Lesson 41 Flashcards
excerpt - noun /ˈek.sɝːpt/ excerpt - verb mainly US
a short part taken from a speech, book, film, etc.:
- An excerpt from her new thriller will appear in this weekend’s magazine.
to take a small part from a speech, book, film, etc. in order to publish it separately:
- This passage has been excerpted from her latest novel.
- Here I excerpt from a list of recommendations given to me by a former boss.
galvanize - verb
/ˈɡæl.və.naɪz/
to cause someone to suddenly take action, especially by shocking or exciting them in some way:
- Western charities were galvanized by TV pictures of starving people.
- The prospect of his mother coming to stay galvanized him into action and he started cleaning the house.
substantial - adjective
/səbˈstæn.ʃəl/
large in size, value, or importance:
- The findings show a substantial difference between the opinions of men and women.
- She inherited a substantial fortune from her grandmother.
- The first draft of his novel needed a substantial amount of rewriting.
substantial adjective (GENERAL)
[ before noun ] formal
relating to the main or most important things being considered:
- The committee was in substantial agreement (= agreed about most of the things discussed).
substantial | BUSINESS ENGLISH
large in size, value, or importance:
- substantial benefits/costs/investment
- a substantial amount/number/portion of sth
- Banks make a substantial amount of money investing your money.
- substantial changes/differences/improvements
- We’ve made substantial changes in how we go about doing our business.
- a substantial increase/reduction/rise in sth
- The company posted a substantial increase in profits during the year to £3.5m.
tipping point - noun
/ˈtɪp.ɪŋ ˌpɔɪnt/
the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped:
- The earth has already passed the tipping point in terms of global warming.
tipping point | BUSINESS ENGLISH
a time during an activity or process when an important decision has to be made or when a situation changes completely:
a tipping point in sth
- Many developed countries are getting close to a tipping point in their attitude to the environment.
be at a tipping point
- Employers could find themselves at a tipping point, where so few employees participate in their health-care plans it threatens their ability to obtain group coverage.
reach/approach/near a tipping point
- Employee anger over pay violations in the restaurant industry may have reached a tipping point.
whittle something down
phrasal verb with whittle
/ˈwɪt̬.əl/
сточить, сократить, уменьшить
to gradually reduce the size of something or the number of people in a group:
- We had 80 applicants for the job, but we’ve whittled them down to six.
whittle away at something
phrasal verb with whittle
/ˈwɪt̬.əl/
to gradually reduce the size or importance of something:
- These measures will whittle away at the budget deficit.
impend - verb /ɪmˈpend/
приближаться, нависать, угрожать, висеть над
If an event impends, usually an event that is unpleasant or unwanted, it is going to happen soon:
- A crisis of huge proportions impends in the area.
get wind of something
idiom
стать известным, распространяться
to hear a piece of information that someone else was trying to keep secret:
- I don’t want my colleagues to get wind of the fact that I’m leaving.
- We have a crisis on our hands and don’t want the press to get wind of it.
bargain - noun /ˈbɑːr.ɡɪn/
сделка, торг, выгодная покупка
bargain noun [C] (LOW PRICE)
something on sale at a lower price than its true value:
- This coat was half-price - a real bargain.
- The airline regularly offers last-minute bookings at bargain prices.
- The sales had started and the bargain hunters (= people looking for things at a low price) were out in force.
bargain noun [C] (AGREEMENT)
an agreement between two people or groups in which each promises to do something in exchange for something else:
- “I’ll clean the kitchen if you clean the car.” “OK, it’s a bargain.”
- The management and employees eventually struck/made a bargain (= reached an agreement).
bargain | BUSINESS ENGLISH
something that is on sale at a lower price than usual:
- The airline regularly offers last-minute bookings at bargain prices.
an agreement between two people or groups in which each promises to do something in exchange for something else:
strike/make a bargain
- The management and employees eventually struck a bargain.
a situation in which two or more people agree on a price that something is sold at:
strike a bargain
- They felt that the offer was too low but after some negotiation they eventually struck a bargain.
intricate- adjective
/ˈɪn.trə.kət/
сложный, замысловатый, запутанный
having a lot of small parts that are arranged in a complicated or delicate way:
- The watch mechanism is extremely intricate and very difficult to repair.
- The tiled floor is installed in an intricate pattern.
with many complicated details that make something difficult to understand:
- Police officers uncovered an intricate web of deceit.
obedient- adjective
/oʊˈbiː.di.ənt/
покорный, послушный
doing, or willing to do, what you have been told to do by someone in authority:
- Students are expected to be quiet and obedient in the classroom.
- an obedient dog
outlandish
adjective disapproving
/ˌaʊtˈlæn.dɪʃ/
нелепый, чудной, странный
strange and unusual and difficult to accept or like:
- an outlandish hairstyle/outfit
assault - noun /əˈsɑːlt/
нападение, штурм, атака, насилие
a violent attack:
- He was charged with sexual assault.
- an assault on a police officer
- They launched an assault on the capital yesterday.
a determined or serious attempt to do something difficult:
- Women’s groups have demanded a nationwide assault on sexism in the workplace.
- She died heroically during an assault on the world’s second-highest mountain.
divulge - verb
/daɪˈvʌldʒ/ /dɪˈvʌldʒ/
to make something secret known:
- Journalists do not divulge their sources.
- [ + question word ] The CEO refused to divulge how much she earned.
contradict - verb
/ˌkɑːn.trəˈdɪkt/
(of people) to say the opposite of what someone else has said, or (of one fact or statement) to be so different from another fact or statement that one of them must be wrong:
- If you’re both going to lie, at least stick to the same story and don’t contradict each other!
- He kept contradicting himself when we were arguing - I think he was a bit confused.
- How dare you contradict (me)!
- Recent evidence has contradicted established theories on this subject.
