Союзы и коннекторы:

according to	в согласии с, по, согласно чему-либо
accordingly	соответственно
and	вследствие
and	итак, и так как
and so	и потому
as a result	в результате
as	так как; потому что
consequently	в соответствии с, следовательно
due to the fact (that)	из-за, в результате
hence	следовательно, отсюда
in accordance with	согласно, в соответствии с
now that	в силу того что, теперь, когда
or else	а иначе
otherwise	в противном случае
owing to the fact (that)	из-за, в результате
seeing that	принимая во внимание
so II	итак, и поэтому
so that, so…that, such that	из-за этого, так что, так…что
thanks to the fact (that)	благодаря (тому что)
that’s why	вот почему
then	в таком случае, тогда
thereby	вследствие этого, в результате, и таким образом
thereupon	в результате
thus	таким образом
whereby	и поэтому

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THE MYSTERIES OF MEMORY

Do you remember what you had for dinner last Monday'? How many continents there are? Can you name the members of your fa- vorite rock group? How, about the Seven Dwarfs in Snow White?

Chances are that you knew all these things — at one time. But if you are like most peo- ple, you remember only some of them now. All day, every day. people are bombarded with information and experIences. Why is it that we remember some things perfectly, while others are forgotten?

How memory works is a question that has fascinated scientist for a long time. Re- searchers still don’t have all the answers. But they know a great deal about memory, and they have come up with some fascinat- ing theories about the way it works.

HOW MEMORIES FORM

Psychologists (scientists who study how the mind works) divide the process of mem- ory into three steps. First, you receive and register something — for example, you look in the phone book for the number of your favorite pizzeria, and you read the number on the page. An image or memory trace of the number is held very briefly in your mind. This step is sometimes called sensory memory.

To remember the telephone number for more than an instant, you must take the next step — retention. Memories may be retained in two ways. Short-term memories are held only as long as you actively think about them. To remember the pizzeria s phone number, you may repeat it to yourself until you dial it — and then promptly forget it. But long-term memories may be held for hours, weeks. and even years.

Long-term memories may be formed when you consciously try to memorize something or when you just think about it a lot. There are also "flashbulb" memories — memories of events that were so special (or so upset- ting) that they are etched in your mind in perfect detail.

The third step in the memory process, re- trieval, takes place when the information is remembered and used. If you want pizza again next week, you may be able to recall the phone number without looking it up. A specific cue, such as the name of the piz- zeria, may help you recall it.

Even if you don't remember the number and have to look it up again, it will probably be familiar to you when you see it. This kind of retrieval, called recognition, is easier than recall. And that's why many students prefer taking tests that consist of true-or-false and multiple-choice questions (which ask them to recognize correct answers) rather than short-answer and essay questions (which ask them to recall information).

INSIDE THE BRAIN

One of the greatest puzzles about memory is still the question of what, exactly, happens inside the brain when memories are formed. Scientists have identified an area of the brain, called the hippocampus, that is in- volved in transferring information from short-term to long-term memory. When the hippocampus is damaged, people can't form new long-term memories — they couldn't even remember this sentence. But scientists still don't know exactly how memories are formed in the brain or where they are stored.

They have theories, however. Most scien- tists believe that when a memory is formed the connections between the brain’s nerve cells are changed in some way. The brain is made up of billions of these nerve cells, called neurons. Neurons have long, treelike branches called dendrites and axons. Each dendrite can receive signals from thousands of other neurons and each axon can pass the signals on to thousands more.

Scientists think that each time we learn something new, such as a new phone num- ber, signals flash through a unique pattern or circuit of neurons. In some way, the connec- tions between the neurons in this circuit are strengthened by the signals. The more times the circuit is used — the more times you re- peat the phone number, for example — the stronger the connections become. And once the connections are strong enough, the brain can reactivate the circuit and retrieve the memory.

DON’T FORGET

If every new experience or bit of informa- tion that you encounter forms a unique neu- ron circuit in your brain, why is it that you forget some things but remember others?

