004

Question 1

grift

/ɡrɪft/

Answer 1

Grift is getting money by cheating someone. A grift is an example of this:

● Some sources say that the strong grift was what finally closed the show.
● There is at least one stuffed winged cat, but this may be a nineteenth-century fake or grift.

To grift is to get money by cheating someone. To grift someone is to do this:

● They know they’ve been grifted but are not yet ready to admit it.
● He doesn’t hide the money he grifts from the sick and the hopeless; he broadcasts it.

a grifter:

● They’re grifters, chancers, liars and thieves.
● Many see her as a loathsome, opportunistic grifter.

Question 2

hoop

/huːp/

Answer 2

A hoop is a large ring made of wood, metal, or plastic:

● The dogs had been trained to jump through hoops.

A basketball hoop is the ring that players try to throw the ball into in order to score points for their team.

A hoop is a ring-shaped earring (= a piece of jewellery that hangs from the ear):

● She was wearing large gold hoops in her ears.

Question 3

swipe

/swaɪp/

Answer 3

1) If you swipe at a person or thing, you try to hit them with a stick or other object, making a swinging movement with your arm:

● She opened the window and swiped at the flies with a rolled-up newspaper to make them go out.

2) If you swipe something, you steal it quickly:

● We weren’t allowed to swipe food for anyone else from the main dining hall.
● Okay, who swiped my keys?
● Everywhere I went, people kept trying to swipe my copy of The New York Times.

3) If you swipe a credit card or swipe card through a machine, you pass it through a narrow space in the machine so that the machine can read information on the card’s magnetic strip.

4) If you swipe, you move your finger over the screen of a mobile phone or tablet in order to move onto the next page, choose something, etc.:

● Swipe left to see more search results.

Question 4

tuition

/tuːˈɪʃ.ən/

Answer 4

1) If you are given tuition in a particular subject, you are taught about that subject:

● All students receive tuition in logic and metaphysics.

2) You can use tuition or tuition fees to refer to the amount of money paid for this type of teaching:

● Few can afford the tuition of $12,000 a semester.
● US tuition fees are higher than in European countries.

Question 5

rip someone off

/rɪp/

Answer 5

1) informal
to cheat someone by making them pay too much money for something or by selling them something that is broken or damaged:

● Bob’s tickets cost much less than ours - I think we’ve been ripped off.

2) to remove something very quickly and carelessly:

● They ripped off their clothes and ran into the sea.

Question 6

rip-off

Answer 6

something that is not worth what you pay for it:

● $300 for that shirt? - That’s a complete rip-off.

Question 7

gerrymander

/ˈdʒer.iˌmæn.dɚ/

Answer 7

to divide an area into election districts (= areas that elect someone) in a way that gives an unfair advantage to one group or political party:

● The Prime Minister tried to gerrymander the recent elections in two ways.

Question 8

stitch

/stɪtʃ/

Answer 8

1) to sew two things together, or to repair something by sewing:

● Fold the fabric and stitch the two layers together.

2) When doctors stitch a wound, they use a special needle and thread to sew the skin together:

● Dr Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds.

Question 9

hail

/heɪl/

Answer 9

1) Hail is small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky like rain.
When it hails, hail falls like rain from the sky:

● It started to hail, huge great stones.

2) If a person, event, or achievement is hailed as important or successful, they are praised publicly:

● He has been hailed as the best centreback in the land.
● Heppner has been hailed as one of the finest tenors in the operatic world today.

3) A hail of things, usually small objects, is a large number of them that hit you at the same time and with great force:

● After his speech he faced a hail of questions from reporters.
● a hail of bullets

4) If you hail someone, you call to them in order to attract their attention:

● Jill saw him and hailed him.
Shall we hail a taxi?

5) Someone who hails from a particular place was born there or lives there:

● I hail from Brighton.
● The band hail from Glasgow.

Question 10

sunburn

/ˈsʌn.bɝːn/

Answer 10

a condition in which your skin is sore and red because you have spent too long in the strong heat of the sun:

● A long day at the beach gave him a bad sunburn.

Question 11

birthmark

/ˈbɝːθ.mɑːrk/

Answer 11

a brownish or reddish mark that is on a person’s skin from when they are born:

● Laser treatment may be used to lighten or remove the birthmark.

Question 12

pimple

/ˈpɪm.pəl/

Answer 12

Pimples are small raised spots, especially on the face:

● The diameter of the pimple is less than one millimetre, while that of the complete structure is 1-3 mm.
● (figurative) That is a ludicrous pimple on the face of the housing condition in this country.

