Memory, they say, is a matter of practice and exercise. If you have the wish and really make a conscious (自觉的) effort, then you can quite easily improve your ability to remember things. But even if you are successful, there are times when your memory seems to play tricks on you.
Sometimes you remember things that really did not happen. One morning last week, for example, I got up and found that I had left the front door unlocked all night, yet I clearly remember locking it carefully the night before.
Memory “tricks” work the other way as well. Once in a while you remember not doing something, and then find out that you did. One day last month, for example, I was sitting in a barber(理发师) shop waiting for my turn to get a haircut, and suddenly I realized that I had got a haircut two days before at the barber shop across the street from my office.
We always seem to find something funny and amusing in incidents caused by people’s forgetfulness or absent-mindedness. Stories about absent-minded professors have been told for years, and we never get tired of hearing new ones. Unfortunately, however, absent-mindedness is not always funny. There are times when “tricks” of our memory can cause us great trouble.
【小题1】If we want to have a good memory, _______.
| A．we should force ourselves to remember things |
| B．we should make a conscious effort of practice and exercise |
| C．we should never stop learning |
| D．we should try hard to remember things |
【小题2】Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．One night the writer forgot to lock the front door. |
| B．One night the writer forgot having locked the front door. |
| C．The writer remembered to lock the door. |
| D．The writer remembered unlocking the front door. |
【小题3】From the underlined sentence, we can infer that _______.
| A．we enjoy hearing new stories about absent-mindedness of professors |
| B．we don’t want to know anything more about absent-mindedness of professors |
| C．we will never get tired of listening to new stories about absent-mindedness |
| D．absent-mindedness happens not only to professors but to many other people |
【小题4】In the passage, the writer seems to tell us _______.
| A．forgetting things is serious and dangerous | B．always forgetting things is understandable |
| C．forgetting things at times is natural | D．the way to protect yourself from memory “tricks” |
【小题5】The best title for this passage is _______.
| A．How to Get a Good Memory | B．“Tricks” of Memory |
| C．Forgetfulness and Absent-mindedness is Dangerous | D．Get Rid of Absent-mindedness |
