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回想你的童年，试着找出你最早的记忆。

Think back to your childhood and try to identify your earliest memory.

大多数人不能回忆起三岁以前的经历，这一现象被称为婴儿健忘症。

Most people are not able to recount memories for experiences prior to the age of three years, a phenomenon called infantile amnesia.

数十年来，为什么会有婴儿健忘症发生，这一直是心理学家们感兴趣的问题，尤其是考虑到大量证据表明婴儿和幼儿可以表现出令人印象深刻的记忆能力。

The question of why infantile amnesia occurs has intrigued psychologists for decades, especially in light of ample evidence that infants and young children can display impressive memory capabilities.

许多人发现，了解自传体记忆的一般性质，即对自己生活中发生的事件的记忆，可以为解开这个谜团提供一些重要的线索。

Many find that understanding the general nature of autobiographical memory, that is, memory for events that have occurred in one’s own life, can provide some important clues to this mystery.

在三到四岁之间，孩子们开始对他们过去的事件进行相当冗长而连贯的描述。

Between ages three and four, children begin to give fairly lengthy and cohesive descriptions of events in their past.

哪些因素促成了这一发展转折点？

What factors are responsible for this developmental turning point?

也许解释可以追溯到有影响力的瑞士心理学家让·皮亚杰提出的一些观点，即两岁以下的儿童描绘的事件形式与年龄较大的儿童有着质的不同。

Perhaps the explanation goes back to some ideas raised by influential Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget—namely, that children under age two years represent events in a qualitatively different form than older children do.

根据这一思路，（儿童）在两岁时发展起来的语言能力使得事件的编码形式与婴儿基于动作的编码形式完全不同。

According to this line of thought, the verbal abilities that blossom in the two year old allow events to be coded in a form radically different from the action-based codes of the infant.

事实上，一岁儿童的语言能力与他们对一年后事件的记忆有关。

Verbal abilities of one year olds are, in fact, related to their memories for events one year later.

当研究人员让一岁大的孩子们第一次看到一个动作序列，并在一年后模仿这个动作序列时，孩子们第一次看到这个事件时的语言技能与他们后来的记忆任务的成功之间存在相关性。

When researchers had one year olds imitate an action sequence one year after they first saw it, there was correlation between the children’s verbal skills at the time they first saw the event and their success on the later memory task.

但是，即便是语言技能低下的儿童也表现出记住这一事件的证据；因此，记忆可能是由这些语言技能促进的，但不依赖于这些语言技能。

However, even children with low verbal skills showed evidence of remembering the event; thus, memories may be facilitated by but are not dependent on those verbal skills.

另一种建议是，在孩子们能够谈论他们生活中过去发生的事件之前，他们需要对作为心理实体的自我有一个合理的理解。

Another suggestion is that before children can talk about past events in their lives, they need to have a reasonable understanding of the self as a psychological entity.

在人生的第一年和第二年之间，（孩子们）对自我的理解的发展变得明显，并在随后的几年中表现出迅速的细化。

The development of an understanding of the self becomes evident between the first and second years of life and shows rapid elaboration in subsequent years.

根据这一假设，（人们）认识到生理自我在时间上具有连续性，为自传体记忆的出现奠定了基础。

The realization that the physical self has continuity in time, according to this hypothesis, lays the foundation for the emergence of autobiographical memory.

第三种可能性是，孩子们只有了解一些故事的一般形式，即叙事结构，才能讲述他们自己的“生活故事”。

A third possibility is that children will not be able to tell their own “life story” until they understand something about the general form stories take, that is, the structure of narratives.

关于叙事的知识来自社会互动，特别是父母对孩子讲故事的经历，以及父母试图与孩子谈论他们生活中过去发生的事件（的行为）。

Knowledge about narratives arises from social interactions, particularly the storytelling that children experience from parents and the attempts parents make to talk with children about past events in their lives.

当父母与孩子谈论“我们今天做了什么”、“上周”或“去年”时，他们会引导孩子形成谈论过去的框架。

When parents talk with children about “what we did today” or “last week” or “last year,” they guide the children’s formation of a framework for talking about the past.

他们还为孩子们提供关于记忆的提醒，并传达记忆作为文化体验的一部分是有价值的信息。

They also provide children with reminders about the memory and relay the message that memories are valued as part of the cultural experience.

有趣的是，一些研究表明，美国白人儿童比韩国儿童具有更早的童年记忆。

It is interesting to note that some studies show Caucasian American children have earlier childhood memories than Korean children do.

此外，其他研究表明，美国白人母子谈论过去事件的频率是韩国母子的三倍。

Furthermore, other studies show that Caucasian American mother-child pairs talk about past events three times more often than do Korean mother-child pairs.

因此，儿童的社会经历类型确实影响了自传性记忆的发展。

Thus, the types of social experiences children have do factor into the development of autobiographical memories.

