by Christine Newton
You are walking through a park you have never visited before when a dog runs past, barking at a cluster of birds. You turn to see its owner smile and wave. Suddenly, you are overcome by the feeling that you have been here before—in this same park, with the same dog and birds, while the same owner is waving his arm in exactly the same way. By the time he lowers his arm, you realize the situation no longer fits quite so well with your fading recollection. You are sure once again that you have never been to this park. The familiarity is gone.
Déjà vu, French for "already seen," describes the peculiar feeling of having encountered an identical situation in the past, without knowing exactly when or where. The memory is most often attributed to a dream. The feeling lasts only a few seconds and is usually tied to an ordinary event. It may be a visual scene recalled in detail, or an uncanny knowledge of a new place. What is distinctive about déjà vu is not the situation itself but the feeling that accompanies it.
More than 70 percent of the population has experienced this phenomenon. Attempts to explain it range from past lives to repressed memories. Some people believe déjà vu is a form of precognition, the mysterious ability to know of an event before it happens. Scientists have linked déjà vu to neural disorders like schizophrenia and epilepsy, suggesting it could be a hiccup of the brain with no connection to the past.
Is déjà vu ordinary or extraordinary? The answer remains a mystery. But perhaps you've heard this all before...
1. Which of the following wouldn't be considered déjà vu?
(A) An overwhelming urge to do the same thing over and over again.
(B) The feeling that you've been somewhere before.
(C) An impression that you've already met someone at one time or another.
(D) A sensation that you've had the same experience in the past.
2. How do scientists attempt to explain déjà vu?
(A) It's a sign of potential cancer.
(B) It can indicate a harmless problem in the brain.
(C) It means that a person has gone totally crazy.
(D) It results from brain damage or other injuries.
3. The last line of the article is trying to suggest _____.
(A) this article was never published before
(B) you'll never fully understand déjà vu
(C) you've read this article at a time in the past
(D) you can never make up for your past mistakes
精解字詞詞組
1. be overcome by... 被……(的感覺)壓倒
例:When I spoke to Gina, I was overcome by guilt for telling her secret to her mother.
(我跟吉娜說話時感到一股強烈的罪惡感,因為我把她的秘密告訴她媽媽。)
2. By the time S + V, S + V 等到……的時候,……
例:By the time his son finally returned home, Mr. Burns had already fallen asleep.
(等兒子終于回到家時,波恩先生早已經(jīng)睡著了。)
3. identical a. 相同的
be identical to... 與……完全相同
例:Jim's coat was identical to the one I bought last month.
(吉姆的外套跟我上個月買的那件一模一樣。)
4. be attributed to N/V-ing 歸因于……
例:The child's declining health can be attributed to poor dental care and hygiene.
(那孩子每況愈下的健康狀況可歸咎于牙齒保健不良和衛(wèi)生不佳。)
5. be tied to... 與……聯(lián)系在一起
例:Skin cancer is tied to overexposure to the sun's rays.
(皮膚癌與過度接觸陽光有高度關(guān)聯(lián)。)
6. in detail 詳細(xì)地
= at length
例:Tell me everything in detail. Don't hold anything back at all.
(詳細(xì)告訴我所有事情,任何事都別隱瞞。)
7. distinctive a. 顯著的
例:That restaurant has a distinctive smell that makes my mouth water whenever I pass by.
(那間餐廳有股特殊的香味,害我每次經(jīng)過都口水直流。)
8. accompany vt. 伴隨;陪伴
例:Several benefits accompany signing up for the program today.
(今天報名這項課程會有許多好處隨之而來。)
9. range from A to B 范圍從 A 到 B 都有
例:Quinn's health problems range from diabetes to liver disease.
(奎恩健康方面的毛病從糖尿病到肝病都有。)
10. know of... 獲悉∕知道……
例:No one I know of has ever been to Europe.
(我知道的人里面沒有人去過歐洲。)
11. link A to B 使 A 和 B 產(chǎn)生關(guān)聯(lián);連結(jié) A 與 B
例:The police linked the death of the actress to her ex-husband.
(警方認(rèn)為那位女演員的死與她前夫有關(guān)。)
12. overwhelming a. 壓倒性的
例:Harry had an overwhelming urge to hug his daughter as soon as she stepped off the plane.
