Question

Grown­ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since. A man who has not had a chance to go swimming for years can still swim as well as ever when he gets back in the water. He can get on a bicycle after many years and still ride away. He can play catch and hit a ball as well as his son. A mother who has not thought about the words for years can teach her daughter the poem that begins “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” or remember the story of Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

One explanation is the law of overlearning, which can be stated as follows: Once we have learned something, additional learning trials(尝试)increase the length of time we will remember it.

In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them. We continue to listen to and remind ourselves of words such as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” and childhood tales such as Cinderella and Goldilocks. We not only learn but overlearn.

The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school, because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.

The law of overlearning explains why cramming(突击学习)for an examination, though it may result in a passing grade, is not a satisfactory way to learn a college course. By cramming, a student may learn the subject well enough to get by on the examination, but he is likely soon to forget almost everything he learned. A little overlearning, on the other hand, is really necessary for one's future development.

1.What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?

A．People remember well what they learned in childhood.

B．Children have a better memory than grown­ups.

C．Poem reading is a good way to learn words.

D．Stories for children arc easy to remember.

2.The author explains the law of overlearning by______.

A．presenting research findings

B．selling down general rules

C．making a comparison

D．using examples

3.What does the word “they” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A．Commonly accepted rules.

B．The multiplication tables.

C．Things easily forgotten.

D．School subjects.

4.What is the author's opinion on cramming?

A．It leads to failure in college exams.

B．It's helpful only in a limited way.

C．It's possible to result in poor memory.

D．It increases students' learning interest.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.B

【解析】

试题分析：本文属于科普类阅读，主要介绍了我们学习过程中的the law of overlearning超量学习（指学习或熟记到能立即回忆起的程度），作者主要通过举例说明的方法来阐述这一学习方法的优劣。

1.A 段落大意题。根据第一段主题句Grown­ups are often surprised by how well they remember something they learned as children but have never practiced ever since.可知人们很容易就记住在童年时期学会的技巧。在下面两句中列举了事例来证明这一现象。故A正确。

2.D 推理题。根据文章第三段第一句In childhood we usually continue to practice such skills as swimming, bicycle riding, and playing baseball long after we have learned them.可知作者通过列举游泳、骑自行车以及打棒球等事例来说明the law of overlearning。故D正确。

3.B 猜测词意题。根据前半句The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school对于the law of overlearning来说，乘法口诀是一个例外。因为它们属于另外一种的the law of overlearning。本句because they are another of the things we overlearn in childhood.中的they就是指前半句中的the multiplication tables。故B正确。

4.

【名师点睛】

在解决词义猜测题的时候，我们可以根据上下文的指代关系进行猜测。文章中的代词it, that, this, he, him 或them可以指上文提到的人或物，其中it和that还可以指一件事。有时代词指代的对象相隔较远，要认真查找；也有时需要对前面提到的内容进行总结，才能得出代词所指代的事。例如：

However, the question that “moon people” asked is still an interesting one. A growing number of scientists are seriously thinking about it.

本句中的it指的是月球人(moon people)所问的问题（the question）。

本文14题，要求猜出句中they的含义，根据前半句The multiplication tables(乘法口诀表)are an exception to the general rule that we forget rather quickly the things that we learn in school对于the law of overlearning来说，乘法口诀是一个例外。可知本句中的they就是指前半句中的the multiplication tables。

考点：考查科普类阅读