The Time You Have (In Jelly Beans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk

1. How many years/days do you think the average American lives for?
2. Here is a list of things that the average American does in their lifetime. Discuss which one you
think they do the most and least with a partner?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.

going to community activities

sleeping
eating, drinking & preparing food
caring for the needs and well-being of others
learning a new skill
watching television (in one form or another)
doing bathroom related activities
doing household activities
working
commuting & travelling

3. In the circle below, make a pie-chart with 10 sections. Each section should represent how long
you think the average American spends doing the activities in exercise 2 during a lifetime. Write
the corresponding letter in each segment.
Example:
C
I

4: Compare your pie-chart with a partner.

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The Time You Have (In Jelly Beans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk

5: You are going to watch a short Youtube video in which the creator uses jelly beans to help
demonstrate what the average American does in their lifetime. Before you watch, match the 9
words from the video below with their definitions on the right.
A. a pile (n)

1.

to give attention to someone or something; a synonym of

care for or look after.

B. scale (n)

2.

an ordinary job that must be done regularly

C. a threshold (n)

3.

the size of something, especially when it is big

D. adulthood (n)

4.

the period of your life when you are an adult

E. tend (to) + noun (v)

5.

an organization to which you give money so that it can

provide money/help to people who need it

F.

6.

a limit at which an arrangement changes

G. grooming (n)

7.

something you should or must do

H. a duty (n)

8.

the process of making yourself tidy and clean

I.

9.

a mass of things laid or lying one on top of another

a chore (n)

a charity (n)

6: Now watch the video. Why do you think the creator chose to use jelly beans?
7A: Listen to the video again and complete the gaps with the correct numbers/words.
1.

Your first fifteen years consist of __________________________________ days.

2.

We will spend __________________________________ days eating, drinking or preparing food.

3.

Commuting or travelling from one place to another will take up __________________________________.

Maybe a little bit more if you live in L.A.

4.

__________________________________ days will be spent on household chores.

5.

Community activities will take up __________________________________ days.

6.

How much of it do you think youve already __________________________________? If you only had half of
it, what would you do differently?

7B: Compare your answers with a partner and then watch the video again to check.
8A: Compare the information from the video with your own ideas in your pie-chart. Are they
similar? Did anything surprise you?
8B: Answer these questions from the video with a partner:
A. How much time have you already spent worrying instead of doing something that you love?
B. What would you do if you just had one more day?

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The Time You Have (In Jelly Beans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk

Approximation and Hedging Language

9A: Look at the following sentence. What do approximately, more or less and about mean? Why do
we use them?

Ive been living here for approximately 3 years.

I was waiting for 3 hours, more or less.
My brother is about 2 inches taller than me.

Can you remember other words/phrases from the listening which express approximation?

These are ______________ twenty eight thousand, eight hundred and thirty five jelly beans.
You might have more beans in your life or maybe less, but ______________ this is the time we have.

B: Look at the following sentence. What do just and sort of mean? Why do we use them?

Could you just help me lift this box, please?

Its sort of difficult to hear what you are saying.

Can you remember another word/phrase from the listening which is used for hedging?

Your very first day; a special day, but ______________ a rough day on everyone involved.
This is the time that we have left; time for laughing, swimming, making art, going on hikes, text
messages, reading, checking Facebook, playing softball ______________ even teaching yourself how to
play the guitar.

C: Look at the transcript and check your answers

10: Ask and answer the following questions with a partner. Dont worry about being specific. Use
the approximation language above to help you.
a) How tall are you?
b) The Burj Dubai (in the United Arab Emirates) is the tallest building in the world. How tall do you
think it is?
c) How many countries are there in the world?
d) Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world (above sea level). How tall do you think it is?
e) An American, Joey Chestnut, holds the world record for the most hot dogs eaten in 10 minutes.
How many do you think he ate?
11: Try to make these sentences less direct by using the hedging language from exercise 9B
(remember that questions and modal verbs can also be used to make sentences less direct).
a) Your brother is stupid.
b) Take this package to the post office.
c) We must talk to the teacher about Kevin.
d) Its cold. Turn the heating on.

