Unit 2 - The natural world | Quizlet

howl

howl

If a dog or wolf howls, it makes a long, sad sound
To make a loud sound, usually to express pain, sadness, or another strong emotion
Eg: In the silence of the night, a lone wolf howled

dormouse

A European animal that looks like a small squirrel
Eg: The dormouse is still in decline, but its position is much better at present than we had assumed a couple of years ago.

chimpanzee

a small, very intelligent African ape with black or brown fur
Eg: As the chimpanzees decided which objects were to be named and shown, they also incorporated many aspects of the teacher's role into their own behavior.

rhinoceros

large animal with one or two horns on its snout
Eg: a population of black/white rhinoceros

ravage

(v.) to destroy, lay waste, ruin;
(n.) ruinous damage, destruction
Eg: The area has been ravaged by drought/floods/war.

clamour (+for/to infinitive)

to make a loud complaint or demand
Eg: The children were all clamouring for attention

tributaries

small river or stream that flows in to a larger river or stream; a branch of the river
Eg: The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River

resurgent

increasing again, or becoming popular again
Eg: Many people were critical of the resurgent militarism in the country

indigenous

originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.
Eg: She campaigns for indigenous rights

enmeshed (+in)

to be caught or involved in something unpleasant or dangerous from which it is difficult to escape
Eg: She has become enmeshed in a tangle of drugs and petty crime

slaughter

the killing of animals for team
Eg: The geese are being fattened for slaughter

logger

a person who cuts down trees for wood
Eg: A decrease in timber sales reduced the amount of work available for loggers

dredge (+up)

to talk about something bad or unpleasant that happened in the past
Eg: The article dredged up details of her unhappy childhood

concession

something that is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement, or the act of allowing or giving shit
Eg: Both sides involved in the conflict made some concessions in yesterday's talks

colonise (colonisation)

To take control of an area or a country that is not your own
Eg: Belize was colonised by the British

Consume (consumption)

to use fuel, energy, time, or a product, especially in large large amount
Eg: Our high living standards cause our current population to consume 25 percent of the world's oil.

disrupt (disruption)

to prevent something, especially a system, process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected
Eg: Heavy snow disrupted travel into the city this morning

extract (extraction)

to remove or take out something
Eg: The oil which is extracted from olives is used for cooking

integrate (integration)

to mix with and join society or a group of people, often changing to suit their way of life, habits.
Eg: It's very difficult to integrate yourself into a society whose culture is so different from your own.

isolate (isolation)

to put a person, country, or organization in a situation where they are seen as being separate
Eg: This policy will isolate minority groups and prevent integration

contaminate (contamination)

to make something less pure or make it poisonous
Eg: Much of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste

degrade (degradation)

to spoil or destroy the beauty or quality of something
Eg: Every day the environment is further degraded by toxic wastes

deplete (depletion)

to reduce something in size or amount, especially supplies of energy, money, etc.
Eg: If we continue to deplete the earth's natural resources, we will cause serious damage to the environment.

deteriorate (deterioration)

to become worse
Eg: The political situation in the region has deteriorated rapidly

devastate (devastation)

damage sth badly or completely
Eg: Waves of corporate downsizing have devastated employee morale

implement (implementation)

make changes that have been officially decided
Eg: Congress refused to pass the bill that would implement tax reforms

irrigate (irrigation)

to supply land with water so that crops and plants will grow
Eg: The farmers in our study area, as is common in areas irrigated by electric pumps with free or fixed power cost, use acreage-based water rates

legislate (legislation)

to make a law affecting something
Eg: The government will legislate against discrimination in the workplace

pollinate (pollination)

to take pollen from one plant or part of a plant to another so that new plant seeds can be produced
Eg: Bees pollinate the plants by carrying the pollen from one flower to another

rehabilitate (rehabilitation)

to return someone to a good, healthy, or normal life or condition after they have been in prison, been very ill, etc.
Eg: The prison service should try to rehabilitate prisoners so that they can lead normal lives when they leave prison

croak

• to make a rough low sound, like the sound a frog make
  If you croak, you speak with a rough voice because you have a sore or dry throat.

• to die

  Eg: He croaked a greeting, and we realized he could hardly talk

growl

• to make a low, rough sound, usually in anger ( dog) or to threaten sb
  If your stomach growls, it is making a low, continuous noise because you are hungry.
  Eg: "Not now, I'm busy," he growled

screech

• to make an unpleasant, loud, high noise

• ( of a vehicle )
  Eg: She was screeching at him at the top of her voice

chirp

(especially of a bird) to make a short high sound or sounds
to say something with a high, happy voice
Eg: "Morning!" she chirped

hoot

• to make a short loud high sound
  to make the sound that an owl makes

• a shout showing anger or amusement
  Eg: He hooted with laughter

squawk

(of a bird) to make an unpleasantly loud, sharp noise
to shout, scream, or cry in a loud, unpleasant way
Eg: As the fox came into the yard, the chickens began squawking in alarm

bark

(of a dog) to make a loud, rough noise
to shout at someone in a forceful manner
Eg: The sergeant barked (out) a succession of orders to the new recruits

buzz

to make a continuous, low sound such as the one a bee makes
an exciting, busy atmosphere (= feeling or mood) in a place
Eg: I can hear an insect buzzing

roar

to make a long, loud, deep sound
If a vehicle or aircraft roars somewhere, it moves there very quickly making a lot of noise
Eg: We could hear the lions roaring at the other end of the zoo

bellow

to shout in a loud voice, or (of a cow or large animal) to make a loud, deep sound
to shout in a loud voice
Eg: "I don't believe this!" the old man bellowed

chatter

to talk for a long time about things that are not important
the quick, repeated noises that some animals make
If your teeth chatter, you are so cold or frightened that you can't stop your upper and lower teeth from hitting against each other
Eg: Birds chattered in the trees

hum

to make a continuous low sound
Eg: The computers were humming in the background

squeak

to make a short, very high cry or sound
to only just succeed in something such as a test or competition
Eg: The mice in the cupboard squeaked

chirpy

happy and active
Eg: He is very chirpy this evening

sustainable

able to be maintained at a certain rate or level
Eg: The world's economy heads to sustainable development

harnessing

use the natural force or power of something

predictibility

implies that a theory should enable us to make predictions about future events
Eg: Although her job is boring and monotonous, she likes the sense of predictability and security that it gives her

untapped

available but not yet used
Eg: Tidal power has remained a largely untapped source of energy

inexhaustible

unlimited; unable to be used up or tired out
Eg: Tidal power could represent an almost inexhaustible source of energy

breakthrough

an important discovery or event that helps to improve a situation or provide an answer to a problem
Eg: A major breakthrough in negotiations has been achieved

give a hoot

to care
Eg: Many of my friends don't give a hoot about college basketball.

crack down on

to start dealing with bad or illegal behaviour in a more severe way
Eg: The library is cracking down on people who lose their books

hand out

to give advice, a punishment, etc
Eg: He's always handing out advice to people

use up

to use all of something so that there is none left
Eg: The oil had all been used up

cut down on

to reduce the size, amount or number of something
Eg: I'm trying to cut down on fatty foods

wipe out

to destroy something completely
Eg: One bad harvest could wipe out all of a grower's profits for the previous two years

come up against

to have to deal with a problem
Eg: If you come up against difficulties, let me know and I'll help out

die out

to become less common and finally stop existing
Eg: Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago

amount to

to be equal to or the same as something
Eg: Their actions amount to a breach of contract.

step back from

to temporarily stop being involved in an activity or situation in order to think about it in a new way
Eg: Let's just step back from the problem and think about what we could do