Like All Animals, We Need Stress. Just Not Too Much

 

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Transcript

Audio Time: 4 min 57 sec

Level: Upper-intermediate

 

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including  Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

 

Yeast: a type of fungus that is used in making alcoholic drinks (such as beer and wine) and in baking to help make dough rise.

Hormone: a natural substance that is produced in the body and that influences the way the body grows or develops.

Notable: 1. unusual and worth noticing; remarkable. 2. Very successful or respected.

Pump: 1. a device that forces liquid, air, or gas into or out of something. 2. The act of pumping something.

Poll: an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

Poll-taker: Someone who conducts a poll.

Tension: a feeling of nervousness that makes you unable to relax.

Friction: 1. Disagreement or tension between people or groups of people. 2. the act of rubbing one thing against another; the force that causes a moving object to slow down when it is touching another object.

Short run: a short period of time.

Grind: to crush or break (something) into very small pieces by rubbing it against a rough surface or using a special machine.

Grind on: to continue for a long time — used to describe something unpleasant

Tolerate: 1. to allow (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) to exist, happen, or be done. 2. to experience (something harmful or unpleasant) without being harmed.

Chirp: to make a short high-pitched sound.

Forebears: A member of your family in the past; ancestor.

Infectious: Something (usually a disease) that can be spread to other people by germs.

Mount up: to increase.

Eden: A place in the creation story of the Bible where God made the first people, Adam and Eve.

Malleable: capable of being stretched or bent into different shapes; capable of being easily changed or influenced.

Irretrievable: impossible to recover or get back.

Fine-tuned: Small changes that have been made to something to improve the way it works or make it exactly right.

             All the conditions of the experiment had to be fined-tuned to get the proper result.

             It was a fine-tuned watch, which always gave the exact time.

Circumstance: a condition or fact that affects a situation; the way something happens; the specific details of an event

Inevitable: Something that will definitely happen.

 

 

Discussion questions:

1. What’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy stress according to the story?

2. Do you have enough healthy stress in your life?

3. Do you have too much unhealthy stress in your life?

4. What can we do to cope with unhealthy stress in our lives?

5. What kinds of challenges in our life can give us healthy stress?

 

The Classroom Where Fake News Fails

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Transcript

Audio Time: 3 min 51 sec

Level: Upper Intermediate and up

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Pizzagate: The suffix “gate” means a political scandal. It derives from the Watergate scandal of the United States in the early 1970s, which resulted in the resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon.

To air: to broadcast something on radio or television.

Bottom line: the most important part of something : the most important thing to consider; the result or outcome. 

Conspiracy: a secret plan made by two or more people to do something that is harmful or illegal.

Pizzeria: restaurant where mainly pizza is served.

Intel (intelligence): information of political or military value.

Annotation: a note added to a text, book, drawing, etc., as a comment or explanation.

Rumor: information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true.

To sort fact from fiction: To separate what is true from what is false.

To kick off: to start.

To pilot: done as a test to see if a larger program, study, etc., should be done.

Vignette: a short written description.

Meme: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from one person to another in a culture.

To catch on: to become popular.

To figure out: to understand or find (something, such as a reason or a solution) by thinking.

Credible: able to be believed : reasonable to trust or believe.

To label: to put a word or name on something to describe or identify it : to attach a label to (something).

Red flag: a warning sign: a sign that there is a problem that should be noticed or dealt with.

Byline: a line at the beginning of a newspaper or magazine article that gives the writer's name.

Damn: informal + impolite: used to show that you are angry, annoyed, surprised, etc.

Literacy: the ability to read or write; knowledge that relates to a specified subject.

To unveil: to show or reveal (something) to others for the first time; to remove a cover so that people can see it.

To endorse: to publicly or officially say that you support or approve of (someone or something).

To ignore: to do nothing about or in response to (something or someone).

To run through: to read, repeat, or practice (something) quickly.

Bias: a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in an unfair influence on something.

Face value: Something that is taken/accepted at face value is regarded as true or genuine without being questioned or doubted.

To admit: to say usually in an unwilling way that you accept or do not deny the truth or existence of (something).

