This is a short video (3.10 minutes) realised by The National Geographic “The psychology of Game of Thrones”. On this video, the psychologist Travis Langley discusses how Game of Thrones affects the mind. I suggest that you read the vocabulary list before watching the video. Watch it a first time, then read the sentences in the exercise. After that, watch the video a second time and try to fill in the gaps. You can find a free PDF version with answers below.

Vocabulary

• Warrior: a person who fights in battle or war., known for having courage, a great vigour and skills. 
• To cope with something: to manage, to deal successfully with or handle a situation.
  Ex. The book is about coping with stress.
  
  
• To shut down: to cause (an opponent) to be unsuccessful, unable to score; to close temporarily; to stop operating.
  Ex. There’s no way to shut down the simulation. 
• Injury: harm or damage.
  Ex. John couldn’t compete in the race because he had an injury.
  
  
• Revenge: the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you; to take vengeance for.
  Ex. Nothing good ever came from seeking revenge. 
• Recurring: happening many times, or happening again.
  Ex. This has been my recurring dream for the last 50 years. 
• To restore: to bring back a situation or feeling that existed before.
  Ex. The order was restored after the riots.

Fill in the gaps in the following sentences

1. Travis: I am a psychology professor, a big __________, and I love using fiction to talk about real psychology.

2. Neil: So what’s the takeaway from all this violence in the minds of who’s ____________________ audience?

3. Travis: We know that in experiments that watching violence produces short-term effects on someone’s __________________.

4. Travis: That’s interesting because if you could __________________, that would be an amazing advance in our understanding of the psychological state of  ________________.

5. Travis: There are people who, as a form of _______________ with horrible situations, do shut ___________ parts of themselves.

6. Neil: Tell me about the psychology of __________________.

7. Travis: And when we feel __________________, when something horrible has happened that made us feel helpless, it’s hard to maintain a sense of _________________ strong.

8. Travis: And I always said I really think “Game of Thrones” is so popular because of the psychology of the __________________. It’s not about the dragons, the White __________________, or the magic. It’s about the human ______________.

9. Travis: They hadn’t  ________________ dragons in a long time. For most of them, they’re __________________ about dragons–the                               of dragons.

10. Neil: Thank you for sharing your psychological __________________.
    

Downloadable PDF version (with answers): the-psychology-of-game-of-thrones-startalk-listening-comprehension-free-english-materials-for-you