The learning methods and training details of Harvard's top students

Chapter 5 Those who can control time will be favored by it (1)
(Harvard Representative: Zhu Kezhen) Treat every day of your life as the last day of your life.

—Harvard alumnus and author Helen Keller

【Wonderful Guide】

Biography of Zhu Kezhen

Zhu Kezhen (1890～1974), born in Shangyu, Zhejiang.The founder of modern Chinese meteorology and geography, has conducted in-depth research on the relationship between typhoons and phenology.

Zhu Kezhen went to the United States to study in 1910 and entered the Agricultural College of Illinois University. In 1913, he entered the Department of Geography of Harvard University Graduate School, specialized in Meteorology, and received a Ph.D. in Meteorology from Harvard University. In 1927, at the invitation of Cai Yuanpei, he went to Nanjing to prepare for the establishment of a Meteorological Research Institute and served as the director.It successively carried out high-altitude detection, radio weather broadcasting, and established Nanjing Beijige Meteorological Observatory, which laid the foundation for my country's meteorological cause.The Institute of Meteorology of the Academia Sinica was established, and more than [-] observation stations were deployed across the country for ground and high-altitude observations, and weather forecasting began.Organized and published China's climate data.The measurement standards in meteorological observation have been reformed, and research on regional climate in my country has been carried out.

In 1936, he served as the president of Zhejiang University, advocating academic freedom and professorial governance.

After 1949, Zhu Kezhen personally prepared to establish the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and successively presided over the work of comprehensive investigation, natural division, and compilation of large atlases.He has successively served as vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, vice chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, chairman and honorary chairman of the Chinese Meteorological Society, chairman of the Chinese Geographical Society, and a member of the Standing Committee of the first to third National People's Congress.It is one of the backbones of China Science Society, the first scientific organization in China.It created the research fields of modern geography and meteorology in my country.The earliest Department of Geography in my country was established in Southeast University.His works include "Phenology", "Some New Facts about Typhoon Centers", "Operation of Airflow in China", etc.

In 1972, the "Preliminary Study on my country's 5000-Year Climate Change" was supplemented and revised.The article "The Time and Place of the Origin of the 28 Mansions" basically resolved the international controversy that lasted for more than 100 years, and was highly praised by academic circles at home and abroad.

【Character Story】

The proud man of Harvard who is good at controlling time

There is an important secret to Zhu Kezhen's success in meteorological research, that is, he is good at managing his own time.Zhu Kezhen was admitted to Harvard University in the United States to study meteorology when he was in his twenties. Due to language problems, he had difficulty listening to the lectures at first, and he could not understand a lot of content.In order to overcome this obstacle, he began to study foreign languages ​​frantically in addition to intense study.Since he didn't have much time for learning foreign languages, he came up with a good way to use his scattered time to learn foreign languages. Since then, he can be seen reciting words during the study breaks and on the way to and from get out of class.He cleverly used every minute of his time to learn foreign languages. In less than one semester, he could communicate fluently with his classmates.This also laid a favorable foundation for his further study.

When he was studying at Harvard, he had a wide range of interests. He liked writing very much. He also had a deep interest in folk art, especially Chinese traditional art.It is precisely because he has dabbled extensively and studied in many aspects, so time is very important to him, and he almost regards time as life.In order to better save time and use every minute of his time, he pays more attention to the effective use of his scattered time for meteorological experiment research.

【Harvard view】

Make good use of scattered time to prolong life
Life is measured in time, and time is life.Learning is done with time, and wasting your own time is tantamount to slow suicide.Only by making good use of the scattered time around you can you constantly surpass yourself and achieve a leap in learning.

Jerome Cagan, a professor of psychology at Harvard and an American developmental psychologist, said: "Time is accumulated in minutes and seconds. Only those who are good at using every minute will make greater achievements."

Striving for time and being good at using time is the guarantee of our efficient learning.The so-called piecemeal time mainly refers to study breaks, meal times, time on the way to or from school, and so on.In fragmentary time, it is basically impossible to accomplish anything important.But it will be a pity if we waste these scattered time in vain, and if we use the scattered time reasonably in learning, we can save a lot of learning time.

We save time, that is, prolong our learning life, and we can master more knowledge.

In the learning stage, most of the time is spent in class and self-study, and there is very little free time. In this case, you should learn to use scattered time.

For example, a 10-minute journey from home to school is more than enough to remember one English word.What's more important is not to memorize English words, but to develop a good habit of saving time.Only those who know how to cherish the scattered time will truly cherish the long time.Wasting time, like wasting money, starts with a small sum.

People who are good at using scattered time have more time available than others.In addition to "squeezing" time, you must also be good at saving time. For example, during the day, you must do the most important things; spend most of your time on the most difficult and most influential things, and so on. Another way to "squeeze" time and save time is to use spare time scientifically.

We can record our daily activity time in detail, find out which scattered time is wasted, and then choose suitable learning activities to cooperate.Suppose you have to take the bus for half an hour to go to school every day, you can practice English listening on the road, and over time, your English listening will definitely improve a lot.Or, when you go to school or walk after school, memorize two or three English words, a small poem or a formula every day. After a semester, you will also be surprised by your gains.

In addition, when using the scattered time, you must have a positive attitude, don't think "only 5 minutes, nothing can be done", but tell yourself "there are 5 minutes left, make full use of it".

When the great inventor Edison was 79 years old, he once told his friends that he was already 135 years old because he often worked two days a day.Of course, this is not to say that we should use all the scattered time for study. In fact, rest and entertainment should also be part of making full use of time.

[Easy interaction]

1. Please write down your schedule for the day.

2. Do you feel that you have a fulfilling life?Are you good at using your spare time in normal times?
3. Think about it, what good ways do you use your spare time?

【Parent-child total product】

The room of the famous American writer Jack London has a unique decoration, that is, on the curtains, hangers, cabinets...all kinds of small notes are pasted everywhere.Jack London was so fond of these notes that he was almost inseparable from them.These little notes are filled with all kinds of words: there are wonderful vocabulary, vivid metaphors, and all kinds of information.

Jack London never wanted to let time slip by his nose in vain.Before going to bed, he silently read the small note pasted on the bed; when he woke up the next morning, he read the small note on the wall while dressing; when he shaved, the small note on the mirror provided him with For convenience; when he is pacing and resting, he can find vocabulary and materials that inspire his creation everywhere.Not only at home, but also when he was out, Jack London did not easily let go of every minute of his spare time.When he went out, he had already put the note in his pocket, and he would take it out to have a look and think about it at any time.

In 1904, when the young Einstein was concentrating on research, his son was born, so at home, he often held his son with his left hand and did calculations with his right.On the street, he is also pushing a stroller while thinking about his research topic.His wife and children were asleep, and he went outside to light a lamp to write a thesis.This is how Einstein made full use of fragmentary time. Through accumulation, he completed four important papers in one year, which caused a revolution in the field of physics.

Mr. Lu Xun said: "I spend all the time other people drink coffee on reading and studying." For decades, he never wasted a minute or a second, and left us with a work of more than 700 million words.In the days when he was seriously ill, he still seized the time to work and study. On the day before his death, he wrote his last work "Two or Three Things Remembered by Mr. Taiyan". It is a pity that the time has come to life last breath.

【Harvard view】

The secret of excellence is to make good use of every minute
Learning is a process of accumulation and a process of using time. If we are good at using every minute around us, our learning will also be improved unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)