环球英语 05 Trusting Your Memory

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for Spotlight¹. I’m David Bast.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
How good is your memory? Can you depend on your memories to be correct? Today’s Spotlight is about memory.
Voice 2
Paul Doherty is a writer from the United² States. He describes a memory for us.
Voice 3
“I, my friend Martin, and a small group were climbing in the mountains. We climbed with two ropes. Martin and I climbed using the first rope. We had already reached the highest point of the mountain. And we could see that a storm was coming. We knew that we needed to protect ourselves. We climbed a little way back to a shelter³ area. We would be safe there.
Not all of the people in our group had reached the top of the mountain yet. They were using the second rope to climb. So we stayed at the shelter to wait for them.
I can still see it like it was yesterday! People on the second rope were still climbing the side of the mountain. The lightening⁴ came from the sky. It hit the rope. Some of the people in the group were still using that rope to climb! The people on the rope were not seriously harmed. But they were very frightened.
I remember clearly that, after the storm stopped, I helped the climbers off the second rope to the shelter. I was waiting for them as they came over the edge⁵ of the cliff⁶.”
Voice 1
Paul keeps a journal⁷, a book where he writes his thoughts. He also writes about the things that happen to him during the day. A few years after this climbing incident⁸, Paul looked back at his journal. He looked at what he had written in his journal about this incident. Paul was shocked. His written story and his memory were different!
Voice 2
What really happened then? Well, Paul and Martin did climb from the mountain top back down to the shelter. But, they decided⁹ to take turns waiting on the edge for the second rope of climbers. One stayed by the edge of the mountain waiting. And the other stayed in the shelter to keep warm. Then they traded positions. Paul was not at the edge of the mountain to help the climbers up. In fact, his friend Martin was the one who had helped the second rope of climbers up! Paul was back at the shelter!
Voice 1
Paul remembered something that never really happened! His journal had the real story. But his memory was wrong. However, he says he remembers the event clearly! So, can we really trust our memories? What can we believe?
Voice 2
Some people believe that memories are stored like pictures in a person’s mind. If a person wants to remember a particular event or story he goes to a special part of his brain. Then he just pulls the memory out. If this is the case, a person’s memory should be perfect. All he has to do is look at the ‘picture’ in his mind to remember it.
Voice 1
But researchers say this is not how it works¹⁰. Instead, our memories are much more complex¹¹! Experts say that our brains divide our memories into many parts. The brain stores the sounds, sights, smells and tastes that you remember in different areas. Let’s look a little closer at how the brain recreates memories.
Voice 2
The brain has an outer layer around an inner¹² mass. The outer layer is called the “cortex”. The cortex is only a few millimetres thick. But it holds about seventy thousand million [70,000,000,000] brain cells¹⁴! These cells in our cortex are a grey colour, so together they form our ‘grey matter.’ This part of the brain stores pieces of information. But the cells in the grey matter need to communicate with each other. This is where ‘white matter’ comes in. The white matter is the inner part of the brain.
Voice 1
Each brain cell¹³ has long extended¹⁶ arms. The cell sends information down one arm called an axon. Think of it like a telephone sending information down a wire. Every cell has one of these axons. The cell also has other arms - called dendrites. These are lines for receiving information. The axons and dendrites extend¹⁵ away from the grey matter on the outside of the brain to the white matter inside. In fact they are the white matter - because axons and dendrites are white in colour. The axons and dendrites permit¹⁷ brain cells to communicate with each other. They can connect, disconnect, and reconnect. Where they meet, an axon and a dendrite form a synapse¹⁸. A synapse is a kind of meeting point. The axon of one cell passes information to a dendrite of another cell through a synapse.
Voice 2
Let us say that you want to remember an event from last week. Researchers say that remembering involves lots of small pieces of information coming together to make the whole event. Think of many brain cells joining together like people joining hands. The axons and dendrites reach out from the cells like arms from the people’s bodies. The synapses¹⁹ are where the axons and dendrites meet. This is like the joined hands of the people. We sense the whole event in our memory when the cells join together in this way. Only some of the brain’s cells have a part in the memory of each event. Different cells join for different memories. Just how well the cells can join controls how strong the memory is. If there are many synapses, or connections, a memory is strong. But, if there are only a few synapses, the memory may be weak.
Voice 1
People can improve their memories. But, they can never be perfect. People’s memories are amazingly put together, but they do fail. This can be a little frightening to hear. So, what can we trust if we cannot trust our own minds or memories?
Voice 2
Well, Christians²⁰ believe there is one memory people can trust. Christians believe that God’s memory never fails. God has promised that he will love and forgive every person. He has promised that he will take care of his people. It is nice to know that God never forgets his promises to his people. Christians believe that even when people do not always remember how good God is, he does remember! He always remembers his promises. And that is good for all of us to remember!
Voice 1
The writer and producer of this program was Liz Waid. Computer users²¹ can hear our programs on our website at . This program is called “Trusting Your Memory.”
Voice 2
We have translated Paul Doherty’s words into Specialised English. You can e-mail us at radio @ english . net. Goodbye!

