Sonata Arctica is a Finnish metal band. They come from Kemi, Finland. They started in 1996. They play power metal. Their music combines fast guitars, keyboards and strong melodies.
3. Setlist
I Have a Right
Black Sheep
4. Vocabulary
5. Speaking Challenge
Sonata Arctica is a Finnish metal band. They come from Kemi, Finland. They started in 1996. They play power metal. Their music combines fast guitars, keyboards and strong melodies.
When I was a child growing up in Maine, one of my favorite things to do was to look for sand dollars on the seashores of Maine, because my parents told me it would bring me luck.
But you know, these shells, they're hard to find. They're covered in sand, they're difficult to see.
However, over time, I got used to looking for them. I started seeing shapes and patterns that helped me to collect them.
This grew into a passion for finding things, a love for the past and archaeology.
And eventually, when I started studying Egyptology, I realized that seeing with my naked eyes alone wasn't enough.
Because all of the sudden, in Egypt, my beach had grown from a tiny beach in Maine to one eight hundred miles long, next to the Nile. And my sand dollars had grown to the size of cities.
This is really what brought me to using satellite imagery. For trying to map the past, I knew that I had to see differently.
So I want to show you an example of how we see differently using the infrared.
This is a site located in the eastern Egyptian delta called Mendes.
And the site visibly appears brown, but when we use the infrared and we process it, all of the sudden, using false color, the site appears as bright pink.
What you are seeing are the actual chemical changes to the landscape caused by the building materials and activities of the ancient Egyptians.
What I want to share with you today is how we've used satellite data to find an ancient Egyptian city, called Itjtawy, missing for thousands of years.
Itjtawy was ancient Egypt's capital for over four hundred years, at a period of time called the Middle Kingdom, about four thousand years ago.
The site is located in the Faiyum of Egypt, and the site is really important, because in the Middle Kingdom there was this great renaissance for ancient Egyptian art, architecture and religion.
Egyptologists have always known the site of Itjtawy was located somewhere near the pyramids of the two kings who built it, indicated within the red circles here, but somewhere within this massive flood plain.
This area is huge -- it's four miles by three miles in size.
The Nile used to flow right next to the city of Itjtawy, and as it shifted and changed and moved over time to the east, it covered over the city.
So, how do you find a buried city in a vast landscape?
Finding it randomly would be the equivalent of locating a needle in a haystack, blindfolded, wearing baseball mitts.
(Laughter)
So what we did is we used NASA topography data to map out the landscape, very subtle changes.
We started to be able to see where the Nile used to flow.
But you can see in more detail, and even more interesting, this very slight raised area seen within the circle up here which we thought could possibly be the location of the city of Itjtawy.
So we collaborated with Egyptian scientists to do coring work, which you see here.
When I say coring, it's like ice coring, but instead of layers of climate change, you're looking for layers of human occupation.
And, five meters down, underneath a thick layer of mud, we found a dense layer of pottery.
What this shows is that at this possible location of Itjtawy, five meters down, we have a layer of occupation for several hundred years, dating to the Middle Kingdom, dating to the exact period of time we think Itjtawy is.
We also found work stone -- carnelian, quartz and agate that shows that there was a jeweler's workshop here.
These might not look like much, but when you think about the most common stones used in jewelry from the Middle Kingdom, these are the stones that were used.
So, we have a dense layer of occupation dating to the Middle Kingdom at this site.
We also have evidence of an elite jeweler's workshop, showing that whatever was there was a very important city.
No Itjtawy was here yet, but we're going to be returning to the site in the near future to map it out.
And even more importantly, we have funding to train young Egyptians in the use of satellite technology so they can be the ones making great discoveries as well.
So I wanted to end with my favorite quote from the Middle Kingdom -- it was probably written at the city of Itjtawy four thousand years ago.
"Sharing knowledge is the greatest of all callings. There's nothing like it in the land."
So as it turns out, TED was not founded in 1984 AD.
(Laughter)
Making ideas actually started in 1984 BC at a not-lost-for-long city, found from above.
It certainly puts finding seashells by the seashore in perspective.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
Thank you.
(Applause)
Video
Vocabulary
#
Term
Meaning in context
Example
Translation
1
seashores
Costas / orillas del mar
I love walking along the seashore.
Me encanta caminar por la costa.
2
naked eyes
A simple vista, sin instrumentos
We can't see it with the naked eye.
No podemos verlo a simple vista.
3
all of a sudden
De repente, súbitamente
All of a sudden, it started raining.
De repente, empezó a llover.
4
brought
Llevó / condujo a algo
This idea brought me to a new solution.
Esta idea me llevó a una nueva solución.
5
buried
Enterrado, cubierto bajo tierra
The city was buried under the soil.
La ciudad estaba enterrada bajo el suelo.
