[长难句突破]

Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting.

主体句式：Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system.

结构分析：本句的宾语a memory storage system后面包含了两个定语，一个是短语"of limited capacity"，另一个是that 引导的定语从句"that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting"。

[全文译文]

That experiences influence subsequent behaviour is evidence of an obvious but nevertheless remarkable activity called remembering. Learning could not occur without the function popularly named memory. Constant practice has such as effect on memory as to lead to skillful performance on the piano, to recitation of a poem, and even to reading and understanding these words. So-called intelligent behaviour demands memory, remembering being a primary requirement for reasoning. The ability to solve any problem or even to recognize that a problem exists depends on memory. Typically, the decision to cross a street is based on remembering many earlier experiences.

Practice (or review) tends to build and maintain memory for a task or for any learned material. Over a period of no practice what has been learned tends to be forgotten; and the adaptive consequences may not seem obvious. Yet, dramatic instances of sudden forgetting can seem to be adaptive. In this sense, the ability to forget can be intffpreted to have survived through a process of natural selection in animals. Indeed, when one's memory of an emotionally painful experience lead to serious anxiety, forgetting may produce relief. Nevertheless, an evolutionary interpretation might make it difficult to understand how the commonly gradual process of forgetting survived natural selection.

In thinking about the evolution of memory together with all its possible aspects, it is helpful to consider what would happen if memories failed to fade. Forgetting clearly aids orientation in time, since old memories weaken and the new tend to stand out, providing clues for inferring duration. Without forgetting, adaptive ability would suffer, for example, learned behaviour that might have been correct a decade ago may no longer be. Cases are recorded of people who (by ordinary standards) forgot so little that their everyday activities were full of confusion. This forgetting seems to serve that survival of the individual and the species.

Another line of thought assumes a memory storage system of limited capacity that provides adaptive flexibility specifically through forgetting. In this view, continual adjustments are made between learning or memory storage (input) and forgetting (output). Indeed, there is evidence that the rate at which individuals forget is directly related to how much they have learned. Such data offers gross support of contemporary models of memory that assume an input-output balance.

经历将影响日后的活动这一事实是一个明显而又非常的活动--记忆--的一个明证。没有这种一般被称之为记忆的功能，学习就不可能发生。持续的练习对于记忆有很大的影响，从而使人们可以熟练地演奏钢琴、背诵诗歌、甚至是阅读和理解这些文字。所谓的智力行为需要记忆，因为记忆是推理的最重要条件。解决任何问题的能力、甚至是识别问题是否存在都取决于记忆。特别是我们跨过一些大街也是需要凭借对于以前经历的经历。

实践（或复习）往往能够建立和保持对于某项任务或者已学习知识的记忆。如果在一段时间里面没有时间，那么所学到的东西往往就会遗忘；其适应性结果可能就不太明显。但是，那些突然忘记的戏剧性时刻也可以被视为是具有适应性。从这种意义上讲，遗忘的能力可以被解释为是在动物界通过自然选择幸存下来的结果。实际上，对于一种在感情上令人痛苦经历的记忆给人带来很多烦恼，而遗忘可以使人解脱。但是，进化论的解释使人难以理解渐进的遗忘过程是如何通过自然选择后存在下来的。

在考虑记忆的进化以及所有的可能方面时，想像以下如果记忆不会消失会产生什么结果是很有好处的。很显然，遗忘有助于人们对于时间的定位，因为只有旧的记忆淡忘之后，新的记忆才能凸现，这就为推定时间的持续长短提供了线索。如果没有遗忘能力，那么适应能力就会受到影响。比如说，十年前也许正确的行为现在可能已经不再是正确的了。有记录显示，很少遗忘的人们的日常生活中充满了各种混乱。因此，遗忘看起来有助于个体和物种的生存。

另一种思路认为，容量有限的记忆储存系统通过遗忘来提供适应的灵活性。根据这种观点，人们可以在学习或记忆存储（输入）和遗忘（输出）之间不断进行调整。的确，有证据表明人们遗忘的速度与他们学到东西的多少直接相关。这些数据为当代的这种记忆输入--输出平衡模型提供了有力的支持。