Memory Flashcards
1 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Think back to your own childhood. Ask and answer the
questions confidently.
Can you remember …
1 the name of your school teacher when you were five?
2 what you enjoyed watching on TV when you were four?
3 what types of food you really liked or disliked when you were three?
4 who you played with when you were two?
5 your favourite toy or game when you were one?
A trained memory is an immense asset’, particularly in public life. Mnemonics are systems we use to help us remember complex information easily, and people who use them can recall things with an amazing degree of accuracy.
The Ancient Greeks perfected? a number of mnemonic techniques, some of which are still used today, for example, using the first letter of each item to form a word that will help you remember the whole list of items. For instance, you might remember the female first name ADA to help you recall the phrase amazing degree of accuracy. Or you might think of the word BAG, which will give you three colours that collocate with hair (blond, auburn, ginger).
A simple rule of all memory training systems is the idea of Initial Awareness. This works in a straightforward™ way. The basic principle is that the system helps you concentrate the mind on whatever you are trying to remember for just long enough to force Initial Awareness.
All memory training systems are perfectly simple. Once you have taken the time to learn them, you will be able to instantly recall any new items of information you want to, with remarkable ease. You may find it a steep learning curve*, but I assure you that
urth the effort.
I something of great value ? the verb is pronounced /pas’fekt/
easy to understand or simple
* something which is difficult to learn and takes a lot of effort
• bear in mind
If a person asks you to bear something in mind, they are asking you to remember it because it is important.
“You must bear in mind that the cost of living is higher in New York.”
• (have a) brain/memory like a sieve
Someone who has a brain like eve has a very bad memory and forgets things easily.
“Oh, I forgot to buy the bread - I’ve got a brain like a sieve these days!”
• have (something) down pat
If you memorise or practise something until you know it perfectly or have it exactly right, you have it down pat.)
“I rehearsed my presentation until I had it down
pat.”
• have (something) on the brain
If you have something on the brain, you think or talk abut it all constantly.A
“Stop talking about golf. You’ve got golf on the brain!”
• go in one ear and come out the other
To say that information goes in one ear and comes out the other means that it is immediately forgotten or ignored.
“I keep telling him about the risks but it goes in one ear and out the other. He never listens!”
• if my memory serves me well
If your memory serves you well, you remember correctly or you have not forgotten any details
“You’re Stella’s daughter, if my memory serves me well.”
