PD_26/07/20(RC : 54-84 ; 5lb)

Question 1

consensus

Answer 1

SINGULAR NOUN
A consensus is general agreement among a group of people.
The consensus amongst scientists is that the world will warm up over the next few decades. [+ amongst]
The question of when the troops should leave would be decided by consensus.
Synonyms: agreement, general agreement, unanimity, common consent

Question 2

Parthenon

Answer 2

NOUN
the temple on the Acropolis in Athens built in the 5th century bc and regarded as the finest example of the Greek Doric order

Question 3

frieze

Answer 3

COUNTABLE NOUN
A frieze is a decoration high up on the walls of a room or just under the roof of a building. It consists of a long panel of carving or a long strip of paper with a picture or pattern on it.

Question 4

thematic

Answer 4

ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Thematic means concerned with the subject or theme of something, or with themes and topics in general.
[formal]
…assembling this material into thematic groups.
…the whole thematic approach to learning.

Question 5

coherent

adjective

Answer 5

If an argument, set of ideas, or a plan is coherent, it is clear and carefully considered, and each part of it connects or follows in a natural or reasonable wa

Question 6

aquatic

Answer 6

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
An aquatic animal or plant lives or grows on or in water.
The pond is quite small but can support many aquatic plants and fish. 
...aquatic birds. 
2. ADJECTIVE
Aquatic means relating to water.
...aquatic consultant Ben Tucker. 
...our aquatic resources.

Question 7

littoral

Answer 7

COUNTABLE NOUN [usually singular, NOUN noun]
In geography, the littoral means the coast.
[technical]
…the countries of the north African littoral.
…the littoral countries of the Persian Gulf.

Question 8

arboreal

Answer 8

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Arboreal animals live in trees.
[technical]
...arboreal marsupials which resemble monkeys. 
2. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Arboreal means relating to trees.
[formal]
...the arboreal splendor of the valley.

Question 9

bipedalism

Answer 9

the condition or state of having two feet

Question 10

impetus

Answer 10

VARIABLE NOUN
Something that gives a process impetus or an impetus makes it happen or progress more quickly.
This decision will give renewed impetus to the economic regeneration of east London.
She was restless and needed a new impetus for her talent.
Synonyms: incentive, push, spur, motivation

Question 11

depletion

noun [ S or U ]

Answer 11

a reduction in something:
the depletion of the ozone layer
Increased expenditure has caused a depletion in our capital/funds.

Question 12

skepticism

Answer 12

UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
Scepticism is great doubt about whether something is true or useful.
There is considerable scepticism about climate change.
The report has inevitably been greeted with scepticism.
Synonyms: doubt, suspicion, disbelief, cynicism

Question 13

reverberation

Answer 13

1. COUNTABLE NOUN [usually plural]
   Reverberations are serious effects that follow a sudden, dramatic event.
   The move by these two colleges is sending reverberations through higher education.
2. VARIABLE NOUN
   A reverberation is the shaking and echoing effect that you hear after a loud sound has been made.
   Jason heard the reverberation of the slammed door. [+ of]
   Synonyms: echo, ringing, resonance, resounding

Question 14

cathedral

noun [ C ]

Answer 14

a very large, usually stone, building for Christian worship. It is the largest and most important church of a diocese:
Salisbury Cathedral

Question 15

burst

Answer 15

1. VERB
   If something bursts or if you burst it, it suddenly breaks open or splits open and the air or other substance inside it comes out.
   The driver lost control when a tyre burst. [VERB]
   It is not a good idea to burst a blister. [VERB noun]
   …a flood caused by a burst pipe. [VERB-ed]
   Synonyms: explode, blow up, break, split
2. COUNTABLE NOUN
   A burst of something is a sudden short period of it.
   …a burst of machine-gun fire. [+ of]
   It is easier to cope with short bursts of activity than with prolonged exercise.
   The current flows in little bursts.
   Synonyms: explosion, crack, blast, blasting
3. VERB
   If you say that someone is about to burst with pride, anger, or another emotion, you are emphasizing the intensity of the emotion they are feeling.
   [written, emphasis]
   He almost burst with pride when his son John began to excel at football. [VERB with noun]
   He thought his heart would burst with grief.

Question 16

proximity

Answer 16

UNCOUNTABLE NOUN [oft in NOUN]
Proximity to a place or person is nearness to that place or person.
[formal]
Part of the attraction is Darwin’s proximity to Asia. [+ to]
He became aware of the proximity of the Afghans.
Families are no longer in close proximity to each other. [+ to]
[Also + of]
Synonyms: nearness, closeness, vicinity, neighbourhood

Question 17

quack

verb [ I ]

Answer 17

to make the usual sound of a duck:হাতুড়ে ডাক্তার

The ducks started quacking loudly when we threw them some bread.

