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Academic Englishfrom the Student Learning Centre at Massey University, Auckland, |
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futile
April 24, 2013 12:22 AM PDT
KIWI PHOTO Sculpture at Waterworks, Coromandel, New Zealand ACADEMIC WORD A futile action is a waste of time, because it has no real value. For example, spending time in the university library is futile, if all you do there is chat to your friends and look at Facebook! There have been many books, films and songs about the futility of war – in other words, arguing that war is a waste of time. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? He should have known it was futile to argue with the referee. He just got a yellow card for his trouble. There’s nothing worse than working for a futile manager, who lacks the basic skills and motivation for the job. Speculation regarding the reasons for his decision is futile, as he is unable to discuss these for legal reasons. Her complaints were no more than a futile gesture, as it was already clear that she would lose the game. PRACTICE Are there any aspects of your work or study which you regard as futile? Are there any situations in which speculation, war or anxiety might NOT be futile? KIWI QUIZ Tomorrow, April 25th is Anzac Day, a public holiday in New Zealand and Australia, in which people remember those who served – and especially those who gave their lives – in wars. In which country, between Europe and Asia, is there an especially large celebration of Anzac Day? VIDEO Today’s video (from TED) features the behavioural economist, Dan Ariely, talking about what makes us feel good at work. 1) How does Dan Ariely characterise the traditional view of human behaviour in Economic theory? simplistic / animalistic / irrational 2) Dan Ariely uses the example of mountain climbing to illustrate the ___________ of human motivation. unpleasantness/ simplicity/ complexity 3) Dan Ariely describes the Greek story of Sisyphus as ‘the essence of doing futile work’ because it involves ____________ a job that is never started a project whose value continues to declinea task that can never be completed 4) The difference between the two groups of participants in the first experiment was whether or not __________ they received less money for each new model they built they saw their models being taken apart they could create their own unique designs 5) When people were asked to predict the results of this experiment, they _________ correctly identified the condition in which participants would produce more exaggerated the difference between the two conditions were unable to distinguish between the two conditions 6) They also found that people’s enjoyment in the activity was dependent on how ______________ it was. meaningful / useful / achievable 7) The second experiment suggested that ignoring people’s achievements is _____________ destroying their achievements before their eyes. much worse than / nearly as bad as / the same as
8) Early cake mixes were unsuccessful because the instructions were too ________ complicated / undemanding / unclear 9) The origami experiment showed a correlation between the amount people were willing to pay for an object and _______ the effort they put into making it the objective beauty of the creation the clarity of the instructions for making it 10) Dan Ariely believes that traditional, industrial economic theory, first formulated by the Scottish economist Adam Smith, puts a higher value on the __________ of work than on its meaning. value / efficiency / complexity A Poem: Futility by Wilfred Owen (1915) Move him into the sun—
March 22, 2013 10:26 PM PDT
KIWI PHOTO View over Auckland from the West ACADEMIC WORD If people, policies or attitudes are consistent, it means they follow the same basic patterns and values over a period of time. You can also use the word ‘consistent’ to compare actions and values. If an action is consistent with a value, it means that it follows that value, with no contradiction. For example, you would expect a person who tells you they are a vegetarian to say no to a kebab, because eating meat is inconsistent with their beliefs. It’s important in research to consider whether the findings of a new study are consistent with those of previous research, because any inconsistencies will need to be explained – and this may mean that existing theories need to be challenged. