Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast, number 413.
Talking about intelligence.
This is English as a Second Language podcast, episode 413.
I'm your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan.
This episode is called Talking About Intelligence.
It's a dialogue between Andre and Josephine where they're talking about how smart or how intelligent certain people are, and they'll use a lot of vocabulary related to smart or not-so-smart people.
Let's get started.
Mom, I can't believe I got stuck with Matt as my lab partner in school.
Matt?
Do I know Matt?
He lives down the street.
He's Mr. and Mrs. Kemp's son.
He's a total airhead.
Oh, I remember him.
He was at your birthday party.
Yeah, when I was nine years old.
That guy is so dense.
Matt was always considered a gifted child.
He seemed bright and perceptive, and his parents thought he'd go far.
Every time I look over at him in class, he's staring off into space.
He doesn't seem like the kind who's very quick on the uptake.
You know, some very smart people can seem spacey to the rest of us.
Maybe he's just thinking when he stares off into space.
Maybe.
All I know is that my science grade is riding on how we do in the lab, so I hope he shapes up.
I'm sure he will.
And even if he doesn't, you're clever enough to still do well in the class.
Thanks, Mom, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Our dialogue begins with Andre, who's talking to his mother, saying, Mom...
I can't believe I got stuck with Matt as my lab partner in school.
The expression to be stuck with is a phrasal verb, meaning that you are forced to or have to do something that you don't want to do or don't like doing.
Sometimes this happens because you perhaps were late or someone else didn't do their work and they gave it to you to do.
Then you are stuck with it.
You have to do it even though you don't like it.
Well, Andre is stuck with a lab partner at school and he doesn't like him.
A lab partner is someone in school who works with you in a laboratory, usually as part of a science class.
In most science classes, or many science classes, you have two, three or even four people students working on the same project.
Those are your lab partners.
Often the teacher will assign students to their lab partners.
They don't give them a choice.
I remember when I was taking biology in high school I had a lab partner I didn't particularly like, but that's just the way it goes.
Josephine says, Matt, do I know Matt?
Matt is the name of his new lab partner.
Andre says, When you call someone an airhead, A-I-R-H-E-A-D, one word...
You're saying that person is stupid, that person is not smart, that person is dumb.
This is an informal expression, of course.
If you call someone an airhead, you're saying that they're not very smart, or you're saying that they get confused easily or they don't remember things very well.
Those are also possibilities for someone who is called an airhead.
Josephine says, oh, I remember him.
He was at your birthday party.
Andre says, yeah, when I was nine years old, meaning that was a long time ago.
He's obviously 15 or 16 now, so nine years old seems like a long time ago.
Andre says, that guy is so dense.
To be dense.
D-E-N-S-E is another word again for stupid dumb, not very intelligent, not able to understand things very easily.
Again, it's an insulting term.
It's not a nice thing to say about someone that they're dense.
It's often used to describe people who you try to talk to and explain things to, but they don't quite understand.
The mother, Josephine, says Matt was always considered a gifted child.
In the school system in the United States.
If you say someone is gifted, you mean they are supposed to have special intelligence or special talents.
They're supposed to be very smart.
And in many schools there are special programs that are set up for these supposedly smarter children.
Unfortunately, in many cases...
All of the parents think that their children are gifted, and so it sometimes doesn't really mean anything.
My parents never thought I was gifted, and they were right.
Josephine says he seemed bright and perceptive.
To be perceptive means you are able to understand things quickly.
So it's sort of the opposite of being dense.
Josephine says Matt's parents thought he'd go far.
To go far in this case means to do well in life, to succeed, to do great things.
My teacher said, Jeff, you will go far.
Not all predictions come true.
Andre, however, disagrees.
He says When you say someone is not all there, you mean that they seem to be thinking about something else all the time.
They never seem to be focused on the present or current situation.
They're distracted.
They're thinking about other things.
He's not all there.
That may be something that happens all the time, or it may be something that happens every once in a while.
But here, Andre is saying that Matt is like this all the time.
Every time I look over at him in class, Andre says, he's staring off into space.
To stare, S-T-A-R-E, means to look at something, usually to look at it for a very long time.
To stare off into space however, means to have your eyes open, but you're not really looking at anything, in particular because you're thinking.
You're thinking a lot, and your eyes are just sort of pointed in a certain direction.
You're staring off into space.
You're thinking about something else and not paying attention to what is happening around you.
Andre says, Matt doesn't seem like the kind who's very quick on the uptake.
To describe someone as quick on the uptake means they're a fast learner.
They understand things very quickly.
Josephine says you know, some very smart people can seem spacey to the rest of us.
Some very smart, intelligent people can seem spacey.
To be spacey is to be someone who stares off into space, who's a bit of an airhead, who doesn't concentrate on what is around them because they are thinking about other things.
Josephine says maybe he's just thinking when he stares off into space.
Andre says maybe all I know is that my science grade is riding on how well we do in the lab.
So I hope he shapes up.
Andre is concerned that Matt, as his partner, won't do his work correctly and they will both get a bad grade.
He says his science grade is riding on.
To ride on means to depend on, to be affected by something.
So you could say the amount of money I get at my work is riding on how many sales I can make this year.
It's dependent on that thing.
To shape up means to improve, to do better.
Somebody says he needs to shape up.
They mean he needs to do better.
He needs to meet the standards or expectations of this other person.
Well, Andre is hoping that Matt will shape up.
He will get better so that his science grade doesn't suffer, doesn't go lower because of him.
The word shape has a couple of different meanings in English.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
Josephine says, I'm sure he will.
I'm sure he will shape up.
And even if he doesn't, you're clever enough to still do well in the class.
To be clever means to be smart, but specifically to be able to find new or creative solutions to something.
We might describe, for example, a police detective someone who tries to find the person who committed a crime as being clever smart, able to figure out a situation or understand a situation.
Andre says, Thanks, Mom, but I wouldn't bet on it.
To bet on something is a phrasal verb meaning to believe that something is or will be true.
In fact, you are so sure that is going to happen that you are willing to bet, to gamble money saying that this will happen.
It's a general expression meaning it probably won't happen.
You should not depend on that happening.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
Mom, I can't believe I got stuck with Matt as my lab partner in school.
Matt?
Do I know Matt?
He lives down the street.
He's Mr. and Mrs. Kemp's son.
He's a total airhead.
Oh, I remember him.
He was at your birthday party.
Yeah, when I was nine years old.
That guy is so dense.
Matt was always considered a gifted child.
He seemed bright and perceptive, and his parents thought he'd go far.
If you ask me, he's not all there.
Every time I look over at him in class, he's staring off into space.
He doesn't seem like the kind who's very quick on the uptake.
You know, some very smart people can seem spacey to the rest of us.
Maybe he's just thinking when he stares off into space.
Maybe.
All I know is that my science grade is riding on how we do in the lab, so I hope he shapes up.
I'm sure he will.
And even if he doesn't, you're clever enough to still do well in the class.
Thanks, Mom, but I wouldn't bet on it.
The script for this episode was written by our clever, very smart and gifted scriptwriter, Dr Lucy Saye.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
This podcast is copyright 2008.
