2026年6月英语六级听力真题模拟题(4):Images Can Help You Retain Vocabulary

四季读书网 2026-04-15 09:18:22 2 0

2026年6月英语六级听力真题模拟题（4）

听力原文：

There are 5 questions in this passage. For each question, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A), B), C) and D).

Suppose you are listening to a program in English and hear the word “borrow.” You have heard this word many times but forget its meaning. So, you look up the equivalent word in your own language. Ahh, yes, now you remember! A few days later, you see the word again, but again cannot remember its meaning. Why?

It is easy to blame yourself or think, “I have a terrible memory!” But your memory is not the problem.

The problem is that translating a word to its equivalent word in your language is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. This is because it does not create strong connections in the brain, something critical for remembering information.

To really learn words, you have to bring attention to them and connect them with mental images or your existing knowledge. This helps your brain recall words quickly and easily when you need them. On today's Education Tips, we will discuss three methods that use images to retain vocabulary.

1-Use pictures

First, let's discuss the most straightforward method: Using pictures as visual aids.

Danielle Zelin is an English teacher and teacher trainer. She has taught for nearly 25 years, including in South Africa, Latvia and Mauritius, her homeland.

Zelin says visual aids are important for language learners because humans think in images.

“When we hear a sentence...[when] somebody is talking to us, we see the pictures. We don't see the words. We don't see the sentence in our brain. Like ‘Yesterday, I went to the beach.' If I tell you that, you will see me on the beach. You will not see the sentence in written form.”

She uses pictures or images with her beginning students and some of her mid-level students.

Cristiane Galvão has used pictures to teach vocabulary to students of every level, from grade school to the university level.

Galvão, who is based in California, has taught English for 20 years, including in the United States and Brazil.

She suggests learners make visual dictionaries with pictures from the internet, for example. This would involve writing an English word next to its image. Before you make the dictionary, think about your goals, she says. If the goal is to reinforce what you already learned about, put the words in alphabetical order. And organize them into related groups. But if the goal is to write a sentence using each new word, then you probably do not need to put the words into groups.

2-Use mnemonics tools

Next, let's talk about mnemonics.

These are mental tools you can use to recall information better. Most mnemonics tools involve creating mental imagery to trigger your memory. Some of you have probably already done this without realizing there is a name for it.

One great mnemonics tool is keywords. This involves making a mental image that ties two similar-sounding words together.

Take the word “bald” as an example. It means having little or no hair. The word “ball” sounds like “bald” and can help us remember the target word. In your mind, make a mental picture of a ball with a face on it. Then, picture it with no hair on top, maybe a little on the sides. Keep this image in your mind for maybe 15 seconds. The next time you try to recall “bald,” it will be easier because of the keyword and connected imagery.

Alex Mullen is a biomedical engineer and one of the world's top memory competitors. In 2016, he was the USA Memory Champion. Mullen calls the mnemonics keywords tool “the art of memory” because your mind makes a kind of picture stories.

In his video on mnemonics keywords, he talks about remembering the target word “corral” by joining its imagery with an image of a sea coral. He draws a group of stick figures trapped -- or corralled – in a coral. In real life, you would probably make a mental image rather than a drawing. But Mullen's drawing demonstrates the idea of connecting a mental image of the target word with its keyword.

3-Use word maps

One final method for today is word maps, also known as semantic maps or word webs.

In a word map, you write a central word or idea in the middle and connect it with lines to related words. This helps to build mental associations between related ideas.

Danielle Zelin gives the example of the word “sharp.” If you center that word, you can connect it to words of things that are sharp, such as knife, paper and scissors.

Zelin says words are much easier to remember when they have meaning in your own life. For instance, one of her French students has an English-speaking dentist. So, she learned words that she needed for her recent dental visit.

Cristiane Galvão also says that context is important. She uses word maps in the classroom only after she has already discussed a subject and shown pictures. This makes the words meaningful before putting them into map form. Otherwise, she says, you are just reading and memorizing words, which is a bad idea.

“Vocabulary is a big part of language learning. So, the more meaningful it is, the easier it is for the student to absorb.”

Galvão says not every student will learn through a word map. But the maps can help you visualize and create a method that works for you.

Questions:

1. Why is translating a word into one's native language considered ineffective for vocabulary learning?

A) It relies too much on written forms rather than sounds.

B) It fails to create strong neural connections in the brain.

C) It causes learners to confuse similar-sounding words.

D) It prevents learners from understanding the word's context.

2. According to Danielle Zelin, why are visual aids important in language learning?

A) Because humans tend to think in images rather than sentences.

B) Because they help learners organize words alphabetically.

C) Because they replace the need for mental imagery entirely.

D) Because they are the only effective tool for beginners.

3. What is the main purpose of using "mnemonics" and "word maps" as described in the passage?

A) To help learners translate complex sentences more accurately.

B) To enable learners to draw detailed pictures for every new word.

C) To assist in creating mental associations and recalling information.

D) To encourage learners to compete in memory championships.

