how to remember things (1) ?

I once came up with a metaphor I thought perfectly captured the sheer mass of material my classmates and I were expected to memorize in our first two years of medical school: it was like being asked to enter a grocery store and memorize the names of every product in the store, their number and location, every ingredient in every product in the order in which they appear on the food label, and then to do the same thing in every grocery store in the city.

When I look back now I can't imagine how any of us were able to do it. And yet we did. The mind's capacity to store and recall information is truly wondrous. Since I attended medical school we've learned a lot about memory and learning. Though much of what follows are techniques I used to survive my first two years of medical school, much of the science that proves they work is new.

(quote) 

 vocabulary : 

1/metaphor : (n) phép ẩn dụ 

ex: Metaphor and simile are the most commonly used figures of speech in everyday language.

=> simile (n) phép so sánh 

2/ sheer (adj)  [before noun] = complete 

used to emphasize how very great, important or powerful a quality or feeling is; nothing except:

The suggestion is sheer nonsense.

His success was due to sheer willpower/determination.

It was sheer coincidence that we met.

besides meaning: thin/steep/turn 

3/ wondrous (a) extremely and surprisingly good: kì diệu, lạ lùng 

a wondrous sight/sound/thing

Our new improved face cream has wondrous effects on tired-looking skin.