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Even facts "forgotten" by people during a busy day may be retrieved if this is followed by a good
night's sleep.
Researchers from the University of Chicago asked volunteers to remember simple words . Many
found their memories letting them down towards the end of the day, but the following morning, those
who had slept well could recall much more.
Researchers, writing in the journal Nature, said the brain could "rescue" lost memories during the
night.
When the brain is first asked to remember something that memory is laid down in an "unstable" state,
meaning that it is possible that it could be lost . At some point, the brain consolidates those it deems
important into a "stable", more permanent state . However, the Chicago researchers suggested that it
was possible for a "stable" memory to be made "unstable" again . This would mean that memories
could be modified then filed away again in the face of new experiences.
The 12 volunteers tested in the experiment were played words created through a speech synthesizer
which were purposely difficult to understand . Initially, the written version of the word from the audio
version only . Tests revealed that the ability to recall the right word tended to tail off as the day ended.
However, when the volunteers were retested after a good night's sleep, they were able to recall
some words that they had " forgotten" the previous evening.
Dr Daniel, one of the study authors, said: "Sleep consolidates memories, protecting them against
subsequent interference or decay . Sleep also appears to "recover" or restore memories." He said: "If
performance is reduced by decay, sleep might actively recover what has been lost."
Dr Karim Nader, from the Department of Psychology in McGill University in Montreal, said:
"Memory research is undergoing a transformation-no longer is memory thought to be a hard-writing
of the brain, instead it seems to be a process of storage and restorage."
Sleep helps some memories "mature" and also prunes out unimportant memories.
1. What does the first paragraph implies?
A . A busy day makes people forget things easily.
B . People need a good night's sleep after a busy day.
C . A good night's sleep helps memories.
D . A good night's sleep helps people forget a busy day.
2 . The words the 12 volunteers played in the experiment were not ____
A . created through a speech synthesizer
B . hard to understand
C . available at the beginning
D . designed to test people's ability of understanding
3 . According to the passage, memory_____
A . is a hard-writing of the brain
B . is not a process of storage
C . is not a process of restorage
D . will be mature with the help of sleep
4 . Which of the following is NOT true?
A . When people first remember something, the memory is in an "unstable state".
B . The brain will change those important unstable memories into stable.
C . Once the memory become stable, it will never become unstable again.
D . Sleep can protect memories from being harmed.
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