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

3 shelter   

n.掩蔽，掩蔽处，避身处；庇护所，避难所，庇护；vt.庇护，保护，隐匿；vi.躲避

参考例句：

• We took shelter from the rain in a cave.我们在一个山洞里避雨。
• Trees are a shelter from the sun.树木可以遮挡阳光。

4 lightening   

n.发光v.使（某物）更明亮( lighten的现在分词 )；变得更光明

参考例句：

• The lightening splintered a tree. 闪电把一棵树劈开了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I saw the lightening split the clouds and heard the thunders following. 我看到闪电撕开云层，听到随之而来的雷声。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

5 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

6 cliff   

n.悬崖，峭壁

参考例句：

• The cliff edge is dangerous and should be railed.崖边危险，应该用栏杆围起来。
• He took the measure of the cliff before he climbed it.他把悬崖的高度估量一下后再攀登。

7 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

8 incident   

n.附带事件，小事件；事件，事变；adj.易发生的；附属的；入射的

参考例句：

• With the passage of time the incident was forgotten.随着时间的消逝，那个事件被忘却了。
• The incident had left him visibly angry and upset.那起事件显然让他既恼火又心烦。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

11 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

12 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

13 cell   

n.区，细胞，血球；小室，牢房；电池，光电管；基层组织

参考例句：

• Soap destroys the cell walls of bacteria.肥皂破坏细菌的细胞壁。
• They have locked the prisoners up in their cell.他们已把犯人监禁在小牢房里。

14 cells   

n.细胞( cell的名词复数 )；小牢房；（修道士或修女住的）小房间；电池

参考例句：

• Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria adhere to the surface of the red cells. 细菌一进入血液里，就附着在红细胞表面上。
• an amorphous mass of cells with no identity at all 不知何物的杂乱一团的细胞

15 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

16 extended   

adj.延伸的；伸展的；延长的；扩大的v.延伸(extend的过去式和过去分词)；伸展；延长

参考例句：

• an extended lunch hour 延长了的午餐时间
• France has greatly extended its influence in world affairs. 在世界事务中，法国的影响已大大地扩大了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 permit   

n.许可证，许可，执照；vt.允许，容许；vi.容许

参考例句：

• The doctor will not permit mother up until her leg is better.在母亲的腿好些之前,医生不允许她起床。
• The soldiers had orders to permit no stranger through.士兵们接到命令不许任何陌生人通过。

18 synapse   

n.突触

参考例句：

• The chemical floods the synapse, overwhelming the serotonin receptors.这种化学物质湮没了突触，覆盖了5--羟色胺的受体。
• Ecstasy also keeps serotonin from being reabsorbed,further increasing the concentration in the synapse.毒品引起的狂迷还能阻止5--羟色胺的再吸收，进一步增加了突触内5--羟色胺的浓度。

19 synapses   

n.（神经元的）突触( synapse的名词复数 )；染色体结合( synapsis的名词复数 )；联会；突触；（神经元的）触处

参考例句：

• Nerve cells communicate with one another at the synapses, where their membranes almost touch. 神经细胞在突触部位彼此沟通，在这里它们的膜几乎接触到一起了。 来自辞典例句
• Glutamatergic synapses are common excitatory chemical connections in mammalian central nervous system. 谷氨酸性突触是哺乳动物神经系统的主要兴奋性突触。 来自互联网

20 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

21 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。