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That initial difference in maturity doesn't go away with time.
最初年齡帶來的差異到此時依舊沒有消除掉，
It persists.
還在繼續發揮影響。
And for thousands of students, that initial disadvantage is the difference between going to college,
成千上萬在起點就處于劣勢的學生步入大學的時候顯示了他們的差異，
and having a real shot of the middle class, and not.
而處于中間層次的學生卻不存在這類現象。
"I mean, it's ridiculous," Dhuey says.
“說起來真好笑”杜伊說，
Think for a moment about what the story of hockey in early birth dates
讓我們再反思一下曲棍球運動中出生日期
tells us about success.
與成功之間的關系。
It tells us that our notion that it is the best and the brightest
曲棍球的事例告訴我們，那種認為最好的、最聰明的人
who effortlessly rise to the top is much too simplistic.
幾乎不用吹灰之力就能取得登峰造極的成就，這種想法實在太單純了。
Yes, the hockey players who make it to the professional level
沒錯，那些擁有一定職業水準的曲棍球運動員
are more talented than you or me.
當然比你我都具有這方面的天賦，
But they also got a big head start,
但他們也是一出生就走了大運，
an opportunity that they neither deserved nor earned.
他們一開始就有機遇惠顧。這種機遇不是掙來的，不是理所當然的，
And that opportunity played a critical role in their success.
這種機遇在他們的成功歷程中扮演著關鍵的角色。
The sociologist Robert Merton famously called this kind of phenomenon the "Matthew Effect".
著名的社會學家羅伯特·默頓曾把這種現象稱為“馬太效應”。
after the New Testament verse in the Gospel of Matthew:
《新約·馬太福音》里面說：
"For unto everyone that hath shall be given,
“凡是有的，還要加給他，
and he shall have abundance
叫他有余。
But from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath."
沒有的，連他所有的，也要奪過來。”
It is those who are successful,
也就是說，
who are most likely to be given the kinds of special opportunities,
成功者能夠獲得更多的機會，
that lead to further success.
從而能變得更為成功。
It's the rich who get the biggest tax breaks.
稅收越減免，富人獲利越大；
It's the best students who get the best teaching and the most attention.
教育越優越，受到的鼓勵越多，優秀的學生越優秀。
and it's the biggest nine- and ten-year-olds
9歲和10歲的孩子越是年齡偏大，
who get the most coaching and practice.
越是擁有最好的教練、最科學的培養。
Success is the result of what sociologists like to call "accumulative advantage."
套用社會學家的術語，成功是“累積效應”的結果。
The professional hockey player starts out a little bit better than his peers,
職業的曲棍球運動員在起點上，只是比他的同齡人表現得稍微好一些。
and that little difference leads to an opportunity that makes that difference a bit bigger
在起點上的這一點區別使得之后的差別越來越大，
and that edge in turn leads to another opportunity that makes the initially small difference bigger still
此后，這種刀鋒效應又引起區別的進一步擴大一就這么一步一步地，
and on and on until the hockey player is a genuine outlier.
讓一位曲棍球運動員成了一個出類拔萃的人。
