01 Lectures For Note-Taking Practice

Happiness

HOW TO TAKE NOTES?

Please note that note-taking is not to write each and every sentence you hear. You should just pick up highlights and write as briefly as possible in the forms of words, expressions or phrases. As a first step, just try to catch important names, numbers, examples and basic definitions. It would be a good strategy to draw arrows or circles to highlight the main ideas and to organize your note-taking.

 

You are going to listen to a lecture about happiness. As you listen, write notes on a piece of paper. You may use the note-taking sheet to understand the organization of the lecture. 

Do not look at the Questions until the lecture has ended. Do not look at the Audio Script while you are taking notes. 

Click here to Show / Hide Note-taking Sheet.

Differences between happy and unhappy people

Factor 1:  _________________________

 

 

Factor 2:    _________________________

 

  

Factor 3:  _________________________

 

 

 

Click here to Show / Hide Questions.

1- Circle the correct answer using your notes.

1. Most people say they need more ______ to be happier.

  1. love
  2. money
  3. friends
  4. things

 

2- To find out about what makes some people happier, psychologists first ______.

  1. asked people to rate their happiness from ‘very happy’ to ‘not happy at all’
  2. looked at the differences between happy and unhappy people
  3. analysed the role of money in making people happy
  4. studied how people’s achievements contribute to their happiness

 

3- According to the lecture, which of the following is NOT an important factor for happiness?

  1. being optimistic
  2. having good relationships
  3. having a lot of money
  4. being satisfied with yourself

 

4- Which of the following is TRUE about happy people?

  1. They don’t want to change anything about their lives.
  2. They don’t usually have problems
  3. They don’t need outside factors to be happy
  4. They have more control over their lives than unhappy people

 

5- Which of the following is FALSE about optimistic people?

  1. They have a problem-free life
  2. They focus less on the bad things that can happen
  3. They believe that things will get better
  4. They don’t worry as much as unhappy people

 

6- According to the third personality factor, what makes people unhappy and lonely?

  1. having successful but demanding careers
  2. having a lot of money
  3. having troublesome friends and family members
  4. having weak personal relationships

 

7- What is the main idea of the lecture?

  1. The wrong assumptions people make about what makes them happy.
  2. The role of having good relationships in making people happy.
  3. The similarities and differences between happy and unhappy people.
  4. The personality factors which contribute to people’s happiness.

Click here to Show / Hide Audio Script.

TEACHER: Hi, good morning. Did you hear about the lottery winner last night? The man won … what ?… Two million dollars?…

STUDENT: No, three.

TEACHER: Three million dollars? Three million. That’s a lot of money, isn’t it? Do you think that three million dollars would make you happy?… I’m asking you this because when you ask people what they need to be happy, many people will answer “more money”. We assume that money will make us happier. But is this true? Will winning the lottery help you achieve happiness?

Today we are going to look at the idea of happiness, at the psychology of happiness – what makes some people happier than others. We’ll look at three personality factors that we find in happy people. To find out about these personality factors, psychologists talked to hundreds of people. Now, first, they asked the people how happy they felt – you know, from “very happy” to “not happy at all”. Then they asked some more questions. They wanted to find out about people’s personalities, such as their attitudes about life, and so on. They looked at the differences between happy people and unhappy people. They found three factors that are very important for achieving happiness. So …. let’s look at those factors now.

The first personality factor is that happy people are ….. satisfied with themselves. This means that they like themselves as they are, and they’re happy with what they have. Happy people may not like everything about their lives – they may be a little bit overweight, or may not have the best job, or may not live in a big, fancy house, but they don’t need to change those things to be happy. They think more about the things they are satisfied with, not the changes they want to make. This feeling of happiness comes from the inside, not from something outside.

TEACHER: So….happy people feel satisfied with themselves. On the other hand, unhappy people are often dissatisfied with themselves. They …..uh….feel that something must change so they can be happy. They think if they lose some weight or get a better job or a nicer house they will be happy. They are always looking for something outside themselves to make them happy. But the problem is – they never find it ! No matter what they get, they’re still dissatisfied and unhappy.

The second personality factor is that happy people are optimistic – they look at the positive side of life, not the negative. Now, we all have problems, whether we’re happy or not. But when happy people have problems, they assume that things will improve. They don’t worry a lot and think about all the bad things that can happen. Instead, they have a positive attitude. However, unhappy people are the opposite. They aren’t optimistic and don’t have a positive attitude. When they have a problem, they think about how bad everything is and assume that it will get worse. So they make themselves even more unhappy when they think about all the bad things that might happen.

Finally, the third personality factor is that happy people have good relationships with other people. They try to have close, loving relationships with friends and family. Studies show that close, loving relationships are one of the most important factors in achieving happiness. So, happy people don’t spend all their time building their careers or trying to make money. They also spend time building relationships with friends and family. Now, on the other hand, unhappy people don’t have as many close relationships. They may have trouble making friends. Or they may spend all their time working and then find that they’re very lonely and unhappy. But for whatever reason, they don’t have close relationships and this makes them unhappy.

So…what does this tell us? Well, if you want to be happier, don’t assume that winning the lottery will help. There are other more important factors for achieving happiness. Now, let’s take a break, and when we come back we’ll talk about the factors that make a person happy.

Click here to Show / Hide Answers.

1.B

2. A

3. C

4. C

5. A

6. D           

7. D