درسنامه واژه ها

Kon-Tiki – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the directors and teachers of Learn Real English, and welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation called Kon-Tiki. So I have the text here of the conversation and I’ve made some notes for some words that I thought might be difficult to understand.

So I’m going to go through and explain those.

First I wanted to talk about in this conversation you’ll see the word “yeah” a lot, and yeah is just a slang word for yes. And you’ll also see the word “like” used a lot and it can be used in this conversation, as well as many conversations, as just a filler word. So in other words it doesn’t mean anything. A lot of times it will be used at the beginning of a sentence so it just doesn’t have any meaning. And you’ll also see “y’know,” y’know, and that is just when we speak really fast we’re actually combining two words into one so it actually would be you know but when we speak fast we say y’know.

Alright, so let’s begin with this conversation, or this vocabulary lesson. And in the very beginning AJ says, “Sailing across the Pacific from Chile.” So when he says sailing he’s talking about these men going on a sailboat. They were traveling on the ocean on a sailboat or actually in this specific conversation about this movie, Kon-Tiki, they were actually on a raft. A sailboat is a boat that doesn’t use any kind of motor. It only uses sails. So a raft is another type of vessel that’s used on the water and in this movie they actually had sails, so they had the material that sailboats use to catch the wind to move them across the ocean but they weren’t using any kind of a motor. Okay, so when AJ says Pacific, sailing across the Pacific, the Pacific, he’s talking about the Pacific Ocean. And when he mentions Chile, Chile is the name of a country.

Okay, then Joe says, “Kon-Tiki is the name of this raft, I guess you would call it, that was used by these Norwegian guys.” So I just wanted to say that Kon-Tiki is the name of the raft that’s used in this movie.

It’s also the name of the movie, but it’s also the name of a sun god of a particular group of Indian people known as the Incans. And when AJ says that was used by these Norwegian guys, Norwegian guys, this means men from the country known as Norway.

Okay, then Joe says, “The movie was about this expedition that they made in 1947.” So expedition: an expedition is an exploration or a scientific journey. Expedition.

And then Joe says, “The goal was basically to prove this guy’s theory.” So theory: theory is an idea used to explain something. Theory, idea used to explain something.

And then Joe says, “His theory was that people migrated from South America to the Polynesian Islands.” So migrated: people migrated from South America, they moved from South America. Migrated means moved.

And then Joe says, “Rafts that were made of, y’know, logs and that basically just moved through the currents.” So logs: these are the parts of a tree. It’s a tree that has been cut up into pieces. So that’s what logs are. They’re pieces of a tree. And currents: when Joe says that basically just moved through the currents, currents are movement of the ocean. Currents, movement of the ocean.

Okay, then AJ says, “They had a sail but they couldn’t really steer it so they’re just drifting through the Pacific.” So drifting: drifting means carried through the ocean without having any control of the movement. So they didn’t have any control. They were just moving through the ocean being carried by the water. They didn’t have any control though of their movement.

And then AJ says, “A pretty dangerous thing to do.” So pretty here means very. Pretty means very.

And then AJ says, “I think they lost contact pretty quickly.” So pretty here also means very. Pretty quickly or very quickly.

And then AJ says, “It took a lot of guts for those guys to just take off like that.” So a lot of guts: this means a lot of courage. A lot of guts means a lot of courage. And take off, it took a lot of guts for those guys to just take off like that. Take off means, specifically in this conversation, to leave South America.

So take off in general would mean to leave but in this conversation it means to leave South America.

And then AJ says, “The main guy was an anthropologist.” So an anthropologist: this is someone who studies humanity or humans, people. So for example, Tor, the main character…one of the main characters in the movie, he was actually studying the people from Polynesia. He was studying the Polynesian people.

Okay, then AJ says, “So he’s trying to recreate this possible voyage.” Voyage: this is a journey. Voyage.

And then AJ says, “Of these primitive people.” So primitive: this means indigenous or native people.

Original people, primitive.

And then AJ says, “His area of expertise.” So expertise: this means knowledge. Expertise, knowledge.

And then AJ says, “So then within that field there’s this controversy.” So controversy: this means a difference of opinions. Controversy, difference of opinions. Oh, and let me…let me say, too, when AJ says “So then within that field,” he’s talking about within his area of study. So within the anthropology world. Within the other people who are anthropologists, that would be within the field, within that…that anthropology group of people.

And then Joe says, “This is a movie and a lot of the times they just throw in things to be dramatic.” So when he says throw in things he means they just add in parts of the story. They add parts to the story.

And then Joe says, “He was just basically drawing parallels.” So drawing parallels: what he’s saying here is they were finding similarities. They were finding things that were alike.

