What is your earliest childhood memory? Can you remember learning to walk? Or talk? The first time you heard thunder or watched a television program? Adults seldom　1　events much earlier than the year or so before entering school,　2　children younger than three or four　3　retain any specific, personal experiences.

　　A variety of explanations have been　4　by psychologists for this "childhood a mnesia" (兒童失憶癥). One argues that the hippocampus, the region of the brain which is　5　for forming memories, does not mature until about the age of two. But the most popular theory　6　that, since adults don't think like children, they cannot　7　childhood memories. Adults think in words, and their life memories are like stories or　8　―one event follows　9　as in a novel or film. But when they search through their mental　10　for early childhood memories to add to this verbal life story, they don’t find any that fit the　11　. It's like trying to find a Chinese word in an English dictionary.

　　Now psychologist Annette Simms of the New York State University offers a new　12　for childhood amnesia. She argues that there simply　13　any early childhood memories to recall. According to Dr Simms, children need to learn to use someone else’s spoken description of their personal　14　in order to turn their own short term, quickly forgotten　15　of them into long term memories. In other　16　, children have to talk about their experiences and hear others talk about　17　― Mother talking about the afternoon　18　looking for seashells at the beach or Dad asking them about their day at Ocean Park. Without this　19　reinforcement, says Dr Simms, children cannot form　20　memories of their personal experiences.

　　1. [A] figure[B] interpret[C] recall[D] affirm

　　2. [A] now that[B] even if[C] as though[D] just as

　　3. [A] largely[B] rarely[C] merely[D] really

　　4. [A] refuted[B] defied[C] proposed[D] witnessed

　　5. [A] responsible[B] suitable[C] favorable[D] available

　　6. [A] declines[B] assesses[C] estimates[D] maintains

　　7. [A] reflect[B] attain[C] access[D] acquire

　　8. [A] narratives[B] forecasts[C]communications[D] descriptions

　　9. [A] the rest[B] another[C] the other[D] others

　　10. [A] deposits[B] dreams[C] flashes[D] files

　　11. [A] model[B] pattern[C] frame[D] formula

　　12. [A] emphasis[B] assertion[C] explanation[D] assumption

　　13. [A] aren’t[B] weren’t[C] isn’t[D] was’t

　　14. [A] instincts[B] feelings[C] sensations[D] experiences

　　15. [A] impressions[B] beliefs[C] minds[D] insights

　　16. [A] senses[B] cases[C] words[D] aspects

　　17. [A] him[B] their[C]it[D]them

　　18. [A] taken[B] utilized[C] applied[D] spent

　　19. [A] habitual[B] verbal[C] unique[D] particular

　　20. [A] permanent[B] mental[C] spiritual[D] conscious

　　答案

　　1.【答案】C

　　【解析】recall意為“想起”，指把忘記的東西又想起來，其動作含有有意識的努力和意志，常與Call，could等詞連用。例如：I是remember her face but I cannot recall where I met her.我認得她的臉，但我記不起在哪里見過她。根據上下文，此處需要填與前面的remember意思相近的動詞，意為：成年人很少能想起一些事。故選項C正確。figure意為“計算，描述，估計，相像”，例如：Can you figure (out) why he did it? 你能明白他為什么做這嗎?interpret意為“解釋，說明”，例如：It is difficult to interpret these statistics without knowing how they were obtained.不知道這些數據的來源，就很難解釋。affirm通常為再度或回答某一問題時“斷言，肯定”，例如：He affirmed that he was telling the truth.他保證自己說的是事實。

　　2.【答案】D

　　【解析】just as意為“就像”，例如：Things turned out just as I expected.根據上下文的意思：成年人與小孩子一樣都不記得童年的事。故選項D正確。now that意為“既然”，常用于完成時態(tài)，例如：She is enjoying the job more now that she’s got more responsibility.既然她承擔了更多的責任，她就更喜歡這份工作。Even if意為“即使”，引導讓步狀語從句，例如：Even if you take a taxi，you’ll still miss your train.as though/if意為“似乎，好像”，例如：They stared at me as if I was crazy.

