We may all have had the embarrassing moment：Getting half­way through a story only to realize that we've told this exact tale before to the same  person. Why do  we  make  such  memory mistakes?

According to the research published in Psychological Science, it may have to do with the way our brains process different types of memory.

Researchers Nigel Gopie, of the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, and Colin Macleod, of the University of Waterloo, divided memory into two kinds. The first was source memory，or the ability to keep track of where information is coming from. The second was destination memory，or the ability to recall who we have given information to.

They found that source memory functions better than destination memory, in part because of the direction in which that information is travelling.

To study the differences between source memory and destination memory, the researchers did an experiment on 60 university students, according to a New York Times report. The students were asked to associate (聯(lián)想) 50 random(隨意的) facts with the faces of 50 famous people. Half of the students“told”each fact to one of the faces, reading it aloud when the celebrity's(名人的) picture appeared on a computer screen. The other half read each fact silently and saw a different celebrity picture afterward.

When later asked to recall which facts went with which faces, the students who were giving information out(destination memory)scored about 16 percent lower on memory performance compared with the students receiving information(source memory)．

The researchers concluded that out­going information was less associated with its environmental context (背景)—that is，the person—than was incoming information.

This makes sense given what is known about attention. A person who is giving information, even little facts, will devote some mental resources to thinking about what is being said. Because our attention is limited，we give less attention to the person we are giving information to.

After a second experiment with another group of 40 students, the researchers concluded that self­focus is another factor that undermines destination memory.

They asked half the students to continue giving out random information, while the other told things about themselves. This time around, those who were talking about themselves did 15 percent worse than those giving random information.

“When you start telling these personal facts compared with non­self facts, suddenly destination memory goes down more, suggesting that it is the self­focus component (成分) that's reducing the memory.”Gopie told Live Science.

60．The point of this article is to ________.

A. give advice on how to improve memory

B. say what causes the memory to worsen

C. explain why we repeat stories to those we've already told them to

D. discuss the differences between source memory and destination memory

61．What can we learn from the article?

A. Source memory helps us remember who we have  told the information to.

B. One's limited attention is one of the reasons why those reading aloud to the celebrity's pictures    perform worse on the memory test.

C. Silent reading is a better way to remember information than reading aloud.

D. It tends to be more difficult for people to link incoming information with its environmental context than outgoing information.

62．The underlined word“undermines” probably means________.

A. weakens         B. benefits

C. explains          D. supports

63．What did the scientists conclude from the second experiment?

A. Destination memory is weaker than source memory.

B. Focusing attention on oneself leads to relatively poor source memory performance.

C. Associating personal experience with information helps people memorize better.

D. Self­focus is responsible for the reduction of destination memory.

解析:主旨大意題。從文章第一段可知，作者用“講故事所碰到的尷尬事”來引出話題——“為什么會犯這樣的錯誤呢？”下文都圍繞著這個問題展開，所以答案選C項(xiàng)。

答案:C

解析:推理判斷題。從倒數(shù)第四段可知，人的注意力是有限的，我們很少關(guān)注那些我們給予信息的人。由此答案選B項(xiàng)。

答案:B

解析:詞義猜測題。結(jié)合文章倒數(shù)第三段和最后一段中的reducing the memory可知，自我關(guān)注會“削弱”目的記憶。答案選A項(xiàng)。

答案:A

解析:細(xì)節(jié)理解題。由倒數(shù)第三段結(jié)合第62題解析可知D項(xiàng)正確。

答案:D

 

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閱讀理解

　　Researchers may tell us that spending money on experiences produces more happiness than spending money on things．Going to a bar with friends is always a pleasurable experience．However, on the other hand, a table may also give lots of positive experiences in the future．

　　I just moved from New York City to suburban Pennsylvania．It’s been quite a change of pace, with some advantages and disadvantages．One of the best parts is that I’m spending more time outside．I quite enjoy staying outside, especially eating outside．I had a goal to eat outside as often as possible this summer, so one of my first purchases for the new house was a table and a set of chairs for the yard．

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　　Sometimes we may all have purchases that seem like a waste of money, like probably half the clothes in our closets, but how does this happen?

　　There are many reasons．The biggest is that we spend a lot of our time working to earn money to buy things．The problem is that we buy a lot of stuff that we don’t actually need．There is nothing worse than looking in your closet and realizing how many hours you spent laboring to buy things you never wear．But how about a table that lets you enjoy being outside in the summer? That’s worth every minute and penny and from it you will also get more happiness．

(1)

What does the writer want to tell about her personal experiences?

[　　]

A．

Her first purchase was very successful．

B．

It is really enjoyable eating outside．

C．

The suburban life in Pennsylvania is good．

D．

Things can also give us a lot of happiness．

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The underlined word “blurred” in the 3rd paragraph probably means _________．

[　　]

A．

not clear

B．

sharp

C．

quite the same

D．

rather simple

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From the last paragraph we can infer that _________．

[　　]

A．

people spend little time enjoying themselves

B．

the only purpose of work is to buy things

C．

people often spend lots of time buying unnecessary things

D．

everyone can get a lot of happiness from buying a table

(4)

What does the passage mainly talk about?

[　　]

A．

How you can spend your summer time outside．

B．

Why people spend a lot of money on things．

C．

What the best purchase is．

D．

How you can make moving enjoyable．

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We may all have had the embarrassing moment: Getting half-way through a story only to realize that we’ve told this exact tale before, to the same person. Why do we make such memory mistakes?

