My escape from North Korea | Hyeonseo Lee | TED – YouTube Dictation Transcript & Vocabulary
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Interactive Transcript & Highlights for Dictation
1.: Joseph Geni : Morton Bast When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet
2.And I grew up singing a song called "Nothing To Envy." And I was very proud
3.In school, we spent a lot of time studying the history of Kim Il-Sung, but we never learned much about the outside world, except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies
4. I often wondered about the outside world, I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea, until everything suddenly changed
5.When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution
💡 Tap the highlighted words to see definitions and examples
Key Vocabulary (CEFR B2)
translator
A2A person who translates text, film or other material into a different natural language.
Example:
"Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast"
important
A2Having relevant and crucial value.
Example:
"English was so important in South Korea,"
identities
A2Sameness, identicalness; the quality or fact of (several specified things) being the same.
Example:
"It's tragic that North Koreans have to hide their identities"
distances
A2The amount of space between two points, usually geographical points, usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line.
Example:
"North Koreans have to travel incredible distances"
desperately
B1In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly.
Example:
"desperately trying to get my family out."
strangers
A2A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance.
Example:
"And he showed me that the kindness of strangers"
succeeding
A2To follow in order; to come next after; hence, to take the place of.
Example:
"succeeding all over the world,"
including
A2To bring into a group, class, set, or total as a (new) part or member.
Example:
"including the TED stage."
reviewer
A2A person who writes reviews for a newspaper or other publication; a critic.
Example:
"Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast"
although
A2Though, even though, in spite of or despite the fact that: introducing a clause that expresses a concession.
Example:
"Although I often wondered about the outside world,"
| Word | CEFR | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| translator | A2 | A person who translates text, film or other material into a different natural language. |
| important | A2 | Having relevant and crucial value. |
| identities | A2 | Sameness, identicalness; the quality or fact of (several specified things) being the same. |
| distances | A2 | The amount of space between two points, usually geographical points, usually (but not necessarily) measured along a straight line. |
| desperately | B1 | In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly. |
| strangers | A2 | A person whom one does not know; a person who is neither a friend nor an acquaintance. |
| succeeding | A2 | To follow in order; to come next after; hence, to take the place of. |
| including | A2 | To bring into a group, class, set, or total as a (new) part or member. |
| reviewer | A2 | A person who writes reviews for a newspaper or other publication; a critic. |
| although | A2 | Though, even though, in spite of or despite the fact that: introducing a clause that expresses a concession. |
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