ACME
27-05-2014, 07:02 AM
The listening material for this topic is here
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k631npkg8290gag/willpower.rar
http://www.saudienglish.net/upload/image31138.html
http://www.saudienglish.net/upload/image31139.html
^^^^^^^
The Text
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/
Imagine this
There’s an apple and a piece of cake on a table.
Which one would you like? The delicious cake or the healthy apple?
A new bestseller by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney,
Willpowere : Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength
claims that having strong
willpower is essential to a successful life.
Willpower is the ability to resist temptation – the ability to make
decisions that are better for us in the long term, rather than in the
short term… choosing to eat the apple rather than the piece of cake,
or going to the gym rather than lazing about on the sofa. The book
starts by describing a famous experiment: The Marshmallow Test.
In 1972, psychology professor Walter Mischel tested the willpower
of 600 four- to six-year-olds. In the experiment, each child was left
alone in a room for fifteen minutes with a marshmallow on a table
in front of them. They were given two choices: they could either eat
the marshmallow or, if they waited fifteen minutes, they’d be given a
second marshmallow (and then they could eat both).
So, what did the kids do? Well, as you can imagine, 70% ate the
first marshmallow within the fifteen minutes. But the other 30%
showed willpower – they resisted the temptation and waited for
the second marshmallow. But then Mischel discovered something
really interesting. Twenty years later, he got in touch with the
children, who, by then, were in their early twenties. And he found
that those who’d shown strong willpower were getting better marks
at university, were better behaved and were more popular. But the
authors cite an even more incredible experiment.
Thirty years ago, psychologists tested the willpower of 1,000 threeyear-
olds. Then, they followed the progress of the participants up
until the present day. And they discovered that those who had strong
willpower as children became healthier and wealthier adults. And
those who showed low willpower as children were four times more
likely to get in trouble with the law.
But don’t worry if you aren’t good at controlling your impulses – you
can work on it. The authors say that willpower is like a muscle, and
the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. So, if you do regular
“selfcontrol exercises”, such as making your bed every morning
or flossing your teeth every night, you’ll improve your overall
willpower. And the book’s daily willpower exercises will help you with
those bigger goals, such as studying for an exam or training for a
marathon.
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/
The End
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k631npkg8290gag/willpower.rar
http://www.saudienglish.net/upload/image31138.html
http://www.saudienglish.net/upload/image31139.html
^^^^^^^
The Text
///
/
Imagine this
There’s an apple and a piece of cake on a table.
Which one would you like? The delicious cake or the healthy apple?
A new bestseller by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney,
Willpowere : Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength
claims that having strong
willpower is essential to a successful life.
Willpower is the ability to resist temptation – the ability to make
decisions that are better for us in the long term, rather than in the
short term… choosing to eat the apple rather than the piece of cake,
or going to the gym rather than lazing about on the sofa. The book
starts by describing a famous experiment: The Marshmallow Test.
In 1972, psychology professor Walter Mischel tested the willpower
of 600 four- to six-year-olds. In the experiment, each child was left
alone in a room for fifteen minutes with a marshmallow on a table
in front of them. They were given two choices: they could either eat
the marshmallow or, if they waited fifteen minutes, they’d be given a
second marshmallow (and then they could eat both).
So, what did the kids do? Well, as you can imagine, 70% ate the
first marshmallow within the fifteen minutes. But the other 30%
showed willpower – they resisted the temptation and waited for
the second marshmallow. But then Mischel discovered something
really interesting. Twenty years later, he got in touch with the
children, who, by then, were in their early twenties. And he found
that those who’d shown strong willpower were getting better marks
at university, were better behaved and were more popular. But the
authors cite an even more incredible experiment.
Thirty years ago, psychologists tested the willpower of 1,000 threeyear-
olds. Then, they followed the progress of the participants up
until the present day. And they discovered that those who had strong
willpower as children became healthier and wealthier adults. And
those who showed low willpower as children were four times more
likely to get in trouble with the law.
But don’t worry if you aren’t good at controlling your impulses – you
can work on it. The authors say that willpower is like a muscle, and
the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. So, if you do regular
“selfcontrol exercises”, such as making your bed every morning
or flossing your teeth every night, you’ll improve your overall
willpower. And the book’s daily willpower exercises will help you with
those bigger goals, such as studying for an exam or training for a
marathon.
////////
////
//
/
The End