Question

【题目】

Many studieshave shown us that our memories aren't completely trustable. It can be difficult to tell a real memory from a false one, but one kind of memories is tested to be unreal: anything "remembered" before age 2. According to a new study published inPsychological Science, nearly 40 percent of people are sure that they remember events before this age, but their brains are almost certainly lying to them.

There’s a reason you don’t remember anything from when you were a baby: Your brain just wasn't wired to record information that way. Infants (婴儿) use their memories when they first start to walk, talk, eat, and learn in general, but that all falls into the non-declarative memory category (非陈述性记忆范畴). Declarative memory, on the other hand, describes the events that happened to you, and it's specific to the hippocampus region (海马区) of the brain. For example, people with hippocampal damage can’t tell you much about their own lives, but they can still walk or talk.

In the first couple years of a child's life, the hippocampus is in overdrive. It keeps growing neurons (神经元) to make room for all the new information the young brain is absorbing. This is what allows babies to learn so much at such a fast rate, but it also means they have to sacrifice their long-term declarative memory. As new neurons form, old ones are pushed out, along with the autobiographical (自传体的)memories they stored.

It isn't until age 2 that this growth starts to slow down and the hippocampus becomes able to save declarative memories for a longer period. But adults can still feel sure they remember events from much earlier. When researchers asked 6,641 study participants to describe their first memories and say how old they were when they happened, 2,487 people reported memories from before age 2.

As these numbers suggest, it's surprisingly easy to believe the stories you tell yourself or that were told to you are true, first-hand recollections. For example, you clearly remember dropping your ice cream cone at the zoo when you were 1.5 years old. What's likely happening is that you're remembering the picture that played in your head when your parents shared their own memories of the event when you were a few years older, or maybe you saw pictures taken from that day and you formed false memories around them.

Memory doesn't become simpler as we grow up. Even people with super autobiographical memory are susceptible (易受影响的) to false memories.

【1】What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?

A.Brains can change false memories into real ones.

B.Babies before age 2 can hardly remember how to walk.

C.Most adults remember everything from their early ages.

D.Declarative memories describe the things happened to us.

【2】The word “sacrifice” in Paragraph 3 probably means _______________.

A.give upB.care forC.work outD.connect with

【3】Some adults reported memories from before age 2 because______.

A.they save more declarative memories than other people

B.they might remember pictures their parents shared later

C.they might have larger brains to store the information

D.they are influenced by the fast growth of their brains

【4】What is the passage mainly about?

A.Children’s development before age 2 is important.

B.Brains save different memories in different areas.

C.Researches on infants have led to a new discovery.

D.People’s memories before age 2 are probably lies.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】D

【2】A

【3】B

【4】D

【解析】

文章大意：许多研究表明，我们的记忆并不完全可信。很难区分真实的记忆和虚假的记忆，但有一种记忆被测试为不真实的：任何在2岁之前“被记住”的东西。根据发表在《心理科学》杂志上的一项新研究，近40%的人确信他们能记住这个年龄之前的事情，但他们的大脑几乎肯定在欺骗他们。随着我们的成长，记忆不会变得简单。即使是具有超强自传体记忆的人也容易受到错误记忆的影响。

【1】细节理解题。根据It can be difficult to tell a real memory from a false one, but one kind of memories is tested to be unreal: anything "remembered" before age 2. 很难区分真实的记忆和虚假的记忆，但有一种记忆被测试为不真实的：任何在2岁之前“被记住”的东西。和Infants (婴儿) use their memories when they first start to walk, talk, eat, and learn in general, but that all falls into the non-declarative memory category (非陈述性记忆范畴). Declarative memory, on the other hand, describes the events that happened to you, and it's specific to the hippocampus region (海马区) of the brain. 婴儿一般在第一次开始走路、说话、吃饭和学习时使用记忆，但这都属于非陈述性记忆范畴。另一方面，陈述性记忆描述了发生在你身上的事件，它是大脑海马区特有的。可知，根据我们从前两段中学习到了描述发生在我们身上的事情的记忆。故选D。

【2】词意猜测题。根据This is what allows babies to learn so much at such a fast rate, but it also means they have to sacrifice their long-term declarative memory. 这就是为什么婴儿能够以如此快的速度学习如此之多，但这也意味着他们必须牺牲长期的陈述性记忆。可知，第3段中的“牺牲”一词可能意味着放弃。故选A。

【3】本题考查推断题。选项A译为“他们比其他人保存了更多的陈述性记忆”；选项B译为“他们可能记得他们的父母之后与他们分享的照片”；选项C译为“他们可能有更大的大脑存储信息”；选项D译为“他们受到大脑快速发展的影响”。根据题干信息“some adults reported memories from before2”可以定位到文中第四段最后一句，第五段详细说明具体原因，定位关键信息“when your parents shared their own memories of the event when you were a few years older，or maybe you saw pictures taken from that day and you formed false memories around them.”，故正确答案为B。

【4】本题考查主旨题。文章第一段提出主旨“最新研究显示我们的记忆并不完全可信。要想区分真实的记忆和错误的记忆是很困难的，但是有一种记忆被证实是不真实的，那就是任何两岁前的“记忆”；文章第二、三和四段从婴儿大脑的结构和功能的角度论述婴儿不可能具备2岁前的记忆；文章第五段论述人们自以为具备2岁前记忆可能的原因；文章第六段再次强调观点“即使拥有超级自传体记忆的人也容易收到错误记忆的影响”，故正确答案为D。

阅读理解一般考查学生的细节理解能力、主旨理解能力和推理判断能力。做阅读理解题，首先要准确理解题意，然后根据题意和短文内容选出正确的答案。（1）考查细节理解能力，此类型题较简单，学生准确理解题意后，直接到文中找出答案。（2）考查猜词能力。做这种题型时，学生要根据上下文意思准确猜出词义。3）考查推理判断能力，此类题型较难，学生要准确理解题意后，在文中找出相关的内容做出合理的推断。本文主要考查学生的细节理解能力。准确理解题意后，到文中找出相关的叙述，做出正确的判断。例如，第3小题，根据What's likely happening is that you're remembering the picture that played in your head when your parents shared their own memories of the event when you were a few years older, or maybe you saw pictures taken from that day and you formed false memories around them.可能发生的事情是，你正在回忆起你几岁时父母分享自己对这件事的记忆时在你脑海中播放的画面，或者你看到了那天拍摄的照片，你在他们周围形成了错误的记忆。可知，一些成年人报告说他们2岁以前的记忆，因为他们可能记得他们父母后来分享的照片。故选B。