Chapter 1

Question 0

good-for-nothing (adj)

Answer 0

a good-for-nothing person is lazy and useless:
an idle good-for-nothing drunk

Question 1

crane (v)

Answer 1

to look around or over something by stretching or leaning

Question 2

shudder (v)

Answer 2

to shake for a short time because you are afraid or cold, or because you think something is very unpleasant:
Maria shuddered as she stepped outside.

Question 3

dull (adj)

Answer 3

not bright and with lots of clouds:
Outside the weather was hazy and dull. a dull sky

Question 4

hum (v)

Answer 4

to sing a tune by making a continuous sound with your lips closed

Question 5

wrestle (v)

Answer 5

to move something or try to move it when it is large, heavy, or difficult to move:
wrestle with Ray continued to wrestle with the wheel.

Question 6

tawny (adj)

Answer 6

brownish-yellow in colour:
a lion’s tawny fur

Question 7

peck somebody on the cheek/ forehead etc

Answer 7

to kiss someone quickly and lightly:
She pecked her father lightly on the cheek.

Question 8

tantrum (n)

Answer 8

a sudden short period when someone, especially a child, behaves very angrily and unreasonably:
have/ throw a tantrum
She throws a tantrum when she can’t have the toy she wants.

Question 9

cereal (n)

Answer 9

a breakfast food made from grain and usually eaten with milk

Question 10

tyke (n)

Answer 10

a child who is behaving badly a small child

Question 11

chortle (v)

Answer 11

to laugh because you are amused or pleased about something:
Harry chortled with delight.

Question 12

back a car

Answer 12

back/ reverse a car (=make it move backwards)
Suzy backed the car into the driveway.

Question 13

peculiar (adj)

Answer 13

strange, unfamiliar, or a little surprising:
There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen.

Question 14

jerk (v)

Answer 14

to move with a quick sudden movement, or to make part of your body move in this way:
Wilcox jerked his head to indicate that they should move on.
‘Is that the only way out of here?’ he asked, jerking a thumb at the door.

Question 15

tabby cat (adj)

Answer 15

a cat with light and dark lines on its fur

Question 16

getup

Answer 16

a set of clothes, especially strange or unusual clothes:
I hardly recognized him in that getup!

Question 17

drum (v)

Answer 17

to make a sound similar to a drum by hitting a surface again and again:
I could hear the rain drumming against the windows.
Lisa drummed her fingers impatiently on the table.

Question 18

huddle (n)

Answer 18

a group of people or things that are close together, but not arranged in any particular order, pattern, or system

Question 19

weirdo (n)

Answer 19

someone who wears strange clothes or behaves strangely:
Jenny’s going out with a real weirdo.

Question 20

enrage (v)

Answer 20

to make someone very angry➔ anger:
Many readers were enraged by his article.

Question 21

emerald (n)

Answer 21

a valuable bright green stone that is often used in jewellery a bright green colour

Question 22

strike (v)

Answer 22

if something strikes you, you think of it, notice it, or realize that it is important, interesting, true etc:
A rather worrying thought struck me.

Question 23

stunt (n)

Answer 23

something that is done to attract people’s attention, especially in advertising or politics:
Todd flew over the city in a hot-air balloon as a publicity stunt.

Question 24

swoop (v)

Answer 24

if a bird or aircraft swoops, it moves suddenly down through the air, especially in order to attack something:
The eagle hovered, ready to swoop at any moment.

Question 25

gaze (v)

Answer 25

to look at someone or something for a long time, giving it all your attention, often without realizing you are doing so

Question 26

bun (n)

Answer 26

a small round type of bread:
a hamburger bun

Question 27

eye (v)

Answer 27

to look at someone or something carefully, especially because you do not trust them or because you want something:
The man behind the desk eyed us suspiciously.
A crowd of local children gathered around, eying us in silence.

Question 28

clutch (v)

Answer 28

to hold something tightly because you do not want to lose it
SYN grip, grasp
She was clutching a bottle of champagne.

Question 29

stop dead (in your tracks)

Answer 29

suddenly stop moving completely:
She was so shocked that she stopped dead in her tracks.

Question 30

flood (v) (of feelings)

Answer 30

if a feeling or memory floods over you or floods back, you feel or remember it very strongly:
I felt happiness and relief flooding over me.
Memories of my time in Paris flooded back.

Question 31

dash (v)

Answer 31

to go or run somewhere very quickly:
Olive dashed into the room, grabbed her bag, and ran out again.

Question 32

snap (v)

Answer 32

to say something quickly in an angry way:
‘What do you want?’ Mike snapped.
He snapped at Walter for no reason.

Question 33

seize (v)

Answer 33

to take hold of something suddenly and violently
SYN grab
Suddenly, he seized my hand.

Question 34

stroke (v)

Answer 34

to move your hand gently over something:
He reached out and stroked her cheek tenderly.

