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Two Texts on Memory

11th grade reading

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Two Texts on Memory

TEXT 1 For much of the twentieth century, many people imagined memory as a kind of recording device. An experience, according to this view, was stored somewhere in the brain like a film on a shelf; remembering meant taking the film down and playing it again. Forgetting was simply the film fading with age. This model was appealing because it matched how memory often feels: vivid, detailed and certain. TEXT 2 Decades of experiments have undermined the idea that memories are fixed recordings. In one well-known type of study, participants watch a video of a car accident and are later asked how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" or when they "hit" each other. Those who heard "smashed" not only gave higher speed estimates but were more likely, a week later, to report seeing broken glass – although there was none in the video. Such findings suggest that each act of remembering is partly an act of reconstruction, shaped by later information, expectation and language. A memory can feel certain and still be wrong.

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Question 1
Read "Two Texts on Memory". What view of memory does Text 1 describe?
- A. Memory works like a stored recording that is replayed.
- B. Memory is unaffected by time.
- C. Memory is mostly language.
- D. Memory is rebuilt each time we remember.
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Question 2
Read "Two Texts on Memory". In Text 2, what is the significance of participants reporting broken glass?
- A. It shows that a word heard later altered their memory of the event.
- B. It proves the video showed broken glass.
- C. It shows participants had poor eyesight.
- D. It shows the cars were travelling slowly.
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Question 3
Read "Two Texts on Memory". How would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the model in Text 1?
- A. by agreeing that memories are fixed recordings
- B. by claiming that forgetting never happens
- C. by saying memory has never been studied
- D. by arguing that experiments show memory is reconstructed, not simply replayed
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Question 4
Read "Two Texts on Memory". What do both texts acknowledge?
- A. Memories are always accurate.
- B. Memories can feel vivid and certain.
- C. Language has no effect on memory.
- D. The recording model is correct.
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Question 5
Read "Two Texts on Memory". What is the function of the final sentence of Text 2?
- A. to state a key implication of the research
- B. to describe the video in detail
- C. to introduce a new experiment
- D. to support the recording model

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Answer key: Two Texts on Memory

1. A. Memory works like a stored recording that is replayed.
- The main idea covers the whole text; details only cover a part.
- Text 1 compares memory to 'a film on a shelf'.
- So the answer is: Memory works like a stored recording that is replayed.
2. A. It shows that a word heard later altered their memory of the event.
- The best evidence directly supports the claim.
- There was no glass; the word 'smashed' changed what they remembered.
- So the answer is: It shows that a word heard later altered their memory of the event.
3. D. by arguing that experiments show memory is reconstructed, not simply replayed
- Comparing texts means finding where they agree and differ.
- Text 2 says experiments 'have undermined the idea that memories are fixed recordings'.
- So the answer is: by arguing that experiments show memory is reconstructed, not simply replayed
4. B. Memories can feel vivid and certain.
- Comparing texts means finding where they agree and differ.
- Text 1: memory feels 'vivid, detailed and certain'; Text 2: 'A memory can feel certain and still be wrong.'
- So the answer is: Memories can feel vivid and certain.
5. A. to state a key implication of the research
- The writer's choices show their purpose.
- It draws a conclusion: confidence does not guarantee accuracy.
- So the answer is: to state a key implication of the research