Semantic memory in Alzheimer's disease and the frontotemporal dementias: A longitudinal study of 236 patients.

Using semantic dementia (SD) as a reference point, the authors assessed semantic memory in four other neurodegenerative disorders: progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA), frontal variant frontotemporal dementia (fvFTD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA). Individuals with SD were more impaired than other groups on semantic measures and showed a characteristic pattern across tasks: category fluency (CF) worse than letter fluency (LF), naming worse than comprehension, and visual and verbal comprehension equally affected, suggesting disruption to an amodal semantic system. Individuals with AD demonstrated a similar pattern to a milder degree. Although PNFA, fvFTD, and PCA groups had abnormal scores (relative to controls) on most semantic measures, their differing patterns across measures indicate that the apparent semantic impairment in these conditions is largely secondary to other factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

元认知策略与大学英语听力

非英语专业大学生对听力一直深感头痛,他们对有效提高听力能力亦颇感棘手。适当运用元认知策略可提高他们的元认知水平,加快听力进步的幅度。元认知策略可分为三类：计划策略、监控策略和评估策略;它们对听力中的三个阶段（听前、听中、和听后）帮助颇大。对上述策略及相应阶段的适当关注,将有助于学生提高听力能力及自学能力。     

Response latencies in auditory sentence comprehension: Effects of linguistic versus perceptual challenge.

Older adults with good hearing and with mild-to-moderate hearing loss were tested for comprehension of spoken sentences that required perceptual effort (hearing speech at lower sound levels), and two degrees of cognitive load (sentences with simpler or more complex syntax). Although comprehension accuracy was equivalent for both participant groups and for young adults with good hearing, hearing loss was associated with longer response latencies to the correct comprehension judgments, especially for complex sentences heard at relatively low amplitudes. These findings demonstrate the need to take into account both sensory and cognitive demands of speech materials in older adults' language comprehension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and inhibition processes: The case of metaphor treatment.

The inhibitory deficit hypothesis has often been cited as a possible explanation for cognitive changes related to age. The aim of this study was to develop a new procedure for evaluating effortful inhibition on the basis of the comprehension of metaphors. Our experiment was carried out on younger and older adults, in whom we also measured inhibitory capacity, working memory, and processing speed. The results show that older participants required a longer time and made more frequent errors in rejecting metaphors versus literally false statements. The interference effect was predicted by the psychometric tests designed to evaluate inhibition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

英语阅读理解障碍的认知与对策

英语阅读理解作为一项基本技能,越来越受到重视。不过,英语阅读还是一个复杂的心理过程,有许多影响有效阅读的因素。阅读时的思维过程、阅读习惯、生僻词汇、难懂句式、内在含义及背景知识等方面都是影响阅读的不利因素。教师和学生应充分认识阅读时存在的这些障碍,采取有效措施,提高大学生的英语阅读能力。     

The intriguing role of spanish language vocabulary knowledge in predicting English reading comprehension.

This study explored a holistic model of English reading comprehension among a sample of 135 Spanish-English bilingual Latina and Latino 4th-grade students This model took into account Spanish language reading skills and language of initial literacy instruction. Controlling for language of instruction, English decoding skill, and English oral language proficiency, the authors explored the effects of Spanish language alphabetic knowledge, fluency, vocabulary knowledge, and listening comprehension on English reading comprehension. Results revealed a significant main effect for Spanish vocabulary knowledge and an interaction between Spanish vocabulary and English fluency, such that faster English readers benefited more from Spanish vocabulary knowledge than their less fluent counterparts. This study demonstrates the existence of literary skills transfer from the 1st to the 2nd language, as well as limits on such transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

导致大学生英语阅读理解障碍的文化因素及教学对策研究

英语阅读水平的高低是衡量英语学习者语言综合水平的重要体现。在大学英语教学中，阅读理解是教学的重要活动。教师必须了解制约大学生英语阅读理解能力提高的各种因素，同时深入了解大学生学习的认知风格、学习动机、学习方法等。就导致大学生英语阅读理解障碍的文化因素进行分析研究，试图找出消除英语阅读理解障碍的途径及教学对策。     

因特网与大学英语听力教学

传统的听力教学有其自身的优点，但缺点也不容忽视。在互联网技术日益发达的今天，我们应将其作为大学英语听力教学的一个有力补充，提高大学英语听力教学效果。     

论互动模式在英语听力教学中的应用

互动模式是以认知语言学、二语习得理论为基础的一种有效的课堂教学方法,它强调交际,注重输入与输出的结合。听力理解指的是大脑对所听到的信息进行有意识的加工整理的活动,其本身就是一个互动过程。将互动模式应用与听力教学能给学生创造一个有利的学习环境,激活他们的内在学习动机,从而加强语言的内化过程。