Grade 11

LISTENING

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening/upper-intermediate-b2-listening/how-improve-
your-memory

How to improve your memory

Write the correct form of the word in brackets.

1. The speaker explains how to make our   function better. (memorise)

2. We can make   in our ability to memorise. (improve)

3. We use a   of long-term and short-term memory. (combine)

4. There are several things we can do to recall   . (inform)

5. We can use word   to remember a concept. (associate)

6. The term   means imagining a picture. (visualise)

[6 points]

Reading

Read this passage and answer the questions that follow. Today we have many ways to tell time. Watches, clocks,
cell phones, and computers all tell the time. This passage is about the history of different ways of telling time and
its importance.

What Time Is It?

Believe it or not, there was a time when humans were not concerned with the exact time of day. There were no
clocks or watches. Instead, their daily activities were guided by the risingand the setting of the sun. As societies
became more organized, the idea of “time” grew in importance. Among the earliest initiatives to mark time was the
shadow clock, which used the sun’s light to cast a shadow on a specially-marked surface. This led to the sundial. In
Egypt, there is a shadow clock that dates back to the 8th century. This timepiece was useful, but it could not tell
time when there was no sun. It was clear that some other form of timekeeping had to be developed. There were
several devices created to supplement or replace sundials. One such device was the notched candle, which let
people calculate the time by looking at how far down the candle had burned. The Chinese came up with a
somewhat similar contrivance by burning a knotted rope. Some ancient people used a water clock known as a
“clepsydra.” The clepsydra determined time by measuring the flow of water dripping from a bowl or vessel. As the
water level rose or fell in the bowl, markings on the inside of the bowl would indicate the time.

Another perhaps more familiar timepiece was the hourglass. The hourglass operated by having sand trickle through
the small opening separating the top section of the glass from the bottomsection. When the bottom section was full,
an hour had passed. These early efforts to tell time served a need, but none of them offered a precise measure of
time. With the introduction of the first weight-driven clock in 1286, the technology to develop more accurate
means of keeping time had begun. By the mid-1300s, an astronomer and physician named Giovanni de’ Dondi
completed an early astronomical clock. He produced a seven-sided clock whose dials showed the sun, the moon,
and the known planets. In addition to the 24 hours, it showed the times of sunrise and sunset, religious holidays,
and the cycles of the moon. His “astrarium” was a remarkable advance over previous timepieces. However, it
wasn’t until 300 years later, in 1650, that the first clock using two hands to tell the time was made.
Through the next centuries, numerous changes took place in the clock industry. Some clockmakers produced
clocks that were works of art with beautiful gilt figures surrounding the clock faces. Others refined the size all the
way down from the dimensions of huge clocks in bell towers to those of today’s wristwatches. Power sources to
control the clock mechanisms changed, too – from coil springs to quartz. The greatest breakthrough in timekeeping
occurred in 1999. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) introduced the atomic
clock. This clock has paved the way for global positioning systems (GPS) to help in the navigation systems used in
today’s automobiles. Just how accurate is this new clock? It is the most accurate clock in the world. In 20 million
years, it will neither gain nor lose one second as it tells time. Even for a society obsessed with schedules and doing
things or being places promptly,the atomic clock may even be more than we need just to be on time!

1. Thousands of years ago, people would base their D. precise.

activities upon the
6. What was the biggest advance in timekeeping?
A. sound of the rooster.
A. the sundial
B. amount of work to be done.
B. the atomic clock
C. phases of the moon.
C. global positioning systems
D. rising and setting of the sun.
D. the wristwatch
2. The author attempts to

A. convince readers to buy a new kind of clock.

B. tell the story of how the atomic clock was built.

C. challenge readers to find a better way to tell time.

D. describe different ways people have told time.

3. What was the oldest form of timekeeping?

A. clepsydra

B. atomic clock

C. astrarium

D. shadow clock

4. How did the weight-driven clock change the

science of telling time?

A. It allowed clock makers to create beautiful clocks.

B. It allowed timepieces to become hand-held.

C. It marked the beginning of new technology.

D. It marked the end of using the sun to tell time.

5. The atomic clock is

A. not built yet.

B. dangerous.

C. outdated.
Total [6]

Writing
Write essay: for and against, following structure and chosen theme.
 Paragraph 1: introduction (stating the issue)
 Paragraph 2: arguments for statement
 Paragraph 3: arguments against the statement
 Paragraph 4: conclusion (summary, your opinion)

Theme 1: Timekeeping is the Greatest Invention

Theme 2: Sleep Improves Memory

Total [6]

Speaking
You are given a card with a topic and questions to speak about for 1-2 minutes. Before you speak you
have one minute to think about what you are going to say.
Card 1.
 How is the brain structured?
 Do you know what Left Brain, Right Brain means?
 How many different functions does the brain perform?
 What is the most amazing thing about the brain?
 What happens to your brain when you learn something new?
Card 2.
 Are computers making our ability to remember better or worse? Give some examples.
 What things do you find easy to remember?
 What do you do to help you remember things when you’re studying?
 Is the ability to memorize lots of things important? Why or why not?
 Why do you think some people remember the same events differently?

