金沢医科大学英語2012年第4問
Ask teachers how long they want their students to remember what they were taught, and the answer is a clear, “forever !" However, that is not usually the case. Much of what is taught in school is forgotten over time, sometimes within a few days. Forgetting is often viewed as the enemy of learning. But, in fact, forgetting plays an important role in promoting learning and ( ア )facilitating recall.
The human brain processes an enormous amount of incoming information every day. Much of that information remains in temporary memory sites and soon disappears. For example, the name of a person that one has just met may remain in memory for just a few minutes. Yet the name of one's best friend is turned into a long-term memory and lasts a lifetime. Why do we forget so much and preserve so little ? Forgetting manifests itself in two major ways : the process of $\fbox{19}$ newly acquired information, and the decay that occurs with memories already in long-term storage.
The first major studies on forgetting were conducted by Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909), a German psychologist, whose work led to the development of a forgetting curve. The curve was a mathematical representation of how quickly new experiences were forgotten. Subsequent studies have somewhat modified his findings. When the brain is exposed to new information, ( A ), and continues rapidly throughout the first day. Items that do not make sense to the learner are usually forgotten first. On the contrary, shocking and clear experiences are rarely forgotten, ( B ). But for most information, forgetting slows down after two weeks when there is not much left to forget.
Forgetting new material can occur as a result of interference* from earlier learning. This is a component of a process called transfer. Even how one acquires new learning can affect forgetting. For most people, it is easier to forget what is heard than what is read. When listening to new information, unrelated sounds can redirect the brain's attention. But reading is $\fbox{20}$ more focused activity, so the effect of distractions* is reduced. Stress and lack of sleep also ( イ )contribute to forgetting.
Forgetting has some definite advantages. When the brain is presented with a large amount of information, forgetting prevents unrelated information from interfering with the acquiring, remembering, and recall of related information. By screening out the unimportant, the essential data and experiences have a chance to be fully combined into long-term memories. Forgetting may be bothering, but it is most likely a survival adjustment of memory. There is $\fbox{21}$ value in remembering everything that has happened to us. Forgetting the trivial leaves room for the more important and meaningful experiences that shape who we are and establish our individuality.
Imagine if the brain remembered everything for a lifetime. Just trying to recall the name of a childhood friend would be a significant challenge. The brain would have to search through thousands of names scattered among the long-term memory sites. At best, the name would take a long time to find ; at worst, the result could be confusion, resulting in the recall of the wrong name. By gradually forgetting the names that are not important, ( C ). Forgetting also helps to update old information ( ウ )As one changes jobs and moves, for example, new data, such as addresses and telepnone numbers, overwrite the old data. The old data may still stay in long-term memory, but if it is not recalled and practiced, it will eventually become less accessible.
Exactly what happens in the brain to old memories over time is still an open question. Some researchers suggest that memory loss of a specific experience can occur if the memory has not been recalled for a long time. They believe that this leads to the slow but steady separation of the network of brain cells that form the memory, ( D ). Eventually, the unity of the network fails and the memory is lost, perhaps forever. Such a process, the researchers say, frees up ( エ ) [ $\fbox{24}$ $\fbox{25}$ ] information.
- 注*
- : interference = a noun form of the verb interfere
- : distractions = things that take your attention away from what you are doing or thinking about
- 文脈から下線部の語( ア ),( イ )に意味の上で最も近いと思われる語句をそれぞれ(1)～(5)から1つ選びなさい。
$\fbox{17}$（ ア )facilitating- (1) assisting
- (2) preserving
- (3) confusing
- (4) translating
- (5) delaying
- (1) give
- (2) provide
- (3) present
- (4) lead
- (5) describe
- 文章中の$\fbox{19}$～$\fbox{21}$に入る最も適切な語句を、それぞれ(1)～(5)から1つ選びなさい。
$\fbox{19}$- (1) taking off
- (2) putting out
- (3) showing off
- (4) getting rid of
- (5) turning into
- (1) an above
- (2) a very
- (3) many
- (4) further
- (5) a much
- (1) a few
- (2) a little
- (3) little
- (4) none
- (5) not
- 「あ～え」はそれぞれ本文中の( A )～( D )に入る。最も適切な順番を、(1)～(10)から1つ選びなさい。$\fbox{22}$
- あ. the recall process becomes more efficient
- い. making getting back old memories increasingly difficult
- う. although what we recall of them may change over time
- え. the greatest amount of forgetting occurs shortly after the learning task is completed
- (1) あ－う－い－え
- (2) あ－う－え－い
- (3) い－う－あ－え
- (4) い－あ－え－う
- (5) い－え－あ－う
- (6) う－え－あ－い
- (7) う－あ－い－え
- (8) え－あ－う－い
- (9) え－う－あ－い
- (10) え－い－あ－う
- 下線部( ウ )の主語を、(1)～(5)から1つ選びなさい。$\fbox{23}$
- (1) one
- (2) jobs
- (3) data
- (4) addresses
- (5) addresses and telephone numbers
- ( エ )の空欄に入る(1)～(5)の語句を並べかえて文を完成させ、$\fbox{24}$,$\fbox{25}$に入る語句を番号で答えなさい。
- (1) available
- (2) resources so
- (3) memory
- (4) for new
- (5) that they become
- 本文の内容と合う英文を、(1)～(7)から2つ選びなさい。$\fbox{26}$
- (1) Much of the incoming information remains in temporary memory sites only for a short period of time
- (2) People often have difficulty remembering the names of their best friends.
- (3) Hermann Ebbinghaus was a German math teacher who invented a forgetting curve.
- (4) Shocking experiences tend to be forgotten first because people don't want to remember them.
- (5) It is generally more difficult to forget what is heard than what is read.
- (6) If we don't recall the old memory for a long time, it will become less reachable even if it is still in the brain.
- (7) The answer to exactly what happens to old memories in the brain over time has now been made clear to us.