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think about the project to help students improve their news literacy?

2. What are some of the ways to tell fact from fiction in the news?

3. How can we reduce fake news?

4. How can we help students to be better critical thinkers?

5. Have you ever been fooled by fake news?

Exercise Helps Students in the Classroom

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Audio Time: 4 min  1 sec

Level: Intermediate

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including  Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Endurance: the ability to do something difficult for a long time.

To go for it: to try to achieve or get something.

Racket: a piece of sports equipment that is used to hit a ball or other objects in games like tennis or badminton.

To shuffle: to slide your feet along the ground or back and forth without lifting them completely.

To backpedal: to move backward with quick steps.

Pursuit: the act of following or chasing someone or something.

To eliminate: to remove (something that is not wanted or needed) : to get rid of (something).

Disparities: a noticeable and often unfair difference between people or things.

Background: the experiences, knowledge, education, etc., in a person's past.

Fit: physically healthy and strong.

To fidget: to make a lot of small movements because you are nervous, bored, etc.: to move or act in a nervous or restless way.

Disruptive: to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way : to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something).

Self-esteem: a feeling of having respect for yourself and your abilities.

Depression: a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.

Anxiety: fear or nervousness about what might happen.

To impair: to make (something) weaker or worse.

Attentiveness: thinking about or watching something carefully : paying careful attention to something.

Extensively: large in size or amount : very full or complete.

Capacity: the largest amount or number that can be held or contained.

Nutrients: a substance that plants, animals, and people need to live and grow.

To whittle away: to reduce or get rid of (something) slowly.

Sub-set: a group of things, people, etc., that is part of a larger group.

Discussion questions:

1. How can exercise help students in the classroom?

2. Do you exercise? If so, what kind of exercise do you do?

3. Do you find that exercise helps your mental performance?

4. What kind of exercise have you done in school?

5. Do you think exercise can help you improve your English skills?

TED:Why I'm A Weekday Vegetarian

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Transcript

Audio Time: 3 min  58 sec

Level: intermediate

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including  Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Vegetarian: a person who does not eat meat.

Hippie: a usually young person who rejects established social customs (such as by dressing in an unusual way or living in a commune) and who opposes violence and war; especially: a young person of this kind in the 1960s and 1970s.

Log: a long, heavy section of a tree that has fallen or been cut down.

Cabin: a small, simple house made of wood.

Mere: used to say that something or someone is small, unimportant, etc.

Cruelty: someone who hurt others and do not feel sorry about it; causing or helping to cause suffering.

Hypocritical: a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.

Environment: the conditions that surround someone or something: the conditions and influences that affect the growth, health, progress, etc., of someone or something; in this case, natural world.

Emissions: the act of producing or sending out something (such as energy or gas) from a source.

To convince: to cause (someone) to believe that something is true.

To stall: to avoid doing something or to delay someone in a deliberate way because you need more time, do not want to do something, etc.

To pitch: things that are said by someone (such as a salesman) in order to make someone want to buy, do, or accept something.

Binary: relating to or consisting of two things or parts.

To swap: to replace (something) with something else.

Sustainable: involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources.

Harvest: the amount of a natural product gathered in a single season.

To end up: to reach or come to a place, condition, or situation that was not planned or expected.

Intake: the amount of something (such as food or drink) that is taken into your body.

Pocketbook: the amount of money that someone has available to spend: someone's ability to pay for things.

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think about the idea of being a “weekday vegetarian”?

2. What were some of the reasons the speaker gave about becoming a weekday veg?

3. Are there many vegetarians where you live?

4. What are the pros and cons of being a vegetarian?

5. What do you think is the best diet for the health of people and the planet?

What Asimov Predicted For 2019: Computerization And Lunar Life

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Transcript

Audio Time: 1 min 50 sec

Level: intermediate and up

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including  Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Toronto star: a newspaper.

To predict: to say that (something) will or might happen in the future.

Off base: not correct: wrong or mistaken.

Forecast: to predict something will happen after looking at the available information.

Up and running: in operation; functioning.

Mining: the process or business of digging in mines to obtain minerals, metals, jewels, etc.

Faint: weak; very slight or small; no clearly seen.