Question 18

insofar as

Answer 18

PHRASE
You use insofar as to introduce a statement which explains and adds to something you have just said.
[formal]
Looking back helps insofar as it helps you learn from your mistakes.

Question 19

repressive

adjective

Answer 19

controlling what people do, especially by using force:
a repressive military regime

ADJECTIVE
A repressive government is one that restricts people’s freedom and controls them by using force.
[disapproval]
The military regime in power was unpopular and repressive.
Synonyms: oppressive, tough, severe, absolute More Synonyms of repressive
repressively ADVERB [ADVERB with verb]
…the country, which had been repressively ruled for ten years.

Question 20

partisanship

Answer 20

UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
Partisanship is support for a person or group without fair consideration of the facts and circumstances.
His politics were based on loyal partisanship.
Synonyms: favouritism, prejudice, bias, sectarianism

Question 21

backdrop

noun

Answer 21

the view behind something:

The mountains form a dramatic backdrop to the little village.

Question 22

bourgeois

Answer 22

ADJECTIVE
If you describe people, their way of life, or their attitudes as bourgeois, you disapprove of them because you consider them typical of conventional middle-class people.
[disapproval]
He’s accusing them of having a bourgeois and limited vision.

Question 23

heliocentric

adjective ENVIRONMENT, PHYSICS specialized

Answer 23

having the sun at the centre , with the Earth and other planets moving around it, or based on the idea that this is what the universe is like:
This was finally the first observable evidence of a heliocentric universe.
Copernicus first proposed a heliocentric model of the solar system.

Question 24

ad hoc

Answer 24

ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
An ad hoc activity or organization is done or formed only because a situation has made it necessary and is not planned in advance.
The Council meets on an ad hoc basis to discuss problems.
…ad hoc committees to examine specific problems.
Synonyms: makeshift, emergency, improvised, impromptu

Question 25

underlying

Answer 25

1. ADJECTIVE [ADJECTIVE noun]
   The underlying features of an object, event, or situation are not obvious, and it may be difficult to discover or reveal them.
   To stop a problem you have to understand its underlying causes.
   …underlying health conditions.
   I think that the underlying problem is education, unemployment and bad housing.
   Synonyms: fundamental, basic, essential, root
2. ADJECTIVE [ADJECTIVE noun]
   You describe something as underlying when it is below the surface of something else.
   …hills with the hard underlying rock poking through the turf.
   Cars were covered with clear-coat finish to protect the underlying paint from fading.
   Synonyms: hidden, concealed, lurking, veiled

Question 26

revolve

Answer 26

1. VERB
   If you say that one thing revolves around another thing, you mean that the second thing is the main feature or focus of the first thing.
   Since childhood, her life has revolved around tennis. [V + around]
   This plot revolves around a youngster who is shown various stages of his life. [V around n]
   Synonyms: be concerned with, focus on, concentrate on, hang on

Question 27

yield

Answer 27

1. VERB
   If you yield to someone or something, you stop resisting them.
   [formal]
   Will she yield to growing pressure for her to retire? [VERB + to]
   I yielded to an impulse. [VERB to noun]
   Men of courage faced down injustice and refused to yield. [VERB]
2. VERB
   If you yield something that you have control of or responsibility for, you allow someone else to have control or responsibility for it.
   [formal]
   He may yield control. [VERB noun]
   The Director is now under pressure to yield power to the shareholders. [VERB noun to noun]
   Synonyms: relinquish, resign, hand over, surrender More Synonyms of yield
   Yield up means the same as yield.
   He yielded up the prime ministership last summer. [VERB PARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
3. VERB
   If one thing yields to another thing, it is replaced by this other thing.
   [formal]
   Boston’s traditional drab brick was slow to yield to the modern glass palaces of so many American urban areas. [VERB to noun]
4. VERB
   If a moving person or a vehicle yields, they slow down or stop in order to allow other people or vehicles to pass in front of them.
   [US]
   When entering a trail or starting a descent, yield to other skiers. [VERB + to]
   …examples of common signs like No Smoking or Yield. [VERB]
5. VERB
   If something yields, it breaks or moves position because force or pressure has been put on it.
   The door yielded easily when he pushed it. [VERB]
6. VERB
   If an area of land yields a particular amount of a crop, this is the amount that is produced. You can also say that a number of animals yield a particular amount of meat.
   Last year 400,000 acres of land yielded a crop worth $1.75 billion. [VERB noun]
   Synonyms: produce, give, provide, pay More Synonyms of yield
   Yield up means the same as yield.
   The shallow sea bed yields up an abundance of food. [VERB PARTICLE noun (not pronoun)]
7. COUNTABLE NOUN
   A yield is the amount of food produced on an area of land or by a number of animals.
   …improving the yield of the crop.
   Polluted water lessens crop yields.
   Synonyms: produce, crop, harvest, output More Synonyms of yield
8. VERB
   If a tax or investment yields an amount of money or profit, this money or profit is obtained from it.
   [business]
   It yielded a profit of at least $36 million. [VERB noun]
9. COUNTABLE NOUN
   A yield is the amount of money or profit produced by an investment.
   [business]
   …a yield of 4%.
   The high yields available on the dividend shares made them attractive to private investors. [+ on]
   …the yield on a bank’s investments. [+ on]
   Synonyms: profit, return, income, revenue More Synonyms of yield
10. VERB
    If something yields a result or piece of information, it produces it.
    This research has yielded a great number of positive results. [VERB noun]
    His trip to Melbourne had yielded a lot of information. [VERB noun]

