درسنامه واژه ها

Sharks – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the conversation Sharks. I have the text here of the conversation and I’ve made some notes of some words or some groups of words that I thought you might have had difficulty understanding.

And let me just say in the beginning, as I always say, in many conversations you’ll hear, and if you’re reading the text, you’ll see the word “yeah” used a lot, y-e-a-h. And that’s just a slang word for yes. And a lot of times also you’ll see “y’know” and what that is, it sounds like y’know. So it’s just when we speak, sometimes we speak really fast and we’re combining the two words, you and know, y’know.

And also many times in conversations you’ll hear and you’ll see the word “like” used a lot and it’s, many times it’s just a filler word which means it doesn’t even really make…it, there’s no meaning to it. So if you hear the word like or you see it and it doesn’t seem to have any meaning, you’re trying to figure out what it might mean, it probably is just a filler word and it doesn’t have any meaning. Okay, so let’s begin.

In the very beginning of the conversation, AJ says, “We just got back from Maui.” So Maui is the name of one of the Hawaiian Islands.

Then AJ says, “There was another shark attack and this time on the North Shore.” North Shore: what he’s referring to is the northern part of the island, of Maui.

Then AJ says, “It kind of mangled his leg a bit.” Mangled: mangled means damaged by…it was damaged, his leg was damaged by tearing so the shark damaged his leg by tearing it.

Then AJ says, “It’s probably a tiger shark, I’m guessing.” Tiger shark: this is one of the most aggressive sharks. In fact, there’s a list of the top ten most aggressive sharks and tiger…I’ve seen tiger sharks on that list.

Then I say, “And you guys were snorkeling, too, right?” So when I say you guys, I’m actually speaking about AJ and Tomoe. Guy usually means man but it can also be used in a general sense if you see the plural, if you see guys, can be used in a general sense, meaning both male and female. And snorkeling: snorkeling is a water activity or water sport, I wouldn’t call it a sport. It’s an activity and it’s…the equipment you, it’s basically where you’re able to go in the ocean and put your face in the ocean so you can look down, see the fish, see the coral and you’re able to still breathe, get oxygen from a tube that comes out of your mouth and up to the…up through the surface of the water, whether it’s a lake or the ocean, out into the air. And you’re also wearing a mask so you’re able to open your eyes and see without getting water in your eyes. So you have to stay right on the surface of the water though.

Then Joe says, “Yikes.” Yikes meaning oh no.

And then Joe says, “I remember when we went diving in Hawaii.” So diving, what he means is scuba diving. Scuba diving is a little bit like snorkeling except you’re able to actually go, you don’t have to stay at the surface of the water, you can go down into the ocean or the lake and continue breathing by having an oxygen tank on your back that has a tube that connects to your mouth. So you’re able to still get oxygen and stay below the surface of the water for, depends on how fast you use your oxygen, but you can stay down for around an hour at least.

Then Joe says, “Our divemaster said, ‘Oh, be careful when you’re going down.’” So divemaster: this means the leader of a diving group. He has a lot of experience. He’s taken a lot of classes so he has a lot of experience and he leads a group of scuba divers, he or she. And going down, when Joe says this, what he’s talking about is going down towards the bottom of the ocean.

Then Joe says, “But that was like a reef shark, so those are docile.” So a reef shark: this is another type of shark but, as Joe says, it’s docile so what that means is it’s not aggressive. It’s not a dangerous shark. You can…you can scuba dive or swim near it, it’s not going to bite you.

And then Joe says, “It just goes to show like right where we were diving there was a shark.” So when he says it just goes to show, he’s saying it just means like right where we were diving there was a shark.

And then Joe says, “How many exist that we didn’t see?” So when he says exist here he means how…how many were nearby that we just did not see.

And then I say, “Yeah, that was a pretty horrific story.” So pretty here means very and horrific meaning awful.

And then AJ says, “I started doing all this research about shark attacks.” So research here means looking into or reading about.

Then AJ says, “The general advice is that you shouldn’t go.” So advice means suggestion, advice here means suggestion.

And then AJ says, “When the water is really murky.” So murky means cloudy or not clear. The water was not clear. It was murky. It wasn’t clear. It was cloudy.

And then AJ says, “To avoid dusk and dawn.” So dusk is early evening time and dawn is the beginning of day, it’s the beginning of daylight.

And then AJ says, “It’s low visibility.” Visibility means clarity. It’s low clarity so it’s not, it’s not very clear, the water is not very clear.

And then AJ says, “’Coz the sharks generally, the opinion seems to be, that the scientific opinion is that the sharks are not usually hunting people.” So ’coz, this is short for because. ’Coz the sharks generally, ’coz, it’s short for because.

And then I say, “I’ve become a bit obsessed about shark attacks.” So obsessed means thinking about something a lot.

And then I say, “I was told at one point.” Point means time here. I was told at one time. I was told at one point.

And then I say, “Sharks don’t go after divers.” So when I say go after, I mean hunt. Sharks don’t hunt divers.

And then I say, “I’ve known of two incidences where great whites have eaten two divers.” So incidences, this means situations. I’ve known of two situations or two incidences where great whites have eaten two divers. Great whites: this is another type of very aggressive, very dangerous shark. It’s also on that list of top ten most aggressive sharks.

And then I say, “On the surface of the water, flailing around.” Flailing means moving around wildly.

