Introduction

Why do we remember old classmates whose surnames start with letters at the beginning of the alphabet? According to a professor of economics at Colorado University, the initial of your surname may affect your life chances. The nearer to 'A' you are, the better. Neil and Sam discuss alphabet disadvantage and teach you vocabulary.

This week's question

Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form? Was it…

a) Ancient Egypt

b) Ancient Greece

c) Ancient Rome

Listen to the programme to find out the answer.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript??

Neil

Hello. This is 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.?

Sam

And I'm Sam.?

Neil

Now Sam, I assume that you know your alphabet.?

Sam

Of course, Neil – you mean my ABCs? We learn that at a very young age, you know?

Neil

Sorry to sound patronising. But you do you know why the letters in the alphabet are in that particular order??

Sam

No, I don’t. That’s really interesting. Why??

Neil

I don’t know either, I was hoping you might! But seriously, no one really knows how the order became established. However, some research has shown that if your surname, your family name, begins with a letter later in the alphabet, you could be at a disadvantage at school and in life. Before we get in to that though, a question. Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form? Was it…

a) Ancient Egypt

b) Ancient Greece

c) Ancient Rome

What do you think, Sam??

Sam

Well, we refer to the English alphabet as having Roman characters, so I’m going with Ancient Rome.

Neil

OK. I’ll have the answer later in the programme. In the BBC radio programme Fry’s English Delight there was a feature about the alphabet and how it can have a negative impact on your school life. Can you remember all those years ago when you were at school? What’s the first thing that the teacher would do at the beginning of the day??

Sam

She would take the register – that’s what we call it in the UK. You can also call it the roll call.?

Neil

Yes, this is when the teacher calls out the names of the students to check that they are all there. This is where the problem starts, according to, ironically, Professor Jeffrey Zax, from the University of Colorado. The further down that list your name is, the less noticed you are by the teacher. Why is that? Here’s Professor Zax.?

Professor Jeffrey Zax

When it begins people are?paying attention. As it proceeds, first the people who are already called, they no longer have any need to take things seriously. And the people who are waiting to be called, their attention is wandering as well. And so as you make your way through the roll call somehow the?intensity?of the?engagement?diminishes.?

Neil

So, what is the problem??

Sam

Well, it’s a lot to do with?paying attention. This means concentrating on something. At the beginning of the roll call everyone is?paying attention -?they are quiet and listening. But after the first names are called, those students don’t need to?pay attention?any more.

Neil

So they lose a bit of interest in what comes next, and the students later in the list are also now distracted and the teacher, him or herself, is not so focussed.?

Sam

And by the end of the list the relationship between the teacher and the students whose names are being called later is not as strong as those at the beginning of the list.?

Neil

Professor Zax describes this by saying that the?intensity of the engagement?diminishes.?Diminishes?means ‘gets weaker’, and the?intensity of the engagement?is the strength of the communication, the level of enthusiasm for being involved. So this is the start of the disadvantage which can subtly affect students throughout their school years and after. This was discovered after some research in the US in the 1950s. So what were these disadvantages? Here’s Professor Zax again.?

Professor Jeffrey Zax

They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses, graduate from college if they applied. They were more likely?to drop out. They had first jobs in occupations that paid less. They were more likely to go to the military and they were more likely to have jobs whose?prestige?was lower.?

Neil

So what disadvantages did they have??

Sam

Well, Professor Zax says that the research showed they enjoyed school less, were less successful academically and more likely to?drop out?of college or university. This means that they left the course before it was finished.?

Neil

And he also said that they were more likely to find jobs that had a lower?prestige. This means the jobs weren’t seen as high status or desirable. Let’s listen again.?

Professor Jeffrey Zax

They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses, graduate from college if they applied. They were more likely?to drop out. They had first jobs in occupations that paid less. They were more likely to go to the military and they were more likely to have jobs whose?prestige?was lower.?

Sam

Well, Professor Zax seems to have done OK. Even with that surname!?

Neil

Indeed, I guess this doesn’t apply to everyone. Right, well before we remind ourselves of our vocabulary, let’s get the answer to the question. Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form? Was it…

a) Ancient Egypt

b) Ancient Greece

c) Ancient Rome

Sam, what did you say??

