Episodic memory: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer continues a series on memory by explaining episodic memory, our memory of particular events. She contrasts it with semantic memory, describes the three steps of forming an episodic memory, and looks at what happens when it is impaired, as in schizophrenia and autism.
Ten gaps in strict order, following the lecture's structure. 31-33 come in the definition and the comparison with semantic memory. The three steps are announced in order (encoding, consolidation, retrieval), and each name signals its gaps. 'There are a wide range of neurological diseases' leads into 39-40.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The step names (encoding, consolidation, retrieval) are said clearly and match the note headings, so use them to keep your place. Many answers are general nouns (location, world, attention, network, frequency), so check that your word fits the grammar of the note.
Question 31
Answer: locationAt the start, in the restaurant example
Apart from the time, what detail of past events does episodic memory let you recall?
The ability to remember where you ate, who you were with and the items you ordered are all features of an episodic memory
Question says → You hear
the time and ... of past eventsremember where you ate
Why: Episodic memory includes when something happened and where. 'Where you ate' turns into the noun location.
The trap: 'Restaurant' is the example, not the general detail. The note needs the general word for where something happened.
Question 32
Answer: worldWhen the lecturer contrasts episodic memory with semantic memory
What does semantic memory hold general information about?
knowledge of the world. To build upon a previous example, remembering where you parked your car is an example of episodic memory
Question says → You hear
general information about theknowledge of the world
Why: Semantic memory is general knowledge of the world. 'General information about the ...' needs the noun world.
The trap: The car example follows immediately. Knowing what a car is belongs to semantic memory, but 'car' is just the example.
Question 33
Answer: personalWithin the comparison of the two kinds of memory
What kind of information does semantic memory not involve recalling?
remembering where you parked your car is an example of episodic memory, but your … of semantic memory
Question says → You hear
does not involve recalling ... informationremembering where you parked your car is an example of episodic memory
Why: In the recording, semantic memory is described as general knowledge that doesn't involve personal information. Where you parked is your own experience (episodic); what a car is, is general knowledge (semantic). The gap is the adjective personal.
The trap: 'Episodic' fits the meaning, but it isn't an information type in this sentence, and the note already contrasts the two memories. The gap needs an adjective describing the information.
Question 34
Answer: attentionAt 'The initial step is called encoding'
What, given to an event, makes it easier to encode?
This involves the process of receiving and registering information … encoding very difficult
Question says → You hear
the more ... given to an eventencoding very difficult
Why: In the recording, the lecturer explains that the level of attention you pay to information decides how well it is encoded; with little attention, encoding is very difficult. 'Given to' goes with attention.
The trap: 'Information' is all around this gap, but it's what gets encoded, not what you give to an event.
Question 35
Answer: nameWhen the lecturer gives an example of meeting someone new
What kind of thing is easier to remember if you have an encoding strategy?
the connection that your uncle … same name
Question says → You hear
to remember athe connection that your uncle … same name
Why: If you meet someone who has the same name as your uncle, making that connection helps you remember their name later. The gap is name.
The trap: 'Uncle' and 'connection' are both in the example. The thing you're trying to remember is the person's name.
Question 36
Answer: networkWhen the lecturer says 'Memory consolidation, the next step'
What should new memories be added to for consolidation to work best?
memories of encoded information are strengthened, stabilised and stored
Question says → You hear
how memories are strengthened and storedmemories of encoded information are strengthened, stabilised and stored
Why: In the recording, consolidation is most effective when the new memory can be linked to an existing network of related information. The gap needs a noun that can hold 'related information': network.
The trap: The definition (strengthened, stabilised, stored) is already in the notes. Don't write 'store' or 'retrieval': the gap comes after it.
Question 37
Answer: frequencyStill under consolidation, just before the retrieval step
What aspect of retrieval affects how strong memories are?
Forming strong memories depends on the frequency with which you retrieve … Memories can fade or become harder to retrieve if they aren't used very often.
Question says → You hear
the ... of retrieval affects the strength of memoriesForming strong memories depends on the frequency with which you retrieve
Why: 'Strong memories depend on the frequency' is the note almost word for word. The gap is frequency.
The trap: Don't write 'often': it's an adverb. The note needs the noun after 'the'.
Question 38
Answer: colourAt 'The last step in forming episodic memories is called retrieval'
Also accepted: color
What feature of an object near your car could help you remember where you parked?
You actually have to mentally travel back to the … you parked
Question says → You hear
where you left your caryou parked
Why: In the recording, the lecturer says retrieval often depends on a cue, such as the colour of something near the place you parked. The note gives the object and the car, so the gap is colour (color is also accepted).
The trap: 'Car' and 'place' are both in the note already. The gap is the feature of the object.
Question 39
Answer: brainWhen the lecturer moves to schizophrenia and the effect of impaired memory on patients' lives
What do the games that help people with schizophrenia stimulate?
designed to keep the brain active
Question says → You hear
games which stimulate thedesigned to keep the brain active
Why: The games are designed to keep the brain active, which is what 'stimulate the brain' means. The gap is brain.
The trap: Medication is mentioned first, but it controls the other symptoms, not the memory problems. The note is about games.
Question 40
Answer: selfThe last point, when the lecturer moves on to autism
What concept may be missing in children with autism?
of self … in children with autism
Question says → You hear
their concept of the ... may be absentof self … in children with autism
Why: In the recording, a lack of a sense of self is linked to the difficulty of forming episodic memories in children with autism. The gap is self.
The trap: Social development comes straight after, but it's what memory training may help with, and it's printed in the next line.
The lecturer's example is a restaurant meal: where you ate, who you were with, what you ordered. The note wants the noun for 'where': location. People who write 'place' or 'restaurant' lose the mark.
Network is hard to predict from the note. The idea is linking a new memory to what you already know: consolidation works best when a memory can be added to a network of related information.
The car-park example comes back here. A cue like the colour of something near your car helps you remember where you left it. Write the British or American spelling; both are accepted.
Words from this recording worth keeping
episodic(Definition)
to do with particular events in your life
semantic memory(Definition)
memory for general facts and knowledge
encoding(Encoding)
taking in information so it can be stored
consolidation(Consolidation)
the process of making a memory strong and lasting
retrieval(Retrieval)
getting information back out of memory
recollection(Retrieval)
the act of remembering
impairment(Episodic memory impairments)
damage that stops something working properly
profound(Episodic memory impairments)
very great or serious
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The full Cambridge 13 Test 2 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 13, Test 2, Listening Part 4. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
