cambridge 12 test 2 reading

Question 1

Distinguish

Answer 1

1.recognize or treat (someone or something) as different.
“the child is perfectly capable of distinguishing reality from fantasy”

2.notice or percieve (something barely perceptible).
“it was too dark to distinguish anything more than their vague shapes”

Question 2

Vulnerable (adj)

Answer 2

able to be easily physically or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked:
“I felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.”
“It is on economic policy that the government is most vulnerable”

Question 3

Entrench

Answer 3

1.root (an attitude, habit, or belief) so firmly that change is very difficult or unlikely.
“ageism is entrenched in our society”

Question 4

Volatility

Answer 4

1.liability to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.
“the succession of new rulers contributed to the volatility of the situation”

2.tendency of a substance to evaporate at normal temperatures.
“the volatility of chemicals in an indoor environment”

Question 5

counter-intuitively

Answer 5

in a way that does not happen or is not done in the way you would expect:
“Making a transition like this requires a company to think counterintuitively.”

“Counter-intuitively, small workplaces provided 70 hours of formal training annually, whereas large workplaces provided only 60 hours.”

Question 6

procurement

Answer 6

the process of getting supplies:

“a substantial budget for the procurement of military supplies”

Question 7

hold of

Answer 7

to get possession of (something)

“holding of stocks”

Question 8

hold up

Answer 8

1.support and prevent something from falling.
“concrete pillars hold up the elevated section of the railway”

Question 9

compensate

Answer 9

1.give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury incurred; recompense.
“payments were made to farmers to compensate them for cuts in subsidies”

2.reduce or counteract (something unwelcome or unpleasant) by exerting an opposite force or effect.
“the manager is hoping for victory to compensate for the team’s dismal league campaign”
“Nothing will ever compensate for his lost childhood.”

Question 10

beneficiary (of smth)
n.

Answer 10

a person or group that receives money, advantages, help, etc. from something:

beneficiary of sth “London will be the beneficiary of investment in its transport system.”
“They were the beneficiaries of free education.”

Question 11

commodity futures

Answer 11

an agreement to buy or sell a particular commodity at a future date.

Question 12

commodity

Answer 12

1.a substance or product that can be traded, bought, or sold:
The country’s most valuable commodities include tin and diamonds.

2.a useful or valuable thing.
“water is a precious commodity”

Question 13

emphasize

Answer 13

give special importance or value to (something) in speaking or writing.

“they emphasize the need for daily, one-to-one contact between parent and child”

Question 14

contend

Answer 14

struggle to surmount (a difficulty).
“she had to contend with his uncertain temper”
synonym:
cope with; face; grapple with; deal with; resist; withstand

2.assert something as a position in an argument.
“he contends that the judge was wrong”
Similar:
assert
maintain
hold

Question 15

peasent
n.

Answer 15

1.a member of a low social class of farm workers and owners of small farms
“Most of the produce sold in the market is grown by peasant farmers.”

2.a person who is not well educated or is rude and does not behave well:

“Joe’s a real peasant.”

Question 16

autonomous

Answer 16

independent and having the power to make your own decisions
“Teachers aim to help children become autonomous learners.”

Question 17

bargaining

Answer 17

discussion of prices, conditions, etc. with the aim of reaching an agreement that is acceptable

After much hard bargaining we reached an agreement.

Question 18

stakeholders

Answer 18

either an individual, group or organization that’s impacted by the outcome of a project or a business venture.

Question 19

intermediary

Answer 19

a person who acts as a link between people in order to try and bring about an agreement; a mediator.

act/serve as an intermediary between sb/sth and sb/sth Insurance brokers act as intermediaries between companies that are seeking insurance and companies that provide such coverage.
**through/via an intermediary **
The bank has three million customers and provides loans via intermediaries such as high street stores.

Question 20

dictate
(v and n)

Answer 20

1.give orders or state with total authority
“He disagrees with the government dictating what children are taught in schools.”

2. order, command
   “the dictates of fashion”

Question 21

subscription

Answer 21

1.an arrangement to receive something, typically a publication, regularly by paying in advance.
“make sure you get a copy every month by taking out a subscription”

2.a signature or short piece of writing at the end of a document.
“he signed the letter and added a subscription”

Question 22

encounter (with)
(v. and n.)

Answer 22

verb
1.unexpectedly be faced with or experience (something hostile or difficult).
“we have encountered one small problem”

noun
2.meet (someone) unexpectedly.
“what do we know about the people we encounter in our daily lives?”

Question 23

circuitous
adj

Answer 23

(of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way.
“the canal followed a circuitous route”

Question 24

set off

Answer 24

1.begin a journey.
“they set off together in the small car”

2.cause someone to start doing something, especially laughing or talking.
“anything will set him off laughing”

Question 25

have an advantage (over)

Answer 25

to be in a better or more advantageous position (than)

“As she already knew French, she had an advantage over the rest of the class.”

Question 26

precede

Answer 26

1.come before (something) in time.
“a gun battle had preceded the explosions”

2.go in front or ahead of.
“he let her precede him through the gate”

Question 27

blast

Answer 27

to explode or destroy something or someone with explosives, or to break through or hit something with a similar, very strong force:

blast through An explosion blasted through the wall

Question 28

mule
n.

