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Mind Over Matter
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Mind Over Matter English, baby! Video Lesson
心胜于物

Learn English with this stress English lesson.

Date: Dec 18 2012

Themes: Soap Opera

Grammar: Phrasal Verbs

Intro

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Oh, the body and the brain. Sometimes the two work together in perfect harmony. Other times, it feels as if they’re at war. And sometimes, we’re actually rooting for one side to win out over the other.

We use the word “matter” to refer to the physical stuff, to the body. And we can refer to the brain as the “mind.” If you have a stutter, you might tell yourself “mind over matter” when you need to speak in public. Or if you often get panicked on airplanes, you might try to use your brain to calm yourself, and say “mind over matter.”

There’s a storm brewing at the office, and Marni’s nervous because her baby is due at any moment. In this English lesson video, we learn the meaning of the English idiom “mind over matter,” and find out what advice celebrity Greta Vanderlake has for Marni.

有时,身体和大脑能够颇为和谐地完美协作;但有时,两者又似乎在一争高下。而有时,我们也确实会力挺一方,希望它能战胜对手。

我们常用“物质”一词指代身体的物质部分,而将大脑称之为“精神”。如果你有些口吃,你就会在公众场合讲话时,告诉自己谨记“心胜于物”。或者,当经常在飞机上陷入恐慌时,你可能会试着让自己的精神平静下来,并告诉自己“心胜于物”。

办公室里笼罩着一股风雨欲来的气氛,玛尼随时可能生产,她现在感到紧张不安。在这节英语视频课中,我们来学习英语习语“心胜于物”的含义,并找出名人格里塔·范德雷克为玛尼支了什么高招。

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Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Greta

Greta

Marni

Marni

Jeff

Jeff

Greta:  Gosh, people seem really uptight. What’s going on?

Marni:  Well, it’s just the storm out there looks like it’s getting really bad. People online are saying it might continue all night.

Greta:  So? I don’t get it. It’s just a little bit of rain. What’s the big deal?

Marni:  Well, first of all, it’s not just a little bit of rain. They’re saying it’s a major storm and second of all…

Greta:  Oh. I see. Are you, like, due?

Marni:  In two days.

Greta:  May I?

Marni:  Sure.

Greta:  Oh how sweet. Now listen, I understand what you’re going through.

Marni:  You do? I mean, I didn’t think you had kids. I just, I try to keep up with your career in magazines and stuff…

Greta:  No no, nothing like that. I understand what it’s like to have your body react in an inconvenient way at an inconvenient time.

Marni:  Oh…

Greta:  When I was in my starring role in Love Amongst the Lilacs, right before I was about to film my big romantic scene, I broke out in a terrible case of hives.

Marni:  Oh, what did you do?

Greta:  I told myself something I’m going to tell you now. Mind over matter.

Marni:  Mind over matter…what?

Greta:  The mind is a powerful instrument, even more powerful than the body. I simply told myself that my hives must clear up before my big scene and they did.

Marni:  Wow, that’s pretty amazing. But I don’t have hives. I have a baby.

Greta:  I’m not an idiot. You just need to tell yourself that you will not go into labor until this storm is past and you can get yourself to the hospital.

Marni:  Wow, do you really think it will work?

Greta:  Tell yourself. Tell the little Monchichi in there, whatever. Mind over matter. Works every time.

Marni:  OK. Thanks. Yeah. Couldn’t hurt. Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter. Mind over matter.

Jeff:  If Marni goes into labor at the office, that would give me an opportunity to show her how well I handle the emergency. Because it would be an emergency. What did Ms. Vanderlake tell her? Well, I guess I just gotta think “mind over matter.” She has to have that baby here.

 

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Greta thinks that everyone at the office seems stressed out, and she asks Marni why. Marni tells her that it’s because the storm outside looks pretty bad. Marni is particularly stressed because she is supposed to give birth to her baby in two days!

Luckily, Greta has some advice for Marni. Once, she broke out in a bad skin rash before she had to star in a movie. She told herself “mind over matter,” and the hives went away. She suggests that Marni do the same, so she won’t have her baby during the storm.

Meanwhile, Jeff is wondering what Greta and Marni are talking about. Unlike Marni, he hopes that she will have the baby during the storm. That way, he can show her how well he handles an emergency. Jeff says “mind over matter” to try to control events, too.

 

Comments

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kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Friends, where is the question after the daily discussion or dialigue? Is it missing or I just can’t see it? ;)


julito, tell me please why didn’t you go to the other dentist instead of yours that was vacationing? Are you so faithful to your dentist? :)


As for the delivery under the different and difficult circumstances. 


The childbirth is a natural process. My grandmother told me that women in her times could deliver without any problems in any place and in any time. We must don’t forget that the ecology was much better than it is now. Generally the older generation was healthier than the current generation is. 


However, the different kinds of pathologies were not an exception in all times. Seems to be it was a kind of  survival of the fittest (natural selection)


ola33

ola33

Japan

Mind over matter. I agree with Julito, to the toothache I would add a headache. Just get a pill and do mind over matter :) But in Marni’s case, I think that meditative, repetetive words might connect her with her child. Ms Vandelake is right. You kind of talking to your baby. It’s interesting. The thoughts are materilizing.


I like how Jeff is excited. Yeah, something tells me, it’s better for Marni to rush to the hospital. But his support is beautiful!

 julito

julito

Argentina

mind over matter…. jejejeje.   I had a severe case of tooth aches ,just when my dentist was vacationing, then what to do?? I had heard about  mind over matter so I decided to put it into practice repeating it several times, did the pain fade away?? noooooo, the pain was still there, only more excruciating. Therearn´t many people capable of  disconnecting the mind at will and I am not one of them , the solution was  to take pain killers  and that momentarily did the trick.   Jeff has the bizarre idea of delivering the baby himself , his is not an obstetrician , nor the office is a childbirth unit, Marni, watch out  ,pack  up your clothes and rush to the hospital. 

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