vocabulary Term2 week4

Question 1

subtlety:[ U ] the quality or state of being subtle or hard to notice:

a small but important detail

Answer 1

1. Listening to the interview, I was impressed by the subtlety of the questions.
2. All the subtleties of the music are conveyed in this new recording.
3. Her acting was full of subtlety.
4. We have begun to understand some of the subtleties of water.
5. He’s baffled by the subtleties of modern life.

Question 2

artificial: made by people, often as a copy of something natural:
disapproving, not sincere

Answer 2

1. Their cheerfulness seemed rather strained and artificial.
2. This artificial fabric has the texture of silk.
3. The match will be played on an artificial surface.
4. Some studies have suggested a link between certain types of artificial sweetener and cancer.
5. This bread is completely free from artificial preservatives.
6. She’s been fitted with an artificial leg.

Question 3

bargain: something on sale at a lower price than its true value

an agreement between two people or groups in which each promises to do something in exchange for something else

Answer 3

1. This coat was half-price - a real bargain.
2. The airline regularly offers last-minute bookings at bargain prices.
3. The sales had started and the bargain hunters (= people looking for things at a low price) were out in force.
4. Houses in this area used to be a real bargain, but they’re not cheap any more.
5. “I’ll clean the kitchen if you clean the car.” “OK, it’s a bargain.”
6. The management and employees eventually struck/made a bargain (= reached an agreement).

Question 4

overstatement: the act of describing or explaining something in a way that makes it seem more important or more serious than it really is:

a statement that something is larger, more important, or more serious than it really is:

Answer 4

1. It would be an overstatement to say that she deserved to win the race.
2. An internal inquiry into accounting irregularities revealed a $70m overstatement by a subsidiary company.
   The mistake resulted in an overstatement of inventory.
3. I recognise that that is something of an overstatement of one point of view which is held about this matter.

Question 5

resuscitate: to bring someone or something back to life or wake someone or something:

bring something back into use or existence

Answer 5

1. Her heart had stopped, but the doctors successfully resuscitated her.
2. A glass factory has unfortunately closed, but we are hoping to resuscitate it.
3. You should learn how to resuscitate a person whose breathing has stopped.
4. You cannot suddenly press a button and resuscitate your trained manpower.

Question 6

stereotypically:

having the qualities that you expect a particular type of person to have

Answer 6

1. Customers are tired of the stereotypical, fast-talking salesperson.
2. Acting roles in television, film, and theater were relatively few, and many available roles were for narrow, stereotypical characters.
3. Although it contained autobiographical details, the characters have been deemed inauthentic and stereotypical.
4. She seems to be a stereotypical girl of the kind whose interest is seeming worthy of both love and envy.

Question 7

territory:
 (an area of) land, or sometimes sea, that is considered as belonging to or connected with a particular country or person:
also Territory (especially in Australia, Canada, and the United States) a large area that has some local government but fewer rights than a province or a state :

an area that an animal or person tries to control or thinks belongs to them:

Answer 7

1. He was shot down in enemy territory.
2. The UN is sending aid to the occupied territories.
   ​3. Here are some top tips for travel in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
3. Puerto Rico, an island in the Caribbean Sea, has been a territory of the United States since 1898.
4. Australia’s Northern Territory (NT) could become the country’s seventh state.
   ​6. The robin keeps other birds off that part of the garden - that’s his territory.

Question 8

weighed:
to have a heaviness of a stated amount, or to measure the heaviness of an object:
weigh verb (INFLUENCE)
​
[ I usually + adv/prep ] (of something such as a fact or an event) to have an influence or be important:

weigh verb (CONSIDER)
​
B2 [ T ] to carefully consider, especially by comparing facts or possibilities, in order to make a decision:

Answer 8

1. Yesterday a satellite weighing 15 tons was successfully placed in orbit.
2. She weighs herself every week on the scales in the bathroom.
3. Your luggage must be weighed before it is put on the aircraft.
4. Easy access to a skilled workforce weighed heavily with us when we chose a site for the new factory.
5. Only when we have weighed all the factors involved can we decide when would be the best time to start.
6. Economic benefits must be carefully weighed against the possible dangers of handling radioactive waste.

Question 9

prototype:
the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed
the original model of something from which later forms are developed

Answer 9

1. a prototype for/of a new car.
2. Manufacturers have built a prototype which will be shown at the forthcoming trade fair.
3. Our first prototype digital camera appeared back in 1976.
4. The firm and its industrial partners plan this summer to put a prototype of an underwater power platform off the Florida coast.

Question 10

vision
B2 [ C ] an idea or mental image of something:

an experience in which you see things that do not exist physically, when your mind is affected powerfully by something such as deep religious thought or drugs or mental illness

Answer 10

1. His vision is of a world that coheres through human connection rather than rules.
2. Say the word ‘Australia’ and a vision of beaches and blue seas immediately springs to mind.
3. I had visions of her waiting for us at the station.
4. I had a vision of two old men in clown’s outfits.
5. She had a vision of a garden full of trees.

Question 11

furry:covered with fur:

Furry things are made from a soft material that looks like fur:
Having both animal and human characteristics; of or related to the furry subculture.

Answer 11

1. Rosie has a massive collection of furry toys.
2. She was wearing her bathrobe and pink, furry slippers.
3. They extended their furry palms.
4. If it is wrong to keep furry animals in cages for non-food purposes, we should presumably consider banning pet animals altogether.

Question 12

Irrational: not using reason or clear thinking

Answer 12

1. It’s totally irrational, but I’m frightened of mice.

2. His parents were worried by his increasingly irrational behaviour.

Question 13

Priority: something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things

Answer 13

1. The management did not seem to consider office safety to be a priority.
2. My first/top priority is to find somewhere to live.
3. You have to learn to get your priorities right/straight (= decide which are the most important jobs or problems and deal with them first).
4. Repairing the plumbing is a priority task (= more important than other jobs).
5. Banks normally give priority to large businesses when deciding on loans (= they deal with them first because they consider the most important).
6. Official business requirements obviously take/have priority over personal requests (= official business matters will be dealt with first).