TED, in case you haven’t heard, is an organization designed to spread ideas. The ideas take the format of short minute talks which are given during conferences held around the world. All the conferences have a focus, one guiding idea that ties all the talks together. The TED format of presenting is different from any other style of presenting in that the focus is on making a connection with your audience. A strong TED style speech bring the audience in and helps them to relate to the speaker and topic in a way unlike any other. Here you can find some examples before creating yours:
Visit www.ted.com (or search TED Talks on Youtube).
Decide on the topic and fill the template to help you organise the speech to be delivered in front of the class. This should be no longer than 3 minutes and visual aid will be limited as it is NOT meant to be a presentation with slides but a specch on the selected topic. Try to use all the hints provided, such as humour, inspiration, shocking facts, etc.
Sleep has become a big deal in working life. Sleeping is no longer seen as a sign of weakness among competitive colleagues. Apple introduced a Night Shift feature on its devices earlier this year, as consumers recognised that stimuli such as your screen’s backlight can affect your sleep quality.
Research shows that more sleep can lead to us earning more money. A US study has found that in areas where the sun sets earlier, people sleep for longer – and this translates into higher earnings. In the long term, just one extra hour of sleep a week increases wages by 4.9%. So if you live in an area that gets darker earlier, you should be richer. But don’t move house just yet – the higher wages correspond almost exactly with inflated house prices. As Jeffrey Shrader, one of the authors of the study, puts it: “If you want to sleep more, there are better ways to do it than moving house – just buy better curtains.”
This goes against conventional economics. Each extra hour of sleep should be taken away from working time. So how can sleeping earn you money? The answer is productivity. “The biggest effects come through employees who work on commission,” says Shrader. “If you go to work well rested, you are livelier and happier, and can sell more to increase your earnings.”
Even small amounts of sleep deprivation can have large effects. Another study found that sleeping six hours a night for two weeks produced the same results in cognitive tests as being totally sleep-deprived for up to two days straight. But a mid-afternoon nap can help. “Naps are great,” says sleep psychologist Dr Hans Van Dongen. If you struggle to get eight hours of sleep a night, a siesta can have a “reset” effect, and your productivity improves afterwards. “Roughly speaking, an hour’s nap can make up for an hour in lost sleep at night.”
So, the introduction of nap pods at Google’s headquarters does have some science behind it. Although once you start sleeping at work, what is the point in going home at all? Even short naps of up to half an hour can partially offset the productivity lost from chronic sleep deprivation. You snooze, you win.
But the most important workplace revolution would be much more flexible hours. Most of us fall into two broad “chronotype” categories: morning and evening types. Rigidly early start times at work are fine for larks, but a third of us are night owls, who are likely to earn up to 5% less as a result of being tired at work.
Lack of sleep has already been shown to be worse for productivity than being overweight or underweight. So, why are you still reading this? You should go back to bed.
Question 1: [2,5 POINTS] Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.
a) The best way to get more sleep is to move to a new home.
b) Sleeping more makes employees produce more.
c) The less you sleep at night, the longer you need to sleep during the day to get the same effect.
d) Google is about to introduce places in their offices for the workers to have a nap.
e) You may earn less if you are a nocturnal person.
Question 2: [1,5 POINTS] Find words or phrases in the text that correspond to the words and definitions given.
a) characteristic (par.1)
b) salary (par.2)
c) to remove (par.3)
d) to make better (par.4)
e) to recompense (par.5)
Question 3: [2 POINTS] Choose the most suitable answer (a, b or c) according to the text
1. You sleeping quality…
a) affects your colleagues at work.
b) is said to be related to being overweighted..
c) is affected by how you use technology at night.