And then Joe says, “As a way of just trying to say maybe there was a link or something like that between these two.” So a link means a connection. A link means a connection.

And then I say, “And they were all like seamen, I’m assuming.” So seamen: these are people who are experienced with being on a boat out in the ocean for a long period of time.

And then Joe says, “One guy used to be in the Navy of whatever country he was from.” So Navy: this is the specific name of a branch of the United States military and people trained in the Navy learned to operate large ships in the ocean.

Okay, then Joe says, “One guy they showed had no experience whatsoever.” Whatsoever: this just means at all. He had no experience at all. No experience whatsoever.

And then Joe says, “They didn’t seem to know about that at the time that they set sail.” Set sail: this means, in this conversation means at the time that they left South America. So at the time that they set sail or at the time that they left South America.

Then I say, “Wow, that’s pretty crazy.” So when I say pretty crazy I’m saying it’s really unbelievable. It’s really difficult to believe. Pretty crazy.

And then AJ says, “It was almost like a scene from Mutiny on the Bounty.” Mutiny on the Bounty: this is the name of a movie and it was based on a true story. Mutiny on the Bounty.

And then AJ says, “It seemed a little too much, right?” So when he says it seemed a little too much he’s saying it seemed a little unrealistic, not true. Unrealistic.

And then Joe says, “They seemed to have taken a lot of liberties.” So liberties: this means it seems that they added in extra parts to the original story. So they added in parts that didn’t necessarily really happen.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, yeah, over the top, definitely.” So when AJ’s saying over the top what he’s saying is they changed from the truth so that it became difficult to believe.

Then AJ says, “I can’t imagine that actually happening in real life.” So imagine here means think. I can’t think of that actually happening in real life. I can’t imagine that really happening.

And then Joe says, “You would have freaked out about the number of sharks that they were showing.” So freaked out: Joe is saying you would have gotten upset. You would have freaked out, you would have gotten upset.

And then Joe says, “They were showing these scenes that really had…had the viewer on the edge of his or her seat.” So viewer: what he’s saying here is the person watching the movie. And on the edge of his or her seat means in suspense. It means like you’re…you just can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next.

And then I say, “Just basically floating aimlessly.” So floating aimlessly: I’m saying having no control over their raft.

And then AJ says, “The hardships they go through.” So hardships here means difficulties.

And then AJ says, “They’re pretty intense.” So intense: this means extreme. Intense, extreme.

And then AJ says, “It’s just hard to imagine.” So hard here means difficult. It’s just difficult to imagine.

It’s hard to imagine.

And then AJ says, “I think people were tougher then.” So when he says I think they were tougher he’s saying he thinks they were physically stronger as well as mentally stronger.

And then Joe says, “They made a little documentary about the Kon-Tiki voyage.” So documentary: this is a real film. So in other words there’s no actors or actresses. There’s no acting. It’s really something that…it’s a story about a real person or place or people and it’s those people that it’s about are really in that film.

And then Joe says, “It won an Academy Award in 1951.” So Academy Award: this is a type of award from a ceremony that’s here, held in the United States every year for movies.

And then Joe says, “Maybe it’s just someone narrating or something like that.” So narrating: this means it…someone talking or someone telling what’s going on as it’s happening.

And then Joe says, “I’d be really interested to see that because that shows the real footage.” So what he means when he says footage, he’s saying that shows the real happenings. So there’s no acting. It’s really taking place. They’re getting on camera what’s really happening.

And then Joe says, “There’s no way for the filmmaker to overly make it dramatic.” So when he says overly make it dramatic, what he’s saying is there’s no way for the filmmaker to add in parts that did not happen.

And then AJ says, “Oh yeah, cool. That would be nice to visit someday.” So cool here is just a slang term for great. Oh, that’s great.

And then Joe says, “It’s probably just a replica.” So replica: this is one, something made to look like the original thing.

And then Joe says, “Right before they actually reached the land they have to do some crazy maneuver.” So crazy maneuver: this is a difficult movement.

And then Joe says, “They have to like surf over these like the reef.” So surf: this means to be carried by the waves of the ocean. And a reef: a reef is sharp rocks or coral.

And then AJ says, “Those Norwegians, they’ve got a long history of exploring the sea so I guess it’s that…that Viking in them.” So Viking: this was a group of people who spent a lot of time at sea during the 11th through the 18th centuries, sorry, the 8th to the 11th centuries. And they ended up settling on land in country…what is known as the countries now of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. So a group of people who spent a lot of time during the 8th to 11th centuries, Vikings.

Alright, that concludes the vocabulary lesson for this conversation, Kon-Tiki, and I’ll be right back with the commentary.