Are you good at remembering things?

Can you remember a long list of English

vocabulary quickly and easily? If the answer to these two questions is 'no,' help may be
at hand. A new study says pretty much anyone can have an upgraded memory if they
train their brain. Scientists say that we can train our brain to be a "memory athlete" just like
athletes train to be champions. Neuroscientist Martin Dresler wrote in the journal "Neuron" that just
six weeks of brain training can turn people with average memories into people with an
incredible ability to remember things. Dr Dresler even suggested people could train their brain to enter the
World Memory Championships that are held in March every year.

MRI scans of the brains of 23 of the world's top 50

Dr Dresler compared
memory champions with the brains of "normal" people. He said: "We were interested in what
differentiates memory champions from normal people, like you and me." He was
surprised to find no differences. This made him believe we can all become memory athletes with the right
training. Dresler found that 40 daysof daily 30-minute training sessions usin ga
memory technique called mnemonics more than doubled a person's memory capacity. Mnemonics is an
ancient memory device that helps people remember things, especially
in list form. Who knows? It could help you with those words for your next vocabulary test.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. at hand 1. leading

2. pretty much 2. only

3. just 3. ability

4. incredible 4. almost

5. enter 5. ordinary

6. top 6. near

7. normal 7. particularly

8. technique 8. join

9. capacity 9. method

10. especially 10. unbelievable

 1. What do you do to remember things?

2. Do you have a good memory?

3. How do you train your brain?

4. Why are some people better at remembering things?

Are you good at remembering things? Can you remember a long list of English
vocabulary quickly and easily? If the answer to these two questions is 'no,' help may be
at hand. A new study says pretty much anyone can have an upgraded memory if they
train their brain. Scientists say that we can train our brain to be a "memory athlete" just like
athletes train to be champions. Neuroscientist Martin Dresler wrote in the journal "Neuron" that just
six weeks of brain training can turn people with average memories into people with an
incredible ability to remember things. Dr Dresler even suggested people could train their brain to enter the
World Memory Championships that are held in March every year.

MRI scans of the brains of 23 of the world's top 50

Dr Dresler compared
memory champions with the brains of "normal" people. He said: "We were interested in what
differentiates memory champions from normal people, like you and me." He was
surprised to find no differences. This made him believe we can all become memory athletes with the right
training. Dresler found that 40 daysof daily 30-minute training sessions usin ga
memory technique called mnemonics more than doubled a person's memory capacity. Mnemonics is an
ancient memory device that helps people remember things, especially
in list form. Who knows? It could help you with those words for your next vocabulary test.

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

11. at hand 11. leading

12. pretty much 12. only

13. just 13. ability

 14. incredible 14. almost

15. enter 15. ordinary

16. top 16. near

17. normal 17. particularly

18. technique 18. join

19. capacity 19. method

20. especially 20. unbelievable

11. Why do we forget things?

12. What techniques do you use to remember vocabulary?

13. Should we have brain training at school?

14. What do you know about mnemonics?

9 Types of Mnemonics for Better Memory By Dennis Congos, University of Central Florida

Mnemonics are memory devices that help learners recall larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists
characteristics, steps, stages, parts, phases, etc.

1. Music Mnemonics

With sufficient repetition of commercials, advertisers have discovered that when shoppers see their product in
stores that often the shopper will start reciting repeated phrases from the commercial or start singing the lyric
the promotion melody. The results has been increased sales of the product.

For example, some children learn the ABC's by singing the "ABC" song.

2. Name Mnemonics

In a Name Mnemonic, the 1st letter of each word in a list of items is used to make a name of a person or thing.
Sometimes, the items can be rearranged to form a more recollectable name mnemonic. Examples:

ROY G. BIV = colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.)
3. Expression or Word Mnemonic

This is by far the most popularly used mnemonic. To make an Expression or Word mnemonic,
the first letter of each item in a list is arranged to form a phrase or word. Examples:

The order of operations for math is Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, and Subtract = Please Ex
My Dear Aunt Sally.

Exercise;..

Create an Expression Mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets from the sun outward:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.