Vocabulary
The vocabulary below is meant to help you with the more difficult words. If the word isn’t on the list then you are either supposed to know it or it is too specific to be worth learning and you don’t have to know it to answer the question. Symbols in brackets mean part of speech (see bottom of the list). Sentences in italics give examples of usage for some more complex words and phrases.
And remember — you are not given a vocabulary list (or a dictionary) at your real exam.
Part 1
Debut (n, French) – when you do some kind of public performance for the first time. It can be a piece of art, literature, acting, singing and so on.
Literary (adj) – relating to literature. Do not confuse this with literal – which means literal (direct) meaning, as opposed to figurative (indirect) meaning. My literary experiments during my university years led to nothing – despite having written a novel, it never got published.
Boost (v) – if you are boosted by something, then it gives you additional strength, energy or enthusiasm to continue doing that.
Writer’s block – a situation when you are unable to carry on writing because you are out of ideas. Can occur both in academic and non-academic writing.
One-hit wonder – (about a piece of work such as a film or a book) a hugely successful work of one author that greatly surpasses all their other creations.
Part 2
Cattle (n) – a general term for domesticated animals with horns and hooves, such as cows. Many farms rely on having cattle as a source of meat and milk.
Biometric (adj) – relating to identifying an individual – usually this refers to fingerprints or retinas (the part of our eye). In order to get a passport in this country you have to provide your biometric data to the authorities.
Forefront (n) – when something is at the forefront, it has a dominant or most important position there. Doctors are now at the forefront of protecting us from the newly-discovered virus.
Advances (n) – (here) progress or development. The recent advances in mobile phone technology led to very responsive screens and large capacity batteries that last for weeks.
Part 3, 4
Intrigued (adj) – curious or fascinated with the subject.
Likelihood (n) – the chance of something happening.
Fabric (n) – a cloth material made of woven fibres, stronger than cotton or linen.
Abandon (v) – to leave something behind, usually used in a negative way. We abandoned our plan to start a family business because it involved a very high initial investment.
Curriculum (n) – all the school, college, or university subjects that are included in any particular course. Many students and even some teachers believe that physical education shouldn’t be a part of higher education curriculum.
Stick with something (phr v) – to keep doing something, especially something that has become your habit, used positively. Choose a hobby, stick with it, and it might eventually become your profession.
Part 5
Bravado (n) – false bravery, usually as a display to impress others. Teenagers usually use bravado to win the favour of their peers.
Put somebody’s back up – to annoy or offend somebody.
To follow through on something – to do something you have planned or promised to do, especially if you were unlikely or unwilling to do it. Despite our doubts, George followed through on his promise to pay for the hotel.
Let down (here: adj) – if you feel let down, it means you feel betrayed by somebody. Can also be used as a verb. I am sorry for letting you down and not picking you up from the airport yesterday.
Settled (v) – (here) decided, agreed upon.
Get cold feet – to get scared and change your mind right before an important event. People who get married often get cold feet right before the ceremony.
Opt for (phr v) – to make a choice out of several options. The opposite is ‘to opt out of’, which means to choose not to have or do something. We opted for an all-vegetarian menu and didn’t regret making that choice.
Grumpy (adj) – bad-tempered, irritated. At the entrance, I was met by a grumpy security man in his late fifties.
Apprehensive (adj) – cautious and worried because you expect something unpleasant to happen. It is perfectly normal to be apprehensive about moving to a different city or even country.
Conviction (n) – the noun form of the adjective ‘convinced’. Conviction is a state of being sure about something.
Back down (phr v) – to choose not to do something, especially something that you believe is too difficult for you.
Elation (n) – a state of great joy or happiness.
Dutifully (adv) – as a part of some rule or regulation. I dutifully performed all the necessary security checks before starting the machine.
Wear something in (phr v) – (also break something in) to wear shoes or clothes for a bit so they adapt to your body. It takes a couple of hours to wear these shoes in, so they might feel a bit too small at first.
Littered with – full of something, with something in abundance. Used figuratively here. It can also be used literally: the floor was littered with toys, Lego bricks and other kid stuff.
Hoard away (phr v) – to collect something not because you need it now, but because you think you might want it in the future. Hoarding is generally a negative practice of keeping things ‘just in case’.
Long-haul (adj) – relating to a plane flight, long-hauls are those that take much longer than a regular flight.
Connection (n) – (here) when you have to get off one plane and board another one to reach your destination.
Heaving (adj) – with a lot of people; crowded.
Daunting (adj) – appearing to be too challenging. Working full-time and getting a degree at the same time is too daunting for most.
Final leg of the journey – a ‘leg’ here refers to a part of your journey, e.g. the first leg is the flight from your place to a different country.
Subside (v) – to gradually become lower or less intense.
Savour (v) – to take your time to enjoy something, like food or an experience.
Get stung by somebody – to be overcharged for something, especially because you are not experienced.
Ditch (v) – (informal) to get rid of something, to leave something behind. We had to ditch the idea of celebrating the New Year abroad because we didn’t get our visas in time.
Pitch against something (v) – to compare it with something else. Pitch your experience and mine and then you understand why I was the one who got the job and not you.
Seasoned (adj) – experienced. A seasoned cook like yourself shouldn’t be making such rookie mistakes!
Far-flung (adj) – located far away.
