Unit 1 – New Words

1.      astound - to make someone very surprised or shocked

2.      blot out - if you blot out an unpleasant memory, a thought etc, you deliberately try to forget it

3.      evoke - to produce a strong feeling or memory in someone

4.      reminisce - to talk or think about pleasant events in your past

5.      suppress - to stop yourself from showing your feelings

6.      evocative - making people remember something by producing a feeling or memory in them

7.      ring a bell - if something rings a bell, it reminds you of something, but you cannot remember exactly what it is

8.      jog sb’s memory - to make someone remember something

9.      take sb back - to make you remember a time in the past

10.  a trip down memory lane - when you spend some time remembering the past

11.  to come flooding back – memories, emotions return to someone suddenly and intensely, often with great clarity and force

12.  (to know sth) by heart - when you know something by heart, you remember all of it exactly

13.  have a memory like a sieve - to forget things easily

14.  rack your brains - to try very hard to remember or think of something

15.  mind you - used to add something to what you have just said, especially something that makes it less strong

16.  hazy - an idea, memory etc that is hazy is not clear or exact

17.  eradicate - to completely get rid of something such as a disease or a social problem

18.  pass sth <--> on (to sb) - to give someone a piece of information that someone else has given to you

19.  come across sb/sth - to meet, find, or discover someone or something by chance

20.  stand out - to be much better than other similar people or things

21.  blend in - if someone or something blends in with people or objects, they match them or are similar, and you do not notice them

22.  put up with - to accept an unpleasant situation or person without complaining

23.  walk out on someone/sth - to suddenly end your relationship or involvement with someone or something

24.  stand up for sb/sth - to support or defend a person or idea when they are being attacked

25.  to go for sth - to choose something

26.  look into sth - to try to find out the truth about a problem, crime etc in order to solve it

27.  turn out - to happen in a particular way, or to have a particular result, especially one that you did not expect

28.  play up – to behave badly

29.  sign up for sth - to put your name on a list for something because you want to take part in it

30.  account for sth - to form a particular amount or part of something

31.  go down - to become lower in level, amount etc

32.  take after - to look or behave like an older relative

33.  fit in - if someone fits in, they are accepted by the other people in a group

34.  turn sth down - to refuse an offer, request, or invitation

35.  come down to - to depend on a single important point

36.  get away with sth - to not be caught or punished when you have done something wrong

37.  put sb off - to make you dislike something

38.  make up for sth - to make a bad situation better

39.  look down on sb/sth - to think that you are better than someone else

40.  bring sth about - to make something happen

41.  drop out - to leave a school or university

42.  adversity - a situation in which you have a lot of problems that seem to be caused by bad luck

43.  a kick in the teeth - something that is very disappointing or upsetting that happens when you need support

44.  media mogul - a businessman or businesswoman who has great power and influence in a particular industry

45.  turnaround - a complete change from a bad situation to a good one

46.  embark on/upon sth - to start something, especially something new, difficult, or exciting

47.  a cloud hanging over someone - a situation or future event that makes you worry or feel unhappy

48.  slur - to speak unclearly without separating your words or sounds correctly

49.  dwell on/upon sth - to think or talk for too long about something, especially something unpleasant

50.  inauspicious - seeming to show that success in the future is unlikely

51.  abrasive - rude or unkind

52.  broad-minded - willing to respect opinions or behaviour that are very different from your own

53.  take sth with a pinch of salt - used to say that you should not always completely believe what a particular person says

54.  gullible - too ready to believe what other people tell you, so that you are easily tricked

55.  placid - calm and peaceful

56.  self-effacing - not wanting to attract attention to yourself or your achievements

57.  shrewd - good at judging what people or situations are really like

58.  busybody - someone who is too interested in other people’s private activities – used to show disapproval

59.  conciliatory - doing something that is intended to make someone stop arguing with you

60.  standoff - a situation in which neither side in a fight or battle can gain an advantage

61.  endemic - an endemic disease or problem is always present in a particular place, or among a particular group of people

62.  go off the rails - to start behaving in a strange or socially unacceptable way

63.  wear your heart on your sleeve - to show your true feelings openly

64.  sb’s bark is worse than their bite - used to say that someone who seems unpleasant or difficult to deal with is not really too bad

65.  shrinking violet - someone who is very shy – used humorously

66.  get/have wind of sth - to hear or find out about something secret or private

67.  lift sb’s spirits - to make someone feel more cheerful and hopeful

68.  infiltrator - a person who secretly becomes part of a group in order to get information or to influence the way the group thinks or behaves

69.  crude - not developed to a high standard, or made with little skill

70.  on the grounds of sth - based on a particular reason or argument

71.  counterpart - someone or something that has the same job or purpose as someone or something else in a different place

72.  run out of steam - to no longer have the energy or the desire to continue doing something, especially because you are tired

73.  falter - to become weaker and unable to continue in an effective way

74.  entrant - someone who takes part in a competition

75.  shoot to fame - become famous very suddenly

76.  set/put the record straight - to tell people the truth about something, because you want to be sure that they understand what the truth really is

77.  retroactively - from a particular date in the past rather than from the present date

78.  backfire - if a plan or action backfires, it has the opposite effect to the one you intended

79.  supplant - to take the place of a person or thing so that they are no longer used, no longer in a position of power etc

80.  to be in two minds - to be unable to decide about something

81.  molar - one of the large teeth at the back of the mouth that are used for breaking up food

82.  formative - having an important influence on the way someone or something develops

83.  be apt to do sth - to have a natural tendency to do something

84.  carry on - to continue doing something

85.  give sth <--> away - to give something to someone without asking for payment

86.  olfactory - connected with the sense of smell

87.  by/in leaps and bounds - if something increases, develops, grows etc by leaps and bounds, it does it very quickly

88.  to be born on the wrong side of the tracks - to be born in a poor family

89.  to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth - to be born in a wealthy family

90.  following a different path - choosing a different kind of life

91.  set sb on the right track - persuaded to follow/pursue the correct course of action