 Welcome to Learning English, a daily 30-minute program from The Voice of America. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak. This program is designed for English learners, so we speak a little slower, and we use words and phrases, especially written for people learning English. On today's program, you will hear stories from Dan Novak and John Russell. Later, Gregory Stockle has this week's technology report. Finally, we hear today's lesson of the day from Andrew Smith and Jill Robbins. But first... Just over half of U.S. workers would be willing to take a 20% pay cut in exchange for a better quality of life, a recent survey found. Lynn Buffka is a clinical psychologist with ties to the American Psychological Association in Washington, D.C. I do think people are really struggling figuring out what work-life balance is, she said, and recognizing, certainly in parts of the U.S., that we have a drive to work and perform and succeed. And increasingly, we're realizing this isn't good for us. Younger adults are even more in favor of giving up money for what they consider a better life, the survey found. 60% of millennials, people aged 27 to 42, said they would accept less money for a better work-life balance. 56% of Generation Z adults, people aged 18 up to 26, said the same thing. These results don't surprise me, Julia Toothacre told VOA in an email. She is a job advisor at resumebuilder.com. The younger generations have been very vocal about the need for balance in their life. It's important to note that it doesn't mean they are less ambitious. It just means they are looking for flexibility and they aren't willing to sacrifice their health the way other generations have. When it comes to older adults, 45% of Generation X, people aged 43 to 59, would take the 20% pay cut to get a better work-life balance. But only 33% of baby boomers, those aged 60 to 78, would do the same. It is something that Toothacre has experienced in her work. She said many of her clients want some flexibility for life events and things like doctor's visits. Work-life balance is very important to my clients. Most of my clients come to me because they aren't happy in their current career or they are looking for a more balanced and flexible career path, she said. The survey was carried out by Ford Motor Company in August and September 2023 and included 16,086 online interviews with adults in 16 countries including the United States. 77% of those surveyed say they believed a balanced life was more important than a higher paying position at work. If our only definition of ourselves is what we do and our work, we are neglecting our social sense of self, our spiritual sense of self, Bufka said. There is also a practical side of work-life balance and the willingness to limit time worked in exchange for less money. Bufka said people need time away from work to keep their households operating. If people feel like they do not have enough time, there's always going to be a tension between the immediate demands of household and family and work. I'm Dan Novak. A new kind of exercise idea is becoming popular in the United States. Social media is bringing attention to cozy cardio. It means doing light cardiovascular exercise at home. Physical inactivity is a problem in the United States. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, says 25% of Americans reported they had not done any physical activity in the past month. The CDC says that one in two American adults do not get enough cardiovascular exercise. Inactivity can have serious health effects. So, many Americans are looking to develop a new exercise habit. Cozy cardio has gained popularity as an easy and painless way to increase physical activity levels. This method of calorie burning has gained popularity on TikTok and Instagram ever since a woman named Hope Zuckerbrough began posting videos in late 2022. Cozy cardio involves walking in place by using a small treadmill or walking pad. No gym payments are involved. I get so many messages from men and women, so many people, saying something along the lines of, Thank you so much for flipping my mindset on what I thought exercise is supposed to be, Zuckerbrough said. This feels so doable. Supporters say what is important about cozy cardio is the setup. You wear comfortable clothes and organize your environment to your liking. You can light candles, have a healthy drink, or even put on a favorite TV show or movie. Alex Montoy of Alma College said for some people, easy exercise such as cozy cardio could help them develop an exercise habit. Montoy said for people who would otherwise watch TV while sitting, walking can help them make progress. That is especially true if exercise becomes a habit. People struggle to make healthy habits last over time. That is why cozy exercise is such a good idea, said Catherine Sanderson of Imhurst College in Massachusetts. She wrote the health book The Positive Shift, Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity. It fits in with a lot of what we know about how to get people to actually maintain behavior change, Sanderson said. Along with removing the barriers to exercise, she said, it very much relies on what psychologists would call positive reinforcement. The idea of, it's not just that I'm exercising, I'm tapping into something I want to be doing already. As cozy cardio becomes more popular, Zuckerbrow said she hears from people who did not realize they could enjoy easy exercise. Alyssa Royce, owner of Rocket Community Fitness in Seattle, has been mixing workouts at her gym and cozy exercise at home. Some days she turns off the sound on her Peloton Exercise Bicycle and