by Eric Haseltine

a technologist who has worked in senior-executive positions in both industry and government.  He was the chief technology officer for the U.S. intelligence community.

First, preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

passion:  excitement
baby steps:  slow progress (idiom)
leaps:  fast progress
turns the world on its head:  changes everything (idiom)
impact:  ability to make big changes
thorough:  completing the whole job
maternity clinic:  a hospital that helps women in childbirth
sanitation:  cleanliness that’s free of viruses and bacteria
autopsy:  cut a body open to find the cause of death
reconstructed:  recreated
morgue:  a room where dead bodies are kept
corpse:  dead body
it turned out:  the result was (idiom)
sterilize:  wash to kill all the viruses and bacteria
infectious disease:  sickness that can pass from one person to another
vapors:  gases
culprits:  bad things that caused trouble
demolished:  destroyed
opened out eyes:  taught us (idiom)
violating:  breaking (a law)
prestigious: well respected, famous
microscopes:  devices that made tiny things big enough to see
lousy:  bad
house husband:  a man who stays home with his children
finer details:  the smallest of things
crucial:  most important
fluoresce:  produce light when exposed to radiation
unprecedented:  never done before
startling:  surprising
clarity:  clearness, visual sharpness
get a better handle on:  understand better (idiom)
molecules:  combinations of atoms
hijack:  take control of
infect:  make sick
replicate themselves:  create others just like them
shattered:  shown to be false
cherished beliefs:  things we think are true
squirming:  uncomfortable
immortal:  unable to die, living forever
crackpot:  a crazy person who thinks they are right
inevitable consequence:  a result that must happen
metabolize:  turn (food) into energy
free radicals:  bad parts of food and air that cause cells to die
be on to something:  have discovered something important (idiom)
mutates:  changes
rejuvenate:  make young again
extreme:  very, very long
proportion:  percentage
in obscurity:  without anyone knowing, in private
rock our lives:  change our lives fast and strongly

by Ashton Cofer

Ashton and his teammates recently won the 2016 Google Science Fair’s Scientific American Innovator Award.   He has a passion for science and technology, and in addition to inventing, he also competed in FIRST LEGO League robotics and teaches robotics workshops to local area youth in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.

First, preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

freeking out:  panicking (idiom)
littered:  with garbage everywhere
Styrofoam:  a brand name for expanded polystyrene foam
landfill:  the place where garbage goes
degrade:  turn back into dirt
accumulations:  large amounts
contaminated:  impure, unclean, poisonous
nonrenewable:  cannot be made into something useful
feasible:  capable of being done, possible
viable:  practical, useful
ordinances:  local laws
insulating:  protecting from heat or cold
repercussions:  results, effects
hypothesized:  formed a theory
activated carbon:  a form of carbon (C) that absorbs tiny bad things
micropores:  very tiny holes
literally:  as the words truly mean
vaporized:  turned into gas
exploded:  expanded with great force and noise
gave up:  stopped trying (idiom)
persevere:  continue trying
inspired:  made to want to work harder
funding:  money to support the work
patent:  legal protection of an invention

by Anthony Goldbloom, the co-founder and CEO of Kaggle, which is a community of over 600,000 data scientists who find solutions to difficult problems.  In 2011 and 2012, Forbes Magazine named him one of the 30 under 30 in technology, and in 2013 the MIT Tech Review named him one of the top 35 innovators under the age of 35.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

