Psychologists have many theories to explain how we remember information. The most influential theory is that memory works as a kind of storage system for information. There are three types of these storage systems with different functions that hold information for different amounts of time. They are sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. Sensory memory holds information for the shortest amount of time, less than for seconds and instant. Sensory memory is where stimuli or things that stimulate our senses are very briefly stored. We forget sensory memories almost instantly, unless they passed into another storage system. Examples of the stimuli are what we see and hear in the world, such as a flash of lightning or the sound of a door closing. Short-term memory also called working memory, holds information for about 15 to 20 seconds. This is not a very long time. But the information that passes into this system has more meaning for us than just sensory stimulation. Some experts believe that sensory information changes into visual images as it is stored. And others believe that information changes into words. There is not much room for information in short-term memory. And it did not stay there for very long. Examples of this types of information are telephone numbers, addresses and names. Long-term memory holds information almost indefinitely, although retrieving it can sometimes be difficult. Think of long-term memory as a very big library, with almost unlimited capacities for storage. Information gets filed, cataloged and stored. Long-term memory has several different components or categories. The main two categories are declarative memory and procedure memory. Declarative memory is where we store factual information, such as names, faces, dates, life events. Procedure memory is where we store memory of skills and habits , like how to ride a bike, or how to boil an egg. Within the declarative memory, there are smaller categories of memory, episodic memory and semantic memory. Episodic memory relates to our personal lives. Things we have done or experienced, such as having a car accident or graduating from school. Semantic memory is where we organize general knowledge or facts about the world, such as math formulas, spelling rules and capital cities.

点评：这是一篇关于人类记忆分类的文章。文章采用了总分的形式，层次鲜明，结构清晰。文章开头两句为总括句，表明心理学家有许多种理论来解释人类如何记忆，其中最有影响力的一种理论是人类记忆的工作方式如同信息储存系统。人类的记忆被分为三种：瞬时记忆、短期记忆和长期记忆。接下来分别针对三种记忆的具体情况：从信息储存的内容、功能和时间的长短三个角度进行了介绍。需要注意的是，最后几句是分论点，阐明长期记忆分为情景记忆(eopisodic memory)和语义记忆(sematic memory)两类。 相信考生平时对科普知识稍有积累，再加上对结构的把握，本篇文章能够轻松应对。

M: There is a small number of exceptional people who play a huge role in the transmissions of epidemic ideas. I call them Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. W: Say it again?

M: Mavens, Connectors and Salesman. Connectors are the kind of people who know everybody. They have extraordinary social ties. Well, if I do this names test in the Manhattan phonebook, and you go down the list. Every time you see a name you know, you give yourself a point. Well, most people score like 25, 30. Someone scores like 120 or 130. That kind of person is incredibly in generating word-of-mouth epidemics. If they like something and get hold of some idea, they can spread 5 or 6 times further than the average person.

W: Who are those people, what defines them?

M: Well, these are extraordinarily social people with a lot of energy who are consumed by the task of getting to know people, of meeting people, of keeping in touch with them. They make phone calls all day long.

W: I am afraid I am one of them.

M: This is not typical behavior. This is a behavior that is actually rare. Most of us don’t do that. And I am someone who is not that way. I can’t start a word-of-mouth epidemic because I simply don’t know enough people. I can’t get it outside my own immediate circle of friends. Someone has friends all over the place. They can spread the news about a new restaurant, or a new movie, or something far and wide in a very, very short time.

W: These are the Connectors. Who are the Mavens and who are the Salesmen?

M: The Mavens are people who have specialized knowledge. If you examine why you make certain decisions, why do you shop somewhere, why do you go to a certain restaurant, you’ll find that you are relying on the same person over and over again for recommendations. Those people I call Mavens. My friend Ereal is a Maven, who knows all about the restaurants in lower Manhattan. If I want to know about the hot new restaurant, I call Ereal. Well, all of Ereal’s friends call Ereal, and if you go to restaurants in lower Manhattan and look around the room, you will see friends of Ereal. The restaurant market is an epidemic market, which is controlled by a group of Ereals. I don’t think there are very many of them. There are probably two dozen of them. That’s true of lots of things. That’s true of shopping, and books and movies. If a Maven gets together with a Connector, then you begin see why a word-of-mouth epidemic might happen. Someone who knows everyone in combination with someone who knows everything is a really powerful connection.

W: And then introduce the Salesmen.

M: Well, those people are incredibly persuasive. And again, that’s a very rare and unusual trait.

W: Leaves me out, you see. I can connect, but I can’t sell.

M: Well, they are separate categories. I’ve met with a guy who is known as one of the greatest salesman in America today. When you meet with someone like that, you begin to realize why trans happen. They happen because someone who has this extraordinary natural ability to win you over. When they get hold of an idea, they can really make it go a long way.

Questions:

1. What’s the main topic of this conversation?

2. Which of the following descriptions does not apply to Connectors?

3. Which of the following statements best defines the Mavens?

4. According to the conversation, which of the following groups does the man’s friend Ereal belong to?

5. What can we tell about all three groups of people?

【解析】本段以对话形式介绍了三种人Maven，Connector，Salesman的含义，及各自对transmissions of epidemic ideas的作用，并给出明确的例证。答题关键在于理解三种人分别有何特征，而问题也基本围绕其定义展开。考生可能会对文中出现的word-of-mouth epidemic等说法不熟悉，但可以根据上下文推断其含义。总体难度适中。 Question 6 to 10 are based on the following news.

New York, USA

Thousands of "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrators fanned out across New York on Thursday in the first major showing of protest strength since authorities forcibly evicted them from their Lower Manhat