VIII. Read the text and answer the questions.

 

1. Have you ever thought about the quality of your own memory?

2. Why is it necessary to give it enough exercise?

3. What useful means of training one's memory could you suggest?

4. What sort of information do you remember better: names, numbers, dates, times?

 

If you do not use your arms or your legs for some time, they become weak; when you start using them again, they slowly become strong again. Everybody knows this, and nobody would think of questioning this fact. Yet there are many people who do not seem to know that the memory works in the same way. When someone says that he has a good memory, he really means that he keeps his memory in practice by exercising it regularly, either consciously or unconsciously. When someone else says that his memory is poor, he really means that he does not give it enough opportunity to become strong. The position is exactly the same as that of two people, one of whom exercises his arms and legs by playing tennis, while the other sits in a chair or motor car all day.

If a friend complains that his arms are weak, we know that it is his own fault. But if he tells us that he has a poor memory, many of us think his parents are to be blame, or that he is just unlucky, and few of us realize that it is just as much his own fault as if it was his arms and legs that were weak. Not all of us can become extremely strong or extremely clever; but all of us can, if we have ordinary bodies and brains, improve our strength and our memory by the same means-practice.

Have you ever noticed that people who cannot read or write usually have better memories than those who can? Why is this? Of course, because those who cannot read or write have to remember things: they cannot write them down in a little notebook. They have to remember dates, times, and prices, names, songs and stories; so their memory is the whole time being exercised. So if you want a good memory, learn to practice remembering.

 

IX. Compare the American classification of memory suggested in the text below with the Russian one.

Memory is divided into three kinds or stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the shortest stage. It involves the brief holding of information after a stimulus has been removed. If we pay attention to that which was in sensory memory, the information enters short-term memory. This stage has a capacity of about seven items and if information is not rehearsed at this stage, it will be forgotten. If infor­mation is rehearsed properly in short-term memory, it will enter long-term memory. This level has an almost unlimited capacity. Different kinds of mem­ories, such as episodic (dealing with events and experiences), perceptual (about colour, size and so on), semantic (about meanings), and procedural (about how to perform certain behaviors), enter long-term memory. Informa­tion is stored in long-term memory via a process called encoding. This may be done automatically, or it may require conscious attention. Eidetic or photo­graphic memory is not something that can be learned. It usually is found more often in children than in adults.

Some memories are formed instantly and last a lifetime because of their strong emotional content. There are called flashbulb memories.

 

X. Test yourself.

1. We are not overwhelmed by the vast amount of sensory stimulation in our world because:

a. very little of it reaches us;

b. we do not attend to all of it in sensory memory;

с. sensory memory has an unlimited capacity;

d. information moves quickly to short-term memory, which has an unlimit­ed capacity.

 

2. A friend tells you a phone number to call when you get home, which is about three blocks away. You keep repeating the number to yourself all the way home. You are using:

a. eidetic memory;

b. short-term memory;

с. long-term memory;

d. sensory memory.

 

3. A neon sign in Las Vegas uses a series of lights to give the impression that someone is pointing to a casino. To perceive the sign this way we must use:

a. short-term memory;

b. working memory;

с. long-term memory;

d. sensory memory.

 

4. Which of the following is an example of episodic memory?

a. the color of your mother's eyes;

b. the size of the old oak tree in a neighbor's yard;

с. being called for dinner when you were a child;

d. both a and b.