VOA · Words and Their Stories
Advanced · C1learner speed3:472024-08-22public domain
Words and Their Stories is VOA's classic program about American English expressions and idioms — where phrases like 'break the ice' come from and how to use them. Native-like idioms in slow, clear speech: a rare combination for learners.
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01And now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English.
02Today, we talk about an important time in a movement or experience.
03It is the moment when something cannot be stopped.
04There is a momentum or force pushing something forward, or making it more known or popular.
05One term for that kind of moment is tipping point.
06The online dictionary Merriam-Webster defines tipping point as the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.
07The tipping point can also be the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped.
08Here is another definition.
09In class, the students' anger toward their teacher reached a tipping point.
10She had, again, given them a test on a subject she hadn't taught.
11Prices at the food store are nearing a tipping point.
12If they go much higher, people will just shop elsewhere.
13Malcolm Gladwell wrote about the subject in his book, Tipping Point, published in 2002.
14He describes tipping point this way.
15The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
16For example, you could say the writer's best-selling second book was the tipping point in her career.
17Now, everything she publishes is popular.
18And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories.
19Until next time, I'm Ana Mateo.
20The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words The End of the Words
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