We've all been there – staring at a pile of books, desperately hoping that what we study will stick in our mind. Many of us have probably asked if there's any way that we can get better at remembering things. So, why don't we look at what memory experts say about this?

我们都去过那里——盯着一堆书，绝望地希望我们所学的东西能牢记在心。我们中的许多人可能会问，是否有任何方法可以让我们更好地记住事物。那么，我们为什么不看看内存专家对此的看法呢？

Every student who has made flashcards knows that it can be helpful to go back over what they've studied before. According to The Learning Scientists – a group of cognitive scientists – we can learn things better if we wait for some time before trying to study them again. They say that trying to retrieve something from your memory after you have had some time to forget it will make it easier to remember in future.

每个制作过抽认卡的学生都知道，回顾一下他们之前学过的内容会很有帮助。根据学习科学家（一群认知科学家）的说法，如果我们在尝试再次研究之前等待一段时间，我们可以更好地学习事物。他们说，在你有一段时间忘记某件事后，试着从你的记忆中找回一些东西，会让以后更容易记住。

Similarly, David Robson, writing for BBC Future, highlights studies that show taking some time to just do nothing after studying might mean that you can remember things better afterwards. We don't know exactly why this happens, but it has been suggested that it's to do with the relationship between long-term and short-term memory.

同样，为 BBC Future 撰稿的大卫·罗布森 (David Robson) 强调研究表明，在学习后花一些时间什么都不做可能意味着你可以在事后更好地记住事情。我们不知道为什么会发生这种情况，但有人认为这与长期记忆和短期记忆之间的关系有关。

Another study tip from The Learning Scientists is to change between different topics as you study. They say this can help you build links between different ideas. Now, linking ideas and relating them to each other or to images are often suggested as good ways to memorise something. Former world memory champion Jonathan Hancock highlights how picturing pieces of information in different physical locations or linking them to memorable images makes them easier to remember. Linking new information to things that are easier to remember is a technique that many people use – it could be making letter patterns into words called mnemonics, or by sorting things into categories.

The Learning Scientists 的另一个学习技巧是在学习时在不同的主题之间切换。他们说这可以帮助你在不同的想法之间建立联系。现在，将想法联系起来并将它们相互联系起来或与图像联系起来通常被认为是记忆某些东西的好方法。前世界记忆冠军乔纳森·汉考克 (Jonathan Hancock) 强调了在不同物理位置描绘信息片段或将它们与令人难忘的图像联系起来如何使它们更容易记住。将新信息与更容易记住的事物联系起来是许多人使用的一种技术——它可以将字母模式变成称为助记符的单词，或者将事物分类。

There are also more general things that we can do to improve our memory. Hancock says that being generally organised makes things easier for your brain, while many other experts also recommend avoiding stress, alcohol and smoking, and that we should get a lot of rest and exercise. So, the good news to take from this is that while it may be hard, improving our memory is something we can control.

我们还可以做一些更一般的事情来提高我们的记忆力。汉考克说，大体上有条理会让你的大脑更容易工作，而许多其他专家也建议避免压力、酒精和吸烟，我们应该多休息和锻炼。所以，从中得到的好消息是，虽然这可能很难，但提高我们的记忆力是我们可以控制的。

词汇表

stick in someone's mind 刻在某人的脑海里
flashcard 抽认卡，（有文字或图片的）教学卡片
go back over 复习
cognitive 认知的
retrieve 找回
long-term memory 长期记忆
short-term memory 短期记忆
study tip 学习技巧
link 使联系
relate 找到联系
memorise 记住
picture 想象
memorable image 难忘的图片
pattern 模式
mnemonic 帮助记忆的符号，助记符号