(女兒一走下飛機,哈利就有一股想擁抱她的強烈欲望。)
13. make up for... 補償∕彌補……
= compensate for...
例:How can I possibly make up for being so rude to you?
(我對你那么無禮,怎么做才能補償你呢?)
單字小鋪
1. déjà vu n. 既視現(xiàn)象
2. recollection n. 回憶
3. familiarity n. 相似;熟悉
4. peculiar a. 獨特的,特異的
5. encounter vt. 遭遇,遇到
6. uncanny a. 怪異的;離奇的
7. repressed a. 受壓抑的
8. precognition n. 預(yù)知
9. neural a. 中樞神經(jīng)的
10. disorder n. 失調(diào)
11. schizophrenia n. 精神分裂癥
12. epilepsy n. 癲癇
13. hiccup n. 小問題;打嗝
14. sensation n. 感覺
詞組小鋪
1. a cluster of... 一群的……
2. once again 再一次
3. over and over again 一而再,再而三
4. at one time or another 過去某時
5. go crazy 失去理智;發(fā)瘋
6. result from... 起因于……
中文翻譯&標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案
你正走過一座自己從沒去過的公園,這時一只狗跑過你身邊,對著一群鳥吠叫。你轉(zhuǎn)頭看見牠的主人正在微笑揮手。突然之間,你感覺曾經(jīng)到過這里——同樣的公園,同樣的小狗和鳥,同一個主人以完全相同的方式揮手。當(dāng)他放下手臂后,你了解到這情形與逐漸消失的記憶不太吻合。你再次確定自己從沒來過這個公園。熟悉的感覺已經(jīng)不見了。
déjà vu(既視現(xiàn)象),法文里的意思是『已經(jīng)見過』,描述過去曾遇過相同情況,但不確定是在何時何地發(fā)生的奇妙感覺。這種記憶常被歸因于夢境。這感覺只持續(xù)幾秒鐘,而且通常和日常事件有關(guān)??赡苁且粋€憶起的詳細(xì)畫面,或?qū)π颅h(huán)境有著奇怪的認(rèn)識。既視現(xiàn)象特別的不是情境本身,而是隨之而來的熟悉感。
多達(dá)七成的人曾經(jīng)歷過這種現(xiàn)象,關(guān)于它的解釋從前世今生到被壓抑的記憶都有。有些人相信既視現(xiàn)象是一種預(yù)知的形式,也就是在事情發(fā)生前就隱約知道的特異功能??茖W(xué)家則將它與中樞神經(jīng)失調(diào),如精神分裂癥或癲癇,連結(jié)在一起,認(rèn)為那可能是大腦一時失常的現(xiàn)象,和過去無關(guān)。
既視現(xiàn)象是正常還是反常呢?答案依然是個謎。但也許你早已聽說過這一切……
1. 下列何者不是既視現(xiàn)象?
(A) 一股壓倒性的沖動,想一再做同一件事。
(B) 你過去曾到過某處的感覺。
(C) 你過去某個時候曾見過某人的印象。
(D) 你過去曾經(jīng)歷過某件事的感覺。
題解: 本文第二段即點出,法文里的『已經(jīng)見過』,描述的是過去曾經(jīng)遇過相同的情況,但不確定是在何時何地的感覺,選項中僅 (A) 不符合,故選之。
2. 科學(xué)家如何解釋既視現(xiàn)象?
(A) 罹患癌癥的征兆。
(B) 暗示腦部有無害的問題。
(C) 意指某人完全發(fā)瘋了。
(D) 是由腦部損傷或其它傷害引起的。
題解: 根據(jù)第三段,科學(xué)家將既視現(xiàn)象與中樞神經(jīng)失調(diào)有關(guān),主張這只是大腦一時失常的現(xiàn)象,故選 (B)。
3. 這篇文章的最后一行暗示 _____。
(A) 這篇文章從未出版過
(B) 你永遠(yuǎn)無法全然了解既視現(xiàn)象
(C) 你過去曾在某時讀過這篇文章
(D) 你永遠(yuǎn)無法彌補過去的錯誤
題解: 本文最后一行說『但也許你早已聽說過這一切……』,暗示你目前正經(jīng)歷既視現(xiàn)象,所以感覺文章所談的一切都很熟悉,故選 (C)。
標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案:
1. (A) 2. (B) 3. (C)