C1 ENGLISH LISTENING PRACTICE — Transcript

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1. 0:00What if you were born completely empty?
2. 0:02What if the universe literally does not
3. 0:04care about you at all and every rule you
4. 0:06follow is completely fake?
5. 0:09Today, we are exploring the ultimate
6. 0:11question.
7. 0:13What gives your life meaning?
8. 0:15>> Oh, wow. Yeah, it is uh it's a question
9. 0:17that can really induce a genuine sense
10. 0:20of vertigo, you know?
11. 0:21>> Oh, absolutely. Vertigo's a perfect word
12. 0:23for it. It's totally dizzying.
13. 0:24>> Right, because when you strip away all
14. 0:26those comforting narratives we've built
15. 0:28up over, well, millennia, what you're
16. 0:30left with this overwhelming expanse of
17. 0:32possibility.
18. 0:33>> And that's exactly what we're getting
19. 0:35into. In today's deep dive, we're going
20. 0:37to explore three major shifts in human
21. 0:39thought, confront two life-altering
22. 0:41choices, and master five complex phrasal
23. 0:44verbs, all leading up to one ultimate
24. 0:47truth about your personal freedom.
25. 0:49>> That is a total of 11 critical learning
26. 0:51points, right?
27. 0:51>> Exactly. 11 points that will completely
28. 0:53change how you view your existence. But
29. 0:55before we jump in, welcome to this deep
30. 0:57dive, which is your English learning
31. 0:59podcast for daily life, real
32. 1:01conversation, and easy listening
33. 1:03practice.
34. 1:03>> So glad to have you here with us.
35. 1:05>> Hey, if you'd like to support our work,
36. 1:06please don't skip the ads. They help us
37. 1:08keep creating high-quality content and
38. 1:10bring you even better lessons in the
39. 1:12future. You can also join our membership
40. 1:14program to get access to exclusive
41. 1:16content, special resources, and many
42. 1:18more valuable topics. Your support truly
43. 1:20makes a difference.
44. 1:20>> It really does. Thank you to everyone
45. 1:22already supporting us.
46. 1:23>> Now, I want to talk directly to you, the
47. 1:25listener. If you're a B2 or C1 English
48. 1:27learner, you're not just here for
49. 1:29surface-level grammar, right? You want
50. 1:31the deep stuff. I want you to actively
51. 1:33speak, practice, and really think deeply
52. 1:36during this session.
53. 1:37>> Exactly. You are here to become fluent
54. 1:39in life's biggest ideas, not just the
55. 1:42language.
56. 1:42>> So, what is our mission today?
57. 1:44>> Well, our mission is to synthesize all
58. 1:46this profound philosophical thought on
59. 1:48existence and meaning, right? We want to
60. 1:50transform these uh really complex
61. 1:53theories into practical wisdom for your
62. 1:55daily life.
63. 1:56>> All while dramatically expanding your
64. 1:57advanced English vocabulary.
65. 1:59>> Exactly. So, let's uh let's just unpack
66. 2:01this right from the start. We spend a
67. 2:04truly exhausting amount of energy trying
68. 2:06to find meaning. Oh, yeah. People look
69. 2:08for it everywhere. Religion, politics,
70. 2:11art, career, even just like making your
71. 2:14social media aesthetic look perfect.
72. 2:16>> Right. It's this universal hunger. But,
73. 2:19what is truly fascinating is how a
74. 2:21specific group of thinkers, you know,
75. 2:23the existentialists
76. 2:25approach this craving.
77. 2:27>> Right. Their approach is super
78. 2:28paradoxical, isn't it?
79. 2:29>> It really is. They essentially say that
80. 2:32yes, your career or family can give your
81. 2:34life meaning, but fundamentally in a
82. 2:36cosmic sense, none of it possesses any
83. 2:39inherent meaning at all.
84. 2:41>> Wait. I mean, they can provide meaning,
85. 2:42but they inherently possess no meaning.
86. 2:44That sounds like a riddle.
87. 2:46>> It does, yeah.
88. 2:47>> It does.
