English Vocabulary in Use Advanced - Unit 30: Brick Walls and Glass Ceilings | Quizlet

build smb up

to praise something or someone in a way that will influence people's opinions; to make a person feel more confident:

• A good teacher ...s you ... .

• For weeks the media has been ... ... the national basketball team.

to cement

1) to put cement on a surface or stick things together using cement

2) to make something such as an agreement or friendship stronger:

• The university's exchange scheme has ...ed its links with many other academic institutions.

brick wall

something that prevents you from doing something:

• Even the best writers hit a ... ... sometimes and can't make a story work.

• The housing market declined as the boom in prices hit a ... ... .

• Their hopes to expand the company ran into a ... ... when they couldn't get a loan.

ceiling

an upper limit, usually relating to money:

• The government has decided to lift price _s on bread and milk.

• The reality is the economy is hitting the _ and the growth rate must slow.

glass ceiling

a point after which you cannot go any further, usually in improving your position at work:

• Various reasons are given for the apparent ... ... women hit in many professions.

The roof fell in on my world

My world collapsed …

go through the roof

to rise to a very high level:

• Prices have ___________________________________ .

hit the roof

informal

to get very angry:

• When I was expelled from school, my parents ___________________ .

window

something that makes it possible for you to see and learn about a situation or experience that is different from your own:

• The film provides a ... on the immigrant experience.

a period when there is an opportunity to do something:

• I'm busy this week but there might be a ... on Friday.

• If a ... of opportunity (= an opportunity) should present itself, I'd take advantage of it.

go out (of) the window

(informal) to stop existing; to disappear completely

• As soon as the kids arrived, order went ______.

• Then people start drinking and sense ______.

ivory tower

To live or be in an ~ is not to know about or to want to avoid the ordinary and unpleasant things that happen in people's lives:

• Academics sitting in ... ...s have no understanding of what is important for ordinary people.

a tower of strength

a person who gives you help and support when you are in a difficult situation:

• Andrea was ____________________________ to me when I was ill.

tower above/over smb

to be very tall in comparison with someone or something else:

• The new hotel ... .... the Shanghai skyline.

• Although he's only twelve, David ... ... his mother.

to be much better than others in ability, quality, etc.

• She … … other dancers of her generation.

gateway to smth

a way of achieving something:

• Hard work is the ...to success.

close/shut the door on smth

to make it impossible for something to happen, especially a plan or a solution to a problem:

• There are fears that this latest move might have _____________________________________ a peaceful solution.

by/through the back door

in an unfair or indirect way

• He used his friends to help him get into the civil service _.

behind closed doors

without the public being allowed to attend or know what is happening; in private

• The meeting was held _.

key

the most important part of achieving something or explaining a situation:

• Revision is the ... to good writing.

keep the wolf from the door

(informal) to have enough money to avoid going hungry; to stop somebody feeling hungry

• As a student, he took an evening job to _______________________________.

lay the foundation(s) of/for

to produce the basic ideas or structures from which something much larger develops:

• The two leaders have _ a new era in cooperation between their countries.

• He helped to _ English drama.

be/lie in ruins

(of a building or city) to be extremely badly damaged so that most of it has fallen down:

• The town ... ... ... after years of bombing.

• C1to be in an extremely bad state:

• The economy ... ... ... after the war.

in your (own) backyard

in or near the place where you live or work

• The residents didn't want a new factory _.

• The party leader is facing opposition _ (= from his own members).

(keep something/put something/be) under lock and key

locked up safely somewhere; in prison

• We keep our valuables _.

• I will not rest until the murderer is _.

• Prisoners are kept _ 24 hours a day.