Question

Can you imagine being able to remember every single experience of your life and every word in your favorite book? That’s what Becky’s life is like, and as wonderful as it sounds, it can also be quite terrifying at times.

Three years ago, Becky was reading a newspaper article which mentioned that it was impossible for people to remember the details of their life in the first three years. “What nonsense (胡说八道)!” she thought, because she could clearly remember her life all the way back to when she was just 12 days old. Her parents had carried her to the driver’s seat of their car and laid her down for a photo. But it wasn’t nonsense. She was just one of only 80 known people who have a condition called HSAM(Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory).

Becky’s unusual condition was recently shown on a program called 60 minutes, where reporter Allison tested her ability by asking her questions about her favorite book series, Harry Potter. Allison would pick up a book and open a page and read her a line. Immediately Becky would name the book, chapter number, chapter name and could recite every word until Allison told her to stop.

Being able to remember every little detail is a great ability, but as every person with HSAM will tell you, it can be very hard to deal with. Forgetting is one of the things we use to get over sad experiences in our lives, but it’s something that people like Becky are unable to do. Even walking on the street and lightly bumping(撞) into somebody brings back memories from Becky’s childhood, when a boy knocked her over. She’s taken right back to that time, living the experience all over again. Also, like Becky, people with HSAM never do well in school, because they have problems filtering(过滤) through all the information, remembering only the important bits.

Becky’s special brain could help scientists find a way to treat people with terrible illnesses like Alzheimer’s. Her condition could hold the secret to treating or even preventing Alzheimer’s.

1.What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A. What people with HSAM feel like.

B. Why HSAM is unfamiliar to people.

C. How Becky knew she was different.

D. How Becky spent her early childhood.

2.Why was Becky asked questions on 60 minutes?

A. To help treat her illness.

B. To advertise Harry Potter.

C. To test her ability to remember.

D. To encourage other kids to read.

3.Which of the following troubles Becky?

A. She can’t forget her painful experience.

B. She feels tired remembering everything.

C. She can’t get along well with other kids.

D. She is different from other kids of her age.

4.Why does Becky do poorly at school?

A. She feels sad every time she studies.

B. She remembers too much information.

C. She can’t deal with difficult problems.

D. She can’t understand the teacher in class.

Answer

1. C

2. C

3. A

4. B

【解析】

这是一篇人物传记类阅读。文章主要讲了Becky患有一种神奇的超忆症，她可以对任何事情做到过目不忘，这给她的生活和学习带来了一些困扰，但是贝基的案例有助于科学家找到治疗老年痴呆症的方法。

1.段落大意题。第二段意思是：三年前，Becky在报纸上读到一篇文章，其中提到人们不可能记住他们头三年生活的细节。“胡说八道。”她想，因为她可以清楚地回忆起自己出生十二天的生活。她的父母把她抱到驾驶座上，让她躺下来拍照。但这并非无稽之谈。她是已知的80位患有HSAM的患者之一。由此可知，这一段主要讲了Becky是怎么知道她与众不同的，故选C。

2.细节理解题。答案定位在第三段Becky’s unusual condition was recently shown on a program called 60 minutes, where reporter Allison tested her ability by asking her questions about her favorite book series, Harry Potter.可知在60 minutes节目中，Becky被问问题，是为了测试她的记忆力，故选C。

3.推理判断题。答案定位在倒数第二段Even walking on the street and lightly bumping(撞) into somebody brings back memories from Becky’s childhood, when a boy knocked her over. She’s taken right back to that time, living the experience all over again.（即使走在街上，轻轻撞到一个人，也会让Becky想起自己的童年，那时一个男孩把她撞倒了。她又回到了那个时代，重新体验了一次。）由此推断出最让Becky烦恼的事情是她忘不了她的痛苦经历，故选A。

4.细节理解题。答案定位在倒数第二段Also, like Becky, people with HSAM never do well in school, because they have problems filtering(过滤) through all the information, remembering only the important bits.可知不管任何事情，Becky都记得一清二楚。这也让她的学习不好，因为她脑中储存了太多的信息，以至于让她对所学的重要书本知识的理解和提取有些困难，故选B。