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The Time You Have (In Jelly Beans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk

Transcript
These are roughly twenty eight thousand, eight hundred and thirty five jelly beans. I counted
out five hundred of them and used those to weigh the rest. In this pile there is one jelly bean for
each day the average American will live. You might have more beans in your life or maybe less,
but on average this is the time we have.
Heres a single bean. Your very first day; a special day, but kind of a rough day on everyone
involved. Add three hundred and sixty four more and you have the first year of your life. Now,
for a sense of scale, here are your first fifteen years; five thousand, four hundred and seventy
five days, which brings us to the threshold of adulthood. And at that moment, this is the time
that we have left. And this is, on average, what we will do with all that time;

We will be asleep for a total of eight thousand, four hundred and seventy seven days. If
were lucky, some of that time well be sleeping next to somebody we love.
We will be in the process of eating, drinking or preparing food for one thousand, six
hundred and thirty five days.
We will be at work, hopefully doing something satisfying, for the equivalent of three
thousand, two hundred and two of those days.
One thousand ninety nine days will be spent commuting or travelling from one place to
another. Maybe a little bit more if you live in L.A.
On average, we will watch television in one form or another for a total of two thousand two
hundred and seventy six days.
Household activities, like chores and tending to our pets and shopping, will take another one
thousand five hundred and seventy six days.
We will care for the needs and well-being of others; our friends and family, for five hundred
and sixty four days.
Well spend six hundred and seventy one days bathing, grooming and doing all other
bathroom related activities.
And another seven hundred and twenty days will go to community activities like religious
and civic duties, charities and taking classes.

After we remove all those beans, this is what remains. This is the time that we have left; time for
laughing, swimming, making art, going on hikes, text messages, reading, checking Facebook,
playing softball maybe even teaching yourself how to play the guitar.
So what are you going to do with this time? How much of it do you think youve already used
up? If you only had half of it, what would you do differently? What about half of that? How much
time have you already spent worrying instead of doing something that you love? What if you
just had one more day? What are you going to do today?

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The Time You Have (In Jelly Beans)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk

Answers
1:
About 80 years/28,835 days
5:
A.

a pile (n)

9: a mass of things laid or lying one on top of another

B.

scale (n)

3: the size of something, especially when it is big

C.

a threshold (n)

6: a limit at which an arrangement changes.

D.

adulthood (n)

4: the period of your life when you are an adult

E.

tend (to + noun) (v)

F.

a chore (n)

1: to give attention to someone or something; a synonym of care

for or look after.
2: an ordinary job that must be done regularly

G.

grooming (n)

8: the process of making yourself tidy and clean

H.

a duty (n)

7: something you should or must do

I.

a charity (n)

5: an organization to which you give money so that it can provide

money/help to people who need it

7:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Your first fifteen years consist of five thousand, four hundred and seventy five/5,475 days.
We will spend one thousand, six hundred and thirty five/1,635 days eating, drinking or preparing food.
Commuting or travelling from one place to another will take up one thousand ninety nine/1,099 days.
Maybe a little bit more if you live in L.A.
One thousand five hundred and seventy six/1,576 days will be spent on household chores.
Community activities will take up seven hundred and twenty/720 days.
How much of it do you think youve already used up? If you only had half of it, what would you do
differently?

9:
A: Approximation language is used to say that something is similar but not exactly equal to something else.
B: Hedging language makes what we say less direct/more polite (these words/expressions can typically be combined
with other language such as adverbs, modal verbs and indirect questions to reduce the directness even more.
10:
a)
b)

e)

students answer
As of the end of September 2008, Burj Dubai rose to 2,320 ft (707 m) tall. The exact height is top secret but
is estimated to be at least 2,313 ft and 167 floors high.
There are 196 countries in the world today. Unless you don't count Taiwan Taiwan is not considered an
official country by many, which would bring the count down to 195 countries.
8,848 meters (however, Mauna Kea, an island in Hawaii, when measured from below sea level, is over
10,000 meters tall, making it the tallest mountain in the world).
69 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2013.

a)
b)
c)
d)

Your brother is sort of/kind of stupid.

Could you just take this package to the post office, please?
Maybe we should talk to the teacher about Kevin.
Its sort of/kind of cold. Could you turn the heating on?/Maybe we should turn the heating on.

c)
d)

11:

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