And then AJ says, “Some of the diver attacks are related to people who are spear fishing.” So a spear is a weapon with a long handle and a sharp, there’s a piece then at the end of the handle that has a very sharp point on it. So spear fishing is when someone takes a spear, that weapon, and they actually like, let’s say they’re standing near a river and they seem some fish in the river. They take the spear and with their arm holding the spear they actually try and stab the fish or, y’know, any fish swimming by to kill them.

Then AJ says, “I think there may be some where they do, generally, maybe acquire a taste for people.” So acquire a taste for people, this means develop a liking for eating people.

And then I say, “One of the two incidences that I was thinking of, the guy was collecting mussels.” So mussels: these are little animals that live inside shells and they can live in either fresh water or in saltwater so they can either live in like a lake or a river which would be fresh water or saltwater, which would be the ocean.

Then AJ says, “But what’d the guy tell you?” So what’d: this is short, this is when we speak fast we might say this and it’s us combining two words or a native speaker combining two words, what did, what’d.

Then I say, “I asked him if there were any aggressive sharks.” So aggressive sharks: these are sharks that might attack a person.

And then I say, “I know there’s one particular area around one of the Hawaiian Islands where there’s hammerheads.” Hammerheads are yet another type of shark and they can be dangerous if they feel like someone, a person is threatening them, but I don’t think they’re on that top ten list of most dangerous aggressive sharks.

And then I say, “And I admitted to him, ‘Yeah, I am.’” So when I say admitted to him, I’m saying I let him know.

And then I say, “Well, I brought it up.” I brought it up, I’m saying I asked the divemaster about it.

And then I say, “Y’know, in…AJ when we first got certified, I remember talking to our Thai divemaster.” So certified: I’m talking about getting an actual certification in scuba diving which means we took some classes and actually went into the ocean with our teacher to learn how to scuba dive and we had to take a test then which we then got certification, which means that we could just go diving then, with a divemaster but we were able to go scuba diving. And Thai divemaster, AJ and I actually did our scuba diving training in Bangkok, Thailand and so that’s why I mentioned that we had a Thai divemaster. We did it in Thailand. We did it in Bangkok, we were learning the skills in a swimming pool at a hotel and then we actually went, drove two hours to the ocean to practice in the ocean as well.

And then I say, “We don’t get any aggressive sharks in tropical waters.” So tropical waters: this means warm waters, warm ocean. So around Thailand or any of those countries in Southeast Asia, the water’s going to be warmer than, say, where I live off the coast of California.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, as we know now is BS.” BS stands for bullshit so he’s saying we know it’s not true.

And then I say, “There have definitely been sightings of bull sharks around Koh Tao.” So sightings means people seeing, there have been definitely been people seeing bull sharks around Koh Tao. So Koh Tao is an island, it’s an island in the Gulf of Thailand so it’s considered a part of Thailand and it’s where many people go to scuba dive, to get their scuba diving certification, to actually do the training there. And bull sharks: this is a very dangerous, very aggressive shark and it is definitely on the list of top ten most aggressive dangerous sharks. So that means bull sharks are on that list, tiger sharks and great white sharks, all mentioned in this conversation.

And then AJ says, “Bull sharks have the most documented cases of attacks on people.” So documented here, what he’s saying is they have the most known cases, the most known cases, the most documented.

And then AJ says, “Great whites and tigers are the other two that commonly are implicated in shark attacks.” So implicated means involved, involved in shark attacks, implicated in shark attacks.

And Joe says, “Our job is tied to people coming here and diving.” So when he says it’s tied to, what he’s saying is it depends on people coming here and diving.

And then AJ says, “That damn movie Jaws that has made us all terrified.” So Jaws, there have actually, it’s a movie, there’s actually been I think four movies made. I’m not quite sure when the first one was made but it created a lot of terror, so…of people going in the ocean so it…and AJ actually says that. It made us all terrified. Terrified means very scared. So, and you might know the movie from the song that was, or not the song, but the sound whenever the shark…it was basically about a shark, a great white, I think, that would attack people. And anytime someone was swimming in the ocean when the shark would get close to that person you would hear the music…and you knew that the shark was coming closer to the person, even if you didn’t see it in the water.

And then AJ says, “The actual percentages of people who get attacked by sharks is really, really low.” So when he says the actual percentages of people, percentages here means numbers, the actual numbers of people.

And then AJ says, “Most people aren’t going to get chomped and eaten by a shark.” Chomped means bit, most people aren’t going to get bit by a shark. They’re not going to get chomped.

And then AJ says, “But that’s all speculation, that movie.” So speculation: he’s saying that’s all a belief or a guess. It’s not fact.

Then AJ says, “They add the whole shark element to it.” So element here means part. They add the whole shark part to it.

Then AJ says, “They might have just died of dehydration.” Dehydration means a lack of fresh water. So he’s saying maybe they just didn’t have enough fresh water and they died, enough fresh water to drink, and they died.

And then Joe says, “I just sent you an e-mail about a story about a hammerhead shark being really close to the shore somewhere in Florida.” Florida is…it’s in the, it’s a state, it’s in the southeastern part of the United States.

And then I say, “So as not to give sharks a bad rap.” Rap means reputation.

And then I say, “I don’t think that they’re these killing machines like media can hype them up to be.” Hype them up to be: this means exaggerate them to be. Hype means exaggerate.

Okay, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation sharks and I’ll be right back with the commentary.