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 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 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 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 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

by Bill Gross

an American businessman who serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Idealab, a company that creates companies.   He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology.

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. 

Vocabulary:

factors:  reasons
startup:  a new company
human potential:  What’s possible for a person to achieve
systematic:  with a plan so nothing is forgotten
instincts:  feelings
misperceptions:  wrong beliefs
execution:  doing the job
punched:  hit with a fist
adapt:  change in response to something happening
revenues:  money from sales
funding:  money from others to get a company started
timing:  the correct time to start something new
competitors:  other companies selling the same thing
attributes:  good qualities
definitive:  the correct answer
gaining traction:  becoming more successful
recession:  bad economic period
revenues:  money coming in
© 2014 Ambien Malecot

by Tanniar Leba

an immigrant who came to Canada in 2004 to start a new life in this country.

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:

originally:  at the beginning
refugee:  someone who had to leave their country to be safe
landed:  came to the country
challenging:  difficult to do
housing:  a place to live
shelters:  cheap housing where many people live together
employment:  a job, work
welfare:  money from the government for people with no jobs
orientation session:  introduction talk
volunteer:  work for no money but for the experience
position:  job
opening:  job with no worker yet
background:  history, preparation
give back:  help other people
rights:  the things you have the legal power to do
responsibilities:  the things you should do
patient:  able to wait
benefit:  get help
talent:  skill, easy ability

© 2014 Ambien Malecot