The habits of happiness

Matthieu Ricard: The habits of happiness

THE VOCABULARY LIST:

* hermitage -  A place where one can live in seclusion
Monks often live in hermitage.

* vague - unclear 
This word is vague for me.

* outer - outside, outdoor
She likes the outer of her bag.

* serenity - peace, calm
The serenity of this place makes me feel relaxed.

* trait - feature, characteristic
The best trait of a dog is that it is friendly. 

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Superstar

My cat just really wanted to become a superstar of my videoblog and say "hello" to everyone 

 ;-)

How to spot a liar?

''Here is the truth about the truth: it hurts. So we lie.''

Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar

The vocabulary: 

*white lie - unimportant or well-intentioned untruth
Children often tell a lot of white lies

What we learn before we're born

Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born

The vocabulary: 

- implausible = unbelievable

- readily = easily

- anise = a kind of flowering plant

- siege = besetment

- scarce = limited

- grim = gloomy

- poignant = touching

The hidden power of smiling

Ron Gutman: The hidden power of smiling


The vocabulary: 

* embark - go on board

* yearbook -a school publication with the most important events of a year and pictures of the graduating classes

* womb - a place where something is generated

* frown - to express a feeling by wrinkling the brow

* contagious - tending to spread from one to another

* smiler - someone who smiles :-)

* impair -  to reduce or weaken in strength, quality 

Half a million secrets

Frank Warren: Half a million secrets


New words: 

* artful - creative, clever, skillful 
E.g. She made an artful videoblog.

* randomly - unsystematically 
E.g. The magician picked the cards randomly.

* soulful - emotional
E.g The postcards that are sent to Frank are sometimes very soulful.

* postcard - a card with a space on the one side for the address and a short message and a picture on another side. You can send it by mail. 
E.g. My friend sent me a postcard from the holidays in Italy. 

* handful - a small amount (that a hand can hold)
E.g. I have a handful of  tangerines for you.

* frailty - physical or moral weakness
E.g. She died after a long period of frailty.

*exuberant - full of enthusiasm or joy
E.g. I received an exuberant letter from my friend.

The emergent genius of ant colonies

Deborah Gordon: The emergent genius of ant colonies



The vocabulary list:  

* to emerge - to rise up from
E.g. When the ants emerge, they go to find some food. 

* to dig - to make one's way by removing material
E.g. Ants have to dig their nest. 

* a nest - a number ofinsects, birds or other animals occupying a place
E.g. 75% of ants are working inside the nest. 

* forager - someone who hunts for food
E.g. In prehistoric times men were foragers.