Sam

Pretty sure it’s Ancient Rome.?

Neil

What does your surname begin with??

Sam

A 'B', actually.?

Neil

Well, you are wrong, I’m afraid. It’s actually Ancient Egypt – so well done to everyone who got that. OK, now it's time for our vocabulary.?

Sam

Yes –?to pay attention?to?something means to concentrate on something, to not be distracted.?

Neil

Then there was the phrase?the?intensity?of the engagement,?which is another way of saying the strength of the relationship, interaction and communication.?

Sam

And if your surname comes at the end of the alphabet you may find that the intensity of engagement with the teacher?diminishes.?Diminishes?means gets weaker.?

Neil

If you?drop out?from a course, it means that you leave it before it’s finished.?

Sam

And the?prestige?of a job is the respect it has. If it is seen as important or desirable then it has higher?prestige.?

Neil

OK, thank you, Sam. That’s all from 6 Minute English. We hope you can join us again soon. You can find us at bbclearningenglish online, on social media and on our app. Bye for now!?

Sam

Bye bye everyone!

Vocabulary

to pay attention to something

to concentrate on something and not be distracted?

intensity

strength?

engagement

involvement in a communicative situation?

diminishes

gets weaker?

to drop out

to quit a college or university course without finishing it?

prestige

respect and social status

雙語(yǔ)版Transcript

Hello. This is 6 Minute English. I'm Neil.

大家好，這里是六分鐘英語(yǔ)，我是尼爾。

And I'm Sam.

我是薩姆。

Now Sam, I assume that you know your alphabet.

薩姆，我想你知道字母表吧。

Of course, Neil – you mean my ABCs?

當(dāng)然，尼爾，你是說(shuō)我學(xué)的A，B，C那些嗎？

We learn that at a very young age, you know.

你知道的，我們?cè)诤苄〉臅r(shí)候就學(xué)了。

Sorry to sound patronising. But you do you know why the letters in the alphabet are in that particular order?

抱歉，這聽(tīng)起來(lái)有點(diǎn)自命不凡。但是你知道為什么字母表里的字母是按這種特殊的順序排列的嗎？

No, I don’t. That’s really interesting. Why?

不，我不知道。那真的挺有趣的。為什么？

I don’t know either, I was hoping you might!

我也不知道，我還希望你能知道呢！

But seriously, no one really knows how the order became established.

但說(shuō)真的，沒(méi)有人真的知道字母表的順序是如何確定的。

However, some research has shown that if your surname, your family name, begins with a letter later in the alphabet, you could be at a disadvantage at school and in life.

然而，一些研究表明，如果你的姓氏，你的姓，以字母表靠后位置的字母開(kāi)頭，那你在學(xué)校和生活中可能處于劣勢(shì)。

Before we get in to that though, a question.

但在我們開(kāi)始之前，有一個(gè)問(wèn)題。

Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form?

最早形式的字母表來(lái)自哪里？

Was it…

a) Ancient Egypt

b) Ancient Greece

c) Ancient Rome?

是

a)古埃及

b)古希臘

c)古羅馬

What do you think, Sam?

你覺(jué)得呢，薩姆？

Well, we refer to the English alphabet as having Roman characters, so I’m going with Ancient Rome.

好吧，我們稱(chēng)英語(yǔ)字母表有羅馬字符，所以我選擇古羅馬。

OK. I’ll have the answer later in the programme.

好的。稍后在節(jié)目中我將揭曉答案。

In the BBC radio programme Fry’s English Delight there was a feature about the alphabet and how it can have a negative impact on your school life.

在BBC廣播Fry 's English Delight節(jié)目中，有一個(gè)關(guān)于字母表以及它如何對(duì)你的學(xué)校生活產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響的專(zhuān)題。

Can you remember all those years ago when you were at school?

你還記得你上學(xué)的那些年嗎？

What’s the first thing that the teacher would do at the beginning of the day?

老師在一天開(kāi)始時(shí)要做的第一件事是什么？

She would take the register – that’s what we call it in the UK.