Question 13

fidgety

/ˈfɪdʒ.ə.t̬i/

Answer 13

making continuous, small movements that annoy other people:

● She can’t stand still - she’s so fidgety.
● For some reason I was fidgety and nervous.
● They are fidgety and find quiet sitting time difficult.

Question 14

growl

/ɡraʊl/ ГРАУЛ, not ГРОУЛ

Answer 14

1) to make a low, rough sound, usually in anger:

● The dog growled at her and snapped at her ankles.
● “Not now, I’m busy,” he growled.

A growl is also a noun:

● It wasn’t until about 2 p.m. Sunday when downtown Tampa felt the storm in earnest, with trees swaying at odd angles and wind making an eerie growl.
● He’s a creature of undetermined species whose foul smell and loud growls panicked picnickers for several summers.
● I heard a growl outside our tent, and prayed that whatever was out there would go away.

2) If your stomach growls, it is making a low, continuous noise because you are hungry.

Question 15

cap of bottle

Answer 15

The cap of a bottle is its lid that you can screw and unscrew:

● She unscrewed the cap of her water bottle (=she uncaped her water bottle) and gave him a drink.

A lid usually can’t be screwed and unscrewed and is larger than a cap.

Question 16

clockwise and counter-clockwise

/ˈklɑːk.waɪz/
/ˌkaʊn.t̬ɚˈklɑːk.waɪz/

Answer 16

clockwise - in the direction in which the hands (= thin parts that point) of a clock move:

● Turn the knob clockwise/in a clockwise direction.

counter-clockwise - in the opposite direction to the movement of the hands of a clock:

● The depicted direction of that rotation is counterclockwise.

Question 17

slouch

/slaʊtʃ/

Answer 17

1) If someone slouches, they sit or stand with their shoulders and head bent so they look lazy and unattractive:

● Straighten your back - try not to slouch.
● A couple of boys were slouched over the table reading magazines.

2) If someone slouches somewhere, they walk around slowly with their shoulders and head bent looking lazy or bored:

● A group of teenagers were slouching around outside the building.

Question 18

burp

/bɝːp/

Answer 18

When you burp, you allow air from the stomach to come out through the mouth in a noisy way. Burp is also a noun.

If you burp a baby, you help it to get rid of air in its stomach by gently rubbing or gently hitting its back.

Question 19

sniffle

/ˈsnɪf.əl/

Answer 19

to breathe in quickly and repeatedly through the nose, usually because you are crying or because you have a cold:

● You’re sniffling a lot today - have you got a cold?

a slight cold that mainly affects your nose:

● I had a cold a couple of weeks ago and it’s left me with a sniffle.
● She’s got a bit of a sniffle.

Question 20

slurp

/slɝːp/

Answer 20

to drink a liquid noisily as a result of sucking air into the mouth at the same time as the liquid:

● Try not to slurp.
● I wish you wouldn’t slurp your soup like that.
● He slurped down his coffee.

Question 21

drawback

/ˈdrɑː.bæk/

Answer 21

a disadvantage or the negative part of a situation:

● One of the drawbacks of living with someone is having to share a bathroom.
● There were a few drawbacks, but they were easy to fix.
● It’s a fantastic system — perhaps the only drawback is the price.

Question 22

leisure

/ˈliː.ʒɚ/

Answer 22

the time when you are not working or doing other duties; also activities people do when they are not working, to relax and enjoy themselves:

● Most people only have a limited amount of leisure time.
● The town lacks leisure facilities such as a swimming pool or squash courts.
● What do you do in your leisure time?
● The purpose of vacation is always leisure.

Question 23

poultry

/ˈpoʊl.tri/

Answer 23

birds, such as chickens, that are bred for their eggs and meat; also meat from these birds:

● Some poultry farmers keep turkeys and ducks as well as chickens.
● The menu features roast meats and poultry.

Question 24

nibble

/ˈnɪb.əl/

Answer 24

to eat something by taking a lot of small bites; also an act of nibbling something:

● Do you have some peanuts for us to nibble while the party warms up?
● A mouse has nibbled through the computer cables.
● Just take/have a nibble to see if you like the taste.

Question 25

sue

/suː/

Answer 25

If you sue someone, you start a legal case against them, usually in order to claim money from them because they have harmed you in some way:

● She threatened to sue the magazine for libel.
● He was so enraged at the article about him that he sued the newspaper.
● She was hit by a city bus and is suing the city for $2 million.

Question 26

savoury

/ˈseɪ.vɚ.i/

Answer 26

1) Savoury food is salty or spicy and not sweet in taste:

● a savoury dish/sauce/flavour
● savoury dumplings/pancakes
● A pie can be sweet or savoury.

