College English Listening and Speaking Course 4Unit 5听力原文完整版.docx

1、College English Listening and Speaking Course 4 Unit 5听力原文完整版Unit 5 MemoryPart A Pre-listening TaskAdditional questions for discussion1. What methods do you use to remind yourself of past events?The main method I use is by keeping a diary. At the end of each day, I would take a few minutes to recall

2、 the major activities and events of that day and write down a brief account of them in my little book. Ive been doing this every day for the past two years, and Ill keep doing it. I find it very useful and interesting to remember things that way. In addition to this old-fashioned pen-to-paper method

3、, I also use some new technologies. I take pictures. I make tape recordings. And I collect souvenirs. But unlike a diary, those things I just do occasionally, not on a daily basis.2. What do long-term memory and short-term memory mean?Long-term memory is our brains storage of information for a long

4、period of time. Short-term memory, on the other hand, is the temporary storage of information in the brain. The two kinds of memory can best be illustrated with examples. What exactly did you eat for breakfast today and for supper three days ago - suppose the supper was only an ordinary one, not an

5、important dinner? You will most likely remember the former but forget the latter. That shows how short-term memory works. What was your English test score for going to college? Out comes the number right away. That is long-term memory. Probably you wont forget it for life, because it was so importan

6、t.3. Why do you think the power to remember is a necessary condition for our existence?Everything we do each day depends on the information we have learned and stored in our brain. Most actions we perform, to varying degrees, have something to do with our memory - whether it is a major judgment or d

7、ecision to make, we would let our memory guide our way. The power to remember enables us to carry out a wide range of tasks. Without it, we wouldnt know how to cross a street or how to handle a pair of chopsticks. Then we would be in big trouble.Part B Listening TaskHow Our Memory WorksTry to imagin

8、e a life without a memory. It would be impossible. You couldnt use a language, because you wouldnt remember the words. You couldnt understand a film, because you need to hold the first part of the story in your mind in order to understand the later parts. You wouldnt be able to recognize anyone - ev

9、en members of your own family. You would live in a permanent present. You would have no past and you wouldnt be able to imagine a future. Human beings have amazing memories. Apart from all our personal memories about our own lives, we can recall between 20,000 and 100,000 words in our own language a

10、s well as possibly thousands more in a foreign language. We have all sorts of information about different subjects such as history, science, and geography, and we have complex skills such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument. All these things and countless others depend on our memory. Ho

11、w well you remember things depends on many different factors. Firstly, some people naturally have better memories than others, in just the same way as some people are taller than others, or have different color eyes. Some top chess players, for example, can remember every move of every game that the

12、y have ever seen or played. Secondly, research shows that different things are stored in different parts of the brain. Ideas, words, and numbers are stored in the left-hand side, while the right-hand side remembers images, sounds, and smells. In most people one side of the brain is more developed th

13、an the other, and this may explain why some people can remember peoples faces easily, but cant remember their names. Thirdly, we all remember exciting, frightening, or dramatic events more easily. This is because these experiences produce chemicals such as adrenaline, which boost your memory. They s

14、ay that anyone who is old enough to remember knows exactly where they were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, when radio and TV programs around the world were interrupted with the shocking news that the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were hit. Fourthly, the context in which you learn

15、 something can affect how well you remember it. Tests on divers, for example, showed that when they learned things underwater, they could also remember those things best when they were underwater. Lastly, the more often you recall a memory the more likely you are to remember it. If you dont use it,

16、youll lose it. A telephone number that you dial frequently will stay in your memory easily, but you will probably have to write down one that you use only now and again. Questions:1. What does the passage mainly tell us?2. What can be inferred from the passage?3. Which of the following is stated to

17、be true?4. Why can we remember exciting, dramatic, or frightening events better?Speking Tasks:Pair Work A. Reflection on the text.Memory, I think, is almost as important as air, water or sunshine to us. Without it, life cannot go on. We wouldnt be able to do anything since completing any task, howev

18、er simple it might be, requires us to remember certain procedures, nor would we be able to communicate with people as we wouldnt be able to remember the words to express our ideas or feelings. For us students, I think memory is particularly important. If we lose the faculty of remembering, we wont b

19、e able to learn anything since learning unavoidably involves the use of memory. And if we cannot remember the knowledge we have learned, whats the point of learning it in the first place? Although everyone is born with the capacity to remember things, some of us have better memories than others. The

20、re are people who are said to have a photographic memory and can remember anything they have seen only once. However, those of us who have a poor memory neednt panic, for there are ways to improve our memories. Paying attention, associating facts with images, visualizing images, and relaxing are som

21、e of the ways that I find especially effective. But the great secret to keep our memory sharp is to use it as frequently as possible. Pair Work B. Describing an unforgettable experience.It was an extremely hot day in 1980. That night my roommate and I went to bed early. All of a sudden we felt that

22、the whole building was shaking. It must be an earthquake, cried my roommate. Quickly she put on her dress and her shoes. On hearing what she said, I was frightened to death and my whole body froze, unable to move. Instead of putting on my clothes, I kept crying, Please wait for me! Please dont leave

23、 me! I was so afraid that she might ignore me and run out of the building to find a safe place for herself. Contrary to what I expected, she returned, standing by my bedside and waiting for me patiently. She watched me clumsily put on my blouse and trousers and then we went downstairs together. Once

24、 we were out on the playground, my panic was gone and I was able to think. On recalling what I had required my roommate to do, I felt guilty. No one can tell what might happen next during an earthquake. By asking her to wait for me, I might have put her life in danger! She was too smart not to reali

25、ze that, I think. But she waited for me anyway. How selfish I was! That earthquake and the courageous act of my roommate have always stayed in my mind, long after the event.Part C Additional ListeningTechniques to Help Us Remember Better We all have problems remembering things, but there are some te

26、chniques that you can use to help you remember. First of all, remember the names and jobs of the people and where they come from. Here, the best thing is to imagine images of the people and the names that you want to remember. And you should try to think of funny images as they are easier to remembe

27、r. For example, we have Tom the student from Australia. Well, for Tom you might imagine a tomato. Then Australia has a shape a bit like a dog. Now lets imagine its a very clever dog and is studying. So imagine Toms face as a tomato and hes with a dog and the dog is reading a book. So now we have a p

28、icture of Tom the student from Australia. Now lets take the numbers. The best thing to do here is to break a large number up into smaller numbers and then think of things that the numbers remind you of, such as a birthday, a particular year, the number of a house. Or with a number like 747 you might

29、 think of a jumbo jet - a Boeing 747. With the directions, the best thing is to imagine yourself following the directions. Create a picture in your mind of yourself going down the street. Count the turnings 1, 2, . Then turn left. Now imagine going past a supermarket and a cinema and so on. When you

30、 have to remember lists of words, try to build them into a story. So with our words we might start with, The sun was shining, so I went for a walk. I saw a horse wearing trousers. It was kicking some bananas over a television. The bananas landed in a bag. And so on. Again the funnier the story, the

31、better. Try some of these techniques and youll be amazed at what you can remember. Questions:1. How many techniques are mentioned in the talk?2. Why should we imagine a dog in order to remember that Tom is from Australia?3. What should we do to remember a large number?4. How can we remember the dire

32、ctions to a certain place?5. How can we remember lists of words?A Song The Way We WereMemories light the corners of my mindMisty watercolor memories for the way we were.Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind,Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were. Can it be that it was all so simple then,Or has time rewritten every line?If we had the chance to do it all again,Tell me, would we, could we?Memories may be beautiful and yetWhats too pain