watches TV because it takes her brain somewhere else. Too many people look at exercise as an all or nothing thing, Royce said. It doesn't give people room to just be where they are today, and I think that's incredibly important. I'm John Russell. Technology company Apple's new computing device, the Vision Pro headset, became available in stores last week. The device uses augmented reality technology, which has been available for years. But Apple calls the technology spatial computing. The device is worn on the head over the eyes. Apple hopes the Vision Pro will be as popular as the iPhone, Apple's cell phone that came out in 2007. We can't wait for people to experience the magic, Apple Chief Tim Cook said while discussing the Vision Pro. The Vision Pro will also be among Apple's most costly products at $3,500. Many researchers say the high cost means the company might sell one million or fewer of the devices during its first year. But even the iPhone was not extremely successful in its first year on the market. Apple only sold about four million iPhones back then. Now the company sells more than 200 million of them each year. If the Vision Pro succeeds, the term spatial computing might become popular. Spatial computing describes how the physical world and the virtual world of computers can work together. Augmented reality, or AR, and artificial intelligence, or AI, are two areas of computing that help make spatial computing happen, said Kathy Hackle. She runs a new company that makes programs for the Vision Pro. Hackle said, Spatial computing will enable devices to understand the world in ways they never have been able to do before. She added that it is going to change the way humans and computers work together. Apple says more than 600 newly designed programs, or apps, will be available to use on the headset right away. Apps will include television networks and video services, although Netflix and Google's YouTube will not be available. Other apps will be for video games and educational services. Zoom and other companies that provide online meeting tools have built apps for the Vision Pro. Vision Pro may worsen screen addiction that has only grown since the iPhone was released. It also might separate people from the real world and make them dependent on the technology. Other technology companies are also working on spatial computing products. Google has been working on a video meeting product called Project Starline. It would make two people sitting in different cities feel like they are in the same room. But Starline has not been widely released. And Meta has sold the Quest headset for years. It could be considered a spatial computing device, but the company does not market it in that way. The Vision Pro comes equipped with high-resolution screens that can play back three-dimensional video recordings of events and make it seem as though the event is happening again. Apple's high-priced iPhone models, released in September, can record what it calls spatial video. Apple's headset also reacts to a user's hand and eye movements in an attempt to make the device feel like it is part of the body. While wearing the device, users will be able to use their hands to move around and open different virtual computer screens. Spatial computing is a technology that's starting to adapt to the user instead of requiring the user adapting to the technology, Apple said. It's all supposed to be very natural. However, it remains to be seen how natural it is to wear a headset while having dinner with another person instead of just looking at your phone from time to time. I'm Gregory Stockle. Gregory Stockle joins me now to talk more about this week's technology report. Hi, Greg. Glad to have you on the show. I'm always happy to join, Ashley. This week's story was about a new device released by Apple. The device is called Division Pro. You talked a bit about augmented reality in the story. Can you tell us more about what augmented reality is? Sure, Ashley. So the word augment means to make something greater by adding to it. And reality describes the world around us. So when you augment reality, you are adding to reality. And usually you add to reality by adding elements of the virtual or computer world. You also used the term virtual reality. You just explained how if something is virtual, it relates to computers. But what is the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality? So virtual reality describes a world that is entirely made with computers. And augmented reality describes a world that has elements of the real world and elements of the computer world. So if you look through the Division Pro headset, you might see your living room plus computer screens. Very interesting. Well, thanks again, Greg, for joining me on today's program. You're welcome. Thank you for having me, Ashley. VOA Learning English has launched a new program for children. It is called Let's Learn English with Anna. The new course aims to teach children American English through asking and answering questions and experiencing fun situations. For more information, visit our website learningenglish.voanews.com. This is the lesson of the day on the Learning English podcast. My name is Jill Robbins, and I'm joined by Andrew Smith. Hi, Andrew. Hi, Jill. Our lesson is based on our video series Let's Learn English. The series shows Anna Matteo in her work and life in Washington, D.C. Here's Anna introducing herself. Hello, my name is Anna Matteo. In season 19 of level two of the series, Anna and Pete are going to the theater to watch a movie. Pete does not like it when people talk or make noise in the theater. So before he and Anna go in