KNOLEDGE, TECHNOLOGY & POLITICS Flashcards
leave school or university without finishing your studies
Ola dropped out of high school without any qualifications
Drop out
give a piece of work to a teacher, give something to someone in authority
Miguel handed in his assignment five minutes before the deadline.
hand in (to)
give something to each member of a group, distribute
The teacher handed out the worksheet to each member of the class.
hand out (to)
remove something (with a cloth)
The teacher wiped the notes off the board before Ed had finished copying them.
wipe off
close for the holidays
Schools break up in July in the UK.
There is a six-week summer holiday.
break up (UK)
spend time or put effort into something
Ramu’s working on a new art project.
It’s a huge painting of New York.
work on
gather your things and put them in a bag or box
When the class finished, Arun packed up his things and got ready to leave.
pack up
remove something (from a bag)
Good morning class.
Please take out your books.
Take out
open a book at a specific page
Now turn to page 25 and complete the exercises.
Turn to
waste time, avoid doing work
You’ve spent too much time goofing off this semester, Jesse.
goof off (US)
not tolerate, not allow someone
to do something
I will not stand for laziness. It’s time you started working harder.
not stand for
be naughty, misbehave
The kids have been playing up all morning.
play up (UK)
behave in a silly way
Ffion is so naughty. She’s always fooling around in class instead of paying attention.
fool around
continue (doing something)
Despite the teacher’s warnings, the children carried on misbehaving.
carry on
misbehave, do something other than what you should be doing
The teacher told his students to stop messing around, and to do their work.
mess around
do something wrong without being punished for
Mateo and Juanita are very naughty, but Martina lets them get away with it.
get away with
respond rudely (usually to a teacher or parent)
Rosie is very rude to her teachers.
She’s always answering back.
answer back
not punish someone, or give them a very light punishment
Marco was furious about the broken window, but he let Gio and Carmen off with a warning.
let off (with)
reprimand someone when they have done something wrong
Zosia told the children off when she saw the terrible mess they had made.
tell off
(informal) study a subject
The library was full of students swotting up on English grammar.
swot up on (UK)
start something again
I kept making mistakes trying to answer the question, so decided to start over.
start over (US)
deal with a problem carefully and methodically
Fiona worked through the problems in her code to fix the issues.
work through
start doing something with enthusiasm
Sam has dived into his new project.
He spent all weekend working on it.
dive in(to)
give attention to
Patsy’s research focuses on space travel.
focus on
investigate, research, or find out about something
She’s looking into how astronauts might travel to Mars one day.
look into
contribute toward
The practical assessment and the written exam both count toward your final grade.
count toward
fit a lot of something into a small space or a short period of time
Bill is trying to cram in as much studying as possible before the exam.
cram in (UK)
not keep up with
Emma was sick for most of the spring.
She has fallen behind the other students in her year.
fall behind
improve at the same speed as someone
Even though Leo is the youngest in his class, he manages to keep up with the other children.
keep up with
study something as your main subject at university
Noah is majoring in international politics at college. He hopes to become an ambassador one day.
major in (US)
find information online or in a reference book
Do you know burdensome means?
No, i don’t know. You’ll have to look it up in the dictionary
Look up
solve a problem
Nadia stayed up all night trying to work out the answer to the equation
Work out
practice, revise
I’m moving to Tokyo for a year. I need to brush up on my Japanese
Brush up on
present or explain in a clear way
At the start of your presentation, lay out the main points you are going to discuss
lay out
proceed to the next point
After introducing your topic, you should then move on to presenting each of your arguments.
move on (to)
give someone a lower grade
Please take care writing your presentation.
You’ll be marked down for incorrect spelling.
mark down
give a summary of your argument in the conclusion
At the end of your presentation, you should sum up each of your conclusions.
sum up
knows a lot about a subject
Mary’s an expert in ancient history.
She really knows her stuff.
was impossible to understand
The professor’s astrophysics lecture went over my head.
learning the basic skills for a job
Andrea only started work here last week. She’s still learning the ropes.
know it extremely well
I can show you around my city. I know it like the back of my hand.
knows it extremely well
Vineetha loves modern art.
She knows it inside out.
Intelligent people have the same ideas (said in a humorous way).
We both thought of buying Dan a camera for his birthday. Great minds think alike!
think seriously or creatively about a problem
My client wanted a completely new design. I had to put on my thinking cap.
can’t understand at all
I just can’t make heads or tails of this map. (US)
memorized it
Sumiko gave her speech without notes.
She had learned it by heart.
someone who enjoys reading books
lan is such a bookworm.
He loves reading.
passed easily, or performed very well
When Souad took her piano test, she passed with flying colors.
someone who copies another person’s idea
Ben accused Stefan of being a copycat. Their artworks were very similar.
someone who seeks approval from a person in authority
Trent is a teacher’s pet. He always offers to carry the teacher’s bag.
passed a test with difficulty
Brad thought he would pass the test easily but he only screwed by
Screw by
much more advanced than
Dion’s new laptop is light-years ahead of his old one.
very modern and up-to-date
Roman has bought himself a state-of-the-art TV set.
an important discovery or achievement
These doctors have made a breakthrough in their medical research.
extremely modern and innovative
Our cutting-edge products have made our company millions of dollars.
changes the usual way things are done
Ping’s design for the new library really breaks the mold.
