98-1 Phase 1 Advanced English Script
Education I: Back to School in Asia
Suffering from back-to-school blues?
Here are some tips to help you keep your sanity through the stress
Fall has arrived again, and for students and parents everywhere that means school is back in session. For many students that is not good news. While many students around the world experience the back-to-school blues, the pressure to succeed academically in Asia is particularly intense. Going back to school means 12-to 14- hour days that don't end when the last bell sounds. After school most of my students try to balance extracurricular activities like sports and band with cram school sessions to get better grades and pass critical tests. Many of my students eat breakfast, lunch and dinner away from home. And when they finish cram school at 9 p.m. they head home to dig in to hours of homework. They barely have time to flop into bed before the cycle starts again. Almost all of my students tell me that sleep is their favorite hobby!
Many parents sympathize with their kids, but have no idea how to remedy the situation. They, too, experienced this intense pressure when they were students. And the roots of this kind of pressure go back thousands of years.
Chinese culture has always valued the role of the intellectual. Imperial exams are a hallmark of Chinese history, establishing Chinese society early on as one of the most sophisticated in the world. Successfully passing exams meant financial security and social influence.
The pressure to pass those exams has filtered down to today's students. Unfortunately, though, it means that students are often learning to pass tests, not master subjects. They are mavens of memorizing, but not of critical thinking. Students entering university are often frustrated by the feeling that they have forgotten everything they learned. The heavy emphasis on test scores can also make students feel like numbers.
The fact that relatively few areas of study are encouraged doesn't help students, either. Students with unconventional ambitions often feel marginalized. A few of my students, talented artists and linguists, have tested into biology and law programs they couldn't care less about.
So what can Asian students do to keep their sanity and forge their own identity, while still fulfilling their responsibility to their parents? Here are a few ideas for students and for parents who want to encourage their children.
The basics: healthy foods, sleep and exercise. Nothing helps you stay focused and calm like good health. Eating well, sleeping seven to nine hours every night, and exercising can help you keep a clear head and prevent depression and irritability!Remember, naps are a great way to refresh yourself throughout the day. Take one or even two!
Do something you enjoy just for fun, every day. Even if you are low on sleep and stressed out, take a little time—even just 30 minutes a day—to do something you love. This will help keep you motivated and relaxed. Whatever you enjoy—reading, painting, playing an instrument, cooking, putting together model airplanes—be tenacious about making time for it every day.
Keep a journal. Writing helps keep you from feeling overwhelmed. This exercise also helps you sort out your feelings and get to the root of problems. That can help you stay calm and make better decisions. Keeping journals can also help you figure out who you are and what is important to you.
Pray. Praying is one of the quickest ways to relax and gain perspective. Even just five minutes of focused prayer can help you remember that your life does matter. People who pray regularly have been shown to have far lower stress levels and lower blood pressure than their counterparts.
Specialized Terms
cram school (n) 補習班
a type of school that prepares students to meet certain goals, especially to pass high school or university entrance examinations; the term comes from ”cramming,” which means to study hard or learn a lot of information in a short period of time
maven (n) 專家；權威人士
an expert; a person with good knowledge or understanding of something
marginalize (v) 排擠；邊緣化
to treat people or things as if they are not important
test into (v) 參加考試以進入
to take and pass a test in order to participate in a certain class or program (informal)
Vocabulary Focus
extracurricular (adj)
describes an activity or subject that is not part of the usual school courses
dig in (idiom)
start to work intensely or thoroughly on something
hallmark (n)
a typical characteristic or feature of a person or thing
filter down (v)
to appear or happen gradually or over a long period of time
unconventional (adj)
different from what is usual or from the way most people do things
couldn’t care less (idiom)
used to emphasize rudely that one is not interested in or concerned about something or someone
counterpart (n)
a person or thing with the same purpose as another one in a different place, organization or situation
98-1 Phase 2 Advanced English Script
Health I: When the Blues Won’t Go Away
A new way to beat chronic discontent
It can be a familiar and uncomfortable feeling: You're frazzled, discontent and looking for something to make you happy and fulfilled. You may become enthusiastic about something new in your life—a job, a relationship, a home—but in time you completely lose that excitement and joy. Nothing seems to satisfy you. Maybe you occasionally explode over something small and insignificant.
