Joy English
Joy English

C2 Use of English

C2Memory and the mind38 min

Test 2: Memory and forgetting

A proficiency-level mixed test about how memory works: fixed phrases, inversion, concessive structures and word building.

This C2 Use of English test is built around memory: how we recall, misremember and forget. Part 1 tests subtle collocation and fixed phrases, Part 2 tests formal grammar and linking words, and Part 3 tests word formation including negative prefixes and abstract nouns.

Exercise 1 of 3

Part 1: Multiple-choice gaps

Choose the word or phrase that best completes each sentence.

  1. If memory _____ me, we first met in the spring of that year.

  2. The scent of woodsmoke set the whole of that winter _____ back to her.

  3. Actors must _____ long speeches to memory in a matter of days.

  4. She could have sworn she _____ the keys on the table before she went out.

  5. Her recollection of that afternoon remained crystal _____ even after forty years.

  6. No sooner had she sat down _____ the whole scene came back to her.

  7. Let me _____ your memory: you promised to return the book by Friday.

  8. Forgetting is not always a failure; if _____, it may be what allows us to concentrate on what matters.

0 of 8 answered

Exercise 2 of 3

Part 2: Open gaps

Type the missing word or words in each gap. Write one word unless the item clearly needs a short phrase.

  1. So vivid the dream that she woke convinced it had really happened.

  2. She remembered the street, not the number of the house.

  3. It was not the second reading that the irony of the passage became apparent.

  4. Try she might, she could not retrieve the name.

  5. The experiment was repeated so to rule out the effect of expectation.

  6. Nobody have been more surprised than Hana when the long-lost letter turned up.

  7. Faded it was, the photograph still held every detail that mattered to her.

  8. Whether or she meant it, the remark stung.

0 of 8 answered

Exercise 3 of 3

Part 3: Word formation

Use the word in CAPITALS at the end of each sentence to form a word that fits the gap. Type one word.

  1. Studies suggest that eyewitness is far less reliable than juries tend to assume. (TESTIFY)

  2. The scientists were careful to avoid any that might bias the volunteers’ answers. (SUGGEST)

  3. Her of the event differed in several respects from her brother’s. (RECOLLECT)

  4. The loss of a single memory can feel like losing part of oneself. (CHERISH)

  5. Occasional is a normal part of ageing. (FORGET)

  6. The lecturer’s most remark was also her briefest. (MEMORY)

  7. The of even the most vivid memories is a recurring finding in psychology, which is why courts treat them with caution. (RELY)

  8. Memory athletes train to link each item to a vivid image. (RELENT)

0 of 8 answered

Source

Original lesson by Joy English.

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