Semblance: the state of being somewhat like something but not truly or fully the same thing — usually + of.

To take over to take control of something.

Assembly line: a line of machines, equipment, workers, etc., in a factory that builds a product by passing work from one station to the next until the product is finished.

Left out: to not include or mention (someone or something).

Utopian: an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect.

Laid off: the act of ending the employment of a worker or group of workers.

Paintbrush: a brush  used for putting paint on a surface (Brush: a tool with many stiff hairs, fibers, etc., that is used for cleaning, smoothing, or painting something).

To envision: to think of (something that you believe might exist or happen in the future) : to picture (something) in your mind.

Left to their own devices: to allow (someone) to do what he or she wants or is able to do without being controlled or helped by anyone else.

Avail oneself of: to make use of something.

Cosmos: all of space and everything in it including stars, planets, galaxies, etc.

Discussion questions:

1.  What were some of Asimov’s predictions for 2019?

2. What do you think the world will be like in 35 years?

3. Do you think we will have mining on the moon in 35 years?

4. How advanced do you think computers and robots will become after 35 years?

5. Read the original article that Isaac Asimov wrote. What other issues does he discuss in the article that weren’t discussed in the NPR story?

TED: 8 Secrets Of Success

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Transcript

Audio Time: 3 min 27 sec

Level: intermediate and up

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including  Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

To cut down: to use less or do less of something.

Jeez: used to express surprise, anger, or annoyance.

To make someone tick: the things that cause someone to behave a certain way: the feelings, opinions, concerns, etc., that are parts of someone's personality.

Passion: a strong feeling; strong emotion.

Workaholic: a person who chooses to work a lot : a person who is always working, thinking about work, etc.

To push: to use force to move (someone or something) forward or away from you.

Shyness: feeling nervous and uncomfortable about meeting and talking to people.

Self-doubt: a feeling of doubt about your own abilities or actions.

Privilege: a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others.

Persistence:  the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people.

Crap: solid waste passed out of the body: feces;  something that is worthless, unimportant, or of poor quality.

Criticism: the act of expressing disapproval and of noting the problems or faults of a person or thing : the act of criticizing someone or something.

Rejection: to refuse to believe, accept, or consider (something).

Asshole: (offensive) anus: a bad, stupid, or annoying person.

Pressure: the weight or force that is produced when something presses or pushes against something else.

Bucks: (informal) dollar; money.

Discussion questions:

1. Which of these factors do you think is the most important?

2. What do you think are the main factors of success?

3. Would you add or remove any factors from this video?

4. What does success mean to you?

5. Where do we get our ideas of success?

TED: Try Something New For 30 Days

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Transcript

Time: 3 min 21 sec

Level: Intermediate

Vocabulary:  To help learners fully understand the audio and transcript, most vocabulary that might be unknown for this lesson’s level is provided. Vocab in bold is more useful for learners at the lesson’s target level. Try to choose 8 to 10 new words to learn from the story (in general, it’s best to try to learn no more than 8-10 new words a day).

Definitions are written with the help of various sources including Merriam-Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary

Stuck in a rut: a boring routine that is hard to change.

Rut: a long, narrow mark made by the wheels of a vehicle passing over an area.

Footsteps: a movement, sound, or mark made by your foot as you walk or run.

Follow in the footsteps: to do the same things that another person has done before.

Challenge: a difficult task or problem: something that is hard to do.

Dwelling: a place where a person lives.

Nerd: a person who behaves awkwardly around other people and usually has unstylish clothes, hair, etc. and sometimes also is very interested in technical subjects, computers, etc.

To hike: to walk a long distance especially for pleasure or exercise in nature: to go on a hike.

Deprived: not having the things that are needed for a good or healthy life.

Sustainable: able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed.

To stick: to become difficult or impossible to move from a place or position.

To give up: to stop having, doing, or using (something).

To give it a shot: an attempt to do something successfully.

Discussion questions:

1. What do you think of the idea of trying something new for 30 days?

2. What would you try for 30 days?

3. Why do you think the speaker chose 30 days?

4. Is it important to try new things?

5.  Are challenges important in life?