English Listening B1 Episode 29 - Track 11
Fill in the Blanks Exercise
TRACK 11
Host: There is a saying: "Don't judge a book ." This tells us that first impressions . Writer Malcolm Gladwell has a . In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell argues that first impressions are . This is Wednesday Book Talk. Here's critic Hannah Smith.
Hannah Smith: An expert in an art museum takes one look at a very . He is suspicious. The museum has just paid millions . The first word that he thinks of "fresh." According to Blink, a new book by Malcolm Gladwell, whenever this expert takes a look at something new, he writes down the first word .
This habit of writing down first impressions supports the argument of . We often know more than we . And we know it faster than we . That Greek statue, for example, turned out to be about 2,000 years "fresher," or newer, than the . It wasn't really an old statue . It was a fake.
Gladwell says we have two ways we . First, we can make decisions slowly and carefully with our . Or, we can make decisions very quickly and , or without even thinking. Our unconscious minds are using information we already know to make judgments .
Gladwell's book looks at examples of when our first impressions turn out to be , as well as when they do not. For example, students in college classrooms have very accurate first impressions . In one study, students were shown only several seconds of a videotape of a teacher . Then they predicted how effective . After only that quick first impression, they judged the teacher's effectiveness . They did as well as other students did after an . In another study, people could tell a lot about a student's character just by looking at his or her bedroom .
Gladwell also looks at marriages, wars, marketing, and . Sometimes, our first impression, our ability to make , is very accurate. Sometimes it is . So when should we trust ? In a section added to the new edition, Gladwell writes about . This research suggests conscious, careful decision-making works best for easy choices like buying a . However, our first impressions are best in difficult situations when we are handling . An example is when a coach is selecting a player for a . If you want a book that gets you thinking about how we think, read Blink.
Host: Thank you, Hannah. Now stay with us, we'll be back after the break with news of two more titles that have just .