Psychologist Alan Downs calls this form of low-grade depression "chronic discontent"— and he has suffered from it himself. "For a good 10 years, from the time I was a young adult, I suffered from it," he says. "And I did a number of things to try to manage it"—including changing jobs, relationships and cities. The condition, technically called dysthymia, can trigger a number of symptoms, including feeling frustrated, stressed, irritable, discouraged, cynical, overwhelmed and fed up.
Real-life examples
Here are two examples from Downs' book, The Half-Empty Heart: A Supportive
Guide to Breaking Free From Chronic Discontent:
* John is always taking up a new sport or becoming obsessed with a new high-tech gadget—but none holds his interest for long, and all the trappings wind up in his closet.
* Annette has just broken off her third relationship this year. Each romance seemed promising initially, but after several months she became dissatisfied.
The origins and the results
The bottom line with chronic discontent, Downs says, is dysfunction in the way an individual feels and handles emotions. The result is difficulty feeling anything meaningful. Left untreated, it can develop into & more serious psychological problem, such as major depression. And the seeds of chronic discontent, he says, often go back to childhood when "instead of experiencing our true feelings, we learned to hide them from the world around us."
An interview with Biography magazine
Biography: What was the hardest part about handling your own chronic discontent?
Downs: What brought me to the brink was realizing what I had done to so many personal relationships in my life. This was coupled with the obligation I felt as a psychologist to have known better. It was a double whammy.
Symptoms
Biography: What are some symptoms to look for?
Downs: For one, there's constant disappointment, and also feelings of helplessness, lack of motivation and passion.
Biography: We all get irritable from time to time, and complain about our jobs or want a new house or new car. How can you tell the difference?
Downs: Chronic discontent is an ongoing trend. You can't find anything that makes you happy for any length of time. That's different from going through a bad patch for a couple of days, which all of us do. However, the person with chronic discontent never wakes up from that bad patch.
Biography: So what makes someone suddenly realize she has the condition?
Downs: When something hits us—a relationship falls apart, we lose our job—and it throws us into depression. That's often the wake-up call.
An effective tool
Biography: In your book, you recommend five weeks of journal writing as a way of lifting chronic discontent. Why?
Downs: Journaling has a hidden power that we don't realize until we do it. Sometimes what you feel doesn't hit you until you see your thoughts on paper. Think of journaling as a backdoor approach to becoming more familiar with feelings you haven't allowed yourself to express.
Biography: How does someone get started?
Downs: List the relationships that mean the most to you. Then focus on one relationship a day in your journal. Write what you really feel about that person, looking for a balance between the positive and negative. If you can't find it, you need to write why that is.
Specialized Terms
lowgrade (adj) 輕度的
of a lesser or Inferior quality or level
trappings (n pl) 裝飾物
outward things that are part of something; accessories
dysfunction (n) 官能障礙
a problem or fault in something, an instance when something doesn’t behave or work normally
double whammy (n phr) 禍不單行
a situation when two unpleasant things happen at almost the same time (informal)
Vocabulary Focus
blues (n pl)
feelings of sadness
chronic (adj)
continuing for a long time. Especially of a disease or something bad
frazzled (adj)
extremely tired in a nervous or slightly anxious way after a lot of mental or physical effort
fed up (adj phr)
bored, annoyed or disappointed, especially by something one has experienced for too long
obsessed (adj)
unable to stop thinking about something: too interested in or worried about something
brink (n)
the point where a new or different situation is about to begin; the edge
wake-up call (idiom)
something that makes one realize he or she needs to take action to change a Situation
backdoor (adj)
relating to something that comes from an indirect, sometimes secret approach
98-1 Phase 3 Advanced English Script
Business III: Power Pictures in Public Speaking
How to make your next talk a great talk
Great presentations and speeches make powerful impressions on listeners. They persuade, sell and motivate. But what makes this magic happen? Usually, it's because the speaker has introduced one or more “power pictures” into the talk. Power pictures make a vivid impression on listeners and convince them to shift their attitudes or act in a fundamentally different way.
