Learning English with TED Talks: “It’s not the material goods we want; it’s the rewards we want”.

Watch the video “A kinder, gentler philosophy of success” and fill in the gaps to complete the sentences.

1. The ... between my hopes for myself and the ... of my life starts to ... so painfully that I normally end up ... into a pillow.

2. We live in an age when our lives are regularly ... by career crises ... It’s perhaps harder than ever before to stay ... , to be free of career ...

3. One of the reasons why we might be ... is that we are surrounded by snobs ... A ... is anybody who takes a small part of you, and uses that to come to a complete ... of who you are.

4. Most people make a strict ... between how much time and ... respect they are willing to accord us; that will be ... defined by our position in the social ...

5. I don’t think we are particularly ... I think we live in a society which has simply pegged certain emotional ... to the ... of material goods.

6. Never before have ... been so high about what human beings can achieve within their ... We’re told, from many sources, that anyone can ... anything.

7. It’s a real ... to mention envy, but if there’s one ... emotion in modern society, that is ...

8. The closer two people are, the more there’s a ... of envy, which is ... why none of you should ever go to a school ...

9. There’s a real correlation between a society that tells people that they can ... , and the existence of low ...

10. You can’t be successful at ... We hear a lot of talk about work-life ... Nonsense. You can’t have it all.

By and large, I find self-help books quite useful, but at the same time, I’m far from considering them a magic wand.

Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?