Stigma (n) – some kind of negative cultural association. For many years, black people had the stigma of being more likely to commit crime.
Reluctant (adj) – unwilling to do something or doing it without any desire.
Dismissive (adj) – thinking or showing that something is not worth considering. I was dismissive of their plan to move out of their parents house at the age of 16.
Ingrained (adj) – something that is an integral part, difficult or impossible to change. Lucy has some ingrained opinions about school policies.
Part 6
Fatigue (n) – the type of tiredness that gets accumulated over time, either mental or physical.
Sequence of (n) – a series or group of something that is planned and structured in a certain way.
Fraction (n) – a smaller part of the whole. For a fraction of the price, I got this car just because the original customer changed their mind right before buying it.
Billed as (v) – to advertise or describe something. This book is billed as the ultimate self-help tool to make you better at social interaction.
Impeccable (adj) – perfect, without any imperfection. Madonna’s impeccable live performances is what captivated crows and made them come to her concerts again and again.
Take something on board – to consider or implement some idea or technique into your own routine. I am always ready to take on board any ideas coming from my employees.
Settled in something – to be too used to something, usually in a way that you are unlikely or unwilling to change.
Profess (v) – to show, display, or express. Adam’s professed interest in the subject was not genuine, and he lost all desire to study a couple of months after starting the course.
Sound (adj) – (here) reasonable or trustworthy. Your business strategy seems pretty sound to me.
Put somebody off (phr v) – to discourage somebody from doing something. I was put off from air travel after we had to return to the airport and perform an emergency landing.
Take something for granted – not to appreciate something good that you have, especially because you think you will always have it or it will always stay like that.
Instalment (n) – a part of a series or another part of a full-feature movie. The latest instalment of the Terminator franchise disappointed many fans.
Wane (adj) – to decrease in intensity or size. My anger slowly waned as I came to understand the situation better.
Deplete (v) – to use something and as a result decrease the available amount of it. The country has almost completely depleted its natural resources such as oil and gas.
Bits (n) – (here) an informal word that means ‘things’. The historical and descriptive bits in this book is what I particularly enjoyed.
Part 7
Safety campaigners – people who promote safety rules. A campaign in general is an organized programme aimed at achieving certain goals, e.g. a political campaign.
Mantra (n) – (used figuratively here) a statement or a phrase that is often used.
Brevity (n) – a noun form of the adjective ‘brief’. Brevity is the quality of being short and concise.
Retain (v) – to keep something. Despite not having practised for years, I retained most of my guitar skills.
Chunk (n) – a small piece of something, especially if it is small enough to use, process or understand without much effort.
Taste buds – the part of our tongue that is able to recognise the taste of food that we eat.
Shy away from something (phr v) – to stay away or avoid something because you do not feel confident, secure or sure about it. Deborah usually shies away from loud restaurants and chooses to have lunch at more cozy places.
Dilute (v) – (used figuratively here) to make something seem less important because it is a part of some other things. The importance of the president’s achievements was diluted by the scandal at the end of his term.
Thwart (v) – to stop somebody from achieving something. This company’s business model was thwarted by the new regulation and increased tax rates.
Cradle (n) – a small bed used for newborns. Used figuratively here, ‘from cradle’ means from the very beginning of something.
To not sit right – to feel unnatural, to understand that it shouldn’t be the way it is.
Heed something – to follow something, usually a tip, a warning, or a piece of advice.
A glazed look – if you see (or get) a glazed look, it means that the person you are talking to has lost interest judging, by their eyes.
Subtle (adj) – not easily seen or detected, meant to be less intrusive.
Repercussion (n) – an unwelcome or negative consequence of an action or an event. His crime had severe repercussions beyond the prison sentence.
Anticipate (v) – to expect an action or an event to take place. We anticipated our mother’s visit, so we made sure the house is impeccably clean.
Part 8
Enforce (v) – to introduce something, especially a rule or a regulation. As soon as the new employment policy was enforced, more women were able to join the workforce.
Exemplify (n) – to provide an example. The professor exemplified his point with a story from his own life.
Stranded (adj) – stuck somewhere without a way to get out. People stranded on an island is a common setting for many fictional works.
Hardship (n) – difficulty; hard times.
Livestock (n) – animals, especially farm animals, that are kept as a means of getting food such as milks, eggs and meat from them.
Graze (v) – many animals graze on a grass as their main source of nutrients.
Drought (n) – a period of much lower rainfall, that results in plants and crops dying.
Knock-on effect – a secondary effect, especially one that is accumulated over time.
Ravage (v) – to destroy or cause serious harm or damage to something.
Pests (n) – animals or insects that are harmful, in this case, to the cultivated crops. Common pests include rats, aphids, and many others.
Thrive (v) – to grow and prosper, especially because of good conditions.
Brink (n) – the edge of something. ‘To be on the brink of something’ means that something (usually negative) is about to happen.
Spearhead (v) – to lead something, to be the first in the chain of events.
Instill (v) – to slowly establish an idea in somebody’s mind. The idea of fairness is what, among other things, we instill in all our students.
In the know – a person ‘in the know’ is one that is familiar with the subject, they probably have first-hand experience with it.
Doom and gloom – a set expression we use to show that the prospects are not looking food. There has been talk of all the doom and gloom in the company because last financial year was a disaster.