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" (儿童失忆症). 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

　　参考答案：

　　1.【答案】C

　　【解析】recall意为“想起”，指把忘记的东西又想起来，其动作含有有意识的努力和意志，常与Call，could等词连用。例如：I是remember her face but I cannot recall where I met her.我认得她的脸，但我记不起在哪里见过她。根据上下文，此处需要填与前面的remember意思相近的动词，意为：成年人很少能想起一些事。故选项C正确。figure意为“计算，描述，估计，相像”，例如：Can you figure (out) why he did it? 你能明白他为什么做这吗?interpret意为“解释，说明”，例如：It is difficult to interpret these statistics without knowing how they were obtained.不知道这些数据的来源，就很难解释。affirm通常为再度或回答某一问题时“断言，肯定”，例如：He affirmed that he was telling the truth.他保证自己说的是事实。

　　2.【答案】D

　　【解析】just as意为“就像”，例如：Things turned out just as I expected.根据上下文的意思：成年人与小孩子一样都不记得童年的事。故选项D正确。now that意为“既然”，常用于完成时态，例如：She is enjoying the job more now that she’s got more responsibility.既然她承担了更多的责任，她就更喜欢这份工作。Even if意为“即使”，引导让步状语从句，例如：Even if you take a taxi，you’ll still miss your train.as though/if意为“似乎，好像”，例如：They stared at me as if I was crazy.

　　3.【答案】B

　　【解析】rarely否定副词，意为“很少”，与主句中seldom(很少)前后照应。largely意为“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意为“仅仅”，例如：He is not merely a good artist，but a great one.really意为“真正地”。本题句意为：成年人很少想起比入学前一年左右更早的事情，就像三四岁以前的孩子很少能记得任何具体的个人经历。

　　4.【答案】C

　　【解析】propose sth./doing;propose that(should)表示“提出意见”，例如：I propose a short rest before we continue the work.我提议继续干活之前先休息一会儿。根据文章意思：心理学家提出了这种解释，故选项C正确。refute意为“反驳，驳斥”，例如：We refuted his claim that the world was flat.我们反驳了他的“世界是平坦的”主张。defy意为“公然违抗，蔑视”，例如：How long can those criminals continue to defy the law! witness意为“目击，作证”，例如：He witnessed to having seen the man enter the room.他亲眼看见他进了这个房间。本题句意为：心理学家已经为这种“儿童失忆症”提出了各种各样的解释。

　　5.【答案】A

　　【解析】 be responsible for意为“有责任的，成为……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.医疗失误是事故发生的原因。根据上下文的意思和结构，此句意指大脑中的一个负责记忆的区域，作为hippocampus的同位语，故选项A项正确。(be)suitable(to/for)意为“合适的”;favorable意为“满意的，有利的”，例如：We can sail there in an hour if the wind is favorable to us.如果风向对的话，我们一小时之内就可以到达那里。available意为“可用的，有空的”，例如：It’s vital that food is made available to the famine area.闹饥荒的地区有食物可吃是至关重要的。本题句意为：有心理学家认为，大脑中的海马，即形成记忆的大脑区，直到大约两岁时才成熟。

　　6.【答案】D

　　【解析】maintain意为“坚持认为，维持”，例如：He maintained that he was innocent.= He maintained his innocence.再如：We should maintain friendly relations with neighboring countries.我们需与邻国保持睦邻友好关系。根据上下文，前一句讲有人认为儿童失忆症是因为人脑中的海马区不成熟，此句讲别的理论有什么看法，故选项D正确。decline意为“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意为“评估”，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.考试并不是评估一个人能力的唯一途径。estimate意为“估计，评价”，例如：It was difficult to estimate how many trees had been damaged.

　　7.【答案】C

　　【解析】 access名词，意为“接近，人口”;动词，意为“存取(计算机类用语)”，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.此处需一个动词与memory搭配，故选项C正确。reflect意为“反映，深思熟虑”，例如：His unhappy face reflected his inner despair.再如：The manager demanded time to reflect on what to do.经理要来给予时间让他考虑该干什么。attain意为“获得”，有较强的抱负和渴望的意味，如：attain one’s goal/independence.acquire尤指通过努力“获得养成习惯、嗜好等”，如：acquire a habit，acquire a little Spanish学会了一点西班牙语。本题句意为：但最流行的理论坚持认为：由于成年人不像儿童那样思考，所以他们不能存取童年的记忆。

　　8.【答案】A

　　【解析】 narrative意为“叙事”，常指按顺序讲述，例如：She gave a narrative of her strange experience.根据下文one event follows another，是按顺序来讲述，故选项A符合题意。forecasts意为“预报，预料”，如：a weather forecast天气预报;communications意为“交流，通讯设施(复数)”;description意为“记述，叙述，描写”，常指用语言来描述，例如：Please give me a brief/full description of the accident.