Total [6]
Total marks __ /24
 Mark scheme 1

Assessment criteria Task Descriptor: A learner Mark

Listening
1 1 memory 1
2 1 improvements 1
3 1 combination 1
4 1 information 1
5 1 association 1
6 1 visualization 1
Reading
1 1 D 1
2 1 D 1
3 1 D 1
4 1 C 1
5 1 D 1
6 1 B 1
Writing
Make an outline 1 follows the structure that fits the purpose; 1
according to the genre of 2 expresses view clearly; 1
a text, include 3 Present or past perfect (active and passive voices); 1
appropriate to topic and 4 includes phrases for introducing arguments; 1
genre; 5 Links sentences into paragraphs logically using proper 1
connectors;
Evolve coherent ideas 6 uses a range of topic-based vocabulary with correct spelling; 1
connected with linking 7 uses a range of simple and some complex grammatical form 1
words; correctly.
Speaking
Formulate questions that 1 gives full answers for the questions in the card; 1
are more complex to get 2 expresses his/her opinion on topic; 1
information about the 3 uses a range of appropriate vocabulary (expressions, topic 1
topic and respond to specific words);
complex questions 4 pronounces words and phrases correctly; 1
5 uses grammatically correct sentences in a talk. 1
Total 24 24
Mary: I’d like to welcome Charles Long to the studio today. Charles has just
published an article in New Science journal about memorisation. It’s all about
how to make our memory function better.
Charles, exam time is looming and there’ll be lots of teenagers tuning in
today. Can you give us some advice about improving our ability to memorise?
Charles: Hello! Yes, of course. I’d like to start by talking about the process of
memorisation. It’s vital that we understand the process if we want to make
adjustments to the way we function. We all use memory in the same way. It
doesn’t matter whether you’re a student revising for your finals or an adult
standing in the aisle of a supermarket, trying to recall a particular item from a
grocery list.
Mary: Ha ha! That’s me. I always forget to take my list.
Charles: You and thousands of other people too, Mary. We learn to use our
memory when we are still at nursery school. Young children are naturally very
good at working out how to remember things. The tips I’m going to share
today are based on the things we used to do to help us remember when we
were children. The process of memorisation occurs in two distinct forms. Do
you know what they are?
Mary:  Are they ‘long-term memory’ and ‘short-term memory’?
Charles: That’s right! But these aren’t completely separate concepts. We use
a combination of both types of memory when we want to formulate our
thoughts and recall information, whether we’re trying to remember something
from a decade ago or just an hour earlier.
Mary: So what tips have you got for improving the quality of our memory?
Charles: Right. Let’s start with ‘association’.
Mary: Association?
Charles: Yes. We can use word association to remember an idea or a
concept. This means choosing a word or phrase you associate with what you
are trying to remember. The word needs to be something familiar, that you
come into contact with on a daily basis. So, for example, you can use the
name of your pet dog to remember a scientific equation. Try it! Read the
equation a few times and then say your dog’s name again and again. Later, in
your science exam, just recall the name and the whole equation should come
back to you.
Mary: It sounds too good to be true! What else, Charles?
Charles: Visualisation is another trick we can use. So you have to visualise
an image that is connected to the thing you need to remember. For example,
if you want to remember the date that the Berlin Wall came down, you might
visualise a picture of a wall with the date written on it in graffiti. The image of
the wall becomes an important part of what you will remember. You can use
several images in a row to remember things like information in a text or a list
of ingredients for a recipe.
Mary: Yes, that makes sense.
Charles: Singing can help with memorisation too.
Mary: Singing?
Charles: Yeah. So instead of reading a text aloud, you sing it. Singing is one
of most effective and earliest memory tricks that are used for learning new
concepts. I used to ‘sing’ lists of historical facts and dates. It works.
Mary: And did you have to sing aloud in your history exams?
Charles: Not aloud! But I did used to sing in my head. And I always got good
marks for history.
Mary: Any more tips, Charles?
Charles: Yes! I’ve saved the best one till last. It’s particularly relevant for any
students who have tuned in. ‘Teach it’.
Mary: Teach it? Teach ‘what’?
Charles: Teach whatever it is that you want to remember. So, if you’re
studying for an English exam, teach the concepts to someone else. It can be a
real person - a friend in a study group is ideal - or it can be a ‘pretend’ person.
You can just imagine someone is listening to you as you teach. Better still,
record yourself ‘teaching’ and then play back the video to revise the material
further.
Mary: That sounds like a great tip … or ‘trick’.
Charles: Yes, it really works because in order to teach something you need to
understand it. Teaching reinforces the understanding. And although these
sound like ‘tricks’, they aren’t really.
Mary: No?
Charles: No. They are just simple ways that we can train our brains to be
more effective. By getting into the habit of using word association,
visualisation, singing and teaching, our brains develop and work better for us.
And of course that has a knock-on effect on our memory and our abilities to
recall all kinds of data.
Mary: Thank you, Charles. Now, I think we’ve got time for a couple of
questions from our listeners.