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? Although we sometimes disagreed with the manager, at least he was consistent in his approach to the It’s encouraging to report that, despite a challenging competitive environment, the firm’s market position has improved consistently over the last year. Although never exactly a star, she was one of the team’s most consistent performers over a number of years. The findings of previous research were not consistent with those which have emerged from this study, which may be attributed to measurement error. PRACTICE How important do you believe it is that these people behave consistently? parents / lecturers / entertainers KIWI QUIZ In which sport is New Zealand’s national team known as ‘The Black Caps’? Cricket / Netball / Rugby VIDEO This is the opening lecture in a course about moral philosophy at Harvard University in the USA. The lecturer is Michael Sandell. He first presents his students with four ethical dilemmas and then talks about the value of philosophy and what students might hope to gain by studying it. 1) The first dilemma involves a trolley car (a kind of vehicle used to repair railway tracks) which is out of control and going to hit five people. But you can turn it onto another track where it will only kill one person. How many of the students would turn the trolley car? all / most / few / one / none 2) In the second dilemma, instead of turning the wheel to save the five people, they have to push a fat man in front of the trolley car. How many of the students would push the man? all / most / few / one / none 3) In the third dilemma, they are a doctor who can choose to keep one badly-injured patient alive, or to let them die in order to save five other less badly-injured people. How many of the students would save the one badly-injured patient? all / most / few / one / none 4) In the fourth dilemma, they are a surgeon who could remove organs from one healthy person (who would die) in order to save five other people who need organ transplants. How many of the students would remove the organs from the healthy man? all / most / few / one / none 5) The majority decision in the first dilemma (to turn the car so that only one person dies and five live) is consistent with: 6) The majority decisions in the second and fourth dilemmas (refusing to push the fat man or remove organs from the healthy man) are consistent with: Consequentialist Ethics / Categorical Ethics / Egoism 7) Which approach to Ethics, did Immanuel Kant contribute to? Consequentialist Ethics / Categorical Ethics / Egoism 8) What is the main reason Michael Sandell gives for why philosophy is difficult? It involves reading a lot of historical books It means you have to deal with abstract concepts It makes you question your values and knowledge 9) How does Michael Sandell describe the argument that studying philosophy makes students better citizens? valid / misleading / false 10) How does Michael Sandell describe the view that philosophy has no value and we may as well accept that there’s no way to judge whether any views are right or wrong? absolutism / reductionism / skepticism 11) Michael Sandell agrees with Immanuel Kant that skepticism is: only a temporary escape from ethical problems too restless to produce rational argument an inherent part of human nature _____________________________________________________________ Here are some more podcasts on Philosophical Topics: Genetics and morality http://tinyurl.com/kmhogb Creative thinking (with Edward de Bono) http://tinyurl.com/n7s2uk Business and morality http://tinyurl.com/le8osf Utilitarianism http://tinyurl.com/ngohx6 Bias in decision-making http://tinyurl.com/ne7j5z Decision error http://tinyurl.com/6c4b6m Flow http://tinyurl.com/5v5qsu Philosophy of happiness http://tinyurl.com/5h2qud Ethics of Google ads http://tinyurl.com/lwjkvr Religious intolerance http://tinyurl.com/6qooyz Business and morality http://tinyurl.com/le8osf Politics of the Common Good http://tinyurl.com/ry3ldt The value of compliments http://tinyurl.com/lbtowc Happy Planet Index http://tinyurl.com/l84o2q Ethics of graphic design http://tinyurl.com/lqj9bl Neuroscience and the self http://tinyurl.com/pt73rk The philosophy of nothing http://tinyurl.com/ygmu9jj Ethical business and microfinance http://tinyurl.com/yfcv9jb Popper http://tinyurl.com/yjpt2rk Perfectionism http://tinyurl.com/2f6y9p6 Relational ethics http://tinyurl.com/4u6bcen
conventional
November 18, 2012 07:42 PM PST
KIWI PHOTO Staff at the Library and Centre for Teaching and Learning, Massey University celebrating Diwali, November 2012. ACADEMIC WORD Conventional ideas or ways of doing things are accepted, common and familiar. Unconventional ideas can be new, unfamiliar and disturbing, but can allow for critical understanding and change. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? Theirs was a highly unconventional home life, in which parental responsibilities were shared among several adults. Her approach to design was unconventional and difficult for her colleagues to understand but no one could argue with her results. His dress sense was, to say the least, unconventional, which certainly made him stand out in a crowd. The introduction of new, unconventional laws led to widespread resistance and anger among the wider population. PRACTICE Would you describe yourself as unconventional in your _________ daily routine? dress sense? taste in music? religious beliefs? KIWI QUIZ Rhythm and Vines is a popular _________ festival which takes place at New Year in Gisborne, New Zealand. Music / Food and Wine / Religious VIDEO 1) According to 2010 estimates, in which year is China expected to become the world’s largest economy? 