6
needle in a haystack
Algo extremadamente difícil de encontrar
Finding it was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Encontrarlo fue como buscar una aguja en un pajar.
7
mitts
Guantes, especialmente guantes grandes para proteger las manos
I need my mitts because it's cold.
Necesito mis guantes porque hace frío.
8
subtle
Sutil, difícil de notar
There was a subtle change in the soil.
Hubo un cambio sutil en el suelo.
9
slight raised
Ligeramente elevado / una pequeña elevación
We found a slight raised area.
Encontramos una pequeña zona elevada.
10
coring
Extracción de muestras cilíndricas de tierra para estudiar sus capas
They are coring the ground.
Están extrayendo muestras del suelo.
11
underneath
Debajo de
The treasure was underneath the ground.
El tesoro estaba debajo del suelo.
12
thick
Grueso, de mucho espesor
There was a thick layer of mud.
Había una gruesa capa de barro.
13
pottery
Cerámica / objetos de cerámica
They found ancient pottery.
Encontraron cerámica antigua.
14
in perspective
En perspectiva / visto desde el punto de vista adecuado
The discovery puts history in perspective.
El descubrimiento pone la historia en perspectiva.
Every day, a sea of decisions stretches before us.
Some are small and unimportant, but others have a larger impact on our lives. For example:
Which politician should I vote for?
Should I try the latest diet craze?
Or will email make me a millionaire?
We're bombarded with so many decisions that it's impossible to make a perfect choice every time. But there are many ways to improve our chances, and one particularly effective technique is critical thinking.
This is a way of approaching a question that allows us to carefully deconstruct a situation, reveal its hidden issues—such as bias and manipulation—and make the best decision.
If the critical part sounds negative, that's because, in a way, it is. Rather than choosing an answer because it feels right, a person who uses critical thinking subjects all available options to scrutiny and skepticism.
Using the tools at their disposal, they'll eliminate everything but the most useful and reliable information.
There are many different ways of approaching critical thinking, but here's one five-step process that may help you solve any number of problems.
One: Formulate Your Question
In other words, know what you're looking for.
This isn't always as straightforward as it sounds. For example, if you're deciding whether to try out the newest diet craze, your reasons for doing so may be obscured by other factors, like claims that you'll see results in just two weeks.
But if you approach the situation with a clear view of what you're actually trying to accomplish by dieting—whether that's weight loss, better nutrition, or having more energy—that'll equip you to sift through this information critically, find what you're looking for, and decide whether the new fad really suits your needs.
Two: Gather Your Information
There's lots of it out there, so having a clear idea of your question will help you determine what's relevant.
If you're trying to decide on a diet to improve your nutrition, you may ask an expert for their advice or seek other people's testimonies.
Information gathering helps you weigh different options, moving you closer to a decision that meets your goal.
Three: Apply the Information
This is something you do by asking critical questions.
Facing a decision, ask yourself:
What concepts are at work?
What assumptions exist?
Is my interpretation of the information logically sound?
For example, in an email that promises you millions, you should consider:
What is shaping my approach to this situation?
Do I assume the sender is telling the truth?
Based on the evidence, is it logical to assume I'll win any money?
Four: Consider the Implications
Imagine it's election time, and you've selected a political candidate based on their promise to make it cheaper for drivers to fill up on gas.
At first glance, that seems great. But what about the long-term environmental effects?
If gasoline use is less restricted by cost, this could also cause a huge surge in air pollution—an unintended consequence that's important to think about.
Five: Explore Other Points of View
Ask yourself why so many people are drawn to the policies of the opposing political candidate.
Even if you disagree with everything that candidate says, exploring the full spectrum of viewpoints might explain why some policies that don't seem valid to you appeal to others.
This will allow you to explore alternatives, evaluate your own choices, and ultimately help you make more informed decisions.
Conclusion
This five-step process is just one tool, and it certainly won't eradicate difficult decisions from our lives.
But it can help us increase the number of positive choices we make.
Critical thinking can give us the tools to sift through a sea of information and find what we're looking for.
And if enough of us use it, it has the power to make the world a more reasonable place.
Two and a half years ago, media entrepreneur Arianna Huffington collapsed from exhaustion, fracturing her cheekbone on her desk and needing five stitches. The accident forced her to confront something she had ignored for most of her career: sleep deprivation was not a badge of productivity, but a quiet drain on judgment, creativity, and joy.
In the talk that followed her recovery, Huffington argues that the simplest way to unlock the "billions of big ideas" dormant in people is also the most overlooked: getting enough rest. She points out that exhaustion has become, for many ambitious professionals, a strange kind of status symbol — a way of signaling how busy and important one is. Bragging about four hours of sleep, or scheduling a breakfast meeting before dawn because there's "still time for tennis and a few calls," has become shorthand for relentless dedication. In reality, she suggests, it is often a sign of poor judgment rather than superior drive.
