Although child prodigies are often rich in both talent and ambition, what holds them back from moving the world forward is that they don’t learn to be original. As they perform in Carnegie Hall, win the science Olympics, and become chess champions, something tragic happens: Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new. The gifted learn to play magnificent Mozart melodies and beautiful Beethoven symphonies, but never compose their own original scores. They focus their energy on consuming existing scientific knowledge, not producing new insights. They conform to the codified rules of established games, rather than inventing their own rules or their own games. All along the way, they strive to earn the approval of their parents and the admiration of their teachers.

1.hold back：阻碍某人做某事，to prevent someone or something from making progress.

例句：They felt the British economy was being held back by excessive government controls. 他们感到，由于政府过度控制，英国的经济发展受到了阻碍。

2.practice makes perfect：used to say that if you do an activity regularly, you will become very good at it，表达熟能生巧的固定搭配。

3.score：乐谱，这里用了score的熟词辟义。a written or printed copy of a piece of music, especially for a large group of performers, or the music itself.

例句：Who wrote the score for the movie? 这部电影的配乐是谁谱写的？

4.conform：遵守，to obey a law/rule.

例句：Students can be expelled for refusing to conform to school rules. 学生不遵守校规可能会被开除。

值得注意的是这个词的另一个意思：从众，墨守成规，本书的副标题就是：How non-conformists move the world

5.codified：codify表示将法律等编纂成典，to arrange laws, principles, facts etc in a system.这里的codified我认为可以理解为“现有的”。

6.established：早已确立的，早就有的，already in use or existing for a long period of time.

well-established：广泛的

例句：By 1969 the civil rights movement was already an established fact . 时至1969年，民权运动早已成为既定事实。

7.strive：努力，奋斗，to make a great effort to achieve something.可以用来替换try.

例句：I was still striving to be successful. 我仍在努力争取成功。