她會(huì)登記——這是我們?cè)谟?guó)的叫法。

You can also call it the roll call.

你也可以叫它點(diǎn)名。

Yes, this is when the teacher calls out the names of the students to check that they are all there.

是的，這是說(shuō)當(dāng)老師喊出學(xué)生的名字來(lái)檢查他們是否都在的時(shí)候。

This is where the problem starts, according to, ironically, Professor Jeffrey Zax, from the University of Colorado.

具有諷刺意味的是，據(jù)科羅拉多大學(xué)的杰弗里·扎克斯教授稱(chēng)，這就是問(wèn)題的所在。

The further down that list your name is, the less noticed you are by the teacher.

你的名字越靠后，老師就越少注意到你。

Why is that?

為什么呢？

Here’s Professor Zax.

這是扎克斯教授談到的。

When it begins people are paying attention.

點(diǎn)名開(kāi)始時(shí)，人們會(huì)集中注意力。

As it proceeds, first the people who are already called, they no longer have any need to take things seriously.

隨著時(shí)間的推移，首先是那些已經(jīng)被叫到的人，他們不再需要認(rèn)真對(duì)待點(diǎn)名了。

And the people who are waiting to be called, their attention is wandering as well.

而那些等待被叫的人，他們的注意力也在分散。

And so as you make your way through the roll call somehow the intensity of the engagement diminishes.

所以當(dāng)你被點(diǎn)名時(shí)，你的參與程度就會(huì)減弱。

So, what is the problem?

所以問(wèn)題是什么？

Well, it’s a lot to do with paying attention.

這和集中注意力有很大關(guān)系。

This means concentrating on something.

這指的是專(zhuān)注于某事。

At the beginning of the roll call everyone is paying attention - they are quiet and listening.

在點(diǎn)名開(kāi)始的時(shí)候，每個(gè)人都在集中注意力——他們安靜地聽(tīng)著。

But after the first names are called, those students don’t need to pay attention any more.

但是在叫到名字之后，這些學(xué)生就不再需要集中注意力了。

So they lose a bit of interest in what comes next, and the students later in the list are also now distracted and the teacher, him or herself, is not so focussed.

所以他們對(duì)接下來(lái)所發(fā)生的就失去了一點(diǎn)興趣，而排在人名單靠后位置的學(xué)生也會(huì)分心，而老師自己也沒(méi)那么專(zhuān)注了。

And by the end of the list the relationship between the teacher and the students whose names are being called later is not as strong as those at the beginning of the list.

而且老師和點(diǎn)名靠后的學(xué)生之間的關(guān)系不像和名單靠前的學(xué)生之間那么緊密。

Professor Zax describes this by saying that the intensity of the engagement diminishes.

扎克斯教授通過(guò)說(shuō)參與程度降低來(lái)描述這一點(diǎn)。

Diminishes means ‘gets weaker’, and the intensity of the engagement is the strength of the communication, the level of enthusiasm for being involved.

“減少”的意思是“變?nèi)酢?，而參與程度就是交流的強(qiáng)度，參與的熱情程度。

So this is the start of the disadvantage which can subtly affect students throughout their school years and after.

因此，這就是劣勢(shì)的開(kāi)始，它會(huì)潛移默化地影響學(xué)生的整個(gè)學(xué)生生涯及以后。

This was discovered after some research in the US in the 1950s.

這是在20世紀(jì)50年代美國(guó)的一些研究之后發(fā)現(xiàn)的。

So what were these disadvantages? Here’s Professor Zax again.

那么這些劣勢(shì)是什么呢？這是扎克斯教授再次談到的。

They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses, graduate from college if they applied.

他們不太可能享受他們的高中課程，如果申請(qǐng)的話，他們可以從大學(xué)畢業(yè)。

They were more likely to drop out.

但他們更有可能輟學(xué)。

They had first jobs in occupations that paid less.

他們的第一份工作是報(bào)酬較低的職業(yè)。

They were more likely to go to the military and they were more likely to have jobs whose prestige was lower.

他們更有可能參軍，而且更有可能從事社會(huì)地位較低的工作。

So what disadvantages did they have?

