ELL HubSzu-chi Huang
Szu-chi Huang
Episode 115
Vocabulary
embark (verb)
- Definition:
- to begin something, often a journey or trip
- Example from the episode:
- “And when I get really excited with friends and others, and we’re going to go embark on this if it’s doing some kind of exercise or losing weight, and after I’ve been doing it a little while, I do get that insecurity, like, can I keep this up?”
- Example sentence:
- “She’s excited to embark on her new project.”
guts (noun)
- Definition:
- being brave, especially when something is scary or difficult
- Example from the episode:
- “And you teach a class, and I love the name, it’s called ‘The Brains and Guts of Decision-Making’.”
- Example sentence:
- “You need guts to speak in front of a large crowd.”
counterintuitive (adjective)
- Definition:
- something that doesn’t seem right or make sense at first, but is actually true or correct
- Example from the episode:
- “Oh, I love counterintuitive things.”
- Example sentence:
- “For some, being kind to those who hurt you may sound counterintuitive.”
zero-sum game (idiom)
- Definition:
- when someone’s win is someone else’s loss, like sharing a cake – if you get more, others get less
- Example from the episode:
- “So I have worked more directly look at actual competitions, zero-sum games, where there is an incentive or reward and you have to beat others to get it.”
- Example sentence:
- “War is a zero-sum game; one country’s victory often means another’s defeat.”