Question

Some people seem to have great memories. Zheng Aiqiang, a “memory athlete” on TV show Super Brain, can remember 2,660 numbers in just one hour!

You would think people like this have special brains. But according to a recent study by researchers from the US and the Netherlands, the brain structures of ordinary people and 23 of the world’s leading memory athletes show no difference.

That’s because good memories can be trained. New research in the journal Neuron(神经元期刊) suggests that you can become a super memorizer with just six weeks of hard training.

Researchers found that technique(技巧) called loci, invented by ancient Greeks, can greatly help improve memory. By using loci, you are using your imagination to improve the brain’s memory networks. You can link(关联) something you need to remember with a place that you know very well. For example, to remember a list of numbers, imagine yourself walking through your house. Each thing is linked to a number. For example, zero could be handle(把手) on the door and five could be the painting on the wall.

In one study, some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 words. First they could only remember 26 of them. But when they were taught loci, they could remember 62 words.

“Not everyone can become a memory champion. But everyone using the technique can improve a lot from the level they’re at,” said Boris Konrad, one of the researchers in the study.

1.According to the study, ________.

a. memory athletes have special brains

b. ordinary people and memory athletes have similar brain structures

c. hard training can make a person a super memorizer

d. the ancient Greeks had the most powerful memory at that time

A. ab    B. cd

C. bc    D. ac

2.When using loci to remember something, you link the thing with a _______.

A. number    B. place

C. name    D. painting

3.Which of the following about the study is NOT true?  ________.

A. People were given 20 minutes to remember the 72 words.

B. They could remember 26 words in their own way.

C. They could remember all the words by using loci.

D. Loci helped them remember 36 more words.

Answer

1. C

2. B

3. C

【解析】

本文为科普文章。有些人天生就有超强的记忆力。最近的研究表明普通人的大脑结构和世界顶尖的记忆力运动员的大脑结构没有区别。古希腊发明的loci记忆法实验证明是有助力于记忆的。因此只要用对方法，勤加训练，你也可以拥有“最强大脑”。

1.细节理解题。第二段最后一句, the brain structures of ordinary people and 23 of the world’s leading memory athletes show no difference.，可知最近的研究表明普通人的大脑结构和世界顶尖的记忆力运动员的大脑结构没有区别”可知a是错误的，b是正确的。第三段“That’s because good memories can be trained. … you can become a super memorizer with just six weeks of hard training.”可知：艰苦的训练能使人成为超级记忆家，所以c是正确的。根据第四段的内容可知d是错误的。因此C项符合题意。

2.细节理解题。根据第四段中的第二和第三句By using loci, you are using your imagination to improve the brain’s memory networks. You can link(关联) something you need to remember with a place that you know very well.可知，当运用loci记忆东西时，你可以把你需要记住的东西与一个你非常熟悉的地方联系起来。因此选B项。

3.细节理解题。根据倒数第二段In one study, some ordinary people were given 20 minutes to remember 72 words. First they could only remember 26 of them. But when they were taught loci, they could remember 62 words“在一项研究中，一些普通人在所给的20分钟记住72个单词。首先他们只能记住其中的26个。但是当教给loci的记忆方法时候，他们能记住62个单词”。可知，因此A和 B正确的。最后一段Not everyone can become a memory champion. But everyone using the technique can improve a lot from the level they’re at,”可知“并不是每个人都能成为记忆冠军。但是每个使用这种技术的人都能从他们目前的水平提高很多”。由此可知Loci 有助于记忆单词，但没有能记住所有的单词，故C错误的，D是正确。因此C项符合题意。