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Learn English With Ted Talks

Matt Cutts was inspired by Morgan Spurlock to try something new for 30 days to get out of a rut. He found that completing challenging 30-day goals built his self-confidence over time, though he did not actually climb Asia's highest mountain. While he has not always been adventurous, writing a novel in 30 days as a challenge resulted in an unexpectedly successful published work. The talk encourages listeners to challenge themselves with a new 30-day goal to gain from the experience of learning or accomplishing something outside their comfort zone.

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Hassan J. Qawas
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1K views2 pages

Learn English With Ted Talks

Matt Cutts was inspired by Morgan Spurlock to try something new for 30 days to get out of a rut. He found that completing challenging 30-day goals built his self-confidence over time, though he did not actually climb Asia's highest mountain. While he has not always been adventurous, writing a novel in 30 days as a challenge resulted in an unexpectedly successful published work. The talk encourages listeners to challenge themselves with a new 30-day goal to gain from the experience of learning or accomplishing something outside their comfort zone.

Uploaded by

Hassan J. Qawas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LEVEL 3 LEARN ENGLISH WITH TED TALKS

MATT CUTTS: TRY SOMETHING NEW FOR 30 DAYS


Part A. BEFORE YOU WATCH
Discuss the following questions with your partner.
 Why do you think some people like trying new things?
 What problems can people face while trying a new/ exciting activity for the first time?
 What can people gain from the experience of trying or learning something new?

PART B. WHILE YOU WATCH


Watch the TED Talk by Matt Cutts “Try Something New For 30 Days”.
Video Reference:
https://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days?language=vls
Watch the video clip and circle (T) for True or (F) for False.
1. Matt Cutts was inspired by someone else to try something new for 30 days. T F
2. As he accomplished more and harder 30-day challenges, he felt more self-confident. T F
3. He ended up climbing the highest mountain in Asia as part of a 30-day challenge. T F
4. He has always been an adventurous person throughout his life. T F
5. Matt’s novel that he wrote as a challenge became a best-seller in the USA. T
F
 Watch the video again and check your answers.
PART C. AFTER YOU WATCH
C.1. Vocabulary
Analyse the following sentences taken from the transcript and discuss what the words in bold mean.
1. “A few years ago, I felt like I was stuck in a rut, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of the great American
philosopher, Morgan Spurlock, and try something new for 30 days.”
“to be stuck in a rut”: ________________________________________________________________________________
2. “There's a few things I learned while doing these 30-day challenges.”
“challenge”: _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. “Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write their own 50,000-word novel, from scratch, in 30 days.”
“from scratch”: ____________________________________________________________________________________
4. “By the way, the secret is not to go to sleep until you've written your words for the day. You might be sleep-
deprived, but you'll finish your novel. ”
“sleep-deprived”: ___________________________________________________________________________________
5. “When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked like this.”
“give up”:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. “I guarantee you the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you
have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days.” 
“give sth a shot”: ___________________________________________________________________________________
C.2. SPEAKING ACTIVITY
Discuss the following questions with your partner or in a small group.

 Have you ever tried something challenging or exciting?


 If so, what was it? Where & when did you try it? What did you learn from that
experience?
 If not, is there anything you would like to do for the next 30 days? What is it? Why
would you like to do it?
LEVEL 3 LEARN ENGLISH WITH TED TALKS

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