Cities

Question 1

affluent

Answer 1

if someone is affluent, they have a lot of money and
are able to live comfortably. If a district is affluent, it has
expensive houses and shops that sell good quality items,
and the people who live there are quite rich

Question 2

chaotic

Answer 2

a chaotic situation is one in which lots of things are
happening at the same time and in a very confused and
disorganised way

Question 3

compact

Answer 3

if something is compact, it is small and does not take up
much space

Question 4

congested

Answer 4

roads that are congested have a lot of traffic on them, so
everybody moves very slowly

Question 5

run-down

Answer 5

if a place is run-down, it is in a bad condition because no
one has been looking after it for a while

Question 6

secure

Answer 6

something that is secure is safe and is not going to
change or be taken away from you. If you feel secure,
you are not worried and do not think that anything bad is
going to happen

Question 7

spotless

Answer 7

something that is spotless is very clean
the hotel room was absolutely spotless | the streets are
spotless, but it’s also very dull there | he was wearing a
spotless white suit

Question 8

sprawling

Answer 8

a sprawling place or building spreads out over a large
area in an untidy or uncontrolled way

Question 9

vibrant

Answer 9

a vibrant place is one where lots of exciting and
interesting things are always happening. People who
are vibrant have a lot of energy and are always doing
interesting things

Question 10

well-run

Answer 10

something that is well-run is properly organised

Question 11

crawl

Answer 11

when cars, buses, and lorries are crawling, they are
moving very slowly because there is a lot of traffic. When
people crawl, they move slowly along the ground on
their hands and knees

Question 12

buzz

Answer 12

if a place has a buzz, lots of exciting and interesting
things happen there. A buzz is also the feeling of
excitement and happiness that you get from doing
something exciting

Question 13

choke

Answer 13

if you choke, you have a lot of difficulty breathing
because you cannot get air into your lungs easily

Question 14

condemned

Answer 14

a condemned building is in a very bad and dangerous
condition, and the authorities have decided it must be
pulled down

Question 15

conspicuous consumption

Answer 15

conspicuous consumption involves buying a lot of
expensive and often unnecessary things in order to
impress people and show them you are rich

Question 16

fume

Answer 16

fumes are gases and smoke from fires, burning
chemicals, car engines, etc., that are unhealthy and
unpleasant to breathe, and that can make people ill

Question 17

insane

Answer 17

someone who is insane has a very serious mental illness
which means they do not behave in a normal way. In
informal English, if you refer to a person as insane,
you mean they are wild or foolish, and if you refer to a
situation or behaviour as insane, you mean that it is very
extreme or dangerous

Question 18

condemned

Answer 18

a condemned building is in a very bad and dangerous
condition, and the authorities have decided it must be
pulled down

Question 19

litter

Answer 19

litter is rubbish that is dropped in public places and
which makes those places look untidy

Question 20

conspicuous consumption

Answer 20

conspicuous consumption involves buying a lot of
expensive and often unnecessary things in order to
impress people and show them you are rich

Question 21

mugging

Answer 21

a mugging is an attack on someone in the street in order
to steal from them

Question 22

scene

Answer 22

a particular scene is the activity and people involved in it

Question 23

bring in

Answer 23

to bring in a new law or rule means to introduce it
officially

Question 24

show of

Answer 24

if someone is showing off, they are trying to impress
people by talking about their achievements or
possessions in a very annoying way

Question 25

credit

Answer 25

if you credit something to something else, you mean
that the the first thing succeeded because of the second
thing. If someone is credited with something good, they
were responsible for its success

Question 26

slum

Answer 26

a slum is an area of houses that are in very bad
condition, and that are lived in by people who have little
or no money and no opportunity to move away

Question 27

demolish

Answer 27

to demolish a building means to destroy it completely,
for example because it is old and no longer safe or
because you are going to put a new building there.
Demolish is a formal word; in ordinary spoken English,
people usually say knock down

Question 28

spring up

Answer 28

if something springs up, it suddenly starts to exist
somewhere

Question 29

trace

Answer 29

a trace of something is a very small amount of it, or a
sign that shows it had existed or been somewhere

Question 30

downturn

Answer 30

a downturn is a serious reduction in economic activity
which can lead to businesses failing and people losing
their jobs

Question 31

ease

Answer 31

if something bad eases or if you ease it, it becomes less
severe, dangerous, or unwelcome

Question 32

armed

Answer 32

arms are weapons such as guns. If someone is armed,
they are carrying guns or have guns available. Armed
robbery, conflict, struggle, etc. is a robbery, conflict,
struggle that involves people using guns

Question 33

flourish

Answer 33

to flourish means to be very successful over a period of
time

Question 34

halt

Answer 34

if you halt something or if it halts, it stops happening or
developing. Halt is a formal word. In ordinary spoken
English, people usually say stop

Question 35

house

Answer 35

to house something means to be the building where
that thing is or where it operates from. To house people
means to provide them with somewhere to live. To
re-house people means to provide them with a new
home after their original home is destroyed or no longer
available for them to live in

Question 36

impose

Answer 36

to impose a law, rule, or restriction means to introduce it
officially and make people accept it, even if they do not
want to

Question 37

pour into

Answer 37

if you pour money into an activity or organisation, you
spend a large amount of money on it over a period of
time in order to try and make it as successful as possible

Question 38

reverse

Answer 38

to reverse something means to change it to the opposite

Question 39

secure

Answer 39

if you secure something, you succeed in getting it after a
long process of trying

Question 40

set out

Answer 40

to set out a plan or proposal means to provide details
about it so that people can understand what it is about

Question 41

soar

Answer 41

if the rate or level of something soars, it increases very
quickly and by a large amount

Question 42

inhabitant

Answer 42

the inhabitants of a place are the people who live there

Question 43

initiate

Answer 43

if you initiate a process, you officially start it

Question 44

inward

Answer 44

inward actions or movements are directed towards the
centre of something. Inward investment is investment
made in one country by people and companies from
other countries

Question 45

knock down

Answer 45

to knock down a building means to destroy it completely,
for example because it is old and no longer safe or
because you are going to put a new building there.
Knock down is used in informal and spoken English; a
more formal word is demolish

Question 46

neglected

Answer 46

if someone or something is neglected, they have not
been looked after properly and are not in a good
condition

Question 47

undergo

Answer 47

if you undergo something necessary or unpleasant, you
experience it or it happens to you

Question 48

brim

Answer 48

the brim of a container is its top edge. If you say that
something is full to the brim, you mean it is very full and
there is no room for anything else

Question 49

calm

Answer 49

if you calm people who are worried about something,
you say something or do something that reassures them
and stops them worrying

Question 50

compel

Answer 50

to compel someone to do something means to force
them to do it, even if they do not want to

Question 51

deed