①How good are you at remembering names, dates, and telephone numbers? It is not easy for all. Remembering things is one of the most interesting functions (功能) of the human brain. That’s why scientists spend so much time studying how it works.
②Studies show that when we learn something new, it stays in our memory for 20-30 seconds. This is our short-term memory. Remembering a phone number long enough to find a piece of paper is an example. The opposite of short-term memory is long-term memory, which is where things are stored in the brain for a long time. The brain can turn short-term memory into long-term memory. For example, when studying for an exam, instead of just reading the information once or twice, you might go over your notes again and again until you can remember the important information.
③Dave Farrow is known for his excellent memory. He has been listed twice in Guinness (吉尼斯) World Records for Greatest Memory. As a student, Dave had great difficulties in learning. He found some ways to improve his memory in order to do well in school. Here are some you can try.
④One way is to look at the first letter of each word you want to remember. Then, make your own word or sentence using all of those letters. For example, if you want to remember all the colours in a rainbow, try remembering the name Roy G. Biv. Each letter in this name matches the first letter of a colour: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Another way is to remember information in groups. For example, when you remember a telephone number, remember three numbers as a group, the next four numbers as a group and the final four numbers as a group. This way, your brain only has to remember three things instead of 11.
⑤If you are interested in improving your memory, apart from using some ways to remember things, there are lots of simple things you can do, like eating healthily, sleeping well and exercising daily. Challenging your brain also helps you keep it healthy and active. So, why not start playing mind games, learning a musical instrument or studying a new language?
【小题1】What can we learn from Paragraph 2?| A．Short-term memory is less important than long-term memory. |
| B．The information needed for an exam stays in short-term memory. |
| C．People store new information in long-term memory by going over it. |
| D．Our short-term memory can hold information for more than half a minute. |
| A．describe how people remember things | B．show the importance of a great memory |
| C．tell people to use some ways to improve memory | D．give a reason why people need to improve memory |
| A．Some advice to improve memory. | B．Some activities to challenge the brain. |
| C．Some advantages of playing mind games. | D．Some reasons for keeping the brain active. |
| A．①/②/③④/⑤ | B．①②/③/④/⑤ | C．①/②/③/④/⑤ | D．①②③/④/⑤ |
