The Tipping Point I Got Wrong | Malcolm Gladwell | TED – YouTube Dictation Transcript & Vocabulary
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Interactive Transcript & Highlights for Dictation
1.I want to tell you a story about when I moved to New York City in 1993
2.I was 30 years old, and I was moving to what was known as one of the most dangerous big cities in the United States
3.And every night, I would go out with my friends on a Friday or Saturday night, and at the end of every night we would have a little conference and we would pool all of our money, and we would figure out how everyone was going to get home, because you couldn't go home on the subway by yourself and you couldn't walk home, and if you were a woman, you definitely were not allowed to go home by yourself at one o'clock in the morning on a Saturday night
4.That's what it meant to be in this very scary city called New York
5.I used to live in the sixth floor of a walk-up in the West Village, and my bedroom faced the fire escape
💡 Tap the highlighted words to see definitions and examples
Key Vocabulary (CEFR B1)
miraculous
B1By supernatural or uncommon causes, e.g. by a god; that cannot be explained in terms of normal events.
Example:
"even more miraculous decline, right?"
important
B1Having relevant and crucial value.
Example:
"The other even more important thing, though,"
ruff-bell
B1A B1-level word commonly used in this context.
Example:
"Monique Ruff-Bell: That was some mea culpa, Malcolm."
paragraph
B1A passage in text that is about a different subject from the preceding text, marked by commencing on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented.
Example:
"And I'll never forget when I read that little paragraph"
environment
B1The surroundings of, and influences on, a particular item of interest.
Example:
"in which they argued that very small things in the environment"
turnstile
B1A rotating mechanical device that controls and counts passage between public areas, especially one that only allows passage after a charge has been paid.
Example:
"and if someone is jaywalking or jumping a turnstile"
interpreted
B2To explain or tell the meaning of; to translate orally into intelligible or familiar language or terms. applied especially to language, but also to dreams, signs, conduct, mysteries, etc.
Example:
"That's how the NYPD interpreted"
suspected
B1To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof.
Example:
"said in her opinion that she strongly suspected"
thoughtful
B1Demonstrating thought or careful consideration.
Example:
"Rather, it is the intelligent and thoughtful"
authority
B2The power to enforce rules or give orders.
Example:
"and selective application of police authority"
| Word | CEFR | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| miraculous | B1 | By supernatural or uncommon causes, e.g. by a god; that cannot be explained in terms of normal events. |
| important | B1 | Having relevant and crucial value. |
| ruff-bell | B1 | A B1-level word commonly used in this context. |
| paragraph | B1 | A passage in text that is about a different subject from the preceding text, marked by commencing on a new line, the first line sometimes being indented. |
| environment | B1 | The surroundings of, and influences on, a particular item of interest. |
| turnstile | B1 | A rotating mechanical device that controls and counts passage between public areas, especially one that only allows passage after a charge has been paid. |
| interpreted | B2 | To explain or tell the meaning of; to translate orally into intelligible or familiar language or terms. applied especially to language, but also to dreams, signs, conduct, mysteries, etc. |
| suspected | B1 | To imagine or suppose (something) to be true, or to exist, without proof. |
| thoughtful | B1 | Demonstrating thought or careful consideration. |
| authority | B2 | The power to enforce rules or give orders. |
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