89. 2:47>> But, to understand it, we really have to
90. 2:49travel back in time. We have to look at
91. 2:50what they were reacting to.
92. 2:52>> do it. We're going back to ancient
93. 2:53Greece, right? The baseline of all this.
94. 2:55>> Yes. So, we're talking about thinkers
95. 2:57like Plato and Aristotle.
96. 2:59>> Uh-huh.
97. 2:59>> And they believed in this framework
98. 3:01called essentialism.
99. 3:02>> Essentialism. So, what exactly is the
100. 3:04concept of essence here?
101. 3:06>> Under essentialism, it is believed that
102. 3:08everything has a core set of properties,
103. 3:10an essence that makes it what it is. Can
104. 3:12you uh give us an analogy to make that a
105. 3:14bit more concrete?
106. 3:15>> Sure, let's use the classic knife
107. 3:16analogy. Think about a knife. It could
108. 3:18have a wooden handle, a metal handle,
109. 3:20whatever.
110. 3:20>> But, the handle doesn't really matter.
111. 3:21>> Exactly. But, without a blade, without
112. 3:24the ability to cut,
113. 3:26it's no longer a knife. It's defining
114. 3:28function is its essence.
115. 3:31And that essence existed as an idea
116. 3:33before the knife was even made.
117. 3:35>> Okay, I follow that for tools. But, they
118. 3:37applied this to humans, too?
119. 3:39>> They did. They believed human essence
120. 3:41exists before we are born. Your purpose
121. 3:44is given to you, often believed to be by
122. 3:46God or nature.
123. 3:47>> Wow.
124. 3:49Isn't it incredibly comforting to think
125. 3:50your purpose is already decided? Like,
126. 3:52the pressure is totally off.
127. 3:53>> It can be comforting, sure.
128. 3:55>> But what happens when you don't know
129. 3:56what that purpose is or you're just
130. 3:58terrible at it?
131. 3:58>> Uh, well, that's where the anxiety comes
132. 4:00in.
133. 4:01And this brings us to our first major
134. 4:03language focus today. The phrasal verb
135. 4:06live up to.
136. 4:07>> Live up to. That's a great one for our
137. 4:09B2 and C1 learners. Let's break that
138. 4:11down.
139. 4:12>> To live up to means to fulfill
140. 4:14expectations or a certain standard.
141. 4:16>> So, in the context of this philosophy,
142. 4:19how would we use it?
143. 4:20>> You could say under essentialism, being
144. 4:23a good human means trying to live up to
145. 4:25your predetermined essence.
146. 4:26>> Let me repeat that for the audience. And
147. 4:28listener, I want you to repeat this out
148. 4:29loud right now. Ready?
149. 4:31Under essentialism, being a good human
150. 4:34means trying to live up to your
151. 4:36predetermined essence.
152. 4:37>> Perfect. It's that constant pressure to
153. 4:39meet a standard you didn't even create.
154. 4:41>> And, you know, before humans go off
155. 4:44trying to find their grand deep essence,
156. 4:46we just sort of
157. 4:48exist in society.
158. 4:49>> Yeah, we just make everyday chatter,
159. 4:51small talk.
160. 4:52>> Exactly. We're just going through the
161. 4:53motions. And actually, let's practice
162. 4:55this. We're going to do a quick small
163. 4:56talk role play about the weather.
164. 4:57>> Oh, this is great practice.
165. 4:59>> Listener, I'm going to say a line.
166. 5:01I want you to respond out loud in the
167. 5:02pause break. You can say something like,
168. 5:04"Yeah, I hope it clears up soon." Ready?
169. 5:07Here we go.
170. 5:08Crazy weather we're having lately,
171. 5:09right? It's been pouring all week.
172. 5:11>> Uh, great job. That kind of routine
173. 5:14predictable conversation, the small
174. 5:16talk, is exactly what later philosophers
175. 5:19felt was missing the deeper point of
176. 5:21existence.
177. 5:21>> They looked at everyone just chatting
178. 5:23about the rain and thought,
179. 5:24>> Yeah.
