四: 阅读理解(20分)

A

We often hear people say, “I have a good memory for things like that” or “I can never remember names”. But do you know memory is the single most important thing and it has played a very important part?

For early men, there were dangers all around them — bad weather, wild animals. The keys to keep on living lay in man’s ability to remember these dangers and the ways he had dealt with them in the past. In order for memories to be stored, the human brain became more complex. And as man learned how to deal with them, he became civilized (文明).

Surprisingly, scientists today understand little about memory and how it works. They have not yet found a way to open up the brain and observe its function without destroying it. Perhaps there are two types of memory — short-term and long-term. Short-term refers to those facts that stay with us for a few seconds to a few hours. For instance, when you stay at a hotel, you remember the room number and forget it as soon as you leave. Long-term memory, on the other hand, means you remember things for a long period of time. If you spend your honeymoon in a particular hotel, it’s likely that you’ll remember your stay quite clearly.

Scientists also believe that a short-term memory can become a long-term memory through consolidation (巩固). A lot of chemical and physical changes take place in the part of the brain. Although the human brain weighs three pounds, it contains 30 billion nerve cells (神经细胞) acting like a computer. When those changes strengthen the links (联系) in certain nerve cells, a thought becomes a part of the long-term memory.

41. According to the author, without the development of man’s memory there would be ____.

A. no modern world B.no recorded history C. no animals D. no dangers

42. Scientists’ knowledge about the function of brain is ______.

A. interesting B. not enough C. great D. encouraging

43. Short-term memory can change into long-term memory on condition that ______.

A. memory is good B. it acts like a computer

C. people do more exercise D the links in nerve cells are strengthened by certain changes

44. So far the great discovery scientists have made about the function of brain is ______.

A. the weight of brain B. two types of memory

C.30 billion nerve cells D.chemical and physical changes

45. Which of the following is TRUE?

A. The heavier the brain is, the better memory it has.

B. Scientists can open the brain without destroying it.

C. Memory is very important for early men.

D. Early men’s memory was better because they could remember a lot of things.