According to research published in Psychological Science, it may have to do with the way our brains process different types of memory.

Researchers Nigel Gopie, of the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, and Colin Macleod, of the University of Waterloo, divided memory into two kinds. The first was source memory, or the ability to keep track of where information is coming from. The second was destination memory, or the ability to recall who we have given information to.

They found that source memory functions better than destination memory, in part because of the direction in which that information is travelling.

To study the differences between source and destination memory, the researchers did an experiment on 60 university students, according to a New York Times report. The students were asked to associate (聯(lián)想) 50 random ( 隨意的) facts with the faces of 50 famous people. Half of the students "told" each fact to one of the faces, reading it aloud when the celebrity's (名人的) picture appeared on a computer screen. The other half read each fact silently and saw a different celebrity picture afterward.

When later asked to recall which facts went with which faces, the students who were giving information out (destination memory) scored about 16 percent lower on memory performance compared with the students receiving information (source memory).

The researchers concluded that out-going information was less associated with its environmental context （背景）---- that is, the person ---- than was incoming information.

This makes sense given what is known about attention. A person who is giving information, even little facts, will devote some mental resources to thinking about what is being said. Because our attention is limited, we give less attention to the person we are giving information to.

After a second experiment with another group of 40 students, the researchers concluded that self-focus is another factor that undermines destination memory.

They asked half the students to continue giving out random information, while the other told things about themselves. This time around, those who were talking about themselves did 15 percent worse than those giving random information.

"When you start telling these personal facts compared with non-self facts, suddenly destination memory goes down more, suggesting that it is the self-focus component ( 成分) that's reducing the memory, Gopie told Live Science.

72. The point of this article is to ____.

A. give advice on how to improve memory

B. say what causes the memory to worsen

C. explain why we repeat stories to those we've already told them to

D. discuss the differences between source and destination memory

73. What can we learn from the article?

A. Source memory helps us remember who we have told the information to.

B. One's limited attention is one of the reasons why those reading aloud to the celebrity's pictures perform worse on the memory test.

C. Silent reading is a better way to remember information than reading aloud.

D. It tends to be more difficult for people to link incoming information with its environmental context than outgoing information.

74. The underlined word "undermines" probably means ____.

A. weakens         B. benefits        C. explains        D. supports

75. What did the scientists conclude from the second experiment?

A. Destination memory is weaker than source memory.

B. Focusing attention on oneself leads to relatively poor source memory performance.

C. Associating personal experience with information helps people memorize better.

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閱讀理解。
     We may all have had the embarrassing moment: Getting half-way through a story only to realize that we've
told this exact tale before, to the same person. Why do we make such memory mistakes?
     According to research published in Psychological Science, it may have to do with the way our brains
process different types of memory.
     Researchers Nigel Gopie, of the Rotman Research Institute in Toronto, and Colin Macleod, of the University
of Waterloo, divided memory into two kinds. The first was source memory, or the ability to keep track of
where information is coming from. The second was destination memory, or the ability to recall who we have
given information to.
     They found that source memory functions better than destination memory, in part because of the direction
in which that information is travelling.
     To study the differences between source and destination memory, the researchers did an experiment on 60
university students, according to a New York Times report. The students were asked to associate (聯(lián)想) 50
random (隨意的) facts with the faces of 50 famous people. Half of the students "told" each fact to one of the
faces, reading it aloud when the celebrity's (名人的) picture appeared on a computer screen. The other half
read each fact silently and saw a different celebrity picture afterward.
     When later asked to recall which facts went with which faces, the students who were giving information
out (destination memory) scored about 16 percent lower on memory performance compared with the students
receiving information (source memory).
     The researchers concluded that out-going information was less associated with its environmental context
(背景) that is, the person-than was incoming information.
     This makes sense given what is known about attention. A person who is giving information, even little facts,
will devote some mental resources to thinking about what is being said. Because our attention is limited, we give
less attention to the person we are giving information to.
     After a second experiment with another group of 40 students, the researchers concluded that self-focus is
another factor that undermines destination memory.
     They asked half the students to continue giving out random information, while the other told things about
themselves. This time around, those who were talking about themselves did 15 percent worse than those giving
random information.
     "When you start telling these personal facts compared with non-self facts, suddenly destination memory
goes down more, suggesting that it is the self-focus component (成分) that's reducing the memory," Gopie
told Live Science.
1. The point of this article is to _____.
[     ]
A. give advice on how to improve memory
B. say what causes the memory to worsen
C. explain why we repeat stories to those we've already told them to
D. discuss the differences between source and destination memory
2. What can we learn from the article?
[     ]
A. Source memory helps us remember who we have told the information to.
B. One's limited attention is one of the reasons why those reading aloud to the celebrity's pictures perform 
    worse on the memory test.
C. Silent reading is a better way to remember information than reading aloud.
D. It tends to be more difficult for people to link incoming information with its environmental context than 
    outgoing information.
3. The underlined word "undermines" probably means _____.
[     ]
A. weakens
B. benefits
C. explains
D. supports
4. What did the scientists conclude from the second experiment?
[     ]
A. Destination memory is weaker than source memory.
B. Focusing attention on oneself leads to relatively poor source memory performance.
C. Associating personal experience with information helps people memorize better.
D. Self-focus is responsible for giving information twice or more to the same person.

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