(about a computer) start, turn on
As soon as Sherelle gets into work, she boots up her computer.
boot up
(UK)
(about a computer) turn off
You should shut down your computer at night to save electricity.
shut down
(about a network) stop working
This is the third time that our system has gone down this morning!
go down
make a copy of something
I back up all my photos in case my computer breaks. I keep them on an external hard drive.
back up
access a computer or network illegally
Some criminals hacked into our computer system and stole the new designs.
hack into
get something ready to use
Our company hired a technician to set up the new printer.
set up
(about a product) introduce
My office has started rolling out some new software.
People are very confused by it. roll out
(about a product) be released
The new phone model came out today.
There was a long line outside the store.
come out
(about a product) introduce slowly
The company has started phasing in new computers. They look great!
Phase in
(about a product) replace slowly
I agree. I’m so glad that they re phasing these old models out.
phase out
get a closer view of something
When Amy zoomed in, she noticed the red car in front of the restaurant.
zoom in
get a more distant view of something
Amy zoomed out to look at the whole picture.
zoom out
enter information using a keyboard
You have to type in your password to access the website.
type in
write a piece of text using a keyboard
I type out my essays because it’s quicker than writing them by hand
type out
select something on a computer screen
If you click on the link at the bottom of the page, you will see the answers.
click on
make a paper copy of a text
I printed out a copy of the contract for the clients to sign.
print out
move toward the bottom (of a page)
To scroll down to
move toward the top (of a page)
To scroll up to
escape from a prison
Gustav broke out of prison by digging a hole under the main wall.
break out (of)
enter a building to steal something
Someone broke into my house and stole all my jewelry.
break in(to)
injure someone by hitting them repeatedly
Phil had to go to the hospital after somebody beat him up.
beat up
return something to its owner
The police ordered the criminal to hand over the stolen money.
hand over
become stricter about existing rules
The police are cracking down on illegal parking in the city.
crack down (on)
make something bad or unpleasant stop happening
Janice is leading a campaign to stamp out littering in the park.
stamp out
use a barrier to stop people from entering an area
The police cordoned off the area where the crime had taken place.
cordon off
give someone information anonymously
Dan tipped off the police about the location of the stolen artworks.
tip off
escape
After robbing the store, the thieves got away in a stolen car.
get away
draw a conclusion from evidence
The police could tell from the tire tracks that the thieves had escaped by car.
tell from
introduce a new law
The local government has brought in new law he city earsfrom
bring in
be aware of potential danger
Watch out for pickpockets when you’re on the train!
watch out for
make a driver stop for doing something illegal
While I was driving home, the traffic police pulled me over for speeding.
pull over
work to find something or someone
The detectives tracked down the thief using fingerprints on the door handle.
track down
start doing something different
My brother turned to crime after he lost his job.
turn to
make a decision about a law using a vote
Senators voted on the new law after a long debate.
vote on
ask publicly for something to happen
The protestors are calling for better public transportation in the town.
call for
be a candidate for a political position
One of my old school friends is running for mayor.
run for
support something or someone by using a vote
I’m definitely going to vote for her.
vote for
ask someone publicly to do something
Activists are calling on the government to protect the country’s forests
Call on
very messy and chaotic
What has been going on while we were away? It’s like a war zone in here!
a complicated process with lots of potential problems
Buying a house can be a minefield. There’s always so much to think about!
do something nerve-wracking
Balwant had to bite the bullet and tell his teacher that he hadn’t done his homework.
didn’t change her mind when faced with conflict
Sonia stuck to her guns and told her daughter that she couldn’t go to the party.
delivered some shocking news
Our daughter dropped a bombshell when she told us she and her new boyfriend were engaged.
arguing
I always end up crossing swords with my grandfather when we talk about what’s happening in the news.
a difficult struggle
Trying to make my children eat more vegetables has been an uphill battle.
said or did something that made a bad situation feel worse
My boss didn’t give me a promotion, and then twisted the knife when she said my report was full of mistakes.
wait before taking action
I decided to bold fire before booking such an expensive holiday (UK)
a grievance or dispute to take up
I have an ax to grind with my roommate. She’ always playing loud music at night
suffered several injuries or misfortunes
Poor you! You’ve really been in the wars! (Uk)
had a fight or serious argument
They were so angry with each other that they almost came to blows!
likely to be criticized or punished (often unfairly)
The boss is in a terrible mood today! We’re all going to be in the line of fire. (US)
don’t be angry with someone who reports bad news
I have some very bad news, but please don’t shoot the messenger!
unintentionally avoided a situation that turned out to be bad
Audrey looks really stressed. I think I dodged a bullet when she got that promotion and I didn’t.
someone who behaves unpredictably often with bad consequences
Jerry is a loose cannon. We should never have invited him to dinner with the clients.
I thought she was happy with my work. betrayed me
My supervisor stabbed me in the back when she reported me to the store manager.
take care of something while someone is away
I’m going to take my lunch break now. Could you hold down the fort until I get back? (US)
an attempt that has only a small chance of success
I lost my phone when I was shopping.
It’s a long shot, but I’m going to ask if anyone has handed it in at the store.
surprised me with something that I wasn’t ready to deal with
My girlfriend caught me off guard when she said two of her friends would be joining us for dinner tonight.
