You will be really embarrassed if someone sees you talking to yourself. But don't feel bad about it! It actually has a lot of advantages.
如果有人看到你在自言自语，你可能会觉得很尴尬。但其实不用觉得这很糟糕！自言自语实际上有很多好处。
Thinking is good for the brain. Talking to yourself loud is like showing this quiet inner speech. It can help us do better in different areas. For example, a badminton or baseball champion might use self-talk while holding their bats. A policeman or policewoman may use words like "you can do this" to help him or her stay calm in stressful situations.
思考对大脑有益。大声地自言自语就像是把无声的内心独白展示出来。它可以帮助我们在不同的领域中表现得更好。例如，一位羽毛球或棒球冠军可能会在握着球拍或球棒时自言自语。一名男警察或女警察可能会用诸如“你能做到”这样的话，来帮助自己在充满压力的情况下保持冷静。
Talking to yourself in the third person can help us manage bad feelings. A researcher said that when he is feeling nervous during a flight, he talks to himself. "It's OK, Jason has been on thousands of flights." This can help him to see things from a different aspect.
以第三人称自言自语可以帮助我们管理负面情绪。一位研究人员说，当他在飞行途中感到紧张时，他会跟他自己说话。“没关系的，杰森他已经坐过成千上万次飞机了。”这可以帮助他从不同的角度看待问题。
When encouragement comes from oneself, it adds to self-confidence, making you feel like an eagle flying high. A study invited 72 tennis players to take part in some matches. Players were put into two groups: one group said nothing while playing, and the other talked to themselves. They found that the winners were often the self-talkers. They showed more confidence than those in the silent group.
当鼓励来自自身的时候，它可以增加自信，让你感觉自己就像一只展翅高飞的鹰。一项研究邀请了 72 名网球运动员参加比赛。选手们被分为两组：一组在比赛时什么都不说，另一组则会和自己说话。他们发现，获胜者往往是那些会自言自语的人。他们比沉默组的选手表现得更加自信。
Self-talk also helps to improve memory. Researchers tested four different ways to memorise things: reading silently, reading aloud, listening to someone else read and listening to a recording of oneself reading. Those who read out loud recalled the best, because the information becomes a long-term memory more easily.
自言自语还有助于提高记忆力。研究人员测试了四种不同的记忆方法：默读、大声朗读、听别人朗读以及听自己朗读的录音。大声朗读的人回忆的效果最好，因为那些信息更容易成为长期记忆。
Mastering self-talk can give you a tiger's determination. Next time you visit the dentist, feel free to talk to yourself!
掌握自言自语可以赋予你老虎般的意志。下次去看牙医时，不妨大胆地自言自语吧！