The Internet may be changing merely what we remember, not our capacity to do so, suggests Columbia University psychology professor Betsy Sparrow. In 2011, Sparrow led a study in which participants were asked to record 40 factoids in a computer (“an ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain,” for example). Half of the participants were told the information would be erased, while the other half were told it would be saved. Guess what? The latter group made no effort to recall the information when quizzed on it latter, because they knew they could find it on their computers. In the same study, a group was asked to remember both the information and the folders it was stored in. They didn’t remember the information, but they remembered how to find the folders. In other words, human memory is not deteriorating but “adapting to new communications technology,” Sparrow says.
In a very practical way, the Internet is becoming an external hard drive for our memories, a process known as “cognitive offloading.” Traditionally, this role was fulfilled by data banks, libraries, and other humans. Your father may never remember birthdays because your mother does, for instance. Some worry that this is having a destructive effect on society, but Sparrow sees an upside. Perhaps, she suggests, the trend will change our approach to learning from a focus on individual facts and memorization to an emphasis on more conceptual thinking—something that is not available on the Internet. “I personally have never seen all that much intellectual value in memorizing things,” Sparrow says, adding that we haven’t lost our ability to do it.
Still other experts say it’s too soon to understand how the Internet affects our brains. There is no experimental evidence showing that it interferes with our ability to focus, for instance, wrote psychologists Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. And surfing the web exercised the brain more than reading did among computer-savvy older adults in a 2008 study involving 24 participants at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angels.
“There may be costs associated with our increased reliance on the Internet, but I’d have to imagine that the overall benefits are going to outweigh those costs,” observes psychology professor Benjamin Storm. “It seems pretty clear that memory is changing, but is it changing for the better? At this point, we don’t know.”
1. Sparrow’s study shows that with the Internet, the human brain will ________.
2. The process of “cognitive offloading” ________.
3. Which of the following would Sparrow support about the Internet?
4. It is indicated in Paragraph 3 that how the Internet affects our brains ________.
5. Neither Sparrow nor Storm would agree that ________.
问题1选项
A.analyze information in detail
B.collect information efficiently
C.switch its focus of memory
D.extend its memory duration
问题2选项
A.helps us identify false information
B.keeps our memory from failing
C.enables us to classify trivial facts
D.lessens our memory burdens
问题3选项
A.It may reform our learning approach.
B.It may impact our society negatively.
C.It may enhance our adaptability to technology.
D.It may interfere with our conceptual thinking.
问题4选项
A.requires further academic research
B.is most studies in older adults
C.is reflected in our reading speed
D.depends on our web-surfing habits
问题5选项
A.our reliance on the Internet will be costly
B.the Internet is weakening our memory
C.memory exercise is a must for our brains
D.our ability to focus declines with age
第1题:C
第2题:D
第3题:A
第4题:A
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
Sparrow’s study shows that with the Internet, the human brain will ________. Sparrow的研究表明，有了互联网，人类的大脑会_______。
A. analyze information in detail A. 详细分析信息
B. collect information efficiently B. 有效收集信息
C. switch its focus of memory C. 切换它的记忆焦点
D. extend its memory duration D. 延长记忆时间
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Sparrow可以定位到文章第一段，第一段最后两句提到“他们不记得信息，但是记得如何找到文件夹，换句话说，人类的记忆力并没有退化，而是在‘适应新的通信技术’（adapting to new communications technology）”，因此C选项“切换它的记忆焦点”正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“详细分析信息”，B选项“有效收集信息”和D选项“延长记忆时间”均未在文中提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The process of “cognitive offloading”________. “认知转移”的过程________。
A. helps us identify false information A. 帮助我们识别虚假信息
B. keeps our memory from failing B. 保持我们的记忆力
C. enables us to classify trivial facts C. 使我们能够对琐碎事实进行分类
D. lessens our memory burdens D. 减轻我们的记忆负担
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词cognitive offloading可以定位到文章第二段第一句“互联网正成为我们记忆的外部硬盘，这个过程被成为‘认知转移’（the Internet is becoming an external hard drive for our memories, a process known as ‘cognitive offloading’）”，接着提到传统上这一角色是由数据库、图书馆和其他人类完成的，说明cognitive offloading能够帮助存储部分记忆，因此D选项“减轻我们的记忆负担”正确。
【干扰项排除】A选项“帮助我们识别虚假信息”，B选项“保持我们的记忆力”和C选项“使我们能够对琐碎事实进行分类”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following would Sparrow support about the Internet? 关于互联网，Sparrow会支持哪一项？
A. It may reform our learning approach. A. 它可能改变我们的学习方法。
B. It may impact our society negatively. B. 它可能会对我们的社会产生负面影响。
C. It may enhance our adaptability to technology. C. 它可能增强我们对技术的适应性。
D. It may interfere with our conceptual thinking. D. 它可能会干扰我们的概念性思维。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Sparrow及the Internet可以定位到文章第二段倒数第二句“她认为这种趋势将改变我们的学习方法，从关注个人事实和记忆转向强调更概念性的思考（the trend will change our approach to learning from a focus on individual facts and memorization to an emphasis on more conceptual thinking）”，因此A选项“它可能改变我们的学习方法”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“它可能会对我们的社会产生负面影响”在文章并未提及，属于无中生有。
C选项“它可能增强我们对技术的适应性”是Sparrow通过研究得出来的结果，并不是她支持的观点。
D选项“它可能会干扰我们的概念性思维”，文章第二段提到互联网会使得人们更关注概念性思考（to an emphasis on more conceptual thinking），而不是干扰（interfere with）。
第4题:
【选项释义】
It is indicated in Paragraph 3 that how the Internet affects our brains ________. 第三段指出了互联网如何影响我们的大脑________。
A. requires further academic research A. 需要进一步的学术研究
B. is most studies in older adults B. 大多数研究对象是老年人
C. is reflected in our reading speed C. 体现在我们的阅读速度上
D. depends on our web-surfing habits D. 取决于我们的网上习惯
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Paragraph 3可以定位到文章第三段第一句表明“现在了解互联网如何影响我们的大脑还为时尚早（Still other experts say it’s too soon to understand how the Internet affects our brains）”，因此A选项“需要进一步的学术研究”正确。
【干扰项排除】B选项“大多数研究对象是老年人”，C选项“体现在我们的阅读速度上”和D选项“取决于我们的网上习惯”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
Neither Sparrow nor Storm would agree that ________. Sparrow和Storm都不同意________。
A. our reliance on the Internet will be costly A. 我们对互联网的依赖将是昂贵的
B. the Internet is weakening our memory B. 互联网正在削弱我们的记忆力
C. memory exercise is a must for our brains C. 记忆力训练对我们的大脑来说是必须的
D. our ability to focus declines with age D. 我们的注意力会随着年龄的增长而下降
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】从文章可以看出Sparrow认为互联网可以改变我们的学习方式，Storm在文章最后一段表明“我们对互联网的依赖增加可能会带来一些成本，但是收益将超过成本（benefits are going to outweigh those costs）”，由此可知Storm同样也是认为互联网对我们是有好处的，因此B选项“互联网正在削弱我们的记忆力”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“我们对互联网的依赖将是昂贵的”，最后一段Storm提到我们对互联网的依赖增加可能会带来一些成本，说明Storm同意这个观点；
C选项“记忆力训练对我们的大脑来说是必须的”和D选项“我们的注意力会随着年龄的增长而下降”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有。
