Learn English Vocabulary Daily #16.4 — British English Podcast

Hello, and welcome to the English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 16, Day 4 of Your English Five a Day,

a series that aims to increase your active vocabulary by five pieces every single

day of the week from Monday to Friday.

Let's start today's list with a noun and it is exodus, exodus.

This is spelled E X O D U S.

Exodus.

An exodus describes the movement of a lot of people from a place.

Usually because something terrible has happened.

Like there's been a natural disaster or there's a terrible disease or war.

Sometimes we use this in a more metaphorical sense.

If suddenly a lot of voters move from one party to another, you could say,

"There was a mass exodus of voters."

Or if you are doing a comedy show, and when it's time for you to get up on

stage, lots of people leave the room.

You could say,

"My routine caused a mass exodus."

Now note I've used the words mass and exodus together twice there.

We do put those together a lot.

Mass exodus.

That's kind of just emphasising the fact that lots of people,

they've left en masse.

Lots of people have left.

So, here's an example sentence which also uses 'mass exodus',

The high price of living in the city has caused a mass exodus, everyone seems

to be moving out into the countryside.

Oh, I wish I could move out into the countryside.

These days, the cost of living in the city and outside of

the city is just astronomical.

Anyway, let's move on to our next word.

It's an adjective and it is dynamic, dynamic.

We spell this D Y N A M I C, dy-na-mic.

Dynamic.

Dynamic describes something that's continuously changing or developing.

I would like to think that the ELAN Community and courses are quite dynamic

because we often listen to feedback.

We're always interacting with our students and learning more about

their needs and therefore changing and developing our products and services.

So, we are a dynamic company.

Here's an example sentence,

"Business innovation is a dynamic process and is one of the most

important aspects of our company."

Next on our list is an adverb and it is notably, notably.

We spell this N O T A B L Y, notably.

Notably means especially or most importantly.

Like you make a note of this particular thing because it's so important.

Here's an example sentence,

"The company is beginning to attract investors, most

notably big Japanese banks."

Next on our list is an idiom and it is the world is your oyster.

The world is your oyster.

We spell this, the T H E.

World, W O R L D, the world.

Is your, I S; your, Y O U R.

Oyster, O Y S T E R.

The world is your oyster.

Now, the world is your oyster means that you can do whatever

you want or go wherever you want.

An oyster is often seen as something that holds a special, precious stone

because oysters often have a pearl inside.

If you find an oyster in the ocean and you open it up, you'll find a pearl inside.

And so saying that the world is your oyster suggests that if you

open it up something special awaits.

So, the world is your oyster.

Here's an example sentence,

"You're young and healthy and you have no commitments ― the world is your oyster."

Last but not least on the list is learning curve.

This is a noun, learning curve.

We spell this L E A R N I N G, learning.

Curve, C U R V E.

A learning curve.

A learning curve is the situation in which someone has to learn a

lot in a short space of time, or it talks about the length of time that

you have to learn something new.

So, if I say something was a steep learning curve, then I'm suggesting

that I had to learn an awful lot in a very short space of time.

Like learning how to snowboard.

Oh, that was a steep learning curve.

It was a painful one as well.

I spent an entire week basically falling on my bottom and falling onto

my wrists and causing myself to be covered from head to toe in bruises.

It was a very steep and very painful learning curve.

Whereas learning to ski, at least getting the basics and being able to ski from

the top to the bottom of the mountain, was a relatively easy learning curve,

a shallow learning curve, I might say.

So, can you describe a learning curve that you have had to deal with lately?

Steep learning curve is a very common phrase, talking about something that is

a lot of information to learn in a short space of time, so that's how you'll most

commonly hear this phrase being used.

Here's an example sentence,

"It's a steep learning curve when you're thrown into a job

that you've never done before!"

Okay, that's our five for today.

Let's do a very quick recap.

We had the noun exodus, where a lot of people move from a place, usually because

something has pushed them out, like disasters or disease or cost of living.

Then we have the adjective dynamic, something that is

constantly changing or developing.

We have the adverb notably, something that is especially or most importantly.

Then we had the idiom, the world is your oyster, something that you say

to someone who can have whatever they want or go wherever they want to go.

And then we finished with the noun learning curve, a situation where you have

to learn a lot in a short space of time.

So let's do this for pronunciation practice.

Please repeat after me.

Exodus.

Exodus.

Dynamic.

Dynamic.

Notably.

Notably.

The world is your oyster.

The world is your oyster.

Learning curve.

Learning curve.

Fantastic.

What's the adjective that we use to describe something that's

always changing and developing?

We'd say it's very...

dynamic.

And how about if there's a huge movement of people, they all leave a country in one

big group, we would call that a mass...

exodus, a mass exodus.

Now, if I'm talking to my teenage son, who's just come out of university with

top marks, and he's got everything going for him, and he can go wherever

he wants and do whatever he wants, I would say to him, "Do you know what?

The world is your oyster!"

However, when he does get out into the real world and lives on his

own, he's going to have to learn a lot in a very short space of time.

We could say that for him, living alone will be a very steep...

learning curve, a very steep learning curve.

And then if I wanted to use an adverb to describe something that is especially or

most importantly, what adverb would I use?

Notably.

Notably.

So, living alone out in the real world is a steep learning curve.

Even though the world's your oyster, my son, there is a steep learning curve

that you're going to have to encounter.

Most notably, the cost of living.

Okay, so that's our five.

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

Dear Diary,

Today, I turn 42 and I can't help but feel like I'm stuck in a rut.

I never imagined my life would be like this at this age.

It's not the first time I felt like this, but it hits even harder on my birthday.

I used to be so energetic and ambitious, but now I feel like I've lost something,

notably my spark and passion for life, I'm just going through the motions.

Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep and repeat.

It's a never-ending cycle, that I can't seem to break out of.

However, I refuse to let this midlife crisis, if that's what

this is, get the best of me.

These past few weeks have been a massive learning curve and I know

it's not too late to make a change.

I may not be where I want to be right now, but I still have the

rest of my life ahead of me.

I just need to find the courage to take that first step

towards a more fulfilling life.

So, I've decided to make a new start and explore my love of

archaeology and travelling.

There's been a mass exodus from my local area, as there are plans to

build a new high-speed rail line right through the centre of town,

and so most of my friends are now living in the neighbouring villages.

I'm ready to get rid of my mundane routine and embark on a

dynamic journey of self-discovery.

When I focus on making a change and look at the possibilities, I

feel like the world is my oyster and I can't wait to experience

all the wonders it has to offer.

I have to keep reminding myself that it's never too late to start over, and

I'm determined to make the most of it.

So, here's to a new chapter in my life.

Happy Birthday to me!

Sincerely,

Marissa.

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

Don't forget that if you want to take your learning further, then

we do have options available.

Take a look in the show notes to discover more.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.