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 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 Danielle Feinberg, Pixar’s director of photography, who creates stories with soul and wonder using math, science and code.

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:

coding:  writing code to make computer programs
junior year:  3^rd year
transfixed:  unable to look away
execute:  make from start to finish
characters:  people, animals, etc. in a story
fascinated:  really interested
comes to life:  looks real
stand out:  be able to be seen from other things (idiom)
incredible:  unbelievable
untethered:  with no limits
chaos:  disorder
jarring:  seen as very unreal
combat:  fight
backbone:  major part
footage:  short film
critical element:  a part that is absolutely necessary
mimics:  copies
current:  movement of water
particulate:  pieces of floating things
ribbons:  long shapes
not beholding to it:  don’t have to keep using it
immerse themselves in:  enter and feel that it’s real
binoculars:  eyes (on WALL-E)
dialogue:  speaking
eureka moment:  the time when you find the solution
floundering:  working but not getting a good result
tether:  connection
strangling:  killing, making it seem unreal
dug in:  worked really hard without stopping (idiom)
doomed:  ready to die
interweaving:  combining

by Latif Nasser
an historian who got his PhD at Harvard in the history of science. He is Director of Research at Radiolab, a radio program produced by WNYC, a public radio station in New York City. The show is available as a podcast and focuses on topics of a scientific and philosophical nature.

First, preview the vocabulary below.  Then click the exercise below, read a question and then listen 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:

remote:  far away from any town
fossil:  the remains of very old animals and plants
prehistoric:  before history
fragments:  small pieces
virtually:  using a computer
skulls:  head bones
species:  kinds of animals
snouts:  noses
extinct:  all dead
blizzards:  snow storms with strong winds
evolved:  changed over a long time
dynamic:  always changing

by Aomawa Shields

an American astronomer/astrophysicist and classically-trained actor.  After completing her degree in planetary sciences from MIT, she earned her master of fine arts degree in theater from UCLA.  She hosted a science TV show on PBS called “Wired Science.”

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:

universe:  all of the stars, planets, and other matter everywhere
contradictions:  things that aren’t normally found together
orbit:  go around a star
reside:  live, be
exoplanets:  planets around stars other than our sun
climate:  the general weather
benign:  harmless, peaceful
etherial:  located in space
melt:  make solid into liquid
on steroids:  multiplied by a hundred
atmosphere:  the air around a planet
scorching:  burning
crucial:  absolutely necessary
dim:  with little light
concept:  idea
absorbs:  takes in
reflects:  bounces back
vital:  absolutely necessary

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

by Greg Gage

a neuroscientist and engineer who is passionate about helping students understand how our brains and our neurons work, because as he said, “We still know very little about how the brain works, and we need to start inspiring kids early to want to know more.

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:

organ: important part of the body
complex: complicated, not simple
access: interact with
neurological disorder: problem with the brain, mental illness
affordable: inexpensive
DIY: do it yourself
demonstration: showing something
electrodes: pads that read and send electricity
neurons:  brain cells
motor cortex: part of the brain that controls movement
spinal chord: nerve in the backbone
free will: ability to choose
weird: strange

© 2014 Ambien Malecot

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, gives a convincing argument of why we all should start doing something to protect ourselves from an epidemic.  Listen and judge for yourself.

Preview the vocabulary below, and 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.

Vocabulary:

hunker down: stay underground
global: worldwide
catastrophe: action that kills many people
virus: microscopic life that can kill
missiles: rockets that can deliver bombs
microbes: very small life forms
deterents: things that stop something from happening
epidemic: a widespread disease
polio: a childhood disease that causes muscle weakness
eradication: destruction, thorough killing
Medecins Sans Frontiers: Doctors Without Borders
diagnostics: tools to find out about the disease
plasma: the liquid part of blood
devastating: destroying, killing
contagious: able to pass from one person to another
urban areas: cities
infectious: able to make people sick
vaccines: treatments that prevent people from getting a disease
pathogen: microorganism that kills
reserves: regular people who are all ready to fight
expertise: expert knowledge
logistics: moving things to where they’re needed
simulations: actions that are like the real thing
equity: quality of being fair and equal