Listening exercise
NPR: Left-Handed Brain
Access the audio file here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1139701

Vocabulary:
just ask any...
leftie
right-handed
world
only (number) out of (number)
Southpaw
to fascinate
for centuries
scientists
to figure out
to provide an important clue
Richard Knox
Daniel Geshwin
always wondered if
to be destined to be
to play guitar
to pick
to be bad at
to be fast with
fine motor skills
to be superior to
it may be that...
grandmother
to force s.o. to V
to be in a position to V
truly
UCLA
neuroscientist
to set out to V
to ask the question:
genetic component
strong environmental component
to pick up (to find)
exciting
curious fact
lopsided brains
symmetrical
to measure
differences
pairs
twins
asymmetical
as expected
brain structure
twin pairs
something surprising
to tend towards N
to have a chance of Ving
collection of genes
to inherit
can go either way
environmental influences
uterus		 after birth
findings
proceedings
National Academy of Sciences
Jordan Grafman
brain researcher
National Institutes of Health
a new take on N
old debate about
Nature vs. Nurture
influential
to account for
some variation
to be more towards N
heritability
strongly
ambidextrous
to some degree
the other way around
guitar-picking
flexible
malleable
under less genetic control
in terms of
behavioral
flexibility
function
for there to be some advantage to Ving
to be constant in the population
as long as
recorded history
talent for art
building things
navigating
disadvantage
higher risk of
autism
stuttering
dyslexia
important to N
human species
whereas
genetic repertoire
predictable
limited
it's absolutely the case that
to provide
the variation in behaviors or ideas
potentially
you could argue
not entirely
to bat
Richard Knox

Listening comprehension questions:
1. List at least two ways in which we live in a "right-handed world".
2. Why has Daniel Geshwin always wondered if he was "destined to be left-handed"?
3. What is the main difference between a typical right-handed and typical left-handed brain?
4. What seems to determine the handedness of people with more symmetrical brains?
5. What advantages might one have as a leftie?
6. What problems are lefties more likely to have than right-handed people?
7. In what ways does Geshwin think lefties are important to the human race?
8. Share an experience you have had with left-handedness.

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