Learn English Vocabulary Daily #10.4 - British English Podcast

Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 10, Day 4 of Your English

Five a Day series, the series that aims to increase your vocabulary

by five pieces every single day of the week from Monday to Friday.

So, let's kick off today's list with an adverb and it is

miraculously, miraculously.

Miraculously is spelled M I R A C U L O U S L Y.

Miraculously.

If you describe something happening miraculously, then it happens in a way

that is very surprising or difficult to believe as if it were a miracle.

So, it's hard to believe in miracles unless you see a miracle or experience a

miracle, but they do occasionally occur.

So, if something happens that is miraculous, then you could say,

"Miraculously, this happened."

The thing that comes to mind is when someone escapes an

accident without being harmed.

So, for example, my youngest son, Caspian, has actually fallen down the stairs twice.

So, once when he was a crawling baby, he somehow managed to unhook the baby

gate and slid on his belly all the way down to the bottom of the stairs.

He was absolutely fine, not a mark on him.

Miraculously, he was unharmed.

And then again when he was, how old was he?

It's not long ago actually.

He must have only have turned three and he was playing with a toy — a

long, stringy toy, maybe a toy snake or something — on the stairs.

And I said to him,

"Caspian, don't play with that on the stairs.

You'll fall over."

And as I said it, and I approached him, I saw he stood on the toy and

fell backwards, and did a kind of backwards roly-poly down the stairs.

And I thought,

"Oh my goodness, he has definitely broken a shoulder or he's

done something bad this time."

And he sat at the bottom of the stairs, and he cried, but

miraculously he was unharmed.

I couldn't believe it.

It was a miracle.

So he's like a cat with nine lives.

He's taken two of them.

Hopefully, there won't be any more stair incidents, but it was

a miracle that he was unharmed.

Here's another example sentence for you.

"Many people claim to have been miraculously cured by

Italy's famous Fiuggi water."

Next on our list is a noun, and it is resilience, resilience.

We spell this R E S I L I E N C E.

Resilience.

Notice how the S is pronounced as a Z and the C at the end as an S.

Resilience, resilience.

Resilience is the ability to be happy or successful again after something

bad or difficult has happened.

So, if I continue to experience trauma, terrible things happening in my life,

but I continue to be strong, to keep smiling and be present for other

people, to attend work, to be a carer, to do whatever it is I need to do.

If I can continue to do that despite lots of personal trauma, then you could say,

"Wow, Anna has a lot of resilience."

Here's another example sentence:

"The resilience of the economy has come as a surprise to some."

Alright, let's move on to our next phrase now.

This is an idiom and it is half the time, half the time.

So, we're spelling this H A L F, half.

The, T H E.

Time, T I M E.

Half the time.

Half the time means as often as not.

So, something is occurring as often as it's not occuring.

So, for example, if I spend half my day moaning and half my day being happy, so

12 hours of my day, imagining I don't sleep, 12 hours of my day I'm complaining

about things, and 12 hours of my day I'm satisfied and not complaining.

You could say,

"Anna spends half the time complaining," or "Anna's complaining half the time."

I don't complain that often.

I hope I don't, anyway.

Here's another example sentence.

"Jake is so clever, half the time I have trouble keeping

up with him in conversation!"

And just an extra little note about that particular phrase, it

is used in a kind of general sense.

There isn't a need for it to be exactly 50 percent of the

time something is occurring.

It's just saying a lot of the time or as often as not, something is occurring.

So it's used generally or loosely, okay.

Next we have another phrase and it is not in the slightest.

Not in the slightest.

So, we're spelling this N O T, not.

In, I N.

The, T H E.

Slightest, S L I G H T E S T.

Not in the slightest.

This basically means not at all.

It doesn't happen, not even a little bit.

So, if I were to say to you,

"You fancy your work colleague, don't you?

You fancy him."

If you're not familiar with the word fancy, it means to

be attracted to somebody.

So,

"Oh, every time you mention that guy's name, you blush,

you fancy him, don't you?"

