人们对于数学有很深的误解，例如很多人认为数学成绩的好坏反映出了我们是否聪明，也有一部分人认为男生天生比女生擅长数学，还有人认为只有学不好数学的人才会有数学焦虑症。下面让我们来看看Orly Rubinsten是如何解说数学焦虑症的。

　　When French mathematician Laurent Schwartz was in high school, he started to worry that he wasn’t smart enough to solve math problems. Maybe you know a similar feeling. You sit down to take a math test, and you feel your heart beat faster and your palms start to sweat. You get butterflies in your stomach, and you can’t concentrate. This phenomenon is called math anxiety, and if it happens to you, you’re not alone. Researchers think about 20% of the population suffers from it. But having mathematical anxiety doesn’t necessarily mean you’re bad at math – not even close. Laurent Schwartz went on to win the Fields Medal, the highest award in mathematics.

　　当你在参加数学考试的时候，你会心跳加速，手掌出汗，胃里紧张到翻江倒海，无法集中注意力。这种现象就是数学焦虑症了。其实20%的人都有该症状，但是有数学焦虑并不意味着你的数学差。就像法国的数学家Laurent Schwartz，他的数学焦虑并不妨碍他获得数学领域的最高奖项。

　　have butterflies (in your stomach) = (informal) to have a nervous feeling in your stomach before doing something

　　not necessarily = used to say that something is possibly true but not definitely or always true例如：

　　The more expensive articles are not necessarily better.

　　Biggest doesn't necessarily mean best.

　　‘We're going to lose.’ ‘Not necessarily.’

　　People might think that they’re anxious about math because they’re bad at it, but it’s often the other way around. They’re doing poorly in math because they’re anxious about it. Some psychologists think that’s because math anxiety decreases a cognitive resource called working memory. That’s the short-term memory system that helps you organize the information you need to complete a task. Worrying about being able to solve math problems, or not doing well on a test, eats up working memory, leaving less of it available to tackle the math itself. People can suddenly struggle with even basic math skills, like arithmetic, that they’ve otherwise mastered.

　　人们可能认为你之所以患有数学焦虑症，是因为你数学很差，但其实因果恰恰相反，大多数情况下，你的数学差是因为你有数学焦虑。心理学家认为这种焦虑影响到了我们的working memory，这种短期的记忆系统是帮助我们整合信息以便完成一项工作任务的。如果你把大部分的working memory都用在担心和焦虑上面了，那么剩下的部分就不够用来解决真正的数学问题了。这样的结果就是，你可能突然间连最基本的数学技能，例如算数，都搞不定了。

　　the other way round = the opposite situation例如：

　　I didn't leave you. It was the other way round (= you left me).

　　eat up = to use something in large quantities例如：

　　Legal costs had eaten up all the savings she had.

　　tackle = to make a determined effort to deal with a difficult problem or situation例如：

　　The government is determined to tackle inflation.

　　I think I'll tackle the repairs next weekend.

　　Firefighters tackled a blaze in a garage last night.