刻意练习的适用范围：highly developed field

First, there are always objective ways,or at least semi-objective ways—such as evaluation by expert judges—to measure performance.

This makes sense: if there is no agreement on what good performance is and no way to tell what changes would improve performance, then it is very difficult—often impossible—to develop effective training methods

Second, these fields tend to be competitive enough that performers have strong incentive to practice and improve.

Third, these fields are generally well established, with the relevant skills having been developed over decades or even centuries.

And fourth, these fields have a subset of performers who also serve as teachers and coaches and who, over time, have developed increasingly sophisticated sets of training techniques that make possible the field’s steadily increasing skill level.

感悟: The near-maximal point is what works wonders , if you think about it, just about everything where you want to see a change happen. I have been doing workouts these weeks, and there were times when I really wanted to quit, but something inside said, "This's when you need keep pushing, and all the things you do are for this moment". It will be awesome that you keep pushing the envelope and really feel things changing steadily. 

 Thus it demands near-maximal effort,which is generally not enjoyable.

字词：

Violinists control the volume of their playing by varying （vt）the pressure of the bow on the string, but that pressure must stay within a certain range; too much and the result is an awful squawking noise, while too little leads to a sound that, while less offensive, isn’t considered acceptable. To complicate matters further, the range of acceptable pressures varies （vi）according to the bow’s position along the string. The closer the bow is to the bridge, the more force is needed to stay within the sweet spot.

1.vary

◙verb

1.(in sth)(of a group of similar things 一组类似的事物) to be different from each other in size, shape, etc.

•(大小、形状等)相异,不同,有别

【SYN】differ:

»The students' work varies considerably in quality.

学生作业的质量甚是参差不齐。

»New techniques were introduced with varying degrees of success.

引进新技术的成功程度不尽相同。

2. (with sth)|~ (from sth to sth)|~ (between A and B)to change or be different according to the situation

•(根据情况)变化,变更,改变:

»The menu varies with the season.

菜单随季节而变动。

»Prices vary according to the type of room you require.

价格随所要求的户型而有所变化。

»Class numbers vary between 25 and 30.

班级的数目从 25 到 30 不等。

»'What time do you start work?''It varies.'

"你几点钟开始工作？" "没准儿。"

3.[VN] to make changes to sth to make it slightly different

• 变更；(略做)改变:

»The job enables me to vary the hours I work.

这项工作使我能够调整工作时间。

--› see also varied 各种各样的

diversify,variegate,vary:

These words mean to give unlike characteristics or appearances to the members of a group of things. To diversify one’s reading is to read about a number of different subjects; to diversify one’s business is to embark on different kinds of commercial enterprises.

To vary is to make different the successive elements of a series of related things. To vary one’s diet is to eat different kinds of food at successive meals; to vary one’s work routine is to break up one’s day into segments devoted to various aspects of one’s job rather than to concentrate on one aspect of it over a long period of time.

To variegate is to impart variety to a group of similar things by giving them different colours, shapes, sizes, and the like. Easter eggs are variegated by colouring, bouquets by arrangement, book by jacked design or choice of type.The Latin root,variegare, means "diversify with different colors."

2. while引入的从句不一定表示“同时”，有时候可以表示“虽然”（此时动词体貌不受限制）。【例如】Whilehe's not exactly brilliant, he's a good student. 他尽管算不上高材，但也是个好学生。/ And while there were limits, obviously, to the closeness of Andrew's scrutiny, he was satisfied that no serious malpractice problem had existed. 安德鲁的监督，尽管严密性显然有限，但是他仍然看到，没有发生严重医疗事故的问题，也就满意了。

prodigy

US['prɑ:.də-] 

■someone with a very great ability which usually shows itself when that person is a young child奇才，天才

•The 16-year-old tennis prodigy is the youngest player ever to reach the Olympic finals.这位16岁的网球天才是迄今打进奥运决赛最年轻的选手。

•He read in the paper about a mathematical prodigy who was attending university at the age of 12.他在报纸上看到一则12岁就上大学的数学奇才的报道。

⇒ child prodigy

These were the superstars-in-waiting,明日之星 the students who intimidated all their classmates.

feeling worried and lacking confidence because of the situation you are in or the people you are with:      怯场

例句：I was shy, and felt intimidated by the older students.

You might be intimidatedby a large barking dog, a mean boss, or a pair of skinny jeans you'd love to fit into. Maya Angelou said, “Education helps one cease being intimidated by strange situations.” When you are familiar with something, it becomes less frightful. Synonyms for intimidated include afraid and daunted.

Because their practice was so intense, they needed to recharge their batteries with a full night’s sleep—and often an afternoon nap.

Nobody had been slacking—even the least accomplished of the students had put in thousands of hours of practice,

•disapproving You'll be in trouble if you're caught slacking on the job like that.如果你被抓到工作时那么懒散，那你就麻烦了。

momentarily

■for a very short time片刻地；短暂地

•She was momentarily confused by the foreign road signs.她一时被那些外国路标搞糊涂了。

另外要注意的是：词典上这个副词重音落在第一个音节，但是在美国常常落在-ta-上。许多以-ary结尾的形容词，加上ly变为副词，发音都有这个变化。如：tempo'rarily