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P.O.W.E.R.
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[1] Sure, sometimes you have trouble recalling information that you know you’ve learned.1 Or maybe you don’t recall that you learned it, even though in fact you did.2 But this is not because information has disappeared from your head.3 The problem is one of retrieval.4 Retrieval entails finding information stored in memory and making it conscious so that it can be used.5 Every piece of information that you’ve ever learned is buried somewhere in your brain.6 The trick is to find it when you need it.7

[2] The proof of this assertion comes from the biology of memory.1 Consider what happens when you’re exposed to some new material.2 Say your geometry instructor spends a class talking about the Pythagorean formula, which maintains that the square of the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the two other sides.3 (You may recall this formula as a2+b2=c2.)4

[3] When you first learn the formula, the wiring connecting a handful of the 70 trillion or so brain cells in your head is changed—forever.1 The information on the Pythagorean formula is etched into some tiny part of your brain, and unless that part of the brain is damaged in some way through injury or disease, it will stay there for the rest of your life.2

[from Feldman, POWER Learning, 2nd edition, p. 203]

1

The author of this passage assumes that most of us have never had problems with retrieval.
A)True
B)False
2

The Pythagorean theorem is used as an example of the kind of information that many of us learn and store –and sometimes find ourselves unable to retrieve.
A)True
B)False
3

Information that you cannot retrieve is information
A)that has disappeared
B)that you have learned and have stored in memory
C)that you cannot use
D)both b and c
4

The scientific study of how the brain allows us to recall information is called
A)the botany of desire
B)the biology of memory
C)the Pythagorean formula
D)the study of information retrieval
5

When you first learn something, what happens to the information?
A)it subtly rewires your brain
B)it damages your brain
C)it hides until chased to the surface
D)both a and b
6

  • The information on the Pythagorean formula is etched into some tiny part of your brain.
  • The man etched his design into the linoleum and prepared the plate for printing.

    • to “etch” means
    A)to draw
    B)to “eat into” a surface
    C)to attach
    D)to dig
    7

    Which of the following would make the best heading for this passage?
    A)The Pythagorean Formula
    B)Memory and Information Retrieval
    C)Memory
    D)The Wiring of the Brain
    8

    Which sentence best expresses the main point of the entire passage?
    A)par. 2, sent. 1
    B)par. 1, sent. 7
    C)par. 1, sent. 6
    D)par. 3, sent. 2





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