最后一个建议是，孩子们必须开始发展一种“心理理论”——一种对自己和他人的心理状态（感觉、欲望、信仰和想法）概念的认识，然后才能谈论自己的过去记忆。

A final suggestion is that children must begin to develop a “theory of mind”—an awareness of the concept of mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, and thoughts), their own and those of others—before they can talk about their own past memories.

一旦孩子们有能力回答这样的问题，比如“记住意味着什么？” 以及“知道一些东西意味着什么？”，（那么他们）的记忆力似乎开始有所提升。

Once children become capable of answering such questions as “What does it mean to remember?” and “What does it mean to know something?” improvements in memory seem to occur.

可能上述的这些发展是相互交织、相互影响的。

It may be that the developments just described are intertwined with and influence one another.

例如，与父母谈论过去可能会促进自我概念的发展，并帮助孩子理解什么是“记忆”。

Talking with parents about the past may enhance the development of the self-concept, for example, as well as help the child understand what it means to “remember.”

毫无疑问，与简单的识别或回忆不同，谈论一个人的过去的能力代表了更为复杂的记忆力。

No doubt the ability to talk about one’s past represents memory of a different level of complexity than simple recognition or recall.

The word “ample” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 1, infantile amnesia has intrigued psychologists because

According to paragraph 1, what is the evidence that a child has developed autobiographical memory?

In paragraph 2, why does the author provide the information that children with low verbal skills showed evidence of remembering a past event?

The word “reasonable” in the passage is closest in meaning to

The word “elaboration” in the passage is closest in meaning to

According to paragraph 3, what is the relationship between autobiographical memory and the development of an understanding of the self?

All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 4 as ways in which parents help their children understand the structure of narratives EXCEPT

According to paragraph 4, the studies of Caucasian American and Korean children suggest which of the following?

According to paragraph 5, what evidence is there that a “theory of mind” is a factor in the development of autobiographical memory?

The organization of the passage can best be described as

The passage supports which of the following statements about the development of autobiographical memory?

Look at the four squares  that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. It is unlikely that this memory will be from the first two years of life.  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square  to add the sentence to the passage.

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Autobiographical Memory Think back to your childhood and try to identify your earliest memory. How old were you?  Most people are not able to recount memories for experiences prior to the age of three years, a phenomenon called infantile amnesia.  The question of why infantile amnesia occurs has intrigued psychologists for decades, especially in light of ample evidence that infants and young children can display impressive memory capabilities.  Many find that understanding the general nature of autobiographical memory, that is, memory for events that have occurred in one’s own life, can provide some important clues to this mystery.  Between ages three and four, children begin to give fairly lengthy and cohesive descriptions of events in their past. What factors are responsible for this developmental turning point? Perhaps the explanation goes back to some ideas raised by influential Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget—namely, that children under age two years represent events in a qualitatively different form than older children do. According to this line of thought, the verbal abilities that blossom in the two year old allow events to be coded in a form radically different from the action-based codes of the infant. Verbal abilities of one year olds are, in fact, related to their memories for events one year later. When researchers had one year olds imitate an action sequence one year after they first saw it, there was correlation between the children’s verbal skills at the time they first saw the event and their success on the later memory task. However, even children with low verbal skills showed evidence of remembering the event; thus, memories may be facilitated by but are not dependent on those verbal skills. Another suggestion is that before children can talk about past events in their lives, they need to have a reasonable understanding of the self as a psychological entity. The development of an understanding of the self becomes evident between the first and second years of life and shows rapid elaboration in subsequent years. The realization that the physical self has continuity in time, according to this hypothesis, lays the foundation for the emergence of autobiographical memory. A third possibility is that children will not be able to tell their own “life story” until they understand something about the general form stories take, that is, the structure of narratives. Knowledge about narratives arises from social interactions, particularly the storytelling that children experience from parents and the attempts parents make to talk with children about past events in their lives. When parents talk with children about “what we did today” or “last week” or “last year,” they guide the children’s formation of a framework for talking about the past. They also provide children with reminders about the memory and relay the message that memories are valued as part of the cultural experience. It is interesting to note that some studies show Caucasian American children have earlier childhood memories than Korean children do. Furthermore, other studies show that Caucasian American mother-child pairs talk about past events three times more often than do Korean mother-child pairs. Thus, the types of social experiences children have do factor into the development of autobiographical memories. A final suggestion is that children must begin to develop a “theory of mind”—an awareness of the concept of mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, and thoughts), their own and those of others—before they can talk about their own past memories. Once children become capable of answering such questions as “What does it mean to remember?” and “What does it mean to know something?” improvements in memory seem to occur. It may be that the developments just described are intertwined with and influence one another. Talking with parents about the past may enhance the development of the self-concept, for example, as well as help the child understand what it means to “remember.” No doubt the ability to talk about one’s past represents memory of a different level of complexity than simple recognition or recall.