Learning Business English Online

Read the vocabulary, watch the video, and then answer the questions.

How to Buy Happiness

Video: http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_norton_how_to_buy_happiness#t-505303 

Vocabulary

Word	Type	Pronunciation	Definition
lottery	noun	/ˈlɑtəri/	a way of raising money in which many tickets are sold and a few of the tickets are chosen by chance to win prizes
Used in a sentence: Many people play the lottery and hope to win a lot of money.
debt	noun	/det/	an amount of money that you owe to a person, bank, company, etc.
Used in a sentence: Their debts are piling up.
anti-social	adjective	/ˌæntiˈsoʊʃəl/	not friendly to other people
Used in a sentence: My neighbor is antisocial.
affluent	adjective	/ˈæfluənt/	having a large amount of money and owning many expensive things
Used in a sentence: His family was more affluent than most.
universal	adjective	/ˌjunɪˈvɜrsəl/	involving all the members of a group or society
Used in a sentence: The proposal has universal support.
extraordinary	adjective	/ɪkˈstrɔrdənˌeri/	very unusual
Used in a sentence: It’s an extraordinary situation.
literally	adverb	/ˈlɪtərəli/	in a way that uses the ordinary and usual meaning of a word
Used in a sentence: Many words can be used both literally and figuratively.
trivial	adjective	/ˈtrɪviəl/	not important
Used in a sentence: Compared to her problems, our problems seem trivial.
dominate	verb	/ˈdɑmɪˌneɪt/	to be much more powerful or successful than others in a game, competition, etc.
Used in a sentence: Our team dominated throughout the game.
context	noun	/ˈkɑnˌtekst/	the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens
Used in a sentence: We need to consider these events in context.
implication	noun	/ˌɪmplɪˈkeɪʃən/	a possible future effect or result
Used in a sentence: We must consider the long-term implications of the new policies.

Questions:

1. What generally happens when people win the lottery? 
2. How much money were the college students given in the experiment? 
3. Did the sales teams perform better or worse when they spent money on each other instead of themselves? 
4. Does it matter whether you spend the money to buy others small gifts or extraordinary things like medical care? 
5. Describe the experiment the researchers did. 
6. What generally happens when people spend money on themselves? 
7. What generally happens when people send money on others? 
8. According to this study, can money buy happiness? 

Discussion:

Do you think giving to others is important? Describe a time when you gave to someone else. How did it make you feel? 

Answers:

1. What generally happens when people win the lottery? 🡪 Many people who win the lottery go into debt. Their friends and family also bother them to give them money. So overall, it ruins their social relationships and makes them have less money than before they won the lottery. 
2. How much money were the college students given in the experiment? 🡪 The college students were given different amounts of money. Some received five dollars, and some received twenty dollars. 
3. Did the sales teams perform better or worse when they spent money on each other instead of themselves? 🡪 When the sales team spent money on each other, their group performance improved. 
4. Does it matter whether you spend the money to buy others small gifts or extraordinary things like medical care? 🡪 The study did not show huge difference depending on the amount of the gift. If a person purchased something small, or contributed to something large like medical care, the effect was nearly the same. 
5. Describe the experiment the researchers did. 🡪 The researchers gave people money with instructions to either spend it on themselves, or spend it on someone else. They measured their reported happiness before and after spending the money. 
6. What generally happens when people spend money on themselves? 🡪 People’s happiness level tends to stay about the same when they spend money on themselves. 
7. What generally happens when people send money on others? 🡪 People’s happiness level tends to increase when they spend money on other people.
8. According to this study, can money buy happiness? 🡪 This study says money can buy happiness when you spend it on other people. 

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