English Recordings

18.
This is different from all other markets in that people do not buy things here such as clothes, shoes, or cars.
Thanks to this, people can easily exchange one country’s money with that of another. People desire to make such exchanges for many reasons. Some are concerned with
the import or export of goods or services between one country and another. Others wish to move capital from one area to another. Still others may want to travel to a
foreign country. This is incredibly important to the global economy. This gets influenced by a real world event, and has an impact on the economy of a nation, causing the
value of its money to rise and fall.

19.
Flying over rural Kansas in an airplane one fall evening was a delightful experience for passenger Walt Morris.
He watched the twinkling farmhouse lights below.
Suddenly, the peace of the evening was broken when the plane’s landing lights started flashing on and off. ‘What’s happening?’ he wondered as he gripped the armrests.
As the pilot was about to make an announcement, he thought, ‘This is it. He’s going to tell us we’ve got a
major problem.’ Instead, he told the passengers, “In case you’re worried about the flashing lights outside the
plane, I’m sending a signal to my kids.” He was relieved to hear the continued announcement: “They’re at
home over on that hill to the left, and they just sent me a Morse code message saying, ‘Good night, Dad.’ ”

20.
If you are worrying about money when you are away, your enjoyment will suffer. Plan your budget in advance
to give yourself time to research the costs fully. If you cannot get confirmed prices, get as many estimates as you can. Note the best price and the worst price and budget
in between the two. Ideally, the budgeted figures will work out just about right. If they don’t, you will have to use your emergency fund to cover basic expenses such as food, transport, and accommodation, and there will be less money available for an unexpected situation that necessitates a sudden change of plan. So, be sure to make your
budget realistic, so that you can be confident that you will be able to pay for all aspects of the trip.

Ask yourself a question. How much time do you spend studying English everyday? I’m not talking about the studying you must do for school, I’m talking about the time that you spend on your own. If you are like most people, you study a lot one day, or for a few days, and then do nothing at all for several days. Then you start to feel guilty for not studying, so you decide that you are going to change that pattern again. You study very hard for a while and then eventually quit again.

Studying for 20 minutes every day is much better than studying for 2 hours and 20 minutes once a week. Your brain can only take in a certain amount of information at one time. If you study for longer than that at one time then you will forget much of what you have learned. Also, if you study for a short time each day, your brain has a chance to think about what you just learned, and then practice it before you study again the next day. Make studying a habit. Don’t have an all or nothing attitude. 10 minutes is still better than nothing. Always remember that.

Listen to a podcast, write a comment, read a blog. Just make sure you do something every day. If you can spend more time that is great, but make sure you can do something every single day. I challenge you to study English for 20 min every day for the next 30 days. You can’t do nothing one day and then 40 minutes the next. That doesn’t count. The challenge is that you must do it every single day for 30 days. Do you think you can do it? I know you can.

If someone is leading a “double life” it means that in one area of their life they act a certain way and portray a certain image, whereas in another area of their life they act and behave completely differently; hence the term “double life”. Usually the reason that the person needs to portray two different characters is that they have some secret part of their life that they don’t want other people to know about.

As an example, imagine a really nice mother who is a great wife, takes great care of her kids and has a nice job. Everyone thinks she perfect. Secretly however, she dates several men behind her husband’s back and tells no one about it. This woman is leading a double life.

Sometimes teens lead “double lives” because their parents won’t allow them to do certain things that their friends do. They seem like perfect kids in front of their parents, but do all sorts of “bad” things behind their parent’s backs.

This expression means to handle a situation in a kind and ethical way instead of retaliating and seeking revenge.

Here is a common situation where this expression is used:

Imagine your boss was in a bad mood one day and started yelling at you for no good reason and complaining about your work. You’d probably be upset by this and might want to retaliate by saying something negative to him. Let’s say that you discuss this with your friend and your friend says to you; “He’s just in a bad mood. Of course he shouldn’t have yelled at you, but if you get upset and yell back then you are just as bad as he is. You should take the high road and forget about it.”

Imagine your ex-girlfriend sees you and tells you that she never loved you and hated the whole time you were together. You could retaliate by saying something horrible to her, or you could take the high road by disregarding what she said or saying something like, “I’m sorry you feel that way”.

I know from experience it’s difficult to take the high road (I don’t always do it) but it’s certainly something we should all try to do.

Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.

The core focus of cognitive psychology is on how people acquire, process and store information. There are numerous practical applications for cognitive research, such as ways to improve memory, how to increase decision-making accuracy, and how to structure educational curricula to enhance learning.

Until the 1950s, behaviorism was the dominant school of thought in psychology. Between 1950 and 1970, the tide began to shift against behavioral psychology to focus on topics such as attention, memory, and problem solving. Often referred to as the cognitive revolution, this period generated considerable research including processing models, cognitive research methods and the first use of the term "cognitive psychology."

How is Cognitive Psychology Different?

* Unlike behaviorism, which focuses only on observable behaviors, cognitive psychology is concerned with internal mental states.
* Unlike psychoanalysis, which relies heavily on subjective perceptions, cognitive psychology uses scientific research methods to study mental processes.

Who Should Study Cognitive Psychology?

Because cognitive psychology touches on many other disciplines, people in a number of different fields often study this branch of psychology. The following are just a few of those who may benefit from studying cognitive psychology.

* Students interested in behavioral neuroscience, linguistics, industrial-organizational psychology, artificial intelligence and other related areas.
* Teachers, educators and curriculum designers can benefit by learning more about how people process, learn, and remember information.
* Engineers, scientists, artists, architects and designers can all benefit from understanding internal mental states and processes.

