作者：Liu Hong Wang Yingdan
　　【Abstract】This paper starts from the introduction of short-term memory （STM） in interpreting process， analyzes its working mechanism and suggests some memory training methods to improve short-term memory in business English interpreting， with an aim to further sharpen the interpreting skills for business English interpreters.
　　【Key words】business English interpreting； short-term memory； memory training
　　【作者簡介】Liu Hong， Wang Yingdan， Dalian University of Finance and Economic.
　　I. Introduction
　　Interpreting is an oral bridge for the gap between people who speak different languages and plays a critical role in international business communication. Mahmoodzadeh （1992） offers a detailed definition： Interpreting consists of presenting in the target language， the exact meaning of what is uttered in the source language either simultaneously or consecutively， preserving the tone of the speaker. Interpreting is also a mental activity. Gile （1995） emphasizes that “the memory effort is assumed to stem from the need to store the words of a proposition unit the hearer receives the end of that proposition”. As a special language processing activity， interpreting and translation are very different activities. Due to the instantaneous characteristics of the interpreting information， interpreters may not have the opportunity to repeatedly understand the original information； rather， they may have to listen to the information once and for all with the help of notes， even without any external assistance， to complete a series of processing tasks of inputting， encoding， retaining and recalling of information. In this way， the role of short-term memory is particularly important in the storage and processing of information in business English interpretation.
　　II. Short-term Memory
　　Memory is normally divided into three types： sensory memory （SM）， short-term memory （STM）， and long-term memory （LTM）. In his Effort Models， Gile （1991） proposes two phases for the interpreting， showing the difficulties and efforts involved in interpreting tasks and strategies needed to overcome them. STM is listed in the phase one as an essential part in the process of interpreting. Zhong （2003） argues that “the idea of STM simply means that you are retaining information for a short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recall”. Therefore， STM should act as a working memory （WM），， which is defined by Baddeley （1986） as “temporary storage of information that is being processed”. So STM can also be called working memory.