Most episodes of absent-mindednessforgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a roomare caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. Youre supposed to remember something, but you havent 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 dont pay attention to what you did because youre involved in a conversation, youll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in you wardrobe . Your memory itself isnt failing you, says Schacter. Rather, you didnt 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 with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen tabledont 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 youre 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 youll likely remember.

　　1. Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important?

　　A) It helps us understand our memory system better.

　　B) It enables us to recall something form our memory.

　　C) It expands our memory capacity considerably.

　　D) It slows down the process of losing our memory.

　　2. One possible reason why women have better memories than men is that ________.

　　A) they have a wider range of interests

　　B) they are more reliant on the environment

　　C) they have an unusual power of focusing their attention

　　D) they are more interested in whats happening around them

　　3. A note in the pocket can hardly serve as a reminder because ________.

　　A) it will easily get lost

　　B) its not clear enough for you to read

　　C) its out of your sight

　　D) it might get mixed up with other things

　　4. What do we learn from the last paragraph?

　　A) If we focus our attention on one thing, we might forget another.

　　B) Memory depends to a certain extent on the environment.

　　C) Repetition helps improve our memory.

　　D) If we keep forgetting things, wed better return to where we were.

　　5. What is the passage mainly about?

　　A) The process of gradual memory loss.

　　B) The causes of absent-mindedness.

　　C) The impact of the environment on memory.

　　D) A way if encoding and recalling.

　　參考答案

　　1. B 2. D 3. C 4.A 5. B

　　Most episodes of absent-mindednessforgetting where you left something or wondering why you just entered a roomare caused by a simple lack of attention, says Schacter. Youre supposed to remember something, but you havent 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 dont pay attention to what you did because youre involved in a conversation, youll probably forget that the phone is in the jacket now hanging in you wardrobe . Your memory itself isnt failing you, says Schacter. Rather, you didnt 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 with lunch, put the pill bottle on the kitchen tabledont 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 youre 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 youll likely remember.

　　1. Why does the author think that encoding properly is very important?

　　A) It helps us understand our memory system better.

　　B) It enables us to recall something form our memory.

　　C) It expands our memory capacity considerably.

　　D) It slows down the process of losing our memory.

　　2. One possible reason why women have better memories than men is that ________.

　　A) they have a wider range of interests

　　B) they are more reliant on the environment

　　C) they have an unusual power of focusing their attention

　　D) they are more interested in whats happening around them

　　3. A note in the pocket can hardly serve as a reminder because ________.

　　A) it will easily get lost

　　B) its not clear enough for you to read

　　C) its out of your sight

　　D) it might get mixed up with other things

　　4. What do we learn from the last paragraph?

　　A) If we focus our attention on one thing, we might forget another.

　　B) Memory depends to a certain extent on the environment.

　　C) Repetition helps improve our memory.

　　D) If we keep forgetting things, wed better return to where we were.

　　5. What is the passage mainly about?

　　A) The process of gradual memory loss.

　　B) The causes of absent-mindedness.

　　C) The impact of the environment on memory.

　　D) A way if encoding and recalling.

　　參考答案

　　1. B 2. D 3. C 4.A 5. B