Week 1 Day 2

Question 1

abound (adj)

Answer 1

to exist in large numbers

• Theories abound about how the universe began.
• The streams and rivers abound in fish.

Question 2

to progress

Answer 2

to move towards an improved or more developed state

• Construction is progressing well.
• As the game progressed, I was bouncing in my chair.
• I am not making much progress with my Spanish.

Question 3

appliance (n)

Answer 3

a device, machine or piece of equipment, especially an electrical one that is used in the house, such as a cooker or washing machine

Question 4

to prognosticate

Answer 4

to predict or foretell future events according to present signs or indications

• Clever businessmen are able to prognosticate on the future of commerce.
• The mysterious lady prognosticated the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Question 5

suburban (adj)

Answer 5

relating to an area outside a city but near it​

Question 6

matron (n)

Answer 6

a married woman who is old enough and of a high enough social class to have the respect of others

Question 7

domesticated (adj)

Answer 7

able or willing to do cleaning, cooking and other jobs in the home, and to take care of children

• Since they had their baby, they have both become quite domesticated.

Question 8

automaton (n)

Answer 8

1. a machine that operates on its own without the need for human control
2. a person who acts like a machine, without thinking or feeling

• In the future, Earth may be taken over by evil automatons.
• I take the same route to work every day, like some sort of automaton.

Question 9

to contend with something

Answer 9

to have to deal with a difficult or unpleasant situation

• At the age of nine, he had the death of both parents to contend with.
• It is time, once again, to contend with racism.

Question 10

to scour

Answer 10

to remove dirt from something by rubbing it hard with something rough

• You will have to scour out those old cooking pots before you use them.
• We scoured the pots and pans with the pads of steel wool.

Question 11

to be programmed to do something

Answer 11

to always do or think a particular thing, although you do not try to

• I am programmed to wake up at seven.
• Computers have been programmed to unlock apartment doors or slow trains in the event of an earthquake.

Question 12

grime (n)

Answer 12

a layer of dirt which has collected on the surface of something

• Kelly got the grime off her hands before going back to her room.
• The walls were covered with grime.

Question 13

to dispose of somebody or something

Answer 13

to get rid of someone or something or deal with something so that the matter is finished

• How did they dispose of the body?
• It took only five minutes for the world champion to dispose of ( = defeat) his opponent.

Question 14

backbreaking (adj)

Answer 14

needing a lot of hard, physical effort and making you feel extremely tired

• Digging the vegetable garden was backbreaking work.
• It was plainly backbreaking labour, even if the worker made no sound of complaint.