2020 2025 2027 2) Martin Jacques believes that it is mistaken to assume that modernisation is ________________ westernisation. independent of dependent on associated with 3) Martin Jacques argues that the Chinese concept of the state is different from that in the West because it is based on ______ nation progress civilisation 4) What does Martin Jacques see as the disadvantage of the strong Han identity in China? it has led to a lack of appreciation for diversity it has kept China together as a single state it has led to unsustainable centralisation of power 5) One reason Martin Jacques thinks that the Chinese state has legitimacy and authority is its ___________ democratic roots long history efficiency 6) Martin Jacques believes that the Chinese identify the role of the state as similar to _________ the head of the family an unwelcome intruder a constraint on decision-making 7) What two major flaws does Martin Jacques identify in the conventional Western view of China? laziness and superficiality greed and hypocrisy arrogance and ignorance 8) Martin Jacques argues that, compared to Europe, East Asian countries have a stronger sense of the ______ past present future 9) Martin Jacques believes that the global shift of power away from Europe and North America is generally ______ positive uncertain unbalanced GRAMMAR SPOT Sentence Inversion. Sometimes, for extra emphasis, we put a negative phrase (Never ____, Only ____, Not only __, No sooner ______) at the beginning of a sentence. When we do that, we need to use the question form of the main verb. Here is an example from the lecture:
Do the same with these sentences. Start the sentence with the negative phrase and make the necessary changes to the sentence, keeping the same meaning. Sicily is the only place where you can only ski and sunbathe in the same afternoon. Only in ___________________________________________ The new model is not only more powerful than the existing one; it is also cheaper. Not only _________________________________________ I’ve never seen such maturity in one so young. Never ___________________________________________ As soon as we had completed our exams, we started preparing for summer school. No sooner ________________________________________ simulation
November 12, 2012 12:31 AM PST
ACADEMIC WORD Simulate means to to create a situation which has the main features of a real situation, in order to understand or experience it. Simulations are often used in training, because it’s too expensive or dangerous to expose trainees to the real situations they need to be able to deal with. So, for example, when pilots are learning how to fly planes, they spend many hours in a flight simulator, which allows them to experience different simulations of taking off, landing, dealing with emergencies etc. Computer simulations are very commonly used in order to test economic or scientific models. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? All managers participated in an emergency response training day which included simulations of two major incidents on campus. The laboratory results need to be confirmed through a real-life simulation in naturalistic conditions. The engineering department uses state-of-the-art crash simulation equipment to test its prototypes to industry standards. The program allows for dynamic, three-dimensional simulations of the operating environment, allowing engineers to identify design issues at the earliest stage. PRACTICE What are the limitations of simulations as training exercises? What models are used in your subject area to simulate the behaviour of systems in the real world? KIWI QUIZ In which of these regions of New Zealand can you visit Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers? Northland / Southland / West Coast VIDEO 1) Why were the brains of ancestors of modern humans less able to simulate future situations? They were too small They lacked a certain structure They were unable to visualise 2) The example of a disgusting ice-cream flavour shows the _________ of humans’ ability to simulate experiences. limitations effectiveness strangeness 3) The example of lottery winners and paraplegics (people with physical disabilities, for instance, as the result of a serious accident) shows the _________ of humans’ ability to simulate experiences. limitations effectiveness strangeness 4) In our simulations, we tend to __________ the impact of future events on our happiness. predict exaggerate minimise 5) Dan Gilbert gives four examples of newspaper interviews to show how people are able to feel happy despite ________ misfortune fame depression 6) According to Dan Gilbert, synthetic happiness is thought to be inferior to ‘natural happiness’ because _______ it is associated with Zen Buddhism it depends