І тур
Аудіювання
Listening
The Memory Trick
When an old friend
invited me to his house for a dinner party, I did 1 not think for a moment that
this would lead the way to doubling my salary in less than two years. But that
is exactly what happened.
By the end of the
evening the conversation was beginning to dry up, and somebody suggested we all
do a "party-piece". Some people sang, some played the piano and
others told stories.
Then it was the
turn of Peter Brown, a salesman from Cardiff. He said he was going to perform a
memory trick. He told us to put a blindfold over his eyes, and then asked the
guests to call out 25 numbers, all of three figures each, such as 161.249, and
so on. He asked me to make a note of all the numbers as they were called out.
Peter then astonished everyone at the party by repeating the entire list of
numbers, first in the correct order, then backwards. He then asked people to
request numbers by their position on my list, such as number 4 or number 19.
The guests did this with all the numbers, and Peter told them the correct numbers
over and over, 12 without making a single mistake. The numbers were then mixed
up and called out again. Peter performed the same trick and truly amazed all of
us. You expect to see this type of trick performed on stage or on television
but not by an ordinary man, in a situation where cheating is impossible.
Later on I asked
Peter how he had done the trick. He said that by remembering a few simple rules
anyone could do it. Most people, he continued, leave the development of their
memories to chance, but by following these rules we could all develop good
memories, and he told me how to do it.
Over the next few
days I learned to do exactly what Peter had done. At first it was just for fun
but soon I was receiving invitations to lots of parties, and people were amazed
by the tricks I could perform with my memory. They often asked me how they
could become as popular and successful and I told them what Peter Brown had
told me.
However, the
greatest thing about improving my memory came out at the office. My thinking
had become much clearer and quicker. I was learning to do things that until recently
I had only been able to admire in other people. In time I also began to notice
a big improvement in my writing and conversational skills. Before I learned
how to improve my memory, I used to speak and write in a very slow, confused
way. I could never think of anything to say. But now, I never have to search
for the right word or expression, and I find myself impressing people with my
bright conversation.
Before long, my
newly learned skills and my ability to remember things attracted the attention
of my boss and I was given more responsibility and a big improvement in my
salary. I found that my ability to remember things helped me a lot in dealing
with other people, especially in business meetings. A person who can support
their statements with facts and figures is always at the centre of a meeting.
Nowadays, I never forget anything. I can remember anything I want to, as if it
were written on a piece of paper in front of me.