2) If you say that something is not savoury, you mean that it is not pleasant or socially acceptable:

● That hotel doesn’t have a very savoury reputation.

Question 27

flip-flop

/ˈflɪp.flɑːp/

Answer 27

1) a type of open shoe, often made of rubber, with a V-shaped strap that goes between the big toe and the toe next to it.

2) If you say that someone, especially a politician, flip-flops on a decision, you are critical of them because they change their decision, so that they do or think the opposite. Also a flip-flop is a sudden and complete change of plans or opinion:

● He has been criticized for flip-flopping on several key issues.
● They did a complete flip-flop by deciding to have a large wedding rather than getting married secretly.

Question 28

hang up

/hæŋ/

Answer 28

to end a phone conversation:

● Let me speak to Melanie before you hang up.
● Don’t hang up – there’s something else I want to say.

hang up on - to end a phone conversation abruptly or rudely.

Question 29

sponge

/spʌndʒ/

Answer 29

a soft substance that is full of small holes and can absorb a lot of liquid, and is used for washing and cleaning:

● He wiped off the table with a soapy sponge.

Question 30

mop

/mɑːp/

Answer 30

1) a stick with soft material attached to one end, especially used for washing floors:

● a floor mop
● a dish mop

Also to use a mop to wash something:

● He mopped the bathroom floor.

2) to use a cloth to remove sweat from the face:

● He kept pausing to mop his brow.

Question 31

broom

/bruːm/ /brʊm/

Answer 31

1) a brush with a long handle and bristles (= short, stiff hairs or pieces of plastic), used for cleaning the floor or the ground:

● On his first day at work he was given a broom and told to sweep the floor.

2) a bush with small yellow flowers:

● The mountains are covered in a scrub of broom and myrtle.

Question 32

dustpan

/ˈdʌst.pæn/

Answer 32

a flat container with a handle. You hold on the floor and put dirt and dust into it using a brush:

● They must get their little dustpans and brushes out and clean up their own mess.

Question 33

squeegee

/ˈskwiː.dʒiː/

Answer 33

a tool with a rubber blade and a short handle that is used for removing water from a surface such as a window or mirror after it has been washed. Also to use a squeegee on a window, mirror, or other surface:

● He carries a squeegee as he searches for drivers who want their vehicle windows cleaned.
● Squeegee off all the wet surfaces.

Question 34

toilet brush

/ˈtɔɪ.lət ˌbrʌʃ/

Answer 34

a brush with a long handle that is used to clean the inside of a toilet

Question 35

scold

/skoʊld/

Answer 35

to speak to someone angrily because you disapprove of their behaviour:

● His mother scolded him for breaking her favourite vase.

Question 36

hum

/hʌm/

Answer 36

1) When you hum a tune, you sing it with your lips closed:

● Suddenly, on the floor below, a door was noisily opened and someone began going downstairs humming a tune. (from F. Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment)
● I’ve forgotten how that song goes - could you hum it for me?

2) If something hums, it makes a low continuous noise:

● The computers were humming in the background.
● The birds sang, the bees hummed.

3) If you say that a place hums, you mean that it is full of activity:

● The place is really beginning to hum.
● The bar was really humming last night.

Question 37

stir

/stɝː/

Answer 37

1) If you stir a liquid or other substance, you move it around or mix it in a container using something such as a spoon. Also the act of stirring a liquid or other substance in order to mix it:

● Stir the sauce gently until it begins to boil.
● Stir the egg yolks into the mixture.
● Add two teaspoons of vanilla and stir.
● Slowly add the flour, stirring until completely blended.
● She paused to stir some milk into her coffee.

2) If you stir, you move slightly, for example because you are uncomfortable or beginning to wake up:

● Eileen shook him, and he started to stir.
● He stirred in his sleep as I kissed him.

3) If you do not stir from a place, you do not move from it:

● She had not stirred from the house that evening.
● There’s something you could study without stirring from this room.

4) If something stirs or if the wind stirs it, it moves gently in the wind:

● A light breeze stirred the leaves lying on the path.
● Palm trees stir in the soft Pacific breeze.

5) If you stir yourself, or if something stirs you into action, you move in order to start doing something:

● The alarm clock went off, but she didn’t stir.
● Come on, stir yourselves, or you’ll be late!

6) If something stirs you, it makes you react with a strong emotion:

● I was deeply stirred by her performance.
● The speech stirred the crowd to take action.

Question 38

drought

/draʊt/

Answer 38

a long period when there is little or no rain:

● This year (a) severe drought has ruined the crops.
● Drought and famines have killed up to two million people here.

