6 Minute English / Can you keep a secret?

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I m Neil.

And I m Beth. Can you keep a secret, Neil? Or are you someone who spills the beans? That s an idiom meaning to tell people a secret.

I m pretty good at keeping secrets, Beth, unless it s giving away the ending of a movie I m always doing that!

Whether you find it hard to keep secrets, or take them with you to the grave, keeping secrets is often considered something bad. But what if some secrets could actually make your life better?

Now, psychological studies are uncovering a more positive side to secrets, suggesting that keeping good news to yourself can actually make you feel more alive, especially if you plan to share your secret with someone later. In this programme, we ll be discussing the advantages of keeping secrets, and, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first, I have a question for you, Neil. One very famous secret is the recipe for the world s favourite soft drink, Coca-Cola. While travelling in Indonesia, BBC TV presenter, Joanna Lumley, believes she discovered the unknown secret ingredient. So, is Coca-Cola s secret spice:

a) cinnamon?b) nutmeg? or,c) ginger?

Well, I don't know so I'm going to guess it s nutmeg.

OK, I ll reveal the secret at the end of the programme. This year, a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology introduced a new term to the discussion: positive secrets. Here, the study s author, Dr Michael Slepian of Columbia University, discusses positive secrets with BBC World Service programme, Newsday: