CAMBRIDGE IELTS 20 - TEST 2 - PASSAGE 3

invasion

the fact of a large number of people or things arriving somewhere, especially people or things that are unpleasant

umpire

referee, judge, arbitrator #player, fan

minor league

a sports competition for less experienced or lower-level players #major league, top league

refer to

known as, called, named #unnamed

robo-umpire

robot umpire, electronic judge, automated referee #human umpire

judgment

decision, ruling, assessment

strike

the act of throwing a ball without being hit #ball, hit

modified

changed, adapted, customized #original, unchanged

missile-tracking

rocket-following, projectile-following, trajectory-tracking

contraption

device, gadget, machine

glowing

shining, bright, lit up #dark

mounted

to be fixed, attached or secured in place #removed, unattached

press stand

media stand, journalist box, reporter area

commission

order, pay for, request #cancel, reject

announce the call

to say out loud the decision during a baseball game

pitch

throw, hurl, toss #catch, hit

recorded

taped, pre-saved, stored #live, spontaneous

strike

valid pitch, good throw, a batter's miss #ball, hit

zone

area, space, section

previously

before, in the past, earlier #now, currently

batter

the player in baseball who tries to hit the ball with a bat

imaginary

unreal, made-up, fictional #real, physical

stretch

to go from one point to another over a distance #shrink, shorten

heckling

shouting, taunting, booing

shouted

yelled, screamed, called out #whispered

animating force

the main thing that gives life or energy to something, driving force

countless

so many, numerous, innumerable #few, a handful

manager

coach, team leader, head of the team #player

take place

to happen, occur, be held

boundary

limit, edge, border

cross through

pass through, go across, move through

evolve

to slowly change or develop over time #stay the same, remain unchanged

stage

phase, step, part of a process

shout

yell, scream, bellow #whisper, mumble

abuse

saying bad words, insult, verbal attack

no-no

forbidden thing, taboo, rule breaker

season

playing period, sports year, time of year #off-season, break

in response

in reply, as an answer, because of that

tweak

change a little, adjust slightly, modify

dimension

size, measurement, proportions

consensus

agreement, common opinion, shared view #disagreement

profoundly

deeply, extremely, greatly #slightly

consistent

steady, reliable, unchanging #inconsistent

near-perfect

almost perfect, very accurate or excellent, nearly flawless #flawed, imperfect

precise

exact and accurate, correct #inaccurate, vague

within fractions of an inch

very accurate with tiny error, very exact, extremely close

commissioner

head, leader, boss #player, employee

controversy

disagreement, argument, dispute

sign

mark, indication, proof

yell

shout, scream, bellow #whisper, mumble

coach

manager, instructor, team leader #player, student

unforgiving

strict, not allowing any mistakes or weakness, harsh #forgiving

pedantic

too focused on small details or rules, nitpicky, overly exact

legalistic

rule-focused, by the book, law-centered

pitcher

the player who throws the ball to the batter #batter, catcher

precise

exact, accurate, strict

major-league

top-level, professional, top tier #minor-league, amateur

dialogue

talk, conversation, discussion #monologue, silence

executive

boss, manager, director #employee, worker

tasked with

to be assigned, responsible for, charged with

experiment

test, trial, study

in charge of

having control or responsibility for #subordinate to

operation

management, procedures, work

terrified of

to be scared of, afraid of, very worried about #confident about, unafraid of

horse racing

a sport in which horses with riders race against each other

version

type, kind, style

hit

to bring a bat, etc. against a ball and push it away with force #miss, strikeout

defense

fielding, preventing runs, stopping hits

baserunning

the action of players running from one base to another in baseball

essentially

basically, mainly, mostly

fastball

a fast ball throw in baseball #slow pitch

flatten

make something boring, less interesting, simplified

strikeout

when the batter fails to hit the ball three times and is out

home run

full score hit, long hit, a four-base hit #strikeout, out

lacking

without, missing, not having #full of

brainstorm

to think of ideas, come up with solutions, generate ideas

potential fix

possible solution, idea for improvement, suggestion

bat

a piece of wood with a handle, made in various shapes and sizes, and used for hitting the ball in games such as baseball, cricket and table tennis

geometry

shape, structure, layout

rule out

to reject, decide against, dismiss #consider, include

vehicle

way, means, method #obstacle, barrier

get the technology right

make sure the system works well and correctly

triangle

a flat shape with three straight sides and three angles

blob

a shape that has no clear or regular form, formless shape, glob

shape

form, structure, design

evolve

change over time, progress throughout time, develop

move away from

shift from, leave behind, abandon #embrace

judgment call

opinion call, call based on view

offside

a player is offside if they are in a position, usually ahead of the ball, that is not allowed

line call

decision on whether ball was in or out

instant replay

video playback, slow-motion replay, action replay

base path

the lines or areas between the bases on a baseball field

precision

accuracy, exactness, correctness #inaccuracy

application

use, function, implementation

physical

real, tangible, concrete #abstract, imaginary

base

a bag, a station, a safe spot #the field

delineated

clearly marked, outlined, defined #blurry, undefined

key of a piano

clearly separated, easy to tell apart

historically

in the past, traditionally, throughout history #currently, now

certain

a degree of, particular, specific