Lesson 40 Flashcards
benign - adjective /bɪˈnaɪn/
benign adjective (PERSON)
pleasant and kind:
- a benign old lady
benign adjective (DISEASE)
A benign growth is not cancer and is not likely to be harmful:
- a benign tumour
degree - noun /dɪˈɡriː/
degree noun (AMOUNT)
степень, уровень
(an) amount or level of something:
- This job demands a high degree of skill.
- There isn’t the slightest degree of doubt that he’s innocent.
- I have to warn you that there’s a degree of (= some) danger involved in this.
- The number of terrorist attacks has increased to a terrifying degree.
- There was some degree of truth in what she said.
- To what degree do you think we will be providing a better service?
- “That’s really bad.” “Well, it’s all a matter/question of degree (= there are other things better and other things worse).”
degree noun (UNIT)
any of various units of measurement, especially of temperature or angles, usually shown by the symbol ° written after a number:
- a difference of three degrees
- Water boils at 212° Fahrenheit and 100° Celsius/Centigrade.
- A right angle is an angle of 90°.
degree noun (SUBJECT OF STUDY)
a course of study at a college or university, or the qualification given to a student after he or she has completed his or her studies:
- She has a physics degree/a degree in - She has a bachelor’s/master’s degree in history from Yale.
credit - verb /ˈkred.ɪt/
credit verb (PAY)
to pay money into a bank account:
- They credited my account with $20 after I pointed out the mistake.
credit verb (BELIEVE)
to believe something that seems unlikely to be true:
- He even tried to pretend he was my son - can you credit it?
- It was hard to credit some of the stories we heard about her.
credit someone with something
to consider that someone has a particular quality:
- I had credited them with more integrity than they showed.
to say that someone is responsible for something good:
- She is credited with making the business a success.
single someone/something out
phrasal verb with single verb
to choose one person or thing from a group for special attention, especially criticism or praise:
- It’s not fair the way my sister is always singled out for special treatment.
- Jamie was thrilled when the teacher singled out his poem and asked him to read it aloud.
essentially- adverb
/ɪˈsen.ʃəl.i/
relating to the most important characteristics or ideas of something:
- It’s essentially a dictionary but it differs in one or two respects.
- What he’s saying is essentially true.
silver lining - noun
/ˌsɪl.vɚ ˈlaɪ.nɪŋ/
an advantage that comes from a difficult or unpleasant situation:
- When things look black, there’s always a silver lining.
- The injury had a silver lining: it enabled Blake to spend his father’s last weeks with him.
virile - adjective /ˈvɪr.əl/
мужественный, зрелый, сильный
virile adjective (MAN)
approving
A virile man, especially a young man, is full of sexual strength and energy in a way that is considered attractive:
- She likes her men young and virile.
virile adjective (POWER)
literary approving
powerful, strong, and energetic:
- In this role, Durante is able to give full expression to that wonderfully virile voice.
bowel- noun [ C usually plural ] /ˈbaʊ.əl/
кишечник
the long tube that carries solid waste from the stomach out of the body:
- He has trouble with his bowels.
- bowel cancer/cancer of the bowel
move your bowels
(said especially by doctors and nurses) to excrete (= pass from the body) the solid waste that is contained in the bowels:
- The patient had complained of general abdominal pain and difficulty moving her bowels for the past four days.
retreat - verb /rɪˈtriːt/
retreat verb (POSITION)
to go away from a place or person in order to escape from fighting or danger:
- Attacks by enemy aircraft forced the tanks to retreat (from the city).
- When she came towards me shouting, I retreated (behind my desk).
to go to a quiet safe place in order to avoid a difficult situation:
- When he’s done something wrong, he retreats to his bedroom.
retreat verb (DECISION)
to decide not to do something, or to stop believing something, because it causes too many problems:
- The government is retreating from its promises.
FINANCE, STOCK MARKET
to become lower in value or amount, especially after getting higher:
- Wheat prices retreated after a two-day increase.
- By the end of business, the dollar had retreated by a full percentage point against the euro.
retreat to sth
- Share prices retreated 28p to 721p.
-
retreat from sth
- Other high-tech stocks retreated from strong gains earlier in the week.
tamper - verb /ˈtæm.pɚ/
to touch or make changes to something that you should not, usually without enough knowledge of how it works or when you are trying to damage it:
- I could see immediately that the lock had been tampered with.
- Tampering with pipelines could result in ruptures or fires.
to speak to and try to influence someone involved in a legal case:
- She is charged with official misconduct and tampering with witnesses.
- A previous trial was stopped owing to fears of someone tampering with the jury.
tamper | BUSINESS ENGLISH
to touch or make changes to something when you should not, especially when this is illegal:
tamper with sth
- They pleaded guilty to tampering with a government record.
- There were not many employees who had the opportunity and capability of tampering with the products.
- The team is doing very well so I resisted the temptation to tamper too much.
deteriorate - verb [ I ]
/dɪˈtɪr.i.ə.reɪt/
ухудшаться, портиться, вырождаться
to become worse:
- She was taken into hospital last week when her condition suddenly deteriorated.
- The political situation in the region has deteriorated rapidly.
deteriorate | BUSINESS ENGLISH
to become worse:
- If the economy continues to deteriorate, it will affect the firm’s future performance.
- Sales will decrease as economic conditions deteriorate.
- Working conditions in the industry continue to deteriorate.
- deteriorate rapidly/sharply/significantly
- deteriorate steadily/slowly/gradually
safety net - noun [ C ]
safety net noun [C] (NET)
a net put below people performing at a great height to catch them if they fall
safety net noun [C] (HELP)
a system to help those who have serious problems and no other form of help:
- The welfare system was set up to provide a safety net for the poor.
safety net | BUSINESS ENGLISH
a system or plan for helping people, companies, etc. that are having problems, especially financial problems:
- The ability to declare bankruptcy is one of the oldest safety nets that the government provides working people.
- The state set up a safety net for those who can’t afford health insurance.
- social/financial safety net In the old days, when there was no adequate social safety net, parents regarded having a son as making an investment for their old age.
- a welfare/health/government safety net
wake-up call - noun [ C ]
/ˈweɪk.ʌp ˌkɑːl/
If something that happens is a wake-up call, it should make you realize that you need to take action to change a situation:
- For the insurance industry, these floods were a wake-up call.
a phone call that you arrange to be made, for example in a hotel, to wake you up at a certain time
wake-up call | BUSINESS ENGLISH
if something is a wake-up call, it makes you realize that you need to change the way you do something, to avoid a problem in the future:
- The 30% drop in annual profits served as a real wake-up call for high-street retailers.
