单选题
"Most episodes of absent-mindedness------forgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a room------are caused by a simple lack of attention," says Schacter, "You're supposed to remember something, but you haven't encoded it deeply." Encoding, Schacter explains, is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impact on recalling it later. Failure to encode properly can create annoying situations. If you put your mobile phone in a pocket, for example, and don' t pay attention to what you did because you' re involved in a conversation, you'll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in you wardrobe(衣柜). "Your memory itself isn't failing you," says Schacter, "Rather, you didn't give your memory system the information it needed." Lack of interest can also lead to absent-mindedness. "A man who can recite sports statistics from 30 years ago," says Zelinski,"may not remember to drop a letter in the mailbox." Women have slightly better memories than men, possibly because they pay more attention to their environment, and memory relies on just that. "Visual cues can help prevent absent-mindedness," says Schacter, "But be sure the cue is clear and available," he cautions. If you want to remember to take a medication(药物)with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen table------don't leave it in the medicine chest and write yourself a note that you keep in a pocket Another common episode of absent-mindedness: Walking into a room and wondering why you' re there. Most likely, you were thinking about something else. "Everyone does this from time to time," says Zelinski. The best thing to do is to return to where you were before entering the room, and you'll be likely to remember.
单选题
Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important?
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】解析：作者第一次提到“encode”是在第一段末尾，然后在第二段开头对“encode”做了详细说明。全句是这样的“Encoding，Schacter explains，is a special way of paying attention to an event that has a major impacton recalling it later．”“encoding is a special way of paying attention to an event”是句子的主体，意思是“编码是一种对事件加以关注的特殊方式”。“has a major impact on recalling it later”，意思是“对以后想起这一事件来有很大影响”。整句是说，Encoding可以使我们回忆起发生过的事件，其原理是对发生事件加以特殊关注。四个答案中B的说法与此一致。
单选题
One possible reason why women have better memories than men is that( ).
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】解析：文章提到题目所说的女性比男性记忆力好是在第三段“Women have slightly better memoriesthan men”，也解释了原因“possibly because they pay more attention to their environment,and memory relies on justthat”．可能是因为她们对周围环境更加注意，而记忆恰恰有赖于此。再由段首的一句“Lack of interest can also leadto absent-mindedness”知道女性与男性对比的例子也是服务于这句话，也就是强调兴趣。由此本题选D。
单选题
A note in the pocket can hardly serve as a reminder because( ).
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】解析：文章提到“衣袋里的便条”是在第四段“don’t leave it in the medicine chest and write yourselfa note that you keep in a pocket”，意思是不要把药瓶留在药柜内，然后自己写一张纸条揣进13袋。再由句首“Visual cues can help prevent absent—mindedness”和“But be sure the cue is clear and available”，推出选C。