That judgment gap, she warns, has real consequences. A high IQ does not guarantee good leadership, because leadership depends on the ability to spot the iceberg before it sinks the ship — and in recent years, exhausted leaders in business, finance, and politics have missed warning sign after warning sign. Huffington offers a provocative thought experiment: had Lehman Brothers had more well-rested decision-makers in the room, would the financial crisis have unfolded the same way?
Her larger point is that personal well-being and global problem-solving are not in conflict. The conditions that make us happier, more grateful, and more effective as individuals — adequate rest chief among them — are the same conditions that produce clearer thinking on the larger crises the world faces. Closing our eyes, in her framing, is not a retreat from ambition but a path toward it.
The talk closes with a simple invitation: shut down the engines for a few hours, and discover what the mind can do when it isn't running on empty.
Based on a TED talk by Arianna Huffington.
Vocabulary
This commute is a drain on my energy. (Este viaje me agota la energía)
She has a dormant talent for painting. (Ella tiene un talento latente para la pintura)
Don't let small details be overlooked. (No dejes que los pequeños detalles se pasen por alto)
He's always bragging about his new car. (Siempre está alardeando de su carro nuevo.)
We woke up before dawn to catch the flight. (Nos despertamos antes del amanecer para alcanzar el vuelo.)
He pursued his goals with relentless determination. (Persiguió sus metas con una determinación incansable.)
Can you spot the difference between these two photos? (¿Puedes notar la diferencia entre estas dos fotos?)
The story unfolded slowly over several chapters. (La historia se desarrolló lentamente a lo largo de varios capítulos.)
Cost was the chief reason we chose this option. (El costo fue la razón principal por la que elegimos esta opción.)
The army's retreat surprised everyone. (La retirada del ejército sorprendió a todos.)
What I Learned From Trying Something New for 30 Days
A few years ago, I felt stuck in a rut. So I decided to run an experiment: pick something I'd always wanted to do and commit to it for the next 30 days.
The idea is simple. Think of something you'd like to add to your life — or subtract, like watching the news — and try it for a month. It turns out 30 days is just about the right amount of time to pick up a new habit or drop an old one. Here's what the experiment taught me.
Time Becomes Memorable
For one of the challenges, I took a picture every single day for a month. The strange part is that, instead of the weeks blurring together and slipping away forgotten, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on each of those days. The months stopped vanishing without a trace.
Confidence Grows With Every Challenge
As the challenges got bigger and harder, my self-confidence grew right along with them. I went from a desk-dwelling computer nerd to the kind of guy who bikes to work for fun. I even ended up hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. Before I started these challenges, I never would have been that adventurous.
If You Want It Badly Enough, You Can Do Almost Anything
Every November, tens of thousands of people try to write a 50,000-word novel from scratch in 30 days. The math is simple: 1,667 words a day for a month. So I did it. The trick is not to go to sleep until you've hit your word count for the day — you might end up sleep-deprived, but you'll finish your novel.
Is my book the next great American novel? Not even close. I wrote it in a month, and it's awful. But now, if I want to, I can call myself a novelist.
Small Changes Are the Ones That Stick
The most valuable lesson came at the end: when I made small, sustainable changes — things I could actually keep doing — they were far more likely to stick. Big, crazy challenges are a ton of fun, but they're also harder to sustain. When I gave up sugar for 30 days, day 31 looked a lot like going right back to it.
So What Are You Waiting For?
Here's the thing I can guarantee: the next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not. So the question writes itself. Why not think of something you've always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next month?
Vocabulary
I felt like I was stuck in a rut.
I decided to follow in the footsteps of my father and become a teacher.
Advertising is everywhere. On your phone, on TV, on the street, even inside your favorite apps. Let’s explore this topic together and use it to build your vocabulary and speaking skills.
🔥 Warm-Up
Take a moment to think about this:
Do you think you're influenced by advertising? Why or why not?
Be honest with yourself. Even small things—like choosing one brand over another—can be influenced by ads.
🧠 Vocabulary Challenge
Try to guess the words before looking at the answers.
n b a r d = A type of product from a certain company with a certain name.
e i c o m c m l r a = What you see on TV during breaks.
c i u n e f e l n r = Someone with a lot of social media followers.
c m u e s t r o = Someone who buys something or uses a service.
t g a t r e = To go after, or aim for something.
💬 Idioms and Phrases
Complete the sentences using these expressions:
go viral
across the board
sold on (something)
deliver the goods
price yourself out of the market
If you don't _____, you'll be out of a job.
Have you seen the latest video? It will _____, I think.
I'm not _____ this colour. What do you think?
Be careful. You might _____ if you go too high.
It's rare that we agree on a decision _____ at our company.