Answer 28

the offspring of a donkey and a horse (strictly, a male donkey and a female horse),

Question 29

substantial
adj

Answer 29

large in importance, size, or worth.
“a substantial amount of cash”

Question 30

descent

Answer 30

1.an act of moving downwards, dropping, or falling.
“the plane had gone into a steep descent”

Question 31

accompany

Answer 31

go somewhere with (someone) as a companion or escort.
“the two sisters were to accompany us to London”

Question 32

prospect
n.

Answer 32

the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring.
“there was no prospect of a reconciliation”

Question 33

ever-present
adj.

Answer 33

used to describe something that is always there:
the ever-present danger of a terrorist attack

Question 34

mounting
adj

Answer 34

increasing or rising:
There’s been mounting international criticism of the move.

Question 35

spellbind
(held sm1 spellbound)

Answer 35

hold the complete attention of (someone) as though by magic; fascinate.
“the singer held the audience spellbound”

Question 36

with hindsight

Answer 36

the ability to understand an event or situation only after it has happened:
with (the benefit/wisdom of) hindsight With (the benefit/wisdom of) hindsight, I should have taken the job.

in hindsight In hindsight, it would have been better to wait.

Question 37

chronicler
(n.)

Answer 37

a person who writes accounts of important or historical events.
“a chronicler of 18th-century American life”

synm
historian

Question 38

settlement

Answer 38

an official agreement that finishes an argument:
It now seems unlikely that it will be possible to negotiate/reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Question 39

flee (fled, fled) from
v.

Answer 39

run away from a place or situation of danger.
“to escape the fighting, his family fled from their village”

Question 40

desperate
adj.

Answer 40

1.feeling or showing a hopeless sense that a situation is so bad as to be impossible to deal with.
“a desperate sadness enveloped Ruth”

2.(of a person) having a great need or desire for something.
“I am desperate for a cigarette”

Question 41

perplex
v.

Answer 41

to confuse and worry someone slightly by being difficult to understand or solve:
The disease has continued to perplex doctors.

Question 42

estate
n.

Answer 42

an extensive area of land in the country, usually with a large house, owned by one person, family, or organization.
syn property

Question 43

to be at a disadvantage

Answer 43

in a situation in which you are less likely to succeed than others:
“He’s at a disadvantage being so shy.”
This new law places/puts poorer families at a distinct disadvantage.

Question 44

thereby

Answer 44

as a result of this action:
Diets that are high in saturated fat clog up our arteries, thereby reducing the blood flow to our hearts and brains.

Question 45

sequential
adj

Answer 45

following a particular order:
“The buying process is a series of sequential steps.”
“sequential numbering”

Question 46

auditory
adj

Answer 46

relating to the sense of hearing.
“the auditory nerves”

Question 47

correspond

Answer 47

have a close similarity; match or agree almost exactly.
“the carved heads described in the poem correspond to a drawing of Edgcote House”

Question 48

compelling
adj

Answer 48

evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way.
“his eyes were strangely compelling”

Question 49

persistent
adj

Answer 49

lasting for a long time or difficult to get rid of:
“Symptoms of the illness include a high temperature and a persistent dry cough.”
“There have been persistent rumours that the principal might take early retirement.”

2.Someone who is persistent continues doing something or tries to do something in a determined but often unreasonable way:
Be persistent - don’t give up

Question 50

juggle
v.

Answer 50

to try to do two or more jobs or activities at the same time, because you do not have a lot of time:
“Senior executives are under pressure to juggle the increasing demands of their workload.”
juggle sth and/with sth
Flexible working hours help staff juggle work and family life.

Question 51

tap into
ph v.

Answer 51

to use part of a large supply of something for your own advantage:
“We’re hoping to be able to tap into this rich store of data.”
“If only we could tap into all that energy and creativity.”

Question 52

excel at/in

Answer 52

to be extremely good at something:
“Their biggest competitive advantage is that they excel at manufacturing small, gas-efficient vehicles at low cost.”

Question 53

intervening
adj

Answer 53

extending or occurring between events.
“in the intervening years there were several unsuccessful attempts to renovate and reopen the building”

situated between things.
“they heard the sound of distant gunfire, muffled by the intervening trees”

Question 54

encode

Answer 54

convert into a coded form.
“using this technique makes it possible to encode and transmit recorded video information”

Question 55

pitch
(different meanings)

Answer 55

1.the degree to which a sound or a musical note is high or low:
“The piano and organ were tuned to the same pitch.”

2.a speech or act that attempts to persuade someone to buy or do something:
(sales) pitch The man in the shop gave me his (sales) pitch about quality and reliability.
make a pitch for She made a pitch for the job but she didn’t get it.

Question 56

acquire
(different meanings)

Answer 56

1.buy or obtain (an asset or object) for oneself.
“I managed to acquire all the books I needed”

2.learn or develop (a skill, habit, or quality).
“you must acquire the rudiments of Greek”

Question 57

follow-up
n.

Answer 57

a continuation or repetition of something that has already been started or done.
“a follow-up study of the same interviewees after retirement”

Question 58

tinkling

Answer 58

jingling sound

Question 59

far beyond

Answer 59

something that is much further than what you would expect.
For example, “His intelligence is far beyond what I expected from a thirteen-year-old.”

Question 60

impart

Answer 60

1.make (information) known. pass on;
“the teachers imparted a great deal of knowledge to their pupils”

2.bestow (a quality). provide; give
“shiitake mushrooms impart a wonderfully woody flavour to the salad”