Your English Five a Day #7.4

E121: Tune in to Week Seven, Day Four of the Your English Five a Day series, where we delve into five enriching pieces of vocabulary every weekday. First up is the adjective "charismatic", which is then followed by the noun "portrayal." We then dive into the idiom "much to someone's delight or dismay" and go on to mention a few variations of that expression.  Next up on the list is the verb "resonate", and our final stop is the adjective "simultaneous". As usual, the episode wraps up with a fantastic story, where we witness schoolgirl Marissa's journey from embarrassment to self-acceptance, realising that her unique experiences shape the remarkable person she is.

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Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native Podcast. My name is Anna and you are listening to Week Seven, Day Four of Your English Five a Day series. In this series, we explore five pieces of vocabulary every day of the working week, Monday to Friday. So let's kick off today's list with an adjective, charismatic, charismatic. We spell this C H A R I S M A T I C. Charismatic. Charismatic. This is used to describe a person who has charisma. So, charisma is like a special power that some people have, naturally, to make them be able to influence people and attract attention and admiration. They are basically people who speak well and make people want to listen to them. People with charisma. So, they are charismatic. It's a real benefit to be a charismatic person, but not something that comes easily to people. Here's an example sentence."Eleanor is such a charismatic teacher, no wonder she's one of the most popular teachers at her university. Her classes are always full!" Next, we have the noun portrayal. Portrayal. A portrayal, this is spelt P O R T R A Y A L. Portrayal. This is the way that someone or something is described or represented in a painting, film, book, or other artistic work. Here's an example sentence."That painting is amazing! Your portrayal of those flowers is so true to life." Next we have an idiom and it is much to someone's delight or much to someone's dismay or you could say, much to someone's disappointment or surprise. So, there's a number of options there. Now this is used to say that someone is very surprised or very happy or unhappy about something. Let me just make sure you're familiar with the spelling of those little words. So, we have much, M U C H, much. Then to, T O. Much to someone's. Usually we use surprise or dismay or delight. So, dismay is spelt D I S M A Y. Much to my dismay. That would mean I'm very unhappy about something."Much to my dismay, I found them canoodling in the kitchen." Okay, I'll move on. Here's an example sentence so you can see it in context."Much to my amazement, I got three As and two Bs in my A levels. I now have what I need to apply for a place at Oxford University. Woo hoo!" Alright, let's move on to a verb. This is number four on our list, and it is resonate. To resonate. Spelled R E S O N A T E. Resonate. Resonate. Now, if you resonate with something, it means you feel that it's true or that it has the same meaning for you. You understand it. Here's an example sentence. You spoke about the struggle to balance work and family life. I really resonated with that." Number five on our list is the adjective simultaneous. Simultaneous. We spell this S I M U L T A N E O U S. Simultaneous. Simultaneous. This means happening or being done at exactly the same time. Here's an example sentence."There are always hundreds of simultaneous firework displays at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve." Okay, that was our five for today. Let's recap. We started with the adjective charismatic, describing someone who is full of charisma. Then we had the noun portrayal, the way that someone or something is described or represented in art. We have the idiom much to someone's surprise, dismay, disappointment, et cetera. Meaning that someone is very surprised, happy, disappointed, et cetera. Then we had the verb resonate. Resonate meaning that you feel that something has truth or meaning for you. You resonate with it. Then we finished with the adjective simultaneous. When something is happening or being done at exactly the same time. Now let's do it for pronunciation. Please repeat after me. Charismatic. Portrayal. Much to my surprise. Resonate. Simultaneous. Wonderful. Let's bring all of those together in a little story. Marissa had always been a very charismatic person, she was the most popular girl at school and everyone admired and respected her. If anyone was teacher's pet, it was Marissa! A teacher's pet is that one student in class who the teacher likes the most and often treats them better than the other students. However, Marissa's portrayal of perfection was a lie. To the world, she was a perfect 15-year-old girl, with a perfect family, living in a perfect house and neighbourhood. But this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, her life was a million miles away from being ideal. Marissa's parents had come over from Thailand 25 years ago and had worked tirelessly in their furniture shop every single day. As a woodworker and carpenter, Ken, Marissa's father, was extremely talented and made every piece by hand. He spent hours carving, shaping, smoothing, and creating the most beautiful pieces of furniture to sell to his loyal customers. He and his wife ran the shop and also offered translation services to local businesses and cleaned offices. Every day after school, Marissa had to complete her homework, clean the house, cook for and feed her grandparents and three brothers and sisters, and then had to deliver the smaller items of woodwork that her father had made to local houses and help her mother with the cleaning of the sports centre. One day, when Marissa was scrubbing the sports hall floor, she heard whispering voices behind her. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, so she turned around. Much to her surprise, a group of her school friends were there, watching her. Marissa had never felt so embarrassed in her whole life, there she was, in dirty clothes, on her hands and knees, cleaning floors. She was about to run away crying when one of the girls said,"Marissa, I didn't know you cleaned in here. We wondered who kept the netball court so shiny!" The girls all crowded round her for a simultaneous hug. They went on to learn all about Marissa's life, and she was relieved to know that many of them resonated with her struggles. Whether they had a small job after school, or brothers and sisters to look after, or parents who were rarely home due to work, they all had a lot more in common than Marissa thought."I will never be ashamed of my life again", she said to herself."This is what makes me, me!" Okay, that brings us to the end of today's episode. I do hope you found today useful. Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.