180. 5:24>> "Is this it? Is this all there is?"
181. 5:26>> Exactly. And before we get to the
182. 5:28radical shift that blew all this up,
183. 5:30let's take a quick pause.
184. 5:32>> Yes.
185. 5:33If you are enjoying this deep dive into
186. 5:35meaning and language so far, please take
187. 5:37a second to like, share, and subscribe.
188. 5:39It helps us immensely.
189. 5:41>> It really does. So, let's talk about the
190. 5:42late 19th century.
191. 5:44>> Right. Everything changes.
192. 5:45>> Everything. Thinkers like Friedrich
193. 5:47Nietzsche started challenging
194. 5:48essentialism. They started embracing
195. 5:50this idea called nihilism.
196. 5:52>> Nihilism, that's a dark one. That's
197. 5:54basically the belief in the ultimate
198. 5:56meaninglessness of life, right?
199. 5:58>> That's right. The belief that there is
200. 5:59no grand design. And this gives us a
201. 6:01great opportunity to integrate some C1
202. 6:03vocabulary.
203. 6:04>> Oh, I love C1 vocabulary. What do we
204. 6:06have?
205. 6:06>> We have two words here.
206. 6:08Preposterous and imbue.
207. 6:10>> Let's start with preposterous. p r e p o
208. 6:13s t e r u s. What does that mean?
209. 6:15>> It means completely contrary to reason
210. 6:17or common sense. Utterly ridiculous.
211. 6:20>> Like it's preposterous to think a dog
212. 6:22could drive a car.
213. 6:23>> Exactly. And the second word is imbue. i
214. 6:27m b u e. This means to inspire or
215. 6:30permeate with a feeling or quality.
216. 6:33>> So, someone could be imbued with a sense
217. 6:35of hope.
218. 6:35>> Yes. Now, let's put them together in a
219. 6:37sentence for our listeners. It seemed
220. 6:39preposterous to Nietzsche that we are
221. 6:41imbued with a magical purpose from
222. 6:43birth.
223. 6:44>> Oh, that's a powerful sentence.
224. 6:45Listener, listen to that again. It
225. 6:47seemed preposterous to Nietzsche that we
226. 6:49are imbued with a magical purpose from
227. 6:51birth.
228. 6:51>> So, if nihilism tore down the old house,
229. 6:54existentialism was the new house they
230. 6:56built.
231. 6:56>> And this is where Jean-Paul Sartre comes
232. 6:58in, right? With his revolutionary
233. 6:59framework.
234. 7:00>> Yes. Sartre flipped the script entirely.
235. 7:03He said, "Existence precedes essence."
236. 7:06>> Existence comes before essence. Let's
237. 7:08really analyze that.
238. 7:09>> Well, it means we are born first. That's
239. 7:11the existence part. We show up
240. 7:12completely blank with no hardwired
241. 7:14purpose.
242. 7:15>> We're not like the knife. There's no
243. 7:16blueprint.
244. 7:17>> Exactly. Then it is entirely up to us to
245. 7:20write our own essence through how we
246. 7:23choose to live.
247. 7:24>> We have to make it up as we go.
248. 7:25>> Right. And he didn't hide from this
249. 7:27terrifying idea. He confronted it.
250. 7:29>> Which brings us to our second phrasal
251. 7:30verb, face head-on.
252. 7:33This is a great C1 idiom.
253. 7:35>> How would you explain that one?
254. 7:36>> To face something head-on means to deal
255. 7:39with a difficult situation directly
256. 7:42without avoiding it. You look right at
257. 7:43the problem.
258. 7:44>> Like facing a financial crisis head-on.
259. 7:46>> Exactly. So, listener, practice this
260. 7:48example sentence out loud with me.
261. 7:50Instead of running away from a
262. 7:51meaningless universe, Sartre decided to
263. 7:53face it head-on.
264. 7:55>> Perfect. He just looked right at the
265. 7:56void.
266. 7:57>> Wait, I have a big question here. Does
267. 7:59believing you create your own essence
268. 8:01mean you have to be an atheist?
