Listening exercise
20/20 on YouTube: The Woman Who Could Not Forget
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FerGcT8HnI
Related video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoxsMMV538U

"The capacity to forget is a gift of grace..."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
German theologian and Nazi resister

Vocabulary:
coming up
in a little bit now (very soon)
absolutely
to confound scientists
to write papers
recall
junior high years
to reveal one's identity
live TV
nervous
to throw some dates at
JFK's death
John Kennedy, Jr.
"Knott's Landing"
O.J. Simpson trial
to try on the glove
Baby Jessica
to be pulled from
a well
everyone at home
earpiece
to be fed something
cue cards
to be astonished
possibilities
Robin
emotional events
powerful
one-of-a-kind
to replay s.t. like a movie
in emotional detail
autobiographical memory
unmatched
University of California, Irvine
to keep s.t. a secret
GMA
"AJ"
amazing
to write a new chapter of
reference
encyclopedia
instantly
split second
history
fascination
human calendar
journalists
to cure a disease (e.g. Alzheimer's)
end of a relationship
to form who s.o. is
anonymous
too much to bear
to reveal oneself to the world
to be joined by
school administrator
Los Angeles
taped interview
to fire questions
not to mind
When was J.R. shot?
"Dallas"
to find out
"All in the Family"
Nancy Kerrigan (skater)
to be attacked
L.A. riots
Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski
to correct the book
to warn s.o.
scientists
to be astonished
to be inside s.o.'s brain
to live in the present tense
split screen
loop of memories
free-flowing
to be checked
journals
to memorize
hair spray incidents
to occur
inconceivable
poem
autobiographical
monologue
excruciating
bliss
comfort
burden
painful
horrendous
regrets
choices
fork in the road
to lead to s.t.
contrary to
whole periods of our lives
to get trapped in time
to travel in one's head
Jeopardy
stuff that I was interested in
to relate to where I was
Princess Grace
to have it wrong
around you
to come up with s.t.
to file s.t. away
short of a lobotomy
anything that can be done for me
essential to
to stump s.o.
excerpt

Related video (not covered in questions below, but interesting as further background on Jill Price and her special ability):
scientists
mystified
to retrieve
trillion
synapses
to access
Library of Congress
Diane Sawyer

unique
brain
in effect
to relive
random clips
"All in the Family"
to guess
episode
by the way
retrospective
CBS
"Who shot J.R.?"
"Dallas"
instances
"M*A*S*H"
theme songs
"Rockford Files"
to stump
"Blansky's Beauties"
to air
administrator
religious school
job history
unsettled
to realize
to go through one's head
Why don't you just...
to get over something
to be totally opposite
to scream, yell, cry
to take a toll
profound lesson
survival
to choose to edit
to have no idea how much
to shape ourselves
to feel bad about something
If I had just done this, then I wouldn't...
Hollywood agent
oyster
grain of sand
to build a pearl
to smooth out
to be dulled
to be "right there"
dancer
 weight gain
to be paralyzing
to be uncontrollable
mental hospital
to figure out a way
junior high school
University of California, Irvine
area associated with
OCD = obsessive compulsive disorder
accident
tendency to collect
objects
to hoard
doll
crib
gift
to be born
senior
drugs
anti-depressants
dramatic difference
to converse online
Jim Price
"he just got me"
baggage of memories
to adore
tragedy
diabetic
to die of a stroke
in full pain
brave
a lot of courage
article
Oh, my gosh!
to have no memory at all of s.t.
White House
Wendy Lavoie (?)
cerebellum
to unlock the secrets
genius
Alzheimer's
to go too crazy
to revolutionize
to profoundly influence
to store memories
"Shakespeare in Love"
to win Oscars
to give up
to surrender
to share a story
confused
bathrobe
clearly suffering from
to erode
to be out: published and released

Listening comprehension questions:
1. Why has Jill Price "confounded scientists"?
2. Who is JFK?
3. Who is O.J. Simpson?
4. What is an "autobiographical memory", as opposed to other kinds of memory?
5. Why does Price say this "gift" can sometimes be "hard" and sometimes "too much for her to bear"?
6. Why are so many questions Sawyer asks Jill about television shows?
7. Who is Nancy Kerrigan and why was she attacked?
8. Who is the "Unabomber"?
9. What is generally going on in Price's brain at any given time?
10. How can Price's answers about her life be checked?
11. Why did Price not do especially well in school in spite of her prodigious memory?
12. Why is this ability also a big burden for Price?
13. a. How does the TV game show "Jeopardy" work? b. Why would Price not necessarily do well on this show?
14. What's a lobotomy?
15. Would you like to have a memory like this? Why or why not?
16. What things about human memory might Jill Price's special ability and experience teach us?

home