Question

    "What's the name of our neighbour? 1 can't remember right now." Have you ever heard your grandparents ask questions like this? Usually, we think older people's memories become bad because their brains get weak, but a team of scientists at the University of Tubingen in Germany has a different idea.

"The human brain works slower in old age," said lead scientist Michael Ramscar, "but only because they have stored more information over time."

The findings are based on a series of computer simulations（模拟）of learning and memory. Scientists let the computers read a certain amount of words and learn new things each day. When the computer "reads" only so much, its performance on cognitive（认知）tests is similar to that of a young adult. But if the computer learned the experiences we might have over a lifetime, its performance is similar to that of an older adult.

Often it was slower because increased "experience" had caused the computer's database（数据库）to grow, giving it more data to process-which takes time. This is similar to old people. Imagine a person knows two people's birthdays. Another person knows the birthdays of 2,000 people, but can only match the right person to the right birthday nine times out of 10. Can you say the first person has a better memory than the second person?

The basic idea is that "The larger the library you have in your head, the longer it usually takes to find a particular word." Benedict Carey, a science reporter, wrote in an article about the study.

1.Why did the writer use a question at the beginning?

A.To attract readers' attention to the topic.

B.To invite the readers to answer the question.

C.To prove that older people have bad memories.

D.To encourage readers to think of their neighbours.

2.How did the scientists do their research?

A.They interviewed all the old people of their neighbours.

B.They followed the experiences of a group of old people.

C.They asked both young and old people the same questions.

D.They used computers to simulate human learning and memory.

3.According to the research, why do old people forget other people's names easily?

A.Because they have a very poor memory.

B.Because they are too old to remember things.

C.Because their brains become weaker than before.

D.Because they have too much information in their brains.

4.What would be the best title for the story?

A.Is it Better to Be Old or Young B.Human Brain's Processing Ability.

C.Do Old People Have Poor Memories? D.Scientists' New Findings on Brains.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.D

4.C

【解析】

文章大意：通常，我们认为老年人的记忆力变差是因为他们的大脑变得虚弱，但是德国图宾根大学的一个科学家小组有不同的想法。这些发现是基于一系列学习和记忆的计算机模拟。科学家让计算机每天读一定量的单词并学习新事物。通常它比较慢，因为“经验”的增加导致了计算机数据库的增长，从而使它能够处理更多需要时间的数据。这和老年人很相似。

1.猜测判断题。根据文中“What's the name of our neighbour? 1 can't remember right now." Have you ever heard your grandparents ask questions like this?” “我们邻居叫什么名字？我现在记不起来了。“你有没有听过你的祖父母问这样的问题？可知，作者一开始就用了一个问题来吸引读者的注意力。故答案为A。

2.细节理解题。根据文中“The findings are based on a series of computer simulations（模拟）of learning and memory. Scientists let the computers read a certain amount of words and learn new things each day. When the computer "reads" only so much, its performance on cognitive（认知）tests is similar to that of a young adult. But if the computer learned the experiences we might have over a lifetime, its performance is similar to that of an older adult.” 这些发现是基于一系列学习和记忆的计算机模拟。科学家让计算机每天读一定量的单词并学习新事物。当电脑“读”得太多时，它在认知测试中的表现与年轻人相似。但是，如果计算机学习了我们一生中可能会有的经验，它的性能就类似于老年人。可知，故答案为D。

3.细节理解题。根据“"The human brain works slower in old age," said lead scientist Michael Ramscar, "but only because they have stored more information over time."” 首席科学家迈克尔拉姆斯卡（Michael Ramscar）说：“人类的大脑在老年时工作较慢，但这仅仅是因为随着时间的推移，它们储存了更多的信息。”可知，故答案为D。

4.最佳标题。根据文章内容可知，我们认为老年人的记忆力变差是因为他们的大脑变得虚弱，但是德国图宾根大学的一个科学家小组有不同的想法。可知，这篇文中最好的标题是老年人记忆力差吗？故答案为C。