269. 8:03>> That is a huge misconception. No,
270. 8:04existentialism is not synonymous with
271. 8:06atheism.
272. 8:07>> Really? Because Sartre was pretty
273. 8:08famously atheist.
274. 8:09>> He was, but important thinkers like
275. 8:12Søren Kierkegaard were theists. They
276. 8:14were deeply religious.
277. 8:15>> How does that work?
278. 8:16>> Mhm.
279. 8:17>> How can you believe in God, but not
280. 8:19believe you have a set purpose?
281. 8:21>> To explain that, we need another C1
282. 8:22vocabulary word. Teleologin.
283. 8:25>> Teleology, t e l e o l o g y. That
284. 8:28sounds very academic.
285. 8:29>> It is. Teleology is the explanation of
286. 8:32phenomena by the purpose they serve.
287. 8:34Like saying rain exists so that plants
288. 8:37can grow.
289. 8:37>> Okay, so how does this fit with
290. 8:39religious existentialists?
291. 8:41>> Well, theistic existentialists deny
292. 8:43teleology for humans. They believe God
293. 8:45exists, but giving your life a specific
294. 8:48predetermined meaning is simply not in
295. 8:50his job description.
296. 8:51>> Wow, that's a great way to frame it. God
297. 8:53gives you the canvas, but you have to
298. 8:54paint the picture.
299. 8:55>> Exactly. Which leads us to a highly
300. 8:57technical concept they talked about a
301. 8:59lot, the concept of the absurd.
302. 9:01>> The absurd. Now, we use that word in
303. 9:02everyday English to just mean silly.
304. 9:04>> Right, like these prices are absurd. But
305. 9:07in philosophy, it's not a joke. It is
306. 9:09the search for answers in an answerless
307. 9:11world.
308. 9:12>> friction. The imagery they use is so
309. 9:15powerful. We are creatures who
310. 9:16desperately crave meaning abandoned in a
311. 9:19meaningless universe.
312. 9:20>> And we're crying out into the wilderness
313. 9:22getting absolutely no response, but we
314. 9:24keep crying anyway. It's tragic,
315. 9:26honestly.
316. 9:27Which leads to our third phrasal verb,
317. 9:29boil down to.
318. 9:31>> Boil down to.
319. 9:32A B2C1 phrase. What does it mean?
320. 9:34>> It means to reduce something to its most
321. 9:36basic, essential element, like boiling
322. 9:39soup on a stove until only the rich
323. 9:42flavor is left.
324. 9:43>> Exactly. So, we can say the absurd
325. 9:45really boils down to the conflict
326. 9:47between our human desire for meaning and
327. 9:49the cold silent universe.
328. 9:51>> Boils down to, write that one down in
329. 9:52your notes, listeners. So, let's
330. 9:54contextualize this historically. Why did
331. 9:56all these ideas suddenly explode in the
332. 9:58mid-20th century?
333. 9:59>> Well, you have to look at the historical
334. 10:01catalyst. During and after World War II,
335. 10:04the horrors of the Holocaust led people
336. 10:06to abandon the belief in an ordered fair
337. 10:08world.
338. 10:09>> Right. When atrocities on that scale
339. 10:11became possible, meaning became
340. 10:12incredibly hard to find.
341. 10:14>> Yeah.
342. 10:15The old ideas of a just universe just
343. 10:17fell apart.
344. 10:18>> And out of that trauma, Sartre
345. 10:19introduced his most agonizing concept,
346. 10:22the idea that we don't lack meaning, but
347. 10:24rather we have a terrifying abundance of
348. 10:26freedom.
349. 10:26>> He said we are condemned [clears throat]
350. 10:28to be free.
351. 10:29>> Condemned? It sounds so backwards.
352. 10:30Freedom is usually a good thing. But,
353. 10:32because there are no absolute rules, no
354. 10:35cosmic justice, and no fairness, we are
355. 10:38forced to invent our own moral code from
356. 10:40scratch.
357. 10:41>> And that is exhausting.
