Is this the era of distrust?

Question 1

halt [/hɔːlt/]

Answer 1

a stop or pause
Heavy snowfalls brought traffic to a halt (=made it stop moving).
The World Championship was brought to a temporary halt (=was stopped from continuing).

Question 2

epidemic [/ˌepəˈdemɪk◂/]

Answer 2

a large number of cases of a disease that happen at the same time → pandemic
Over 500 people died during last year’s flu epidemic.
epidemic of
an epidemic of cholera

Question 3

lead [/liːd/]

Answer 3

TAKE SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE [intransitive, transitive usually + adverb/preposition] to take someone somewhere by going in front of them while they follow, or by pulling them gently
lead somebody to/into etc something
A nurse took her arm and led her to a chair.
The horses were led to safety.

BE IN CHARGE [intransitive, transitive] to be in charge of an organization, country, or team, or a group of people who are trying to do something
He has led the party for over twenty years.
Some people say she is too old to lead the country (=be in charge of its government).

Question 4

led [/led/]

Answer 4

the past tense and past participle of lead1

Question 5

conspiracy [/kənˈspɪrəsi/]

Answer 5

a secret plan made by two or more people to do something that is harmful or illegal → conspire
conspiracy to do something
He was charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
conspiracy against
a conspiracy against the government

Question 6

accuse [/əˈkjuːz/]

Answer 6

to say that you believe someone is guilty of a crime or of doing something bad
accuse somebody of (doing) something
He was accused of murder.
Smith accused her of lying.

Question 7

trustworthy [/ˈtrʌstˌwɜːði/]

Answer 7

able to be trusted and depended on

Question 8

trustworthiness

Answer 8

the ability to be trusted as being honest and reliable.

Question 9

trick [/trɪk/]

Answer 9

1 SOMETHING THAT DECEIVES SOMEBODY something you do in order to deceive someone
Pretending he doesn’t remember is an old trick of his.
He didn’t really lose his wallet – that’s just a trick.
2 JOKE something you do to surprise someone and to make other people laugh
I’m getting tired of your silly tricks.
The girls were playing tricks on their teacher.

3 to deceive someone in order to get something from them or to make them do something
She knew she’d been tricked, but it was too late.
trick somebody into doing something
He claimed he was tricked into carrying drugs.

Question 10

ancient [/ˈeɪnʃənt/]

Answer 10

1 belonging to a time long ago in history, especially thousands of years ago OPP modern
the ancient civilizations of Asia
ancient Greece/Egypt/Rome
the religion of ancient Egypt
2 having existed for a very long time OPP new
an ancient walled city
an ancient forest

Question 11

sum [/sʌm/]

Answer 11

MONEY an amount of money
 He owes me a large sum of money.
sum of
 the sum of £4,000
large/substantial/considerable etc sum
 Bill wants to spend a large sum on modernizing the farm.

Question 12

financier [/fəˈnænsɪə,/]

Answer 12

someone who controls or lends large sums of money

Question 13

infamous [/ˈɪnfəməs/]

Answer 13

well known for being bad or evil

an infamous killer

Question 14

swindle [/ˈswɪndl/]

Answer 14

to get money from someone by deceiving them SYN cheat
swindle somebody out of something
a businessman who swindled investors out of millions of pounds

Question 15

sentence [/ˈsentəns/]

Answer 15

1 a group of words that usually contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete idea. Sentences written in English begin with a capital letter and usually end with a full stop or a question mark
His voice dropped at the end of the sentence.

2 a punishment that a judge gives to someone who is guilty of a crime
She received an eight-year prison sentence.
He was recently freed after serving a sentence for leading anti-government riots.

Question 16

defraud [/dɪˈfrɔːd]

Answer 16

to trick a person or organization in order to get money from them
defraud somebody of something
She defrauded her employers of thousands of pounds.

Question 17

fraud [/frɔːd/]

Answer 17

the crime of deceiving people in order to gain something such as money or goods
tax/insurance/credit card etc fraud
He’s been charged with tax fraud.