　　9.【答案】B

　　【解析】one...another常指两个以上，为固定搭配，故选项B正确。the rest意为“剩余的”;the other意为“两个人中的另一个”;others意为“另外的人/物”。本题句意为：成年人用语言思考。他们生活的记忆就像故事或叙事――一件紧接着另一件事，就像小说中或电影中讲述的那样。

　　10.【答案】D

　　【解析】files文件夹，此处指大脑中的记忆库。deposit意为“沉淀物，押金”，例如：There are rich deposits of gold in those hills。dream意为“设想”;flash意为“闪光”，现也用于计算机类语言，如：flash memory(闪存)，例如：Last week，Intel Corp，said it had developed a way to double the storage capacity of so-called flash memory chips.英特尔公司上周称已开发出使所谓闪存芯片的存储量翻倍的方法。

　　11.【答案】B

　　【解析】pattern意为“模式，方式”，例如：The pattern of family life has been changing over recent years.最近几年家庭生活的模式已经发生了变化。根据原句意思，找不到适合描述童年的模式，故选项B正确。mode意为“模型”;frame意为“框架”;formula意为“公式，惯例”，例如：a formula for settling a border dispute.本题句意为：但是当他们通过大脑文件库(即记忆)寻找早期的童年记忆来进一步说明他们的生活故事时，他们没有找到适合这种模式的任何记忆。

　　12【答案】C

　　【解析】offer explanation for意为“为……提出解释”，儿童失忆症并不是一个假设，而是一个事实。上文提到针对其成因有许多种explanations，所以C项正确。emphasis意为“强调”，常与介词On搭配;assertion意为“断言”，例如：make an assertion that...断言，坚称;assumption意为“假设”，例如：I was under the assumption that you were coming tomorrow.我还曾想，你明天会来。本题句意为：现在美国纽约州立大学的心理学家Annette Simms针对“儿童失忆症”提出了一种新的解释。

　　13.【答案】A

　　【解析】根据上下文的意思，根本不存在童年记忆可供回想才是Simms博士的看法。

　　14.【答案】D

　　【解析】experience意为“(不可数名词)经验;(可数名词)经历”，此处需要一个由personal修饰的名词，所以D项正确。instincts意为“本能”;feelings意为“情感”;sensations意为“感觉”。

　　15.【答案】A

　　【解析】impressions意为“印象”，与前面第14题的experiences(经历)前后照应，故选项A正确。beliefs意为“信念”;minds意为“头脑，想法”;insights意为“洞察力，深刻见解等”，例如：She has a woman’s quick insight into character.本题句意为：根据Simms博士的看法，儿童必须学会利用别人对其个人经历的口头描述，从而把他们自己的、短期的、迅速遗忘的印象转变成长期记忆。

　　16.【答案】C

　　【解析】in other words意为“换句话说”，根据上下文，前一句谈及儿童必须学会利用别人对其经历的口头描述，下一句谈到儿童必须谈论其个人经历，并听他人谈论这些经历，后者是对前面句子的解释，故选项C正确。senses：in all senses意为“从各方面”，in one/a sense意为“从某种意义上说”;case：in some cases意为“在有些情况下”，in this/that case意为“在这样(那样)的情况下”;aspects意为“方面”，如：to consider a problem in all aspects.从各方面考虑问题。

　　17.【答案】D

　　【解析】根据上下文意思，可知此处需要一个代词来指代前面的experiences，其他选项均不符合题意。

　　18.【答案】D

　　【解析】 spend( time) doings出表示“(花多少时间)做某事”，此处需要过去分词修饰the afternoon一词，只有D项符合句意及结构。take表示此意的用法应为It takes/took sb some time to do sth花某人时间做某事;utilize意为“利用”，如：utilize solar energy利用大阳能;apply意为“应用，申请”，例如：Scientific discoveries are often applied to industrial production methods.科学发现经常被应用在工业生产工艺上。本题句意为：换句话说，孩子们必须谈论他们的个人经历，并且听其他人谈论这些经历――母亲谈论下午在沙滩找贝壳或父亲询问他们白天在海洋公园玩得怎么样。

　　19.【答案】B

　　【解析】verbal意为“口头的”，与前文的spoken description，talk，ask等词相照应，故选项B正确。habitual意为“习惯性的”;unique意为“独一无二的”;particular意为“特别的”，如：a matter of particular importance.特别重要的问题。

　　20.【答案】A

　　【解析】 permanent意为“永久的，长期不变的”，例如：permanent brain damage永久性脑损伤;此句指经过。