the theater, Pete asks Anna if she talks during a movie. Hi, Pete. Thanks for the movie invitation. Yeah, sure, Anna. I love movies. I love the plot. I love the set design. I love the costumes. Anna, I take movies very seriously. You're not one of those people who talks during a movie, are you? No. Good. Anna says she doesn't talk during a movie. But Pete probably does not like any sounds or distractions when he watches a movie. A distraction is something that takes your attention away from something you want to focus on or concentrate on. And the verb form of this word is distract. Jill, can you give an example of a distraction? That's an easy question. Mobile phones distract people all the time. Very true. And sometimes they can distract people in a movie theater. So here's another question. If you are in a theater and someone is distracting you by talking or looking at their phone or making noise, how can you politely ask them to stop? Today's lesson answers that question. In general, to make polite requests, we use the words would or could at the beginning of the question. But there are other ways as well. Andrew, would you please play the next part of lesson 19 for our listeners? That way they can hear more examples of polite ways to ask questions. Sure. Here's Anna and Pete in the movie theater. Listen for the ways Pete asks Anna to stop doing certain things. Look, the previews are starting. I love to see what movies are coming out. Oh, this one looks good. Anna, the previews are part of the movie experience. So would you mind not talking? Oh, sure. I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? No, there's still a lot of milkshake at the bottom. Anna, would you mind not drinking so loudly? I'll try, but it's really thick. Anna, what are you doing? Pete is getting a little upset with Anna, and he does not try to make his last question polite. Instead, it is very direct. Anna, what are you doing? But his other questions were more polite. Listen to them again and see if you can hear the phrases he uses to make them sound polite. So would you mind not talking? I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? Anna, would you mind not drinking so loudly? We often use the phrase, would you mind or do you mind to make questions more polite? When we say would you mind, the verb must take the ing form. Jill, would you mind giving our listeners another example of polite requests? Sure, no problem. We can also use the expression, I was wondering, like Pete did. I was wondering, are you almost finished with that? Now let's hear more of lesson 19. Listen for the phrase, would you mind plus the ing form of the verb? Anna, would you mind opening that a little bit more quietly? Anna, just give it to me. It's not mine, I'm opening it for her. Shh, here. Now, would you mind being more quiet? Excuse me, would you mind turning down your phone light? I forgot to turn my phone off. Oh, no, I dropped it. Where is it? Anna, can you please turn your phone off? Excuse me, would you mind lending me your phone light for a minute? No, I'll get it. People in the theater are now asking Pete to be quiet. And that's what we call an ironic situation. Because Pete is a person who really wants it to be quiet when he watches movies. In addition to the word ironic, we have another expression for this. We can say the tables have turned on Pete. That means the thing you want or the thing you are fighting against affects you negatively and you don't get what you want. Another way to explain that expression is to think of this. Imagine you are using a gun to try to kill a dangerous animal. But then your gun stops working. Now the dangerous animal is trying to kill you. We say that the tables have turned on you. Whoa. Now let's get back to the movie theater. I think it's safer in there. We just heard four more examples of questions with the expression, would you mind? Here they are again. I don't. Would you mind opening that a little bit more quietly? Now would you mind being more quiet? Excuse me. Would you mind turning down your phone light? Excuse me. Would you mind lending me your phone light for a minute? Finally, Pete gets upset and loudly tells everyone in the theater that he is not a person who makes noise in a movie theater. But he says it so loudly that a security guard politely asks Pete to leave. Excuse me, sir. You can't yell in a movie theater. Would you mind coming with me? You're cooking me out? Me? But I'm always the quiet one in the movie. Poor Pete. He's had a really bad day at the movies. But we hope you've had a good time with the lesson of the day on our podcast. To review, here are some ways we can ask questions politely. We can begin the question with the words could or would, like this. Could you please explain some more? Sure. We can also start the question with the expression I was wondering. I was wondering if you could explain even more. Sure. No problem. We can also use the expression would you mind plus the ing form of the verb. Would you mind telling our listeners where they can learn more? Sure. Just visit our website and you can download a lesson plan for lesson 19. It explains more about polite questions. And remember that you can find more from VOA Learning English on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. And listeners, if you don't mind, could you please share the lesson of the day with your friends and family? Thanks. And thanks for listening. I'm Andrew Smith. And I'm Jill Robbins. That's our program for today. Join us again tomorrow to keep learning English through stories from around the world. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Dan Novak.