358. 10:43So, what do people usually do? They look
359. 10:45for fake authorities.
360. 10:46>> Exactly. Relying on parents, the church,
361. 10:49or the government for objective answers
362. 10:51is a trap. It is believed that they are
363. 10:53just people terrified and figuring it
364. 10:55out, too.
365. 10:56>> And if you just follow them blindly,
366. 10:58you're doing our fourth phrasal verb,
367. 11:00phoning it in.
368. 11:01>> Phone it in. This is a very common
369. 11:03idiomatic C1 phrase.
370. 11:06>> It means to do something with minimal
371. 11:07effort or without genuine engagement,
372. 11:10like an actor just reading lines over
373. 11:12the telephone.
374. 11:13>> So, in this context, if you just follow
375. 11:15a path set by society without choosing
376. 11:17it yourself, you are phoning it in with
377. 11:19your life.
378. 11:20>> sleepwalking. And there's a great idiom
379. 11:22that goes with this.
380. 11:23>> Yes. Burying your head in the sand.
381. 11:26>> The bury your head in the sand. It means
382. 11:27refusing to think about an unpleasant
383. 11:30situation.
384. 11:31>> Sartre called this bad
385. 11:33pretending that something outside of you
386. 11:35gives your life meaning just so you
387. 11:36don't have to face your freedom.
388. 11:38>> Like an ostrich hiding from a lion.
389. 11:40If I don't look at my freedom, it isn't
390. 11:42there.
391. 11:42>> Exactly. It's much easier to bury your
392. 11:44head in the sand.
393. 11:45>> Okay, let's put this into a real-life
394. 11:47moral dilemma. We're at a crossroads
395. 11:49here. There's this very famous anecdote
396. 11:51of the student.
397. 11:52>> Yes, it's believed to have been
398. 11:54presented by Sartre to his actual
399. 11:55students. It's about a young man facing
400. 11:58a terrible choice during wartime in
401. 12:00occupied France.
402. 12:01>> This gives me chills every time.
403. 12:03>> Uh-huh.
404. 12:03>> So, the student has option A and option
405. 12:05B.
406. 12:06>> Right. Option A, go to war, fight for a
407. 12:08great cause, join the resistance. But,
408. 12:11he would be a very small part of a
409. 12:12massive movement.
410. 12:14>> And what's the cost of option A?
411. 12:15>> He would be leaving his elderly, lonely
412. 12:17mother behind. She only has him.
413. 12:20>> Which perfectly introduces our fifth
414. 12:22phrasal verb, leave behind. This is a
415. 12:24strong B2 verb.
416. 12:26>> It means to go away and not take someone
417. 12:28or something with you.
418. 12:29>> So, the sentence is, if he went to war,
419. 12:31he would leave behind his helpless
420. 12:33mother.
421. 12:34>> And if he does that, she might die of
422. 12:36despair.
423. 12:37>> Right. So, what about option B?
424. 12:38>> Option B is he stays with his mother. He
425. 12:40makes an enormous, guaranteed difference
426. 12:42in just one person's life. But,
427. 12:44>> But, he abandons his duty to his country
428. 12:47and justice. He lets others fight and
429. 12:49die for him.
430. 12:50>> Wow.
431. 12:51So, he's completely trapped.
432. 12:53To use another great idiom, he is at a
433. 12:55crossroads.
434. 12:56>> At a crossroads, meaning he is at a
435. 12:58point where a crucial, life-altering
436. 13:00decision must be made.
437. 13:02>> So, he goes to Sartre and asks, "What
438. 13:04should I do? What is the right answer?"
439. 13:06>> And here is the punchline of
440. 13:08existentialism.
441. 13:09>> Huh.
442. 13:09>> The solution to the dilemma is,
443. 13:12there is no answer.
444. 13:13>> No answer. None.
445. 13:15>> None. No moral theory, religious or
446. 13:17secular, could help the student do the
447. 13:19math on this choice.
448. 13:20>> So, what was the only true choice?
449. 13:21>> The only true choice was whatever choice
450. 13:23he made authentically. He just had to
451. 13:25choose and accept the full weight of his
452. 13:27freedom.