on economic benefits it is non-materialistic 7) The ‘free choice’ experiment (in which participants are asked to rank Monet prints, choose one and then rank them again two weeks later) shows how people tend to _______ feel their choice was the best of all develop a strong dislike for the item they rejected feel a stronger preference for their choice 8) What was interesting about the results of the same experiment with participants who have lost their short-term They also felt more positive about the print they had previously chosen They could not remember which print they had chosen They were unable to express any preference regarding the print 9) Dan Gilbert describes synthetic happiness (our ability to simulate feelings of happiness even when our situation has not become objectively better) as our psychological __________ system. immune cognitive selective 10) The experiment in which participants had to choose one photo to keep showed that those who were not allowed to change their minds were ______ satisfied with their photo. more equally less 11) Most people express preferences for situations where they will ______ be happier have freedom of choice make an irreversible decision 12) Dan Gilbert agrees with Adam Smith that people should avoid ______ simulating either pain or pleasure uncontrolled ambitions expressing preferences for one situation over another Inspiration
November 04, 2012 03:20 PM PST
KIWI PHOTO Ceilidh in St Matthew’s Church, Auckland, October 2012 ACADEMIC WORD When you are inspired, it means that someone or something gave you a feeling of energy and creativity. Sometimes dreams, relationships and nature have been the source of inspiration for many artists, composers and writers. However, there is a famous saying by the American inventor Thomas Edison that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, which means that even if you are inspired, you still need to work hard. TEST Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out? The idea for the slogan came in a sudden flash of inspiration, after I’d almost given up on the project. I think I need to leave this report aside for a few days; I’m just lacking the inspiration to come up with anything interesting to say. Our team has drawn inspiration from traditional Māori carvings as well as from classic modernist themes. We’ve worked hard to build the inspiration which is one of the core brand values of this organisation. PRACTICE What are the most important sources of inspiration for your work? Have you ever managed to inspire others? KIWI QUIZ Which New Zealand director has completed filming of ‘The Hobbit’ in Wellington this year? Sir Peter Jackson / Hugh Jackman / Jack Sparrow VIDEO This is a short presentation from the TED site by a German marketing director, Tim Leberecht. He talks about the risks and opportunities of a more open approach to brands. You can see the video by clicking on this link. Pause the podcast so that you can listen to the video and answer the questions below. Then play the podcast again to hear the answers to the questions. 1) What percentage of employees agreed that they felt inspired by the firm they worked for? less than one in twenty approximately a quarter more than half 2) A traditional definition of a brand is what customers say about you ____ to your face behind your back at the top of their voice 3) Social media has given organisations control over _______ customer loyalty in an online environment transparent communications between customers the loss of control of their brand 4) A rock band, a chocolate company and a global IT company are used as examples of giving customers ________ control restrictions surprises 5) The innovative campaigns by the outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, were designed to increase _______ advertising brand value sales 6) Restricting choice can be a way of making work, products or services more ______ abundant traditional meaningful 7) A travel company, an airline and a florist are examples of companies which give customers _________ surprises control discounts 8) The innovation at Tim’s company, frog, has a _______ purpose. charitable marketing social 9) Tim feels that in an increasingly open environment, companies need to focus more strongly on their ________ competitive advantage sustainable energy core values 10) Which gesture does Tim feel best represents the attitude that organisations should adopt towards the external environment? a smile a shrug a handshake Next Page |
About Martin McMorrowI am the ESOL Learning Advisor at the Student Learning Centre, Massey University, Auckland. This means that I provide academic support for all of the students here who have English as a second language. Feel free to contact me if you have queries or would like any advice about study skills, assignments etc. My email is m.s.mcmorrow@massey.ac.nz Favorite LinksContact MeSubscribe to this Podcast
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