Anesthesia is a mysterious concept to most of us, even if we've been anesthetized before. The term comes from the Greek for "loss of sensation," but that's not the only effect it causes in your body. Anesthesia, essentially a reversible condition induced by drugs, is intended to result in one or more different states of being. It can relieve pain, give you amnesia to knock out your memory of the procedure or how it felt, reduce anxiety (because who doesn't have anxiety when undergoing a medical procedure?) and paralyze your muscles.

It sounds a little scary, but anesthesia is made as safe as possible by careful calculation of the required dosages and diligent monitoring by medical professionals. And not all types of anesthesia are created equal.

When you think of anesthesia, it's likely you think of what's called general anesthesia, which is when you're completely unconscious during a medical procedure such as a major surgery. But there are several different types, and not all of them leave you oblivious to the world. Local anesthesia, for example, can affect just a small patch of skin. Which type you receive depends on a number of factors, including what kind of medical procedure you need and what your medical history looks like. There can also be some overlap between different types of anesthesia, and often, more than one drug is necessary to produce all the desired effects.

Repetitive listening is a powerful way to get used to a new language. How often should we listen to the same content?

The key is to do what you want to do. There are two principles at work.

1) Repetition: Repetition helps to create new neural networks in the brain.

2) Novelty: The brain likes new things. Once you are bored, you stop noticing and you stop learning.

You have to find your own balance between repetition and novelty. Some content is interesting, or you like the voice and you can listen many times. Some content you do not want to listen to again. Keep the interest level up, and choose when to repeat and when to move on.

It is your own personal journey.

High-speed steel tools are so named because they were developed to cut at higher speeds. First produced in the early 1900s, high-speed steels are the most highly alloyed of the tool steels. They can be hardened to various depths, have good wear resistance, and are relatively inexpensive. Because of their toughness and high resistance to fracture, high-speed steels are especially suitable for high positive rake-angle tools (those with small included angles), for interrupted cuts, and for machine tools with low stiffness that are subject to vibration and chatter.
There are two basic types of high-speed steels: molybdenum (M series) and tungsten (T series). The M series contains up to about 10% molybdenum, with chromium, vanadium, tungsten, and cobalt as alloying elements. The T series contains 12% to 18% tungsten, with chromium, vanadium, and cobalt as alloying elements. The M series generally has higher abrasion resistance than the T series, undergoes less distortion during heat treating, and is less expensive. Consequently, 95% of all high-speed steel tools are made of M-series steels.
High-speed-steel tools are available in wrought, cast, and sintered (powder-metallurgy) forms. They can be coated for improved performance. High-speed-steel tools may also be subjected to surface treatments, such as case hardening for improved hardness and wear resistance or steam treatment at elevated temperatures to develop a black oxide layer for improved performance - for instance, to reduce built-up edge formation.
High-speed steels account for the largest tonnage of tool materials used today, followed by various die steels and carbides. They are used in a wide variety of cutting operations requiring complex tool shapes, such as drills, reamers, taps and gear cutters. Their most important limitation is the cutting speeds that can be employed, which are low relative to those of carbide tools.

The best way to manage your stress is to learn healthy coping strategies. You can start practicing these tips right away. Try one or two until you find a few that work for you. Practice these techniques until they become habits you turn to when you feel stress.

1. Write: It may help to write about things that are bothering you. Write for 10 to 15 minutes a day about stressful events and how they made you feel. Or think about starting a stress journal. This helps you find out what is causing your stress and how much stress you feel. After you know, you can find better ways to cope.

2. Let your feelings out:

Talk, laugh, cry, and express anger when you need to. Talking with friends, family, a counselor, or a member of the clergy about your feelings is a healthy way to relieve stress.

3. Focus on the present:

Meditation and guided imagery are two ways to focus and relax your mind.

i)Meditate. When you meditate, you focus your attention on things that are happening right now. Paying attention to your breathing is one way to focus.

ii)Use guided imagery.With guided imagery, you imagine yourself in any setting that helps you feel calm and relaxed. You can use audiotapes, books, or a teacher to guide you

1. What is serotonin?
Serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter, a type of chemical that helps relay signals from one area of the brain to another. Although serotonin is manufactured in the brain, where it performs its primary functions, some 90% of our serotonin supply is found in the digestive tract and in blood platelets.

2.What role does serotonin play in our health?

As a neurotransmitter, serotonin helps to relay messages from one area of the brain to another. Because of the widespread distribution of its cells, it is believed to influence a variety of psychological and other body functions. Of the approximately 40 million brain cells, most are influenced either directly or indirectly by serotonin. This includes brain cells related to mood, sexual desire and function, appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, and some social behavior.

In terms of our body function, serotonin can also affect the functioning of our cardiovascular system, muscles, and various elements in the endocrine system. Researchers have also found evidence that serotonin may play a role in regulating milk production in the breast, and that a defect within the serotonin network may be one underlying cause of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).

3. Can exercise boost serotonin levels?

Exercise can do a lot to improve your mood -- and across the board, studies have shown that regular exercise can be as effective a treatment for depression as antidepressant medication or psychotherapy. In the past, it was believed that several weeks of working out was necessary to see the effects on depression, but new research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin found that just 40 minutes of regular exercise can have an immediate effect on mood.

That said, it remains unclear of the exact mechanism by which exercise accomplishes this. While some believe it affects serotonin levels, to date there are no definitive studies showing that this is the case.