Question

    Can you trust your very first childhood memories? Maybe not, a new study suggests.

Past researches show that people's earliest memories typically form around 3 to 3. 5 years of age. But in a recent survey of more than 6,600 people, British scientists have found that 39 percent of participants claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger. These first memories are likely false, the researchers said. This was particularly the case for middle -aged and older adults.

For the study, researchers asked participants to describe their first memory and the age at which it occurred. Participants were told they had to be sure the memory was the one that had happened. For example, it shouldn't be based on a photograph, a family story or any source other than direct experiences. Then the researchers examined the content, language and descriptive details of these earliest memories and worked out the likely reasons why people would claim to have memories from an age when memories cannot form.

As many of these memories dated before the age of 2, this suggests they were not based on actual facts, but facts or knowledge about their babyhood or childhood from photographs or family stories. Often these false memories are fired by a part of an early experience, such as family relationships or feeling sad, the researchers explained.

"We suggest that what a rememberer has in mind when recalling fictional early memories is …a mental representation consisting of remembered pieces of early experiences and some facts or knowledge about their own babyhood or childhood, " study author Shania Kantar said in a journal news release, "Additionally, further details may be unconsciously inferred or added. Such memory-like mental representations come~ over time, to be collectively experienced when they come to mind, so for the individual, they quite simply are memories, which particularly point to babyhood. "

"Importantly, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional," study co-author Martin Conway said "In fact, when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it. "

1.What can we learn from a recent study?

A. Memories form after the age of 3. B. Participants are good at telling stories

C. Adults are likely to form false memories D. Earliest memories may play a trick on us

2.Which source did the researchers require for the earliest memories?

A. A direct experience. B. A family story.

C. A family photo. D. A sad feeling.

3.What are these fictional early memories according to Kantar?

A. They are repeated mental representations.

B. They are a collection of early experiences.

C. They are a combination of both facts and fictions.

D. They are further details of remembered experiences.

4.Which part of a newspaper is this text probably taken from?

A. Society. B. Psychology. C. Technology. D. Health.

Answer

1.D

2.A

3.C

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了最新研究表明，最初的记忆可能是错误的，中年人和老年人尤其如此。

1.细节理解题。答案定位在第二段These first memories are likely false, the researchers said.（研究人员说，这些最初的记忆可能是错误的。）可知我们能从最近的一项研究中得知最早的记忆可能会捉弄我们，故选D。

2.细节理解题。答案定位在第三段Participants were told they had to be sure the memory was the one that had happened. For example, it shouldn't be based on a photograph, a family story or any source other than direct experiences.（参与者被告知，他们必须确定记忆就是发生过的那件事。例如，它不应该基于照片，家庭故事或任何来源，而不是直接经验。）由此可知，研究人员需要直接经验来获得最早的记忆，故选A。

3.推理判断题。答案定位在倒数第二段 "We suggest that what a rememberer has in mind when recalling fictional early memories is …a mental representation consisting of remembered pieces of early experiences and some facts or knowledge about their own babyhood or childhood, " study author Shania Kantar said in a journal news release（研究报告的撰写者Shania Kantar在一份期刊的新闻稿中说:“我们认为，一个记忆者在回忆虚构的早期记忆时，脑子里想的是……一种由记忆中的早期经历片段以及他们自己的童年或童年时期的一些事实或知识组成的心理表征。）由此推断出，Kantar认为这些虚构的早期记忆是事实和虚构的结合，故选C。

4.推理判断题。文章主要讲了最新研究表明，最初的记忆可能是错误的，中年人和老年人尤其如此。由此推断出，这篇文章可能取自报纸的心理学版块，故选B。