参考答案及解析：

1. 答案: B

解析:文章中明确提到：“The problem is that translating a word to its equivalent word in your language is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. This is because it does not create strong connections in the brain...”（问题在于翻译成母语无法有效建立大脑中的强连接）。因此B选项 "It fails to create strong neural connections in the brain"（它未能在大脑中建立强的神经连接）正确。A、C、D选项文中均未提及。

2. 答案: A

解析: Danielle Zelin 指出：“Zelin says visual aids are important for language learners because humans think in images.”（视觉辅助很重要，因为人类是用图像思考的）。她随后举例说明当我们听到句子时，脑海里浮现的是画面而不是文字。因此A选项 "Because humans tend to think in images rather than sentences"（因为人类倾向于用图像而非句子思考）符合文意。B选项是 Cristiane Galvão 提到的制作视觉词典的方法；C、D选项过于绝对，不符合原文。

3. 答案: C

解析:文章介绍了三种方法：图片、记忆术（mnemonics）和词汇图（word maps）。对于记忆术，文中提到它是帮助更好地回忆信息的工具（tools you can use to recall information better）；对于词汇图，文中提到它有助于在相关概念之间建立心理联想（build mental associations between related ideas）。因此C选项 "To assist in creating mental associations and recalling information"（帮助建立心理联想并回忆信息）概括了这两者的共同目的。A、B、D选项均不是其主要目的。

听力原文翻译：
假设你正在听一个英语节目，听到了“borrow”这个词。你听过很多次，但忘了它的意思。于是，你在自己的语言中查了对应的词。啊，对，现在想起来了！几天后，你又看到了这个词，却又记不起它的意思了。为什么？
很容易责怪自己，或者想：“我的记忆力太差了！”但问题不在于你的记忆力。
问题在于，把单词翻译成你母语中的对应词并不是学习词汇的有效方法。这是因为它无法在大脑中建立强大的连接，而这对于记忆信息至关重要。
要真正学会单词，你必须关注它们，并将它们与心理图像或已有的知识联系起来。这有助于你的大脑在需要时快速、轻松地提取这些单词。在今天的《教育小贴士》中，我们将讨论三种利用图像来保留词汇的方法。
1. 使用图片
首先，让我们讨论最直接的方法：使用图片作为视觉辅助。
丹妮尔·泽林（Danielle Zelin）是一名英语老师和教师培训师。她从事教学工作近25年，曾在南非、拉脱维亚和她的祖国毛里求斯任教。
泽林说，视觉辅助对语言学习者很重要，因为人类是用图像思考的。
“当我们听到一个句子……当有人跟我们说话时，我们看到的是画面。我们看不到单词。我们在大脑中看不到句子。比如‘昨天，我去了海滩。’如果我告诉你这句话，你会看到我在海滩上。你不会看到书面形式的句子。”
她对初级学员和部分中级学员使用图片或图像。
克里斯蒂安妮·加尔旺（Cristiane Galvão）曾用图片向各级学生教授词汇，从小学到大学水平。
加尔旺常驻加利福尼亚，已教授英语20年，曾在美国和巴西任教。
她建议学习者利用互联网上的图片制作视觉词典。这涉及将英语单词写在相应图像的旁边。她说，在做词典之前，要先考虑你的目标。如果目标是巩固已学知识，就按字母顺序排列单词，并将它们归类到相关的组别中。但如果目标是用每个新词造句，那么可能就不需要分组了。
2. 使用记忆术工具
接下来，我们来谈谈记忆术（mnemonics）。
这些是你可以用来更好地回忆信息的思维工具。大多数记忆术都涉及创造心理意象来触发记忆。你们中的一些人可能已经在这样做了，只是没意识到它有专门的名称。
一个很好的记忆术工具是关键词法。这涉及构建一个心理图像，将两个发音相似的词联系在一起。
以“bald”（秃头的）这个词为例。它的意思是头发很少或没有头发。“Ball”（球）这个词听起来像“bald”，可以帮助我们记住目标词。在你的脑海中，构想一个球上面有张脸的图像。然后，想象它头顶上没有头发，也许两边有一点。将这个图像在脑海中保留约15秒。下次当你试图回忆“bald”时，由于有了关键词和相关的图像，会容易得多。
亚历克斯·马伦（Alex Mullen）是一名生物医学工程师，也是世界顶级记忆竞技选手之一。2016年，他获得了美国记忆冠军称号。马伦称记忆术关键词法是“记忆的艺术”，因为你的大脑在构建一种图画故事。
在他关于记忆术关键词的视频中，他谈到通过将目标词“corral”（畜栏）与海洋“coral”（珊瑚）的图像联系起来来记忆。他画了一群被困——或被“圈养”（corralled）——在珊瑚中的简笔画人物。在现实生活中，你可能会构建心理图像而不是画画。但马伦的画展示了将目标词的心理图像与其关键词联系起来的理念。
3. 使用词汇图
今天的最后一种方法是词汇图，也称为语义图或词汇网。
在词汇图中，你在中间写一个中心词或概念，并用线将其与相关词汇连接起来。这有助于在相关概念之间建立心理联想。
丹妮尔·泽林举了“sharp”（锋利的）一词的例子。如果以此为中心，你可以将其连接到锋利的东西的词，如刀（knife）、纸（paper）和剪刀（scissors）。
泽林说，当单词在个人生活中具有意义时，会更容易记住。例如，她的一位法国学生有一位讲英语的牙医。所以，她学到了最近看牙时需要用到的词汇。
克里斯蒂安妮·加尔旺也表示语境很重要。她在课堂上只有在讨论过某个主题并展示过图片后才会使用词汇图。这使得单词在被放入图表形式之前就具有了意义。否则，她说，你只是在阅读和死记硬背单词，这是个坏主意。
“词汇是语言学习的重要组成部分。所以，它的意义越丰富，学生就越容易吸收。”
加尔旺说，并非每个学生都能通过词汇图学习。但这些图可以帮助你可视化并创造出适合你的方法。