 Re: thank you
Hello EL
1)But Skoll has seen the transformative power of entrepreneurship so often, from eBay to Africa, that you wouldn't want to bet against him. (In this sentence, what does "entrepreneurship" mean and what does "bet against him" mean?)
— "Entrepreneurship" is the ability to run a successful business. To "bet against him" in this context means "to bet that Skoll wouldn't succeed in his business".
2)Mental practice can actually increase real world strength and performance,.. Pumping virtual iron physically changes the brain—and the brain, after all, controls the body. (In this sentence, what does " Pumping virtual iron " mean?)
— It means "imagining that you're training with weights".
3)Imagine, in your mind's eye, a harp in all its graceful detail; the same region of your visual cortex just turned on as if you actually looked at the instrument. (In this sentence, what does " the same region of your visual cortex " mean, esp. "the same region"?)
— The cortex here = the parts of the brain that deal with vision and hearing, among other things. If you look at an object, part of your cortex is activated. If you imagine that you are looking at an object, the same part of your cortex is activated.
4)But just as physicians are showing that something as inchoate as a positive outlook can affect something as real as the progress of breast cancer, so scientists are uncovering how mental imagery and other tricks of the athlete's trade affect the real, physical brain and hence the body. (In this sentence, what does " as inchoate as a positive outlook " mean?)
— "Inchoate" means "not yet complete". I think the writer has misused it here. He means "as intangible as a positive outlook". In other words, a positive outlook is a mental phenomenon, and breast cancer is a physical phenomenon; yet the former can influence the latter.
Have a good Friday,
MrP  | 
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