Question 28

peer

Answer 28

1. VERB
   If you peer at something, you look at it very hard, usually because it is difficult to see clearly.
   I had been peering at a computer print-out that made no sense at all. [VERB preposition]
   He watched the Customs official peer into the driver’s window. [VERB preposition]
2. COUNTABLE NOUN
   In Britain, a peer is a member of the nobility who has or had the right to vote in the House of Lords.
   Lord Swan was made a life peer in 1981.
   Synonyms: noble, lord, count, duke More Synonyms of peer
3. COUNTABLE NOUN [usually plural]
   Your peers are the people who are the same age as you or who have the same status as you.
   …children who are much cleverer than their peers.
   His engaging personality made him popular with his peers.
   Synonyms: equal, like, match, fellow [old-fashioned]

Question 29

salient

Answer 29

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
   The salient points or facts of a situation are the most important ones.
   [formal]
   He read the salient facts quickly.
   Chronic fatigue is also one of the salient features of depression.
   Synonyms: prominent, outstanding, important, marked
2. COUNTABLE NOUN [usually singular]
   A salient is a narrow area where an army has pushed its front line forward into enemy territory.
   [military]
   The soldiers had to remain in a deathtrap salient for most of the rest of the war.

Question 30

hitherto

adverb formal

Answer 30

until now or until a particular time:

Mira revealed hitherto unsuspected talents on the dance floor.

Question 31

stark

Answer 31

2. ADJECTIVE
   If two things are in stark contrast to one another, they are very different from each other in a way that is very obvious.
   …secret cooperation between London and Washington that was in stark contrast to official policy.
3. ADJECTIVE
   Something that is stark is very plain in appearance.
   …the stark white, characterless fireplace in the drawing room.
   Synonyms: austere, severe, plain, bare
4. ADJECTIVE
   Stark choices or statements are harsh and unpleasant.
   U.K. companies face a stark choice if they want to stay competitive.
   The conviction should send out a stark warning to other motorists.
   starkly ADVERB [ADVERB with verb, ADVERB adjective]
   That issue is presented starkly and brutally.
   The point is a starkly simple one.

Question 32

in lockstep

Answer 32

PHRASE [after v; oft PHR with n]
If people or things move in lockstep, or if they move in lockstep with each other, they act in a similar way.
[mainly US]
After years of moving in lockstep, France and Germany are growing apart at an alarming rate.
In the end, the 1987 collapse suggested, the economy doesn’t move in lockstep with stock prices.

Question 33

chill

Answer 33

1. VERB
   When you chill something or when it chills, you lower its temperature so that it becomes colder but does not freeze.
   Chill the fruit salad until serving time. [VERB noun]
   These doughs can be rolled out while you wait for the pastry to chill. [VERB]
   …a glass of chilled champagne. [VERB-ed]
   Synonyms: cool, refrigerate, freeze

PHRASAL VERB
To chill out means to relax after you have done something tiring or stressful.
[informal]
After raves, we used to chill out in each other’s bedrooms. [VERB PARTICLE]

Question 34

swirl

Answer 34

VERB
If you swirl something liquid or flowing, or if it swirls, it moves round and round quickly.
She smiled, swirling the drink in her glass. [VERB noun]
The black water swirled around his legs, reaching almost to his knees. [VERB preposition/adverb]
She swirled the ice-cold liquid around her mouth. [VERB noun preposition]
…Carmen with her swirling gypsy skirts. [VERB-ing]
[Also V n with adv, V]
Synonyms: whirl, churn, spin, twist

Question 35

one-of-a-kind

Answer 35

PHRASE
If you refer to someone or something as one of a kind, you mean that there is nobody or nothing else like them.
[approval]