　　3.【答案】B

　　【解析】rarely否定副詞，意為“很少”，與主句中seldom(很少)前后照應。largely意為“主要地”，例如：The accident was largely due to his carelessness.事故主要是由于他的疏忽造成的。merely意為“僅僅”，例如：He is not merely a good artist，but a great one.really意為“真正地”。本題句意為：成年人很少想起比入學前一年左右更早的事情，就像三四歲以前的孩子很少能記得任何具體的個人經歷。

　　4.【答案】C

　　【解析】propose sth./doing;propose that(should)表示“提出意見”，例如：I propose a short rest before we continue the work.我提議繼續(xù)干活之前先休息一會兒。根據文章意思：心理學家提出了這種解釋，故選項C正確。refute意為“反駁，駁斥”，例如：We refuted his claim that the world was flat.我們反駁了他的“世界是平坦的”主張。defy意為“公然違抗，蔑視”，例如：How long can those criminals continue to defy the law! witness意為“目擊，作證”，例如：He witnessed to having seen the man enter the room.他親眼看見他進了這個房間。本題句意為：心理學家已經為這種“兒童失憶癥”提出了各種各樣的解釋。

　　5.【答案】A

　　【解析】 be responsible for意為“有責任的，成為……的原因”，例如：The pilot of an airliner is responsible for the safety of the passengers.再如：Mechanical defects were responsible for.the accident.醫(yī)療失誤是事故發(fā)生的原因。根據上下文的意思和結構，此句意指大腦中的一個負責記憶的區(qū)域，作為hippocampus的同位語，故選項A項正確。(be)suitable(to/for)意為“合適的”;favorable意為“滿意的，有利的”，例如：We can sail there in an hour if the wind is favorable to us.如果風向對的話，我們一小時之內就可以到達那里。available意為“可用的，有空的”，例如：It’s vital that food is made available to the famine area.鬧饑荒的地區(qū)有食物可吃是至關重要的。本題句意為：有心理學家認為，大腦中的海馬，即形成記憶的大腦區(qū)，直到大約兩歲時才成熟。

　　6.【答案】D

　　【解析】maintain意為“堅持認為，維持”，例如：He maintained that he was innocent.= He maintained his innocence.再如：We should maintain friendly relations with neighboring countries.我們需與鄰國保持睦鄰友好關系。根據上下文，前一句講有人認為兒童失憶癥是因為人腦中的海馬區(qū)不成熟，此句講別的理論有什么看法，故選項D正確。decline意為“婉拒，衰落”，例如：I offered him a lift to his house，but he declined with thanks.再如：The party’s popularity/has declined in the opinion polls.assess意為“評估”，例如：They assessed the cost of the flood damage at $50，000.再如：Examinations are not the only means of assessing someone’s ability.考試并不是評估一個人能力的唯一途徑。estimate意為“估計，評價”，例如：It was difficult to estimate how many trees had been damaged.

　　7.【答案】C

　　【解析】 access名詞，意為“接近，人口”;動詞，意為“存取(計算機類用語)”，例如：The system has been designed to give the user quick and easy access to the required information.再如：Branch officials can access the central databank.此處需一個動詞與memory搭配，故選項C正確。reflect意為“反映，深思熟慮”，例如：His unhappy face reflected his inner despair.再如：The manager demanded time to reflect on what to do.經理要來給予時間讓他考慮該干什么。attain意為“獲得”，有較強的抱負和渴望的意味，如：attain one’s goal/independence.acquire尤指通過努力“獲得養(yǎng)成習慣、嗜好等”，如：acquire a habit，acquire a little Spanish學會了一點西班牙語。本題句意為：但最流行的理論堅持認為：由于成年人不像兒童那樣思考，所以他們不能存取童年的記憶。

　　8.【答案】A

　　【解析】 narrative意為“敘事”，常指按順序講述，例如：She gave a narrative of her strange experience.根據下文one event follows another，是按順序來講述，故選項A符合題意。forecasts意為“預報，預料”，如：a weather forecast天氣預報;communications意為“交流，通訊設施(復數)”;description意為“記述，敘述，描寫”，常指用語言來描述，例如：Please give me a brief/full description of the accident.

