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[2020·³É¶¼µÚÈý´ÎÕï¶Ï]Can you trust your very first childhood memories? Maybe not, a new study suggests.

Past studies show that people's earliest memories typically form around 3 to 3.5 years of age. But in a recent survey of more than 6,600 people, British scientists have found that 39 percent of participants claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger. These first memories are likely false, the researchers said. This was particularly the case for middle­aged and older adults.

For the study, researchers asked participants to describe their first memory and the age at which it occurred. Participants were told they had to be sure the memory was the one that had happened. For example, it shouldn't be based on a photograph, a family story or any source other than direct experiences. Then the researchers examined the  content, language  and  descriptive details of these earliest memories and worked out the likely reasons why people would claim to have memories from an age when memories cannot form.

As many of these memories dated before the age of 2, this suggests they were not based on actual facts, but facts or knowledge about their babyhood or childhood from photographs or family stories. Often these false memories are fired by a part of an early experience, such as family relationships or feeling sad, the researchers explained.

“We suggest that what a rememberer has in mind when recalling fictional early memories is... a mental representation consisting of remembered pieces of early experiences and some facts or knowledge about their own babyhood or childhood£¬\” study author  Shania  Kantar  said  in  a  journal  news  release.  “Additionally, further details may be unconsciously inferred or added. Such memory£­like mental representations come, over time, to be collectively experienced when they come to mind, so for the individual, they quite simply are ‘memories’ which particularly point to babyhood.\”

“Importantly, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional£¬\” study co£­author Martin Conway said. “In fact, when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it.\”

1£®What can we learn from the recent study?

A£®Memories form after the age of 3.

B£®Participants are good at telling stories.

C£®Adults are likely to form false memories.

D£®Earliest memories may play a trick on us.

2£®Which source did the researchers require for the earliest memories?

A£®A direct experience.  B£®A family story.

C£®A family photo.          D£®A sad feeling.

3£®What are these fictional early memories according to Kantar?

A£®They are repeated mental representations.

B£®They are a collection of early experiences.

C£®They are a combination of both facts and fictions.

D£®They are further details of remembered experiences.

4£®Which part of a newspaper is this text probably taken from?

A£®Society.              B£®Psychology.

C£®Technology.               D£®Health.