单项选择题

One of the most important results of research into ageing has been to pinpoint the significance of short-term memory. This faculty is easily (1) as ageing advances. What seems to (2) is that information is received by the brain, (3) scans it for meaning in order to decode it at some future time. It looks as if the actual (4) of the short-term memory itself may not change too much (5) age. A young man and a man in his late fifties may (6) be able to remember and repeat a(n) (7) of eight numbers recited to them. But what (8) change is that when the older man is asked to remember anything (9) between the time he is first given the numbers to memorise and the time he is asked to (10) them, he will be much less likely to remember the (11) numbers than the young man. This is because the scanning stage is more easily (12) by other activities in (13) people.
In (14) living one experiences this as a fairly minor (15) -- a telephone number forgotten while one looks (16) an area code, or the first part of (17) street directions confused with the last because the last ’turn lefts’ and ’turn rights’ have interfered (18) remembering the first directions. In more formal learning, however, the (19) of short-term memory is more than just a mild social embarrassment. It can be a serious bar to further (20) or indeed to any progress at all.

20（）

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