VOA慢速英语:More School May Mean Higher IQ Scores

短语讲解：

1. In the middle of the nineteen fifties, the government began requiring students to attend school until the age of sixteen instead of fourteen.

instead of (用…)代替…, (是…)而不是…, (用…)而不用…
例句：We went to the Biology class instead of attending the English lesson.
我们去上生物课而不去上英语课。

2. This difference gave researchers the chance to see if the additional schooling had any effect on intellectual development.

have effect on对…有影响
例句：Alcoholic drink can have a bad effect on your body.
含酒精的饮料会对你身体有很坏的影响。

3. All young men in Norway must take a test of their cognitive ability at age nineteen in preparation for required military service.

in preparation for为…准备,作为…的准备
例句：He sharpened his knife in preparation for carving the meat.
他磨快了刀准备切肉。

4. So, based on that, we were able to say that increasing compulsory schooling did actually have an effect on their cognitive abilities as measured at nineteen years of age.

base on使建立在…基础上,立足
例句：Action should be based on solid facts.
行动应有确凿的事实为依据。

5. This is the nature versus nurture argument -- the influence of biology compared to the environment in which people are raised and educated.

compare to与…相比
例句：The writer was compared to Shakespeare.
把这个作家与莎士比亚进行了比较。

6. But she says it is equally possible that education played a part.

play a part扮演一个角色,参与, 起作用
例句：Women play a significant part in the modern Olympic Games.
妇女在现代奥运会中发挥了重要的作用。

7. We have to be careful not to write off poorer performers at an early stage when in fact their IQ may improve significantly given a few more years.

write off毁掉; 结束掉
例句：They wrote the car off.
他们将那辆汽车报废了。