童年早期记忆的真实性

你最珍视的一段童年记忆是什么？一些研究的结果可能会让你感到惊讶：人们早期的记忆不一定准确。这究竟是为什么？

词汇: memories 记忆

• What’s the first thing you remember doing? It could be playing with your friends at school, or going to a birthday party and eating amazing cake. Most of us have a treasured early memory of our childhood, but can we really believe those vivid memories? Did those special moments really happen – or did we make them up?

  你记得你做的第一件事是什么？它可以是和你的朋友在学校玩，或者参加一个生日聚会，吃美味的蛋糕。我们大多数人都有宝贵的童年早期记忆，但我们真的能相信这些生动的记忆吗？那些特别的时刻是真的发生了，还是我们编造的?

  ⭐ treasured [ˈtreʒə(r)d] 珍视的，珍重的; vivid [ˈvɪvɪd] 鲜明的，生动的

• It’s a strange concept to grasp, but according to research, about four out of 10 of us invent our first childhood memory. Rather than having experienced something, we could have fabricated a fake memory from videos or photos we’ve seen. We could have been influenced by a story recounted to us that spurs our minds on to adopt someone else’s memory as our own. What it means is that memories of our younger years, especially before the age of two, may be inaccurate, or entirely false.

  这是一个难以理解的概念，但根据研究，大约有四成的人发明了我们的第一个童年记忆。我们本可以用看到的视频或照片来伪造记忆，而不是亲身经历。我们可能会受到讲述给我们的故事的影响，促使我们把别人的记忆当作自己的记忆。这意味着我们年轻时的记忆，尤其是两岁之前的记忆，可能是不准确的，或者是完全错误的。

  ⭐ concept 概念; grasp 理解，领会; fabricate [ˈfæbrɪkeɪt] 编造; recount 叙述; spur on 促使，激励; adopt 采纳，采用; inaccurate [ɪnˈækjərət] 不准确的;

• But why don’t we have clear memories from that age? Well, our ability to retain memories from before the age of two isn’t great. While at that age we do have short-term memories, according to Catherine Loveday, an expert in autobiographical memory at the University of Westminster, the memories that infants make are not long-lasting. This is possibly due to the rapid creation of brain cells in our early years. Some scientists also believe that as we get older, our childhood memories fade and after the age of seven, we get some kind of ‘childhood amnesia’.

  但为什么我们没有那个年代的清晰记忆呢？我们保留两岁之前的记忆的能力不是很好。威斯敏斯特大学(University of Westminster)的自传式记忆专家凯瑟琳·洛夫迪(Catherine Loveday)表示，虽然在那个年龄，我们确实有短期记忆，但婴儿产生的记忆不是持久的。这可能是由于我们早期大脑细胞的快速生成。一些科学家还认为，随着我们年龄的增长，我们的童年记忆会消失，7岁以后，我们会患上某种“童年健忘症”。

  ⭐ clear 清晰的; retain 记住; short-term memory 短期记忆; autobiographical 自传体的，与个人生活事件紧密相关的; infant [ˈɪnfənt] 婴儿; long-lasting 持久的; brain cell 脑细胞; fade 逐渐被遗忘; amnesia 失忆 [æmˈniːziə]

• So why do we create fake memories? Some experts believe that there is a clear desire for a sense of self and having a cohesive story of our existence. Creating memories can fill in the gaps – giving us a more complete structure for our early lives. As we get older, we want to have a complete picture of our entire lives.

  那么，我们为什么要制造虚假记忆呢？一些专家认为，人们对自我意识的渴望是明确的，对我们的存在有一个连贯的故事。创造记忆可以填补空白——为我们早期的生活提供一个更完整的结构。随着年龄的增长，我们希望对自己的整个人生有一个完整的认识。

  ⭐ cohesive [kəʊˈhiːsɪv] 完整连贯的;

• So, the next time someone says they have a clear memory from when they were one – or even before - just remember that while it could be true, there’s a chance they just invented it at some point in their lives.

  所以，下次有人说他们对自己一岁时的事情有清晰的记忆，甚至更早的时候，只要记住，虽然这可能是真的，但有可能是他们在生命中的某个时刻发明的。

  ⭐

词汇表

treasured 珍视的，珍重的

vivid 鲜明的，生动的

concept 概念

grasp 理解，领会

fabricate 编造

recount 叙述

spur on 促使，激励

adopt 采纳，采用

inaccurate 不准确的

clear 清晰的

retain 记住

short-term memory 短期记忆

autobiographical 自传体的，与个人生活事件紧密相关的

long-lasting 持久的

brain cell 脑细胞

fade 逐渐被遗忘

amnesia 失忆

cohesive 完整连贯的

测验与练习

1.  阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What’s the proportion of people who may have invented their first memory?

2. Why might we not be able to create long-lasting memories as a child?

3. By what age do some experts think we get ‘childhood amnesia’?

4. Why might someone want to create childhood memories?

5. What does the article suggest we should do when someone says they have a clear memory from when they were one?

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I love this toy. It was one of my most _______ possessions when I was a kid.

treasure                 treasured              treasures               treasuring

1. I think that we need to _______ new strategies for dealing with the problem.

recount                  fade                       adopt                     concept

1. Don’t make _______ stories! Tell the truth.

up                          out                        down                      in

1. All of my memories seem to have _______ over time.

faded                     grasped                 treasured                adopted

1. Why don’t you _______ that story about your first bike to us?

recount                  clear                      amnesia                 retain

答案

1. 阅读课文并回答问题。

1. What’s the proportion of people who may have invented their first memory?Around four in 10 of us may have faked our first memory.

2. Why might we not be able to create long-lasting memories as a child?The rapid creation of brain cells being created in our early years could impact on our ability to create long-term memories.

3. By what age do some experts think we get ‘childhood amnesia’?‘ Childhood amnesia’ occurs by the age of seven.

4. Why might someone want to create childhood memories?To give their life story a greater sense of cohesion.

5. What does the article suggest we should do when someone says they have a clear memory from when they were one?Remember that while it could be true, there’s a chance they just invented it.

2.  选择意思恰当的单词或词组来完成下列句子。

1. I love this toy. It was one of my most treasured possessions when I was a kid.

2. I think that we need to adopt new strategies for dealing with the problem.

3. Don’t make up stories! Tell the truth.

4. All of my memories seem to have faded over time.

5. Why don’t you recount that story about your first bike to us?