Question 39

fill out

Answer 39

1) If you fill out a form or other document requesting information, you write information in the spaces on it:

● Fill out the application carefully, and keep copies of it.

2) If a fairly thin person fills out, they become fatter:

● A girl may fill out before she reaches her full height.

Question 40

bring up

/brɪŋ/

Answer 40

1) If you bring up a particular subject, you start to talk about it:

● She’s always bringing up her health problems.
● The meeting seemed to be going well until Charles brought up the issue of holiday pay.
● The evening was going well until someone brought up the subject of politics.
● It was neither the time nor place to bring up the issue of religion.

2) When someone brings up a child, they look after it until it is an adult. If someone has been brought up in a certain place or with certain attitudes, they grew up in that place or were taught those attitudes when they were growing up:

● She brought up four children.
● She was brought up by her grandmother.
● He was brought up on a diet of political propaganda from birth.
● We’d been brought up to think that borrowing money was bad.
● She brought up her children in just the same way her mother did.
● My father was a real authoritarian so we were brought up very strictly.

3) to cause something to appear on a screen:

● Clicking on the icon brings up a dialogue box.
● You can bring up the menu by right-clicking on the title bar.

4) to vomit something or to release (?) air from stomach through a mouth:

● She was crying so much I thought she’d bring up her breakfast.
● It’s hard for the baby to bring up wind.

Question 41

condiment

/ˈkɑːn.də.mənt/

Answer 41

A condiment is a substance such as salt, pepper, ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard that you add to food when you eat it in order to improve the flavor.

Question 42

slides (type of shoes)

/slaɪd/

Answer 42

a type of plastic shoe that you can slide your foot into, open at the front and the back, with a wide band or bands across the top of the foot, usually are worn at swimming pools or on beaces.

Question 43

crouch

/kraʊtʃ/

Answer 43

to bend your knees and lower yourself so that you are close to the ground and leaning forward slightly:

● He crouched to pick something up from the floor.
● A loud noise would send him into a defensive crouch.

Question 44

racket

/ˈræk.ɪt/

Answer 44

an object used for hitting the ball in various sports, consisting of a net fixed tightly to a round frame with a long handle:

● a tennis/squash/badminton racket

Question 45

pant

/pænt/

Answer 45

If you pant, you breathe quickly and loudly with your mouth open, because you have been doing something energetic:

● She climbed rapidly until she was panting with the effort.
● Blake was panting hard after running up the hill.

Question 46

squeeze

/skwiːz/

Answer 46

1) If you squeeze something, you press it firmly, usually with your hands, also a short, tight hug:

● As she waited to go into the exam, he squeezed her hand (= pressed it affectionately with his hand) and wished her good luck.
● Dip the bread briefly in water, then squeeze it dry.
● She hugged him in a gentle squeeze.
● He gave his daughter one last squeeze and jumped onto the train.

2) If you squeeze a liquid or a soft substance out of an object, you get the liquid or substance out by pressing the object. Also the act of pressing something firmly:

● Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.
● Once he had finished cleaning the floor, he squeezed the cloth out.
● She gave the present a quick squeeze and tried to guess what was inside.
● Garnish the fish with some fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon.

3) If you are squeezed by financial demands, they cause you financial problems:

● Small businesses are being squeezed by heavy taxation.

Question 47

prey

/preɪ/

Answer 47

1) an animal that is hunted and killed for food by another animal:

● Goats are prey animals.
● Cats may acquire infection only when they begin to eat prey.

2) A creature that preys on other creatures lives by catching and eating them:

● The larvae prey upon small aphids.

3) someone who can be easily deceived or harmed:

● Children are seen as easy prey for this type of advertising.

4) If someone preys on other people, especially people who are unable to protect themselves, they take advantage of them or harm them in some way.

Question 48

pupil

/ˈpjuː.pəl/

Answer 48

1) The pupils of a school are the children who go to it:

● The school has over 400 pupils.

2) The pupils of your eyes are the small, round, black holes in the centre of them:

● Pupils contract in bright light, and dilate in darkness.

Question 49

reheat

/ˌriːˈhiːt/

Answer 49

to heat cooked food again:

● Could you please reheat my soup for me?
● This dish can be made the day before and gently reheated.

Question 50

expel

/ɪkˈspel/

Answer 50

1) If someone is expelled from a school or organization or place, they are officially told to leave because they have behaved badly:

● The new government has expelled all foreign diplomats.
● My brother was expelled from school for bad behaviour.
● The disciplinary tribunal has the power to suspend or even expel offenders from the profession.

2) to force air or liquid out of something:

● She took a deep breath, then expelled the air in short blasts.
● When you breathe out, you expel air from your lungs.