Question #N1365

As a young child, I struggled to learn the names of my classmates. Each day, I felt a sense of panic, convinced that if I couldn’t remember their names, I would somehow be ostracized. Each day, I would scramble to memorize the list of faces and names, but I couldn’t seem to hold on to the information for long. My parents often helped me, but even their assistance proved unsuccessful. I was desperate for a method to learn the names, and I felt a sense of profound relief when I discovered that I only needed to make small connections to their names to remember them. For example, if I could find a connection to the first letter of the name, such as a classmate with big eyes named Eric, I could easily remember his name. This method, which involved associating their names with a physical or personal trait, was a simple solution that I could use to retain the information in my memory. What is the most likely reason the writer includes the detail about the classmate named Eric?

The detail about Eric is included to
A. describe the speaker’s current method of remembering names.
B. demonstrate the speaker’s desire to learn names.
C. provide an example of the speaker’s memory problems.
D. illustrate the speaker’s connection between a name and a physical trait.

Correct Answer is: D

The detail about Eric is included to illustrate the speaker’s connection between a name and a physical trait. The speaker uses Eric as an example to show how the connection between a name and a physical or personal trait can help to remember names.