单选题 That experiences influence subsequent behavior is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has such as effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behavior demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences.
Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten, and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can seem to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be interpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one's memory of an emotionally painful experience lead to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection.
In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behavior that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. This forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species.
Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting, In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such data offers gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance.
单选题 Which of the following statements about memory is NOT tree?
  • A. It is a function of human mind.
  • B. It contributes to skillful performance on the piano.
  • C. It is demanded by intelligent behavior.
  • D. It is essential for recognizing a problem.
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。第一段第三句说反复练习对记忆力有很大影响,可以使人们熟练地演奏钢琴、背诵诗歌等,可见并非记忆力使人能够演奏钢琴,而是反复练习,故选B。
单选题 From the evolutionary point of view, ______.
  • A. forgetting is a result of adaptive behavior
  • B. forgetting for lack of practice tends to be obviously inadaptive
  • C. sudden forgetting may bring about adaptive consequences
  • D. gradual forgetting is an indication of one's adaptability
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】推断题。第二段第三句提到戏剧性地突然遗忘的例子可被看作具有适应性;此段最后一句点明这是自然选择的观点,由此推断,这应该是进化论的观点,故C正确。
单选题 According to the passage, forgetting may ______ survival of species.
  • A. lead to
  • B. contribute to
  • C. be adapted to
  • D. be attributed to
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】细节题。第三段最后一句说遗忘似乎有助于个体及物种的存活,故B正确。
单选题 From the last paragraph we know that ______.
  • A. forgetfulness is a response to learning
  • B. memory is a compensation for forgetting
  • C. the memory storage is abalanced input-output system
  • D. the capacity of a memory storage system is limited because forgetting occurs
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】推断题。最后一段说在学习或者记忆储存和遗忘之间要不断进行调整,即个人的遗忘速度与学习东西的多少有直接关系。由此可知,遗忘是对学习的一种反应,故A正确。
单选题 In this article, the author tries to ______.
  • A. analyze the good and bad effects of forgetting
  • B. discuss the relationship between remembering and forgetting
  • C. interpret the function of forgetting in different ways
  • D. explain how forgetting helps human survival
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】主旨题。文章从不同角度探讨了遗忘的功能,故选C。