Next time you’re planning to speak to others, use one or more of these power-speaking secrets to move your audience:
1. Startle. Get your audience thinking-or stir their emotions-by announcing some unusual or provocative information. The result: They'll become receptive to whatever idea or proposition you’re advancing. Example: “Did you know that expenses in this account have increased 310% in the last two years?”
2. Personalize. Nothing is more interesting than a personal story. So talk about yourself as much as your ideas. Example: “I became interested in this product because of something, that happened when I was 14 years old…
3. Show and tell. This isn't just for elementary students; people of all ages love exhibits and displays. Use strategic props during your talk, and you'll engage and interest your audience. Examples: photographs, prototypes, humorous knickknacks.
4. Localize. Use examples familiar to your audience, mention audience members by name, or pose questions to specific listeners. Example: “Pat knows all about this problem. Let me tell you what Pat and I did last week…”
5. Use warmth. What's human and touching about your presentation? How does your product, idea or proposal affect other people? In very personal terms, describe how your proposition changes people's lives. Examples: testimonials, illustrations, touching stories.
6. Reminisce. In this fast-paced world, most people respond positively to recollections of past happy times. If your organization, product or cause has a rich history, you can use these recollections to powerful effect. Examples: memories of meeting mutually respected people, accounts of barriers broken and challenges overcome, anecdotes from meetings and conventions.
7. Threaten. Few pitches stir interest and emotion more than threats. So instead of asking yourself how your idea or product helps your audience, ask how the absence of your product potentially hurts them. Example: “Let me tell you how your family's security is threatened every single day…”
8. Laugh. Many subjects can be explored through humor. A funny self-deprecating story or amusing customer anecdote might be a great way to start. Examples: your funniest sale, your most unusual customer, your most embarrassing mistake.
9. Play. At the very least, entertainment and old-fashioned, ordinary fun attract audience attention and provoke smiles. At best, they convince. Simple games and contests involving audience participation can easily be conducted within the span of 30 to 60 seconds. Examples: information contests (such as “name the person” or “remember the date”) and raffles both work well.
10. Express. Words are still the most powerful tool in your public speaking arsenal. Cleverly worded phrases help paint pictures in the minds of audience members, and help them remember your point long after they have forgotten your name or other details of your talk. Examples: repetition (repeating the same idea over and over, perhaps using different illustrations or examples), alliteration, hyperbole, or metaphor.
Specialized Terms
prop (n) 道具
any moveable article used for a theatrical presentation or demonstration
prototype (n) 模型；原型
the original model of something from which later forms are developed
pitch (n) 推銷；宣傳
a speech that attempts to persuade someone to believe in something, or to buy or do something
raffle (n) 抽獎
an activity in which people buy numbered tickets, some of which are later chosen to win prizes, which is arranged in order to make money for a good social purpose
alliteration (n) 押頭韻
the use of the same sound or sounds, especially consonants, at the beginning of several words that are close together
hyperbole (n) 誇張的修辭
a figure of speech that deliberately exaggerates certain aspects of something to emphasize it
metaphor (n) 暗喻
a way of describing something by comparing it with something else with some of the same qualities
Vocabulary Focus
stir (v)
to make someone feel a strong emotion
provocative (adj)
causing thought about interesting subjects; causing reaction
knickknack (n)
a small decorative object, especially in a house
recollection (n)
a memory of something, or the ability to remember past events
anecdote (n)
a short, often amusing story, especially about something someone has done
self-deprecating (adj)
trying to make oneself, one's abilities or one's achievements seem less important
arsenal (n)
a supply of weapons, methods or resources