ESL Podcast 413 - Talking About Intelligence
to be stuck with - to be forced to do or have something that one doesn't want or like
Last week I went to a restaurant with my cousin, but she left early and I got stuck with the bill!
lab partner - the person with whom one works in a laboratory, usually as part of a science class
Rebbi's lab partner spilled dangerous chemicals on his shoe.
airhead - a stupid, unintelligent person; a person who is dumb and/or cannot concentrate
She's such an airhead that she came to work wearing two different shoes.
dense - stupid, dumb, and unintelligent; very slow to respond; not able to understand things easily
I don't think I'll ever understand trigonometry. I'm just too dense!
gifted - with special intelligence and/or talents; very smart and/or very good at doing something
Yvonne is a gifted student, so the teachers put her in the most difficult classes.
perceptive - someone who observes and understands things quickly
Hama is very perceptive and always knows when other people feel sad.
to go far - to do well in life; to succeed; to do great things
You're a great student, a terrific athlete, and a good friend. I know you'll go far.
not all there - distracted; always thinking about something else and never seeming to be in the present situation
Hey, are you okay? I asked you a question this morning, but you weren't all there and you acted like you couldn't even hear me.
to stare off into space - to have one's eyes open but not really see the things around oneself because one is thinking about something else
The teacher became angry when she saw that some of her students were staring off into space instead of listening to her.
quick on the uptake - a fast learner; quick to understand things
Ana Rosa is very quick on the uptake and could already speak German well after living in the country for just 10 months.
smart - intelligent
Keiko is so smart that she's building a robot - and she's only 9 years old!
spacey - not concentrating on what is around oneself because one is thinking about other things
Krysztof is really spacey, always thinking about music when he should be working.
to ride on - to depend on; to be affected by
Whether we get a cash bonus this year rides on how many sales we get this month.
to shape up - to improve; to do better; to begin to meet someone's expectations
He's going to give the new employee one more week to shape up, but if she doesn't get better she's going to lose her job.
clever - smart and able to find new and creative solutions
Some very clever scientists are trying to figure out how to make cars that run on water instead of gasoline.
to bet on (something) - to believe that something is or will be true, so much so that one is willing to lose some money or something else if it doesn't happen
I wouldn't bet on having sunshine tomorrow. I think we should pack an umbrella, just in case it rains.