所以他們有什么劣勢(shì)？

Well, Professor Zax says that the research showed they enjoyed school less, were less successful academically and more likely to drop out of college or university.

嗯，扎克斯教授說(shuō)，研究表明，他們不太喜歡上學(xué)，在學(xué)業(yè)上也不太成功，更有可能從學(xué)院或大學(xué)退學(xué)。

This means that they left the course before it was finished.

這意味著他們?cè)谡n程結(jié)束前就不上學(xué)了。

And he also said that they were more likely to find jobs that had a lower prestige.

他還說(shuō)，他們更有可能找到聲望較低的工作。

This means the jobs weren’t seen as high status or desirable.

這意味著這些工作不被視為高社會(huì)地位或理想的工作。

Let’s listen again.

讓我們?cè)俾?tīng)一遍。

They were less likely to have enjoyed their high school courses, graduate from college if they applied.

他們不太可能享受他們的高中課程，如果申請(qǐng)的話，他們可以從大學(xué)畢業(yè)。

They were more likely to drop out.

但他們更有可能輟學(xué)。

They had first jobs in occupations that paid less.

他們的第一份工作是報(bào)酬較低的職業(yè)。

They were more likely to go to the military and they were more likely to have jobs whose prestige was lower.

他們更有可能參軍，而且更有可能從事社會(huì)地位較低的工作。

Well, Professor Zax seems to have done OK. Even with that surname!

嗯，扎克斯教授似乎做得不錯(cuò)。他的姓氏可是Z開(kāi)頭的呢！

Indeed, I guess this doesn’t apply to everyone.

事實(shí)上，我猜這并不適用于所有人。

Right, well before we remind ourselves of our vocabulary, let’s get the answer to the question.

好的，在我們復(fù)習(xí)詞匯之前，讓我們先揭曉問(wèn)題的答案。

Where does the alphabet come from in its earliest form?

最早形式的字母表來(lái)自哪里？

Was it…

a) Ancient Egypt

b) Ancient Greece

c) Ancient Rome?

是

a)古埃及

b)古希臘

c)古羅馬

Sam, what did you say?

你說(shuō)是什么，薩姆？

Pretty sure it’s Ancient Rome.

相當(dāng)確定，是古羅馬。

What does your surname begin with?

你的姓氏以什么開(kāi)頭？

A 'B', actually.

事實(shí)上以字母”B“開(kāi)頭。

Well, you are wrong, I’m afraid.

好吧，恐怕你錯(cuò)了。

It’s actually Ancient Egypt – so well done to everyone who got that.

它實(shí)際上是古埃及——所以答對(duì)的人都做得很好啊。

OK, now it's time for our vocabulary.

好了，現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候回顧我們的詞匯了。

Yes – to pay attention to something means to concentrate on something, to not be distracted.

是的，“集中注意力做某事”指的是專(zhuān)心做某事，不分心。

Then there was the phrase the intensity of the engagement, which is another way of saying the strength of the relationship, interaction and communication.

然后是“參與程度”這個(gè)短語(yǔ)，這是關(guān)系、互動(dòng)和溝通強(qiáng)度的另一種表達(dá)。

And if your surname comes at the end of the alphabet you may find that the intensity of engagement with the teacher diminishes.

如果你的姓氏以字母表末尾字母開(kāi)始，你可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己和老師的交流程度會(huì)降低。

Diminishes means gets weaker.

“減少”指的是變?nèi)酢?/span>

If you drop out from a course, it means that you leave it before it’s finished.

如果你退出一門(mén)課程，那指的是你在課程結(jié)束前就離開(kāi)了。

And the prestige of a job is the respect it has.

而一份工作的聲望就是它所擁有的尊重。

If it is seen as important or desirable then it has higher prestige.

如果它被認(rèn)為是重要的或合心意的，那么它就有更高的聲望。

OK, thank you, Sam. That’s all from 6 Minute English. We hope you can join us again soon.

好的，謝謝你，薩姆。以上就是本期六分鐘英語(yǔ)的全部?jī)?nèi)容。我們希望你能很快再次加入我們。

Bye for now!

再見(jiàn)了！

Bye bye everyone!

再見(jiàn)，各位