，复杂的思考十分耗费脑力。当我们一到了办公室，就打开电子邮件，并回复邮件中的各种问题与要求，处理着变化多端的复杂工作，这会让脑部因此感到疲倦。一旦我们因为过多脑部活动而耗尽原先积存的心智能量，就会剩下较少的精力来专注于其他重要的心智活动，例如规划一天行事的优先级。洛克建议，每天的首要之务应该是规划当天活动的优先级，然后才深入其他复杂的层面，例如处理电子邮件等等。如此一来，规划优先级的重要工作才能获得我们最佳的注意力，而不是在脑力不济时进行。

With tips like these, and a multitude of fascinating facts and ideas gleaned from the cutting edge of today’s best brain science, Rock takes his two main characters through their days and guides them – and his readers – to a better way to get their work done.

有了这些诀窍，加上许多自当今尖端脑科学费力搜集而来的吸引人的事实与概念，洛克带领书中两位主要角色过生活，并且指引他们──以及读者──完成工作的更好方式。

Rock’s compelling research and humorous delivery makeYour Brain at Work a highly entertaining and informative guide to improving work and life.

洛克引人入胜的研究以及幽默的文笔让《职场脑力聪明用》这本书成为娱乐与知识兼具的工作与生活改进指南。

−review by Chris Lauer

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prioritize [praɪˋɔrə͵taɪz] v. 按优先级处理

dig into 探究, 细查

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Vocabulary Focus

efficient [ɪˋfɪʃənt] adj. 效率高的 working or operating quickly and effectively in an organized way

formulate [ˋfɔrmjə͵let] v. 系统地阐述(或说明); 确切地表达[阐述] to develop all the details of a plan for doing something

protagonist [proˋtægənɪst] n. 主角 one of the main characters in a story

abstract [ˋæbstrækt] adj. 抽象的 existing as an idea, feeling or quality, not as a material object

tack [tæk] v. 附加; 增补[（+to/on/onto）] to fasten or fix something in place

dwindle [ˋdwɪnd!] v. 渐渐减少；变小 to become smaller in size or amount

taxing [ˋtæksɪŋ] adj. 烦重的; 累人的; 费劲的 difficult or needing a lot of thought or effort

glean [glin] v. 点滴搜集（消息、材料等）to collect information in small amounts and often with difficulty

compelling [kəmˋpɛlɪŋ] adj. 令人激动的; 极为有趣的 referring to a reason or argument that makes people believe it or accept it because it is so strong 

David Rock's New Book - Your Brain at Work

Your Brain at Work