Speaker 1: So how's your memory? Do you have a memory like
a sieve or maybe your memory is more like an elephant.
Some people have a short memory, and some people have
a photographic memory. Let's check it out.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All righty, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight oh six.
How's your memory? The word memory in English is interesting
because it has a number of meanings and uses. For example,
if you are into computers, you might know that memory
is part of the computer hardware. And by the way,
in that case, the word memory is not countable. Right,
my computer has a lot of memory. But the word
memory also means those little pictures in your mind of
something that happened in your life. And in that case,
the word memory becomes accountable noun like I have some
great memories from my high school days. Maybe you sit
around with your friends from school and talk about your memories.
For today's podcast English Lesson, we're going to take the
word memory to the next level and talk about five
idioms and phrases that use the word memory, like if
you're the kind of person that can easily remember things,
then you would probably say you have a good memory.
On the other hand, if you're a person like me,
for example, that finds it hard to remember things, then
you might say that you have a bad memory. But
there's a more colorful way to describe both of those situations.
If you don't have a good memory, you can say
that you have a memory like a sieve. A sieve
is what you use in the kitchen to drain the
water after boiling pasta or for washing veggies. A lot
of what you put in the sieve comes right out.
So with that image, when you have a memory like
a sieve, it means you have a bad memory or
you forget things easily, like I'm sorry, I forgot your birthday.
I have a memory like a sieve. You can't trust
Jack to remember anything important. He's got a memory like
a sieve. If you can easily remember things, then you
have a memory like an elephant. Yeah, an elephant. It
seems that elephants are known for their strong memory, like
when it comes to recognizing other elements, remembering places they've been,
and even recalling specific events or experiences. There have been
many stories and studies showing how elephants can remember human
faces and locations, sometimes even after years or long distances.
My friend Paul has a memory like an elephant. He
remembers everything from our school days, and Tommy well, he
never forgets anyone's birthday. He has a memory like an elephant.
In a similar way, when you have a photographic memory,
it means that you have the ability to remember things
in great detail, like a photograph. One of my classmates
in college never really study for exams. She had a
photographic memory. Lucky her. I wish I had a photographic memory.
I tend to forget things in great detail. Another way
to express that idea is to say that someone can
do something from memory. When you do something from memory,
you can do that task without needing to look at
any notes or instructions. I've cooked pasta sauce so many times.
I don't need to look at the recipe or check
a list of ingredients. I just do it from memory.
So having a memory like an elephant, or having a
photographic memory, or having a memory like a sief talks
about your brain's ability to remember things, but in some
say situations. You can train your body to physically remember things,
and when you do that, we call it having muscle memory.
When you have muscle memory, you have the ability to
perform a task or do something automatically because you've done
it many times before. It's not about remembering something consciously,
it's about the body remembering the action. We often use
the term muscle memory when we talk about sports, like
when you look at an outstanding athlete, their body knows
just what to do to kick or throw a ball.
Like even though I haven't ridden a bike in ears,
my muscle memory kicked in and I started writing like
I never stopped. It's the same with musicians. After years
of playing the piano, Billy has muscle memory, so he
can play a lot of songs without looking at the
sheet music. Keep in mind, the best way to remember
English like this and any other word or phrase in English,
is to take that word or phrase, write it in
a sentence that's true for you or true in your world,
and then memorize your sentences and check this out. You
can get more practice using your English when you join
my podcast Learner's Study Group. There you can make new friends.
Join us for live group lessons every week where we
practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to
the PDF, transcript and audio download for every Happy English
podcast in the past and in the future. And on
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can
practice this English point with speaking and listening checked by me.
To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and
choose podcasts lesson eighth six. Remember learning another language is
not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here to
help you on your journey.
Speaker 2: This podcast was brought to you by Happy English. Please
visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy
English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,
Happy English.