English culture Q1 Cartes | Quizlet

the floor give way

when you faint

to go out (of) the window

to disappear, to be no longer in existence

be a gateway to (it's a gateway to a well-paid job)

give an opportunity to get somewhere

close the door on

stop thinking about it or dealing with it, make a fresh start

rainfall

the amount of rain that falls, for example in a month or in a year

arid

extremely dry

be prone to

tend to have a particular negative characteristic

drought

a long period without rain

Tundra

area in the north with no trees and permanently frozen ground

vegetation

plant life

coniferous

trees that are evergreen and produce cones

evergreen trees

in leaf all year round

deciduous trees

trees that lose their leaves in the fall

prairies

flat grasslands in Canada and northern USA (similar to steppes in Asia or pampas in South America)

paddy field

field planted with rice growing in water

cereals

type of grass cultivated to produce a grain, i.e. a food plant like rice, wheat or maize

to tend (sheep)

to take care of

developed country

with modern, industrial economy

Manufacturing

to produce goods in large numbers

at the forefront

the leading or most important position or place

to generate

to produce

developing country

a poorer country with a less advanced economy

to be descended from

to be related to someone who lived in the past

indigenous

native to a certain area

ancestors (>< descendants)

relatives from earlier times

migrant

moving from place to place (often for reasons of economic need)

immigrant

a person who comes to a country where they were not born in order to settle there

emigrant

A person who leaves a country or region to live elsewhere.

to settle

to make a place your permanent home

chilly/freezing/nippy

cold

boiling/sweltering/roasting

hot

blowy/breezy

windy

oppressive, sultry, stifling, heavy, close

heavy

it's checking it down

it's pouring

a deluge

A downpour; a great flood

muggy/clammy/sticky

humid

climate (of distrust, change)

general atmosphere or situation in society

prevailing

most frequent or common, dominant

cultural, current, economic, financial, moral, political, social, prevailing

collocate strongly with climate in a social sense

to have a sunny disposition

to be hardly ever miserable, to be happy, cheerful

sunny

cheerful, happy, pleasant, positive

frosty

unfriendly, not welcoming

be snowed under (with work)

to have too much work

under a cloud (of suspicion)

under suspicion, discredited, in disgrace

to cloud one's judgement

to cause someone to be unable to think clearly

a hail (aussi grêle)

lot of hard, unpleasant things that one can't stop or escape from

hail/storm of abuses, bullets

a lot of, a large numbers of criticism

hazy memory

unclear memory

in the mists of history

to say that sth happened so long ago that people cannot remember it

a whirlwind of

a situation in which a lot of things happen very fast and it's difficult to control

whirlwind (aussi tourbillon)

rapid, hasty, quick, a lot of different things that happened one after the other

whirlwind romance

a kind of relationship that grows very fast, people rush into commitments in a very short duration

to thunder

to move, making a lot of noise

thunderous applause

very loud applause

thundery

used to describe stormy weather.

thunderous

making a loud, rumbling noise like thunder

the winds of (change, discontent, democracy)

things that have important effects, and that can't be stopped

a movement of

build sth/someone up

to praise someone or something in a way that will increase expectations of them

cement

make relationships more solid, stronger

fix bricks firmly in place

come up against a brick wall

to meet a barrier

put a ceiling on (it has a ceiling of)

put a limit on

glass ceiling

the mostly invisible barrier that keeps women from advancing to the top levels at work

the roof fell in

My world collapsed

to go through the roof

increase significantly, in a rapid, uncontrolled way

hit the roof/ceiling

to get extremely angry

window of opportunity

time when there's a chance to do something special

Ivory Tower

to know about or to want to avoid the ordinary and unpleasant things that happen in people's lives

to be a tower of strength

to be extremely strong in an emotional sense, very supportive person

to tower above sth/so

to be either outstandingly tall or, outstanding in some other possible way

close/shut a lot of doors

make it impossible for sth to happen

open doors

create opportunities

doing sth through/by the back door

unofficial way

doing sth behind closed doors

secretly, without public knowledge

provide/hold the key to

to have control of something

the key to success

the most important thing that will help you achieve success

deciding factor

keep the wolf from the door

to have just enough money to be able to eat and live

to survive on

wall of silence

total silence

lay the foundation for

to provide the conditions that make it possible for something to happen

a starting point

clean up its own back yard

put thin right in its own immediate sphere of influence

the seed of success, discontent, revolution

the start of an idea

roots (of a problem)

going back to your roots

the origins of sth

back to the place where your family came from