U1 This is us

Resilient

able to recover quickly from difficulties

Scare sb out of their wits

frighten someone extremely

Without the benefit of

without having the advantage of something

Not be given the benefit of depth

not be treated with sufficient seriousness or thorough explanation

Leave sb petrified

make someone extremely frightened

A bit down in the dumps

slightly sad or low in mood

Despondent about

extremely unhappy and without hope about something

Go apoplectic with rage

become extremely angry

Notify sb of

formally inform someone about something

Unperturbed by

not worried or disturbed by something

Go ballistic

suddenly become very angry

At the mere mention of

as soon as something is mentioned

Take something in your stride

deal with something calmly and easily

Chuffed to bits

extremely pleased

Visibly elated

clearly very happy

Head over heels in love with

deeply and completely in love with

Be besotted with sb/sth

be completely infatuated or obsessed with

Indulge in her every whim

satisfy all her desires

At a moment’s notice

immediately

Idiosyncrasy

a distinctive or unusual personal habit or feature

Completely repulsed by

feeling strong disgust towards

Totally grossed out

extremely disgusted

All but useless

almost completely useless

Completely dumbfounded by

extremely shocked or amazed by

A shoo-in for / to do sth

someone very likely to win or succeed

Utterly flabbergasted

extremely surprised

A piano recital

a public performance of piano music

Literally glued to a mobile phone

constantly looking at or using a phone

Wholly engrossed in

completely absorbed in

To be in disbelief

unable to believe something

A train of thought

a sequence of connected ideas

To gloat over

show excessive pride or satisfaction about something

A self-satisfied smile

a smile showing smug pleasure

To reserve sth for

keep something for a particular purpose or person

Self-deprecating humour

humour that makes fun of oneself

An endless string of sth

a continuous series of something

Jokes revolving around

jokes focused on a particular topic

Her own perceived failings

weaknesses she believes she has

Tireless efforts

efforts made with great energy and persistence

Self-sacrificing devotion

putting others’ needs before one’s own

Those less fortunate

people who are poorer or in worse situations

A self-respecting cook

a cook who takes pride in their standards

To confront a problem with

deal with a problem using a particular quality

Self-possessed confidence

calm and controlled confidence

A self-made billionaire

someone who became rich through their own efforts

A self-indulgent lifestyle

a lifestyle focused excessively on personal pleasure

To lounge by the pool

relax lazily beside a pool

Unfair dismissal

being fired from a job illegally or unjustly

To wallow in self-pity

indulge excessively in feeling sorry for oneself

To wallow in the mud

roll around in mud

The book chronicles

the book records events in detail

To fit in

feel accepted as part of a group

To question one’s own self-worth

doubt one’s value as a person

To rationalise one’s behaviour

justify one’s actions with logical reasons

A profound act of self-deception

seriously misleading oneself

A super-recogniser

a person exceptionally good at recognising faces

The rare few

a very small number of people

To point sb/sth out to sb

draw attention to someone or something

Appear fleetingly

appear briefly

A particularly observant person

someone who notices details easily

Self-conscious about

feeling embarrassed or overly aware of something

Meet people through social gatherings

get acquainted at parties or events

Keep sth on the down-low

keep something secret or private

Mental/visual/hearing impairment

a disability affecting thinking

A great deal of variation among

large differences between

Tremendous variation in

very large differences in

Facial recognition

the ability or technology to identify faces

Sth lies along a bell curve

something follows a normal statistical distribution

Human capacities

human abilities or potential

In a professional capacity

in the role of one’s job

At full capacity

operating at maximum ability or volume

The underlying cause

the fundamental reason

Cortical thickness

the thickness of the brain’s cortex

A predictor of superior ability

something indicating high potential or skill

So it appears that

it seems that

An online screening tool

an internet-based test for assessment

To unearth some disturbing evidence

discover troubling information

To rank in the top 50

be among the 50 highest positions

To see in a new light

reconsider from a different perspective

My brain is just wired that way

I am naturally inclined that way

To work at a part-time job

have a job with limited hours

To deploy abilities/skills/arguments

use effectively

To deploy troops/forces/weapons

position for strategic use

Grainy footage

low-quality video with visible dots

A habitual shoplifter

someone who regularly steals from shops

Alert the security guard

inform the guard about a problem

To shed some light on the matter

clarify something

In their mind’s eye

in their imagination

To paint a more elaborate picture of sth

describe in greater detail

To be quite adept at

be very skilled at

A pixelated photo

an image with visible digital squares

Under optimal conditions

in the best possible circumstances

A CCTV image

a picture from a security camera

A police mugshot

an official police photograph of a suspect

To capture on CCTV

record on a security camera

To flick through sth

look through quickly

To question one’s sanity

doubt one’s mental stability

To rattle off

say quickly without hesitation

To go unnoticed

not be seen or recognised

Law enforcement agency

organisation responsible for enforcing the law