It’s a popular belief that fish can’t remember anything for longer than seven seconds.

It may seem sad to think that they don’t remember what they’ve eaten or where they’ve been, and they don’t know you or any of their friends—every moment in their life would be like seeing the world for the first time.

But don’t be so quick to feel sorry for them. A recent study has found that fish have much better memories than we used to think. In fact, certain kinds of fish can even remember events from as long as 12 days ago, BBC reported.

In the study, researchers from MacEwan University in Canada trained a kind of fish called African cichlids (丽鱼科鱼) to go to a certain area of their tank (鱼缸) to get food. They then waited for 12 days before putting them back in the tank again.

This suggested that they could remember their past experiences. Researchers used computer software to watch the fish’s movements. They found that after such a long break the fish still went to the same place where they first got food.

In fact, scientists had been thinking for a long time that African cichlids might have a good memory. An earlier study showed that they behaved aggressively in front of certain fish, perhaps because they remembered their past fights. But until the latest findings, there was no clear evidence (证据).

Just as a good memory can make our life easier, it also plays an important part when a fish is trying to live on in the wild.

“If fish are able to remember that a certain area has safe food, they will be able to go back to that area without putting their lives in danger.” lead researcher Trevor Hamilton told Live Science.

People have paid a lot of attention to the importance of getting enough sleep. It is usually believed that a common person should get about eight hours of enough sleep per night, though young children need more and the elderly generally require less. On the other hand, they pay less attention to this — the quality of one’s sleep and the effect that it has on health. Then a new study by researchers at the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University in the United States has attracted people’s attention to this problem.

The sleep experts at Northwestern University carried out experiments (实验) including two groups of young adults, putting heart monitors (监视器) on them to see how different levels of light in a room at night influenced their physiological (心理) states. The results showed that bright light in one’s bedroom has a negative influence on their health.

In the study, one group of people slept in a room that was lit only by very weak light for two nights. The other 10 people slept one night under the same type of light and the second night in a room with a brighter light placed overhead. Besides monitoring their hearts, researchers recorded the sleepers’ brainwaves and drew their blood. The group that had slept under a brighter light on the second night showed higher heart rates during that time. Their bodies also showed that they had trouble with their blood sugar levels.

The study suggests that sleeping in a room with bright light may have certain influence on health. Therefore, to make sure of a good night’s sleep, you can start by creating a bedroom without unwanted light at night.

阅读下面短文，从短文后所给的选项中选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项（选项中有两项为多余选项）。

Being in silence for a time can be much too uncomfortable. However, some people may even prefer silence more often than not. You should try and make some time for yourself. 【小题1】.

It may reduce stress and tension. Research shows that noise can have a physical influence on your brain. 【小题2】 According to research, just a few minutes of silence can be more smoothing than listening to relaxing music.

It may increase creativity. Creativity is a big part of life, and the creative process often requires silence. When you're alone and in a calm environment, you practice more with your mind. You’re more likely (有可能的) to experience deeper thought and feelings.

It may improve focus (专注力). 【小题3】 It may not always be possible to find some quiet place when you’re at work or in school, but going out for a walk when you get the chance, can help recharge your brain and help you regain focus.

It may excite brain cell growth. Studies have found that just two hours of silent time can excite new brain cell growth in the hippocampus—the area of the brain that’s connected to your learning ability, memory and feeling developing.

It may gain greater self-awareness. Taking lime to think about oneself completely from time to time can make sense. 【小题4】 Being aware of the changes you’d like to make will lead you to start taking meaningful actions to improve.