Most people can remember a phone number for
up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time
elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the
memory. How did the information get there in the
first place? Information that makes its way to the
short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory
storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows
stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the
STM, also known as the working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity and
duration of the short term memory. The most
accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a
cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans
can remember approximately seven chunks of
information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit
of information, such as a word or name rather than
just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that
one can increase the capacity of the short term
memory by chunking, or classifying similar
information together. By organizing information,
one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances
of a memory being passed on to long term storage.
When making a conscious effort to memorize
something, such as information for an exam, many
people engage in ‘‘rote rehearsal’’. By repeating
something over and over again, one is able to keep a
memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory
maintenance only succeeds if there are no
interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing
the information, it has the tendency to disappear.
When a pen and paper are not handy, people often
attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it
aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come
in before a person has the opportunity to make a
phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly.
Therefore, rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to
pass information from the short term to long term
memory. A better way is to practice ‘‘elaborate
rehearsal’’. This involves assigning semantic
meaning to a piece of information so that it can be
filed along with other pre-existing long term
memories.
Encoding information semantically also makes it
more retrievable. Retrieving information can be
done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily
recall memories that are stored in the long term
memory and used often; however, if a memory seems
to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by
prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as
pictures), the more likely a memory can be retrieved.
This is why multiple choice tests are often used for
subjects that require a lot of memorization.
Fonte: http://www.englishclub.com/esl-exams/ets-toefl-practice-reading.htm (Adaptado)
The word therefore in paragraph 3, line 36 could be replaced by