Memories often fade quickly. An hour after dinner you would find it easy to remem- ber what was on your plate. The next day you might remember only the main course. And a week or a month later you most likely would have forgotten all about that meal. If it's true that memories are formed by con- nections between neurons then, it seems likely that those connections grow weaker over time.

One of the most common types of forget- ting is called retrieval failure. You search your mind for a name or some other bit of information but just can't come up with it even though it's "on the tip of your tongue."

But a few hours later the information comes to you without difficulty. It's almost as if you got a busy signal when you first tried to recall the information; later, the line was clear.

A memory may also be blocked by other information. Suppose, for example, your friend has a cat named Lizzie. Then she gets a second cat and names it Clarence. When you you try to recall the new cat's name, you may have trouble because the name "Liz- zie" pops into your mind. Or you may remember "Clarence" but have difficulty recalling recalling the first cat's name. This type of forgetting is called interference — new information interferes with information that is al- ready stored in your memory.

Sometimes people forget because they want to. Consciously or unconsciously, peop- pple often push memories of painful experi- ences out of their minds. Pleasant memories seem to last much longer, and be easier to recall, than unpleasant ones.

Your memory can play tricks on you, too. Think back to a past experience — perhaps your first day at school. Chances are that you remember only a few events clearly. But as you search your memory, your mind will fill in details that may not be true. Incidents that took place on other days, or that never took place at all, may become mixed with accurate accurate recollections. And the false memories seem just as real as the accurate ones. This process is sometimes called confabula- te or refabrication.

Amnesia is a kind of memory illness in which which people can remember almost nothing. In one type of amnesia, people forget a perio- rid or even all of the past. This type is rare, however, and usually lasts just a short time. In a more common type of amnesia, a person is unable to form new memories. This type usually results from a brain injury or disease. People who suffer from it remember the past, but they can't remember people they met or learn anything new.

Older people are often more forgetful than yo ung people. Researchers think, however, that there's nothing in the aging process itsel- selff that causes memory to weaken. Instead,

younger people are better at remembering because they use their memory more — in studying for school, for example. The more you use your memory, the better it becomes.

SHARPEN YOUR MEMORY

While no one can remember everything, you can try to improve your memory through a number of different techniques.

° One of the simplest methods is overlearning If you are studying for a test, for example, keep studying long after you feel you know all the material that the test will cover. Repetition will strengthen your memory and improve your ability to recall the information.

° Another way to improve memory is through the use of mnemonic devices — mental images and word tricks that trigger memories. One of the oldest of these devices is called the method of Loci (lo- cations). It was developed by orators in ancient Greece, to help them remember their speeches.

To use this method, you first memorize a series of familiar places, preferably places that are part of your daily routine. Try picturing the places you see when you get up in the morning — your bed, the bathroom sink, your closet, the breakfast table. Now suppose your mother asks you to stop at the store and buy eggs, milk, bread, and dog food. Picture eggs in your bed, milk filling the bathroom sink, loaves of bread hanging in your closet, and dog food served up on the breakfast table. Later, to recall the shopping list, just take an imaginary tour of the familiar places and note the unusual items that you "stored" there.

° You can use mental pictures in other ways, too. For example, when you meet someone new, try to form a mental picture using the person's name. It helps if you can link the name to something in the person's appearance. If Mrs. Bushnell has a full hairstyle, you'll remember her name when you think of her "bushy" hair. Mental pictures can also help you spell. You'll remember that I comes before e in "piece" if you think of a piece of pie.

° Another mnemonic device is to store informa- tion as a rhyme: "ln fourteen-hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

° You can also use an acronym, a word formed from the first letters of the words you want to re- member. "HOMES" is an acronym for the individ- ual names of the Great Lakes.

° In the same way, you can make up a short phrase to remember a list of facts. The phrase "when a just man makes a just vow" can help you remember the names of the first eight U.S. presi- dents because the first letters of the words are the same as those of the presidents' names.