6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.com

Hello this is 6 minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil and I'm Beth. I'm writing my birthday wish list Beth.

Listen I want a new laptop, a gold Rolex watch and a red sports car.

Phew that is quite a lot, Neil.

Isn't that a bit greedy?

So what?

Greed is good.

We're genetically built to want things that increase our social status,

power and material possessions like money, a nice house, a fast car, all that stuff.

Hmm, I'm not so sure, Neil. Remember, greed is also one of the seven deadly sins.

In this program we'll be discussing greed, the desire to accumulate stuff,

keep it for yourself and not share it with others.

And of course we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first I have a question for you Beth.

You reminded me of a famous quote by one of history's greatest leaders.

The world has enough for everyone's need but not everyone's greed.

But who said it?

Was it A, the Dalai Lama, B, Mahat McGandy, or C Martin Luther King?

I think it was Mahat McGandy.

Okay Beth, I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the program.

At the neurological level, greed is controlled by the reward center of the brain.

Greedy people feel good when they choose the stuff they want, and this happens, at the unconscious

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