(单词翻译:单击)
Imagine, if you will, that you have been training as a world-class figure skater—long hours, early mornings, years of hard work.
如果你愿意可以想象一下，你一直在为成为一名世界级花样滑冰运动员而刻苦训练，每天早上都要进行长时间训练，持续数年之久。
And you've finally gotten to the Olympic qualifiers—I know, it's a stretch.
终于，你获得了参加奥林匹克运动会的资格，我知道有点说过头了。
Yet somehow, despite all your practice and skill, a minute into your routine you fall flat on your butt.
然而，尽管你接受了刻苦训练，也具备精湛的技艺，但在你表演一分钟后，却跌倒了。
We've all watched athletes considered the best of the best take the field with everything on the line only to totally blow it.
我们都看到过最棒的运动员把一切都押在赛场上，结果却把比赛弄砸了。
When someone who's otherwise really skilled makes a dumb mistake under pressure, it's popularly known as "choking."
当一个技艺精湛的人在压力下犯了愚蠢的错误时，这种现象被称为“窒息”。
And although every single one of those people wishes they could take that moment back, it's hard to give a simple answer for how to not choke under pressure.
尽管那些犯错的人都希望时光能倒转，但如何才能避免在压力下窒息，是个很难回答的问题。
There are lots of reasons it can happen, and they all require different responses.
引发窒息的原因有很多，都需要以不同的方式应对。
People tend to choke in high pressure situations—like the final dive at the Olympics or the last game of the world series.
人们倾向于在高压条件下，比如在奥林匹克运动会决赛或世锦赛决赛中出现窒息。
But athletes aren't the only people who can experience this phenomenon.
但并不是只有运动员才会经历这种现象。
Standardized tests like the SAT, for example, could cause anyone to choke.
标准化测试如SAT，也能够让任何人窒息。
Or something like a video game, if the stakes are high enough.
或者像电子游戏之类的事，如果赌注足够高的话，也会引发同样的问题。
In a study published in 2012, researchers rewarded around 20 participants for accuracy in a game where they had to move their hand to control a ball and spring on a screen.
在2012年发表的一份研究报告中，研究人员对20名参与者在游戏中的精确度给与奖励，他们在游戏中需要动手控制屏幕上的一个球和一根弹簧。
For the most part, getting paid more meant they did better.
在大多数情况下，得到的报酬越多，参与者也会做得更好。
But, when they switched the game to a harder mode with a really big reward—like $100 for a completed move—they were suddenly less likely to get it right.
但是，当研究人员把游戏难度升级，并支付很大一笔报酬，如100美元时完成一个完整的动作，参与者突然就做不对了。
Basically, it was like they could use the rewards to motivate people to improve, but beyond a certain point, the pressure was just too much.
总的来说，研究人员可以利用奖励来激励人们提高技能，但奖励超出某个范围后，压力就会变得过大。
But it's not just the situation—some people are more likely to choke, too.
但这不仅仅是情境引起的，有些人就是更容易窒息。
It seems that people who are more anxious about their performance are more likely to mess up, at least when it comes to athletics.
看起来似乎是，对自己的表现越焦虑的人，越容易把事情搞砸，至少对于运动员来说是这样的。
But you might also be more likely to blow it on tough tasks if you have higher working memory—that is, short term memory you might use to, say, hold a phone number in your head before you dial.
但如果你拥有更强的工作记忆，也可能在完成复杂任务时把事情搞砸。工作记忆就是你在打电话前，把电话号码记在脑海中时会用到的短时记忆。
In a 2006 study, 67 participants were given a memory test and then given a bunch of puzzles.
在2006年的一项研究中，对67名参与者进行了记忆测试，然后给他们提供一些拼图。
Half of them were told their accuracy was predictive of their general academic success, to ramp up that pressure.
研究者告诉一半参与者，他们的精确度用来预测他们在学术方面取得的成就，以此来提高压力水平。
The people with higher working memory were much more likely to freeze up on the harder puzzles, and they also reported feeling more anxiety during the process.
有较强工作记忆的人更可能在处理复杂拼图时束手无策，他们也会在处理过程中感到更焦虑。
To help understand why people choke, though, it helps to observe it directly.
可以通过直接观察，帮助人们了解为什么会出现窒息现象。
Which is exactly what some researchers did in a 2015 study.
一些研究人员在2015年的研究中就是这么做的。
They gave 20 participants some practice on a game resembling Snake—that classic arcade game where you chase a dot around—before getting into an MRI to play while their brains were scanned.
他们让20名参与者对贪吃蛇游戏进行一定的练习，贪吃蛇是一款经典的电子游戏，在游戏中你要追着一个圆点到处跑。练习结束后，参与者在核磁共振测试的情况下玩这个游戏，同时对他们的大脑进行扫描。
They found that offering big rewards to get a move right was more likely to induce choking—which supports this idea that it's being distracted by high pressure that causes it.
他们发现，正确移动一步就能获得高额奖励时，更可能引发窒息现象。这就意味着，出现窒息是由于高度压力引起的注意力分散所致。
They also found that if someone was about to choke, a part of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex became more active.
他们还发现，如果有人要出现窒息时，大脑中叫做背侧前额叶皮质的部位会变得更加活跃。
This is the region that's associated with inhibiting a behavior, self-control, or thinking about the future.