Question 35

upset (adj)

Answer 35

unhappy and worried because something unpleasant or disappointing has happened

Question 36

grunt (v)

Answer 36

to make short sounds or say a few words in a rough voice, when you do not want to talk:
He just grunted and carried on reading his book.

Question 37

stumble (v)

Answer 37

to hit your foot against something or put your foot down awkwardly while you are walking or running, so that you almost fall

Question 38

squeaky (adj)

Answer 38

making very high noises that are not loud:
a squeaky voice squeaky floorboards

Question 39

passerby (n)

Answer 39

someone who is walking past a place by chance:
They sell drinks to passersby.

Question 40

rejoice (v)

Answer 40

to feel or show that you are very happy:
rejoice at/over/in
His family rejoiced at the news.
We rejoiced in our good fortune.

Question 41

you know who/what

Answer 41

used to talk about someone or something without mentioning their name:
I saw you know who yesterday.

Question 42

walk off

Answer 42

to leave someone by walking away from them, especially in a rude or angry way:
Don’t just walk off when I’m trying to talk to you!

Question 43

rooted to the spot/floor/ground etc

Answer 43

so shocked, surprised, or frightened that you cannot move:
She stood rooted to the spot, staring at him.

Question 44

rattle (v)

Answer 44

1: if you rattle something, or if it rattles, it shakes and makes a quick series of short sounds:
Dan banged on her door and rattled the handle.
The window rattled in the wind.
Bottles rattled as he stacked the beer crates.

2: to make someone lose confidence or become nervous:
His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger.
It was hard not to get rattled when the work piled up.
His confidence was rattled by the accident.

Question 45

set off

Answer 45

to start to go somewhere:
I’ll set off early to avoid the traffic.
set off for Jerry and I set off on foot for the beach.

Question 46

stern (adj)

Answer 46

serious and strict, and showing strong disapproval of someone’s behaviour:
sterner penalties for drug offences
stern look/voice/expression etc
‘Wait!’ I shouted in my sternest voice.
stern warning/rebuke
His actions have earned him stern rebukes from human rights organizations.

Question 47

pull yourself together

Answer 47

to force yourself to stop behaving in a nervous, frightened, or uncontrolled way:
With an effort Mary pulled herself together.

Question 48

newscaster (n)

Answer 48

someone who reads the news on radio or television

Question 49

phone in

Answer 49

1: to telephone the place where you work, especially in order to report something:
I’ll phone in and let them know.
phone something ↔ in
I’ll phone the report in tomorrow morning.
She phoned in sick (=telephoned to say that she was ill and could not come to work).

2: to telephone a radio or television show to give your opinion or ask a question:
There’s still time to phone in before the end of the programme.

Question 50

downpour (n)

Answer 50

a lot of rain that falls in a short time

Question 51

armchair (n)

Answer 51

a comfortable chair with sides that you can rest your arms on

Question 52

sip (v)

Answer 52

to drink something slowly, taking very small mouthfuls

Question 53

purse (v)

Answer 53

if you purse your lips, you bring them together tightly into a small circle, especially to show disapproval or doubt: Mrs Biddell pursed her lips and shook her head.

Question 54

stiff (adj)

Answer 54

unfriendly if someone’s behaviour is stiff, they behave in a very formal or unfriendly way: Their goodbyes were stiff and formal. Parsons gave a stiff performance in the main role.

Question 55

your heart sinks (alsoyour spirits sink)

Answer 55

used to say that you lose hope or confidence: His heart sank the way it always did when she left him. She felt desperately tired, and her spirits sank.

Question 56

get out

Answer 56

if information gets out, a lot of people then know it although it is meant to be secret:

We have to make absolutely certain that none of this gets out.

It’s bound to get out that he’s retiring soon.

Question 57

drift (v)

Answer 57

to move, change, or do something without any plan or purpose: drift around/ along etc Jenni spent the year drifting around Europe. drift into I just drifted into teaching, really. drift away The others drifted away. Melanie stayed. drift from something to something The conversation drifted from one topic to another. let your gaze/ eyes/ thoughts/ mind etc drift Idly she let her eyes drift over his desk.

Question 58

quiver (v)

Answer 58

to shake slightly because you are cold, or because you feel very afraid, angry, excited etc

Question 59

twitch (v)

Answer 59

if a part of someone’s body twitches, or if they twitch it, it makes a small sudden movement: His mouth twitched slightly, and then he smiled. He twitched his eyebrows.

Question 60

tuck (v)

Answer 60

to push something, especially the edge of a piece of cloth or paper, into or behind something so that it looks tidier or stays in place: tuck something in Jack tucked his shirt in. tuck something into/under/behind etc something She tucked an unruly lock of hair behind her ear.

Question 61

robe (n)

Answer 61

a long loose piece of clothing, especially one worn for official ceremonies

Question 62

sweep (v)

Answer 62

to move things from a surface with a brushing movement: I swept the papers quickly into the drawer.