453. 13:27>> That is heavy, and I can see why people
454. 13:29say this philosophy is depressing. It
455. 13:31feels bleak.
456. 13:32>> It does, and Albert Camus took it even
457. 13:34further. He controversially believed
458. 13:36that the literal meaning of life is
459. 13:38simply whatever you were doing that
460. 13:40prevents you from killing yourself.
461. 13:41>> Wait, seriously? This sounds incredibly
462. 13:43depressing. Isn't really all just bleak?
463. 13:45Do we just suffer?
464. 13:46>> No, and this is where we reframe the
465. 13:48whole thing. This is the turn.
466. 13:49>> Please turn it around because I'm
467. 13:51feeling the vertigo.
468. 13:52>> Okay.
469. 13:52If the world is inherently devoid of
470. 13:55purpose, that means you hold the
471. 13:57ultimate power to imbue it with whatever
472. 14:00purpose you want.
473. 14:01>> Oh, so my blank slate is a superpower.
474. 14:04>> Exactly. No one can tell you your life
475. 14:06is worthless if you don't achieve
476. 14:08traditional standards like wealth or
477. 14:10having children or being famous.
478. 14:13>> Because those standards are completely
479. 14:14fake.
480. 14:15>> Right. And on a global scale, it's a
481. 14:17call to action. If we want justice,
482. 14:19order, and fairness to exist in the
483. 14:21world,
484. 14:22>> we have to build them ourselves.
485. 14:23>> Exactly. We have to invent them because
486. 14:26the universe won't do it for us.
487. 14:28>> That is actually incredibly empowering.
488. 14:29>> It's beautiful, really.
489. 14:31>> All right, this brings us to our final
490. 14:32provocative thought for you, the
491. 14:33listener, to mull over today.
492. 14:36>> What's the thought?
493. 14:37>> If everything you value only exists
494. 14:39because you put it there,
495. 14:41what old useless meanings are you
496. 14:43currently carrying around that you need
497. 14:45to throw away today?
498. 14:47What if your blank slate is actually
499. 14:49your greatest superpower?
500. 14:50>> That is something you can think about
501. 14:52all week.
502. 14:52>> Absolutely. Now, I promised you a bonus
503. 14:55reveal at the end of the episode.
504. 14:57>> The psychological tip for language
505. 14:59learners.
506. 14:59>> Here it is. Your English fluency doesn't
507. 15:02have an essence you're failing to live
508. 15:04up to.
509. 15:05Your fluency is built purely by your
510. 15:07daily existence and practice. You create
511. 15:09your English identity.
512. 15:11>> I love that. You are entirely in control
513. 15:13of your language journey.
514. 15:15>> Now it's your turn.
515. 15:16I have some homework for you. I want you
516. 15:18to write one keyword or one idiom we
517. 15:20explained today alongside its meaning in
518. 15:22the comment box.
519. 15:23>> And right next to it, write the exact
520. 15:25phrase, "I am consistent."
521. 15:27>> Yes, write, "I am consistent." Prove to
522. 15:30us that you are committed to your
523. 15:31learning.
524. 15:31>> And please write your feedback in the
525. 15:33comments, too. Which kind of topic do
526. 15:34you want for the next video? We read
527. 15:36every comment.
528. 15:37>> We really do. If you like this deep
529. 15:39dive, give it a huge thumbs up. And
530. 15:41listen closely.
531. 15:42If you want to read an exclusive article
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535. 15:48>> Yes, check out the description box.
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537. 15:53receive a free, high-quality article in
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540. 15:58>> It's a fantastic resource for learners.
541. 16:01>> So, if you enjoyed this podcast, there
542. 16:03are many more podcasts on my channel. Go
543. 16:05check them out and binge-watch your
544. 16:06favorites.
545. 16:07>> Thank you all for joining us on this
546. 16:08deep dive.
547. 16:09>> Keep speaking, keep listening, and keep
548. 16:12creating your own meaning. See you next
549. 16:13time.