Now, if you do not fancy him at all, not even a little bit, If you

actually find him quite unattractive, then you'd look at me and say,

"Not in the slightest.

Absolutely not.

Not in the slightest.

I can't believe you even said that.

I can't believe you even suggested it."

Here's another example sentence.

"I'm not in the slightest bit interested in your excuses, you're

grounded for a week or until you apologise to your sister."

And last but not least on our list is an adjective and it is inspiring, inspiring.

I'm sure you're all familiar with this one.

We spell it I N S P I R I N G.

Inspiring.

If something is inspiring then it encourages you, or it makes you

feel like you want to do something.

What inspired you to learn English?

Whatever your answer is, then that thing was inspiring.

It might have been an inspiring person or an inspiring experience.

Here's an example.

"Amy is an inspiring teacher and her students love her

unique approach to learning."

All right, so that's our five for today.

Let's recap.

We started with the adverb miraculously, meaning that something is difficult

to believe, that it happened in a way that's surprising, like a miracle.

Then we have the noun resilience, so the ability to continue to be

happy and successful in spite of difficulties or bad things happening.

Then we have the idiom half the time, meaning as often

as not this thing happens.

Then we had the phrase not in the slightest, meaning absolutely

not, not at all, no way.

Then we had the adjective inspiring, something that is encouraging or makes

you feel like you want to do something.

Okay, so let's now do this for pronunciation purposes.

Please repeat after me.

Miraculously.

Miraculously.

Resilience.

Resilience.

Half the time.

Half the time.

Not in the slightest.

Not in the slightest.

Inspiring.

Inspiring.

Fantastic.

Now can you remember, of all those words and phrases, can you remember which one

means to be able to continue to be happy, even though something bad has happened?

Resilience.

How about when something happens in a way that's hard to believe?

Wow!

Miraculously!

What would you say if you wanted to tell me 'not at all'?

What phrase could you use?

Not in the slightest.

And if you're going to describe something as encouraging, making you

feel like you want to do something, you could describe it as...

Inspiring.

And if your teenage son is home for 50% of the week, but away for 50% of

the week, you could say he's home...

Half the time.

Half the time, as often as not.

Right.

So that's our five.

Let's bring them all together in a little story.

The Amazon jungle is home to a dazzling diversity of exotic birds, each with their

own unique transformations and behaviours.

Some of these birds are so rare and half the time, so difficult

to find, that they are only seen by a handful of lucky observers.

Others are more common and familiar but still display remarkable intelligence,

communication, and cooperation.

All of them share a common trait: resilience.

Resilience is the ability to overcome challenges and cope with change.

In the Amazon jungle, resilience is essential for survival.

The birds have to deal with predators, parasites, diseases, floods, droughts,

fires, and human activities that threaten their habitats and resources.

Yet, they manage to thrive in this harsh and unpredictable

environment, thanks to their physical and behavioural adaptations.

One example of a resilient bird is the Harpy Eagle, the largest and

most powerful raptor in the Americas.

The Harpy Eagle can weigh up to 9 kg and have a wingspan of up to 2.2 m.

To catch its prey, the Harpy Eagle has to manoeuvre, or move, through

the dense foliage and branches, avoiding obstacles and collisions.

It also has to defend its territory and nest from other predators and competitors.

Miraculously, the Harpy Eagle is not in the slightest

intimidated by these challenges.

It is a master of the sky and forest, and a symbol of strength and courage.

Another example is the Macaw, a colourful and charismatic

parrot that lives in the Amazon.

The Macaw is known for its intelligence, sociality, and vocalisation.

It can imitate sounds and learn words, and it forms strong

bonds with its mates and flock.

They gather in large numbers, creating a spectacular and noisy scene.

The Macaw is an inspiring example of how to balance the

needs of the body and the mind.

These are just a couple of the many exotic birds that live in the Amazon jungle.

They are a source of wonder and admiration for those who observe them.

They are a reminder of the richness and diversity of life on Earth.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

I do hope you found today useful and I look forward to

joining you again tomorrow.

Until then, take very good care and goodbye.