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Read the passage below. While reading, try to guess what the lecture will be about.
Ways the Brain Can Recover from Damage
Neuroscientists have often observed that children who have suffered from severe brain damage can sometimes miraculously recover much of the brain's functions. Adults have a harder time recovering from similar brain damage because once the brain stops developing, it becomes hard-wired. Neuroscientists used to believe that brain damage was permanent in adults.
However, neuroscientists now think that adults who have severe brain damage can recover brain functions that were once thought to be lost. According to this theory, parts of the adult brain can sometimes create new brain cells. In addition, the brain can also partially recover by adapting to take on new functions.
Write down the main idea and key points in note form, using keywords and key phrases only. Restate the passage in your own words.
neuroscientist – an individual who studies the nervous system, including the brain
hard-wired – fixed or unchangeable
permanent – something that lasts forever
cell – the smallest structural unit of an organism
adapt – to change or alter
Reading:
Now listen to a related lecture. Take notes on important information.
tissue – a collection of similar cells working together to form specific functions within the body
regenerate – to form or create new things
degree – level or amount
task – a job or a piece of work
stroke – an injury to the brain that happens when inadequate blood flow causes the death of brain cells
motor – related to movement
Listening:
View the transcriptW: Although it once wasn't thought possible, neuroscientists now believe that there are at least two different ways that a damaged adult brain can achieve some amount of recovery. First, in certain areas of our brain... cells that have been lost through damage can be replaced by new ones. In a 1998 study of dead human brain tissue, researchers discovered that neurons, or brain cells, can actually re-grow themselves after they had suffered damage. Neurons that have not been damaged can divide into multiple neurons. This ability to regenerate can occur throughout our lives, allowing areas of the adult brain to recover to a certain degree after serious brain damage. Unfortunately, this ability can only occur in two areas of the brain. The adult brain also has the unique ability to reorganize itself so that other parts assume the tasks of the damaged area. Take adults who have suffered from strokes, for instance... when the brain is damaged by a stroke, patients often lose such functions as motor control, memory, or the ability to speak and understand language. However, researchers have found that often what happens after a stroke is that uninjured – or healthy – areas of the brain will reorganize themselves to perform the same – or nearly the same – functions of the damaged areas.
Read and think about the prompt below.
The professor discusses two ways the brain can recover from brain damage. Explain what they are and how they occur.
WITHOUT looking at the original reading passage, review your notes from the reading and listening passages. Select the information you think is important.
Reading:
Listening:
Try to fill in the blanks of the sample response below using your notes.
Notes for the Response
Deliver your response, including all the facts and using necessary transitions.
Listen to a sample response. Write down any useful expressions that could improve your response.
Reading:
Listening:
According to the reading, an adult brain has two ways to recover from brain damage. The professor explains that the first way is by brain cell re-growth. She says that sometimes an adult brain can re-grow cells that were lost through damage. She says that this can happen when undamaged brain cells divide to form new cells. She then explains the second way the adult brain can recover from brain damage – by reorganizing itself. The professor gives the example of those who have suffered from strokes. Sometimes when patients lose certain functions due to a stroke, the healthy parts of their brains are able to change. They can take over those functions that were found in the damaged parts of the brain.
Now give your response to the prompt again, incorporating useful expressions from the sample, while also paying attention to your pronunciation and intonation. Record your time.