　　9.【答案】B

　　【解析】one...another常指兩個以上，為固定搭配，故選項B正確。the rest意為“剩余的”;the other意為“兩個人中的另一個”;others意為“另外的人/物”。本題句意為：成年人用語言思考。他們生活的記憶就像故事或敘事――一件緊接著另一件事，就像小說中或電影中講述的那樣。

　　10.【答案】D

　　【解析】files文件夾，此處指大腦中的記憶庫。deposit意為“沉淀物，押金”，例如：There are rich deposits of gold in those hills。dream意為“設想”;flash意為“閃光”，現也用于計算機類語言，如：flash memory(閃存)，例如：Last week，Intel Corp，said it had developed a way to double the storage capacity of so-called flash memory chips.英特爾公司上周稱已開發(fā)出使所謂閃存芯片的存儲量翻倍的方法。

　　11.【答案】B

　　【解析】pattern意為“模式，方式”，例如：The pattern of family life has been changing over recent years.最近幾年家庭生活的模式已經發(fā)生了變化。根據原句意思，找不到適合描述童年的模式，故選項B正確。mode意為“模型”;frame意為“框架”;formula意為“公式，慣例”，例如：a formula for settling a border dispute.本題句意為：但是當他們通過大腦文件庫(即記憶)尋找早期的童年記憶來進一步說明他們的生活故事時，他們沒有找到適合這種模式的任何記憶。

　　12【答案】C

　　【解析】offer explanation for意為“為……提出解釋”，兒童失憶癥并不是一個假設，而是一個事實。上文提到針對其成因有許多種explanations，所以C項正確。emphasis意為“強調”，常與介詞On搭配;assertion意為“斷言”，例如：make an assertion that...斷言，堅稱;assumption意為“假設”，例如：I was under the assumption that you were coming tomorrow.我還曾想，你明天會來。本題句意為：現在美國紐約州立大學的心理學家Annette Simms針對“兒童失憶癥”提出了一種新的解釋。

　　13.【答案】A

　　【解析】根據上下文的意思，根本不存在童年記憶可供回想才是Simms博士的看法。

　　14.【答案】D

　　【解析】experience意為“(不可數名詞)經驗;(可數名詞)經歷”，此處需要一個由personal修飾的名詞，所以D項正確。instincts意為“本能”;feelings意為“情感”;sensations意為“感覺”。

　　15.【答案】A

　　【解析】impressions意為“印象”，與前面第14題的experiences(經歷)前后照應，故選項A正確。beliefs意為“信念”;minds意為“頭腦，想法”;insights意為“洞察力，深刻見解等”，例如：She has a woman’s quick insight into character.本題句意為：根據Simms博士的看法，兒童必須學會利用別人對其個人經歷的口頭描述，從而把他們自己的、短期的、迅速遺忘的印象轉變成長期記憶。

　　16.【答案】C

　　【解析】in other words意為“換句話說”，根據上下文，前一句談及兒童必須學會利用別人對其經歷的口頭描述，下一句談到兒童必須談論其個人經歷，并聽他人談論這些經歷，后者是對前面句子的解釋，故選項C正確。senses：in all senses意為“從各方面”，in one/a sense意為“從某種意義上說”;case：in some cases意為“在有些情況下”，in this/that case意為“在這樣(那樣)的情況下”;aspects意為“方面”，如：to consider a problem in all aspects.從各方面考慮問題。

　　17.【答案】D

　　【解析】根據上下文意思，可知此處需要一個代詞來指代前面的experiences，其他選項均不符合題意。

　　18.【答案】D

　　【解析】 spend( time) doings出表示“(花多少時間)做某事”，此處需要過去分詞修飾the afternoon一詞，只有D項符合句意及結構。take表示此意的用法應為It takes/took sb some time to do sth花某人時間做某事;utilize意為“利用”，如：utilize solar energy利用大陽能;apply意為“應用，申請”，例如：Scientific discoveries are often applied to industrial production methods.科學發(fā)現經常被應用在工業(yè)生產工藝上。本題句意為：換句話說，孩子們必須談論他們的個人經歷，并且聽其他人談論這些經歷――母親談論下午在沙灘找貝殼或父親詢問他們白天在海洋公園玩得怎么樣。

　　19.【答案】B

　　【解析】verbal意為“口頭的”，與前文的spoken description，talk，ask等詞相照應，故選項B正確。habitual意為“習慣性的”;unique意為“獨一無二的”;particular意為“特別的”，如：a matter of particular importance.特別重要的問題。

　　20.【答案】A

　　【解析】 permanent意為“永久的，長期不變的”，例如：permanent brain damage永久性腦損傷;此句指經過。