Question

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Memory is what defines our lives, our personalities, and our very existence. The dictionary defines memory as the faculty by which things are recalled or kept in the mind; the recovery of one's knowledge by mental effort. But for most of us, memory is just the ability to recall facts and figures, the faces of people we know and the recollection of things in the past. But memory is far more complex than this. Without memory, as in the case of amnesia, the personality changes and is distorted without any point or reference. Memory is of vital importance in defining our personalities as it enriches our lives with complicated personal remembrances. Without this, we turn into walking zombies. As people grow older they often suffer memory loss in some form or other and diseases like Alzheimers can obliterate memory centres of the brain, making the sufferer into a different, less coherent and less rational personality. Science has discovered that there are many different types of memory and we can lose one kind and still retain others. Human beings have a long-term memory and a working memory. Working memory is the ability to recall telephone numbers, addresses and relevant information such as those needed in our daily lives. Many elderly people seem to lose this form of memory while still retaining their long-term memory. Even perfectly normal people may have only one part of the brain active under stress or illness. In addition to long-term memory and working memory, there is also recent memory, semantic memory (the memory of facts) and episodic memory (the memory of something which actually happened), explicit and implicit memory and source memory, which enables us to recall from where we learnt certain facts. A loss of source memory seems to affect most people at some time or the other. Without memory, we become different people. It is what most elderly people fear, but it need not be so. Unless the illness is the cause of memory loss, participating fully in life can make a world of difference. Scientists, musicians, writers, doctors, architects, engineers and artists, all use their brains and memory centres to maximum effect. In fact, anyone who is absorbed in some sort of work or project, or hobby whereby the mind is stimulated and used, can keep the memory in good working condition. Reading and paying attention to what you are reading, learning poetry by heart and taking a deep interest in the world around you, stimulate memory. We must also learn to breathe deeply. If the brain does not receive sufficient oxygen for the process of cerebration, hallucination and negative psychic reactions occur. Yoga tells us that for good mental health and emotional stability, we need to be good, deep breathers. Without memory we are nothing. Our closest family members are nothing to us; we are alone, drifting in a world of which we appear to know nothing. The preservation of dignity, empathy, love, depend almost entirely on the preservation of memory. (a)On the basis of your reading of the above passage, make notes on it using headings and sub-headings. Use recognizable abbreviations wherever necessary. Supply an appropriate title to it.


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Answer 1

Explanation:

Memory : Memory is what defines our lives, our personalities, and our very existence. The dictionary defines memory as the faculty by which things are recalled or kept in the mind; the recovery of one's knowledge by mental effort. But for most of us, memory is just the ability to recall facts and figures, the faces of people we know and the recollection of things in the past. But memory is far more complex than this. Without memory, as in the case of amnesia, the personality changes and is distorted without any point or reference. Memory is of vital importance in defining our personalities as it enriches our lives with complicated personal remembrances. Without this, we turn into walking zombies.