dramatically:  very very big
concluded:  discovered, found out
automated:  made automatic, not needing humans
disruption:  great change
data:  information
mimic:  copy, do the same things
the cutting edge:  the very best in technology (idiom)
industry:  manufacturers
academia:  universities and technical institutes
unique:  one and only, not shared by others
perspective:  understanding
tasks:  jobs, pieces of work
assessing:  finding out the value (of something)
zip codes:  numbers for sections of the country
breakthroughs:  discoveries no one has made before
complex:  difficult
algorithm:  a series of “if A, then B” statements in a computer program
grade:  to give a mark (A, B+, B, B-, C+, C, etc.) to
challenge:  problem
diagnose:  find out which disease (someone has)
ophthalmologists:  eye doctors
essays:  writings by students
competing:  trying to win
high volume:  with lots of data
novel:  new, never seen before
fundamental:  basic
limitation:  weakness, inability
disparate:  basically different
physicist:  a scientist who studies physics (science of matter, energy, motion and force)
magnetron:  a device that creates very short radio waves
cross-pollination:  the sharing of knowledge between different sciences and technologies
extent:  level, degree, amount (how big, how much?)
frequent:  happening often
litigation:  lawsuits (court cases where one party may have to pay the other party)
shrink:  make smaller
ranks:  numbers of workers
marketing campaign:  a series of advertisements created to sell something
business strategy:  what needs to be done to make a business successful

by Patricia Keele

a stay-at-home mom trying to simplify life, find happiness in the ordinary, and bring beauty into her home on a budget.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

categories:  areas of spending (such as food, rent, and entertainment)
semi-annual:  twice a year (such as taxes and car insurance)
picky:  strict
data:  expenses, how much you’re spending in each category
tricky:  complicated
receipts:  paper records you get when you buy something
track:  see where the money is spent
within:  inside without going over
charities: organizations that help people
church tithings:  donations to your church
up front:  at the beginning
absorbed:  spent
the universe:  God
responsible:  able to do the right thing
allocating:  putting into a category
can’t afford:  don’t have the money for

Here’s a quick video to teach you why budgeting is important:

by Adam Leipzig

a producer, executive and distributor who has overseen more than 25 movies and produced more than 300 stage plays and live events. He was one of the founders of the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

reunion:  a time when people come together again
drift:  move slowly
catch up:  find out what someone has been doing  (idiom)
decade:  ten years
astounding:  surprising
privileged:  given the opportunity
campus:  the grounds of a university
financially:  of or about money
well off:  having more than enough
Renaissance:  the period in Europe from the 1300s to the 1600s
rhetoric:  non-poetic language
geeks:  students who love to study
expansively:  with more and more experiences
ups and downs:  easiness and difficulties
unexamined:  not studied
come up:  are remembered  (idiom)
qualified:  able to do because of knowledge or skill
transform:  become something new
figure out:  think of how to do  (idiom)
outward facing:  thinking of other people
challenging:  difficult
vulnerable:  not safe or secure
apparel:  clothing
decisive:  strong

by Robert Waldinger

a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Zen priest.  He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever done.  Dr. Waldinger is the author of numerous scientific papers as well as two books.  He teaches medical students and psychiatry residents at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and he is a Senior Dharma Teacher in Boundless Way Zen.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

survey:  a list of questions
millennials:  the generation born in the 1980s and 1990s
lean into:  work hard at  (idiom)
hindsight:  memories of the past
20/20:  perfect
turn out:  result  (idiom)
exceedingly:  very, very
fall apart:  end  (idiom)
drop out:  don’t continue  (idiom)
dries up:  ends  (idiom)
distracted:  doing something else
moves the ball down the field:  continues to make progress  (sports idiom)
persistence:  continuing and not quitting
participating:  being part of the activity
tenements:  poor, overcrowded apartment houses
alcoholism:  a dependency on alcohol
schizophrenia:  a serious mental disorder
founders:  people who started the study
generated:  made
toxic:  poisonous
isolated:  apart from other people
quality:  the amount of excellence
conflict:  fighting, arguing
octogenarian:  someone in their 80s
bicker:  argue
mood:  the way someone feels generally
magnified:  made worse
count on:  depend on  (idiom)
wisdom:  deep knowledge
reaching out:  making a connection  (idiom)
family feuds:  bad feelings between family members
toll:  cost
grudges:  hatred for past wrongdoings

by Judson Brewer

an associate Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, where he is Director of Research at the Center for Mindfulness.  He is a leader in the “science of self mastery,” having nearly 20 years of experience with the scientific study of mindfulness.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

