Grown-ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
成年人常常惊讶于他们小时候时学过但此后从未练习过的仍然记忆犹新。一个多年没有机会游泳的人回到水里后，仍然可以游得和以前一样好；多年以后，仍然会骑自行车；他和他的儿子一样会接球、击球；一位多年没有思考过这些文字的母亲可以教她的女儿以“Twinkle, twinkle, little star”开头的诗，或者记住灰姑娘、金凤花姑娘和三只熊的故事。
One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials increase the length of time we will remember it.
一种解释是过度学习定律，它可以表述为：一旦我们学会了一些技能，额外的学习尝试会增加我们记住的时间。
In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.
在童年时期，我们通常在学习游泳、骑车和打棒球等技能之后会长时间练习。我们不断地聆听和提醒自己诸如“Twinkle, twinkle, little star”之类的文字以及灰姑娘和金凤花姑娘之类的儿童故事。我们不仅学了，而且学得很多。
The multiplication tables are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.
我们在学校学到的东西会很快忘记，乘法口诀表是个例外，因为它们是我们童年时过度学习的产物。
The law of overlearning explains why cramming for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.
过度学习定律解释了为什么应付考试的突击学习并不是学习大学课程的一种令人满意的方式，尽管考试的结果可能是及格。学生通过突击学习，可能学得很好，通过考试，但他很快就会忘记所学的一切。另一方面，多点过度学习对于一个人的未来发展是非常必要的。