Question 18

rely on/upon somebody/something

Answer 18

1 to trust or depend on someone or something to do what you need or expect them to do → reliable, reliance
I knew I could rely on David.
rely on somebody/something to do something
Many working women rely on relatives to help take care of their children.
for
Many people now rely on the Internet for news.
2 to depend on something in order to continue to live or exist
The company relies heavily on only a few contracts.
for
They have to rely on the river for their water.

Question 19

presenter [/prɪˈzentə/]

Answer 19

British English someone who introduces the different parts of a television or radio show SYN host American English
the presenter of BBC 2‘s ’Newsnight’

Question 20

gullible [/ˈɡʌləbəl/]

Answer 20

too ready to believe what other people tell you, so that you are easily tricked
Plastic replicas of the Greek pottery are sold to gullible tourists.

Question 21

indiscriminate [/ˌɪndɪˈskrɪmənət◂/]

Answer 21

an indiscriminate action is done without thinking about what harm it might cause
indiscriminate attacks/killing/violence/bombing etc
terrorists responsible for indiscriminate killing
the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers
—indiscriminately adverb
Soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd.

Question 22

institution [/ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃən/]

Answer 22

a large organization that has a particular kind of work or purpose
financial/educational/research etc institution
the government and other political institutions
powerful institutions such as world banks

Question 23

trustworthy [/ˈtrʌstˌwɜːði/]

Answer 23

able to be trusted and depended on

Question 24

for goodness sake

Answer 24

spoken said when you are annoyed or surprised, especially when telling someone to do something
For goodness’ sake stop arguing!

Question 25

goodness (only) knows

Answer 25

spoken used to emphasize that you are not sure about something, or to make a statement stronger
That bar’s been closed for goodness knows how long.
Goodness knows, I tried to help him!

Question 26

my goodness!/goodness (gracious) me!

Answer 26

spoken said when you are surprised or sometimes angry

My goodness, you have spent a lot!

Question 27

gracious [/ˈɡreɪʃəs/]

Answer 27

behaving in a polite, kind, and generous way, especially to people of a lower rank
Sibyl was the most gracious, helpful, and generous person to work with.
a gracious apology

2 having the kind of expensive style, comfort, and beauty that only rich people can afford
a gracious manor house
a magazine about gracious living

Question 28

virtue [/ˈvɜːtʃuː/]

Answer 28

1 [uncountable] formal moral goodness of character and behaviour OPP vice
Women have often been used as symbols of virtue.
2 [countable] a particular good quality in someone’s character OPP vice
Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness.
3 [countable, uncountable] an advantage that makes something better or more useful than something else
virtue of
Adam Smith believed in the virtues of free trade.
Wilkins is now extolling (=praising very much) the virtues of organic farming.
► see thesaurus at advantage

Question 29

care [/keə/]

Answer 29

the process of looking after someone, especially because they are ill, old, or very young
high standards of medical care

Question 30

justifiable [/ˈdʒʌstəfaɪəbəl/ ]

Answer 30

actions, reactions, decisions etc that are justifiable are acceptable because they are done for good reasons
justifiable anger
economically/commercially justifiable
Are these experiments morally justifiable?

Question 31

ingredient [/ɪnˈɡriːdiənt/]

Answer 31

1 one of the foods that you use to make a particular food or dish
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
The food is home-cooked using fresh ingredients.
2 a quality you need to achieve something
John has all the ingredients of a great player.
Investment in new product development is an essential ingredient of corporate success.

Question 32

they’re [they’re]

Answer 32

the short form of ‘they are’

They’re going to Crete next week.

Question 33

competence [/ˈkɒmpətəns/]

Answer 33

(also competency /-tənsi/) the ability to do something well OPP incompetence
competence in
Students will gain competence in a wide range of skills.

competence of
He questioned the competence of the government.

Question 34

episodic [/ˌepəˈsɒdɪk◂/]

Answer 34

1 something that is episodic happens from time to time and then stops for a while, rather than happening all the time
his episodic involvement in politics
2 an episodic story or memory is one in which a lot of different events happen that do not follow on from each other

divided into separate or tenuously related parts or sections; loosely connected:

Question 35

competent [/ˈkɒmpɪtənt]

Answer 35

having enough skill or knowledge to do something to a satisfactory standard OPP incompetent
A competent mechanic should be able to fix the problem.
very/highly/extremely competent
She’s a highly competent linguist.