retreats:  short courses held away from the city
exhausting:  very tiring
pay attention: focus on something
urge:  need
calories:  food energy
survival:  continuing to live
trigger:  something that makes you take action
reward:  a good thing you get as a result of an action
nerd:  a person who likes to study and learn
obesity:  being too fat
morbidity and mortality:  unhealthiness and death
tap into:  start using
curious:  wanting to know something
cognitively:  in your brain
disenchanted:  not liking
intellectual:  of the brain
on a visceral level:  with deep understanding
letting go:  releasing, giving up, stopping
paradox:  opposite thing that’s also true
cravings:  things that you strongly want
sensations:  feelings in the body
clobbered:  dominated, beat up
perpetuate:  keep doing

by Will Marshall

a space scientist and cofounder of Planet Labs, an American earth imaging private company based in San Francisco.  He was a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center where he helped to formulate the Small Spacecraft Office.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

iconic:  famous, well-known
galvanized:  made people excited
fragile:  easily broken or destroyed
static:  not moving, still
scalable:  able to increase production
ultra:  very very
resolution:  quality of the image
humanitarian:  helping people
mission:  reason, goal
launched:  put into space
capability:  ability to do lots of things
bonded:  held together
democratizing:  making democratic
founders:  people who create a company
passionate:  serious and excited
glints:  shines brightly for a moment
data set:  amount of information
rotates:  spins, turns
scan:  take a picture of
crop yield:  amount of food grown
deforestation:  cutting down forests
universal access:  ability for everyone to get

by Pico Iyer

a British-born essayist and novelist of Indian origin.  He is best known for his travel writing.  He is also an essayist who has been writing for Time magazine since 1986.  He also publishes regularly in Harper’s, The New York Review of Books and The New York Times.

First, preview the vocabulary below.  Then click the exercise  below,  read a question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.

Vocabulary:

raised: grew up
classic: traditional
alien: foreigner
straightforward: simple, not complicated
associated with: connected to
stained-glass: lots of pieces
it came home to me: I realized
wildfire: a fire out of control
ash: what’s left after a fire
literally: actually
sense of: idea about
fashion: make, create
beyond: outside of
tribe: group of people
consists of: is composed of
exhilarating: exciting
typical: common
kin: family
evolving: changing
unprecedented: happening for the first time
blend: mix
rooted in: identified with
bearings: understanding
accumulated: gathered, gotten
perspective: understanding
skeptical: not believing
intrigued: really interested
hemmed and hawed: didn’t know what to say
hymnals: religious songs
assured: promised
restless: not able to sit still
pulsing: full of energy
eminently: very
profoundly: strongly
consult: ask
monks: religious people
critical: most important
blindfold: covering over the eyes
hankers: really wants
ultimately: in the end

© 2014 Ambien Malecot

by Daniel Levitin
an American cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, best-selling author, musician and record producer, who is professor of psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

First preview the vocabulary below.  Then do the exercise by first reading a single question and then listening for the answer.  When you hear the answer, pause the video and answer the question.  Then read the next question and do the same thing.  If you get the answer wrong, then go back to where the answer is given and listen again.

Vocabulary:

fumbling:  searching
locksmith:  a person who replaces locks
desperate:  needing to do something now
shards:  sharp pieces
contractor:  a person who builds things
neuroscientist:  a person who studies the brain
cortisol:  a brain chemical
recline:  lean back
prevent: stop
minimize:  make small
likelihood:  chance
catastrophe:  when everything goes wrong
crystalize:  become well thought out
post mortem:  figuring out what was done wrong and what could be improved
obvious:  easily seen
designate:  choose
scrupulous:  doing what you know is right
confronted with:  face to face with
proxy:  substitute
benefit:  get something good from
rational assessment:  good thinking
pharmaceutical:  about prescription drugs
prescribe:  give a drug
estimates:  guesses
side effect:  a bad result of a drug.
debilitating:  weakening
ethics:  what is right and what is wrong
typical:  common
predator:  an animal who will eat you
flawed:  not perfect

© 2014 Ambien Malecot