该部位与抑制行为、自我控制或思考未来有关。
It's like the part of your brain that starts screaming "Don't mess up!" whenever anything important is on the line.
就像出现重要情况时，你大脑里的那部分就会尖叫“别搞砸了！”
But, if people had this brain region become active with the motor cortex that controls voluntary movement—like, if these two regions became active in time with each other, as though they were connected—those people were less likely to choke.
但是，如果这个大脑区域与控制自主运动的运动皮质一起活跃起来，就是两个区域同时活跃，像相互连接在一起一样，那些参与者就不太可能感到窒息。
This makes it seem like the don't-make-a-mistake part of the brain can actually help influence the motor cortex to get it right, making failure less likely.
这看起来像是大脑中不许犯错的部分可以帮助运动皮质把事情做对，减小失败的几率。
But other times, it's more like a heckler on the sidelines.
但在其他情况下，它更像一个场外的质问者。
And other studies have shed some light on why these two seemingly opposite effects can coexist—which could help people who are prone to choking under pressure.
另一些研究对这两种明显的对立效应并存的原因作了一些说明，这可以帮助那些在压力下出现窒息的人。
If you're already really good at what you're doing—which is probably the case if you're, say, an NBA player in the finals—it may help to find something else to distract you.
如果你真的很擅长做某事，比如说，NBA球员在决赛时，可以找一些能分心的事物来缓解窒息现象。
Something other than the pressure.
找点压力以外的东西。
In research published in 2002, 21 golfers were asked to make a series of putts while either focusing on their swing and follow through, or while splitting their attention between the putt and listening for a tone.
在2002年发表的研究报告中，研究人员让21名高尔夫球运动员做一系列推球入洞的动作，推杆时他们要么关注自己的摆动姿势和球的跟进情况，要么是在推杆时听一首歌曲分散注意力。
They found that splitting the attention really screwed up those with the least experience.
他们发现，分散注意力会让那些缺乏经验的人把事情搞砸。
But the most experienced golfers did much better when they were distracted.
但对于经验丰富的高尔夫球运动员来说，在分心状态下他们会做得更好。
Researchers think this has to do with the fact that experts have implicit knowledge to turn to when they're distracted—meaning, basically, knowledge you don't have to think about.
研究人员认为，出现这种情况是因为专家们在分心时可以运用内隐知识，内隐知识基本上就是不需要思考就能运用的知识。
And when they tried the experiment again with 20 soccer players, they tested this idea by having everyone try a round with their non-dominant foot.
当研究人员与20名足球运动员重复此实验时，他们让每位球员用非惯用脚踢一个回合的比赛。
This made the experts look much more like novices—they didn't have the implicit knowledge to fall back on when they were distracted, and they made more mistakes.
这样专业球员看起来更像是新手，当他们分心的时候，无法运用内隐知识，因而犯错更多。
Other studies have found that just telling people to hurry up can help, if those people had implicit knowledge to fall back on, because they could stop over thinking and just do it.
其他的研究发现，对于具备内隐知识的人，通过让他们加快速度也会改善情况，因为这能让他们停止过度思考，马上去做。
But other studies haven't found any benefit from distraction.
但其他研究并没有发现分心有任何好处。
So we don't fully understand how to prevent choking under pressure.
所以我们不完全理解如何在压力下防止出现窒息现象。
But it seems like a little healthy distraction might help—and it might help more the more experienced you are!
但看起来，一点健康的分心可能会缓解窒息的出现，你的经验越丰富，帮助就越大！
In this day and age, Internet security can feel like a high-pressure situation.
在当今这个时代，互联网安全就像是一个高压环境。
Fortunately, there are things you can do to protect yourself.
幸运的是，可以通过一些事来保护自己。
NordVPN is a service that encrypts the data you send and receive online.
NordVPN是一种在线加密收发数据的服务。
Your internet connection is kept totally secure, even on open networks where you'd otherwise be vulnerable to anyone trying to snoop on things like your bank account number or even just your home address.
你的网络连接即使在开放性网络上也是安全的，否则你很容易受到别人的攻击，比如盗取你的银行账号，甚至是家庭住址。
Nord's lightweight, user-friendly Chrome browser protects your browsing while you're on your computer.
Nord小巧、易用的Chrome浏览器可以在你使用电脑时保护浏览网页。
And the Android and iOS apps can secure your mobile devices, too.
Android和iOS应用也可以保护移动设备。
There are thousands of servers in 61 countries, and they are always adding more.
他们在61个国家/地区有数千台服务器，而且还在不断增加服务器的数量。
For a limited time get 75% off a 3-year plan at nordvpn.com/PSYCH.
登陆Nordvpn.com/psych，可以在有限期内享受3年75%的折扣。
This special offer makes your subscription just $2.99 per month so you can browse and shop securely online on all your devices.
只需每月支付2.99美元的订阅费就能享受到这种特别服务，让你能在所有设备上安全地在线浏览、购物。
And for a short time, use code PSYCH to get an extra month of Nord for free!
短期内，可用代码psych免费获得Nord一个月的使用权！
Check out the link in the description to learn more.
查看描述中的链接了解更多信息。
