phone 9

Question 1

oration

Answer 1

a formal public speech about a serious subject

Question 2

Stringent

Answer 2

having a very severe effect, or being extremely limiting:
The most stringent laws in the world are useless unless there is the will to enforce them.
We need to introduce more stringent security measures such as identity cards.
Stringent safety regulations were introduced after the accident.

Question 3

audacious

Answer 3

showing a willingness to take risks or offend people:
He described the plan as ambitious and audacious.
an audacious remark/suggestion

Question 4

auspicious

Answer 4

suggesting a positive and successful future:
They won their first match of the season 5–1 which was an auspicious start/beginning.
Our first meeting was not auspicious - we had a huge argument.

Question 5

exquisite

Answer 5

C2
very beautiful and delicate:
an exquisite piece of china
Look at this exquisite painting.
She has exquisite taste.
a vase of exquisite workmanship

Question 6

entail

Answer 6

to make something necessary, or to involve something:
Such a large investment inevitably entails some risk.
[ + -ing verb ] Repairing the roof will entail spending a lot of money.

Question 7

galvanize

Answer 7

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.
galvanize someone into action The prospect of his mother coming to stay galvanized him into action and he started cleaning the house

Question 8

futile

Answer 8

(of actions) having no effect or achieving nothing:
Attempts to get supplies to the region are futile because troops will not allow the aid convoy to enter the city.
It’s completely futile trying to reason with him - he just won’t listen.
prove futile All my attempts to cheer her up proved futile.

Question 9

nautical

Answer 9

relating to ships, sailing, or sailors:
nautical equipment
You’re looking very nautical in your navy blue sweater.

Question 10

bypass

Answer 10

to avoid something by going around it:
We took the road that bypasses the town.
The oil pipeline bypasses the protected wilderness area.

to ignore a rule or official authority:
They bypassed the committee and went straight to senior management.

Question 11

slam

Answer 11

to (cause to) move against a hard surface with force and usually a loud noise:
The wind made the door/window slam (shut).
Close the door carefully, don’t slam it.
He slammed the brakes on (= used them quickly and with force) when a child ran in front of his car.
I had to stop suddenly, and the car behind me slammed into the back of me

a sudden loud noise:
The door shut with a slam.

Question 12

stamina

Answer 12

the physical and/or mental strength to do something that might be difficult and will take a long time:
The triathlon is a great test of stamina.

Question 13

crusade

Answer 13

a long and determined attempt to achieve something that you believe in strongly:

They have long been involved in a crusade for racial equality.

a moral crusade against drugs

Question 14

elusive

Answer 14

difficult to describe, find, achieve, or remember:
The answers to these questions remain as elusive as ever.
Success, however, remained elusive for her.
elusive memories

Question 15

salvation

Answer 15

(a way of) being saved from danger, loss, or harm:
After the diagnosis, getting to know Mary was his salvation.
a marriage beyond salvation

Question 16

uncanny

Answer 16

strange or mysterious, often in a way that is slightly frightening:
It was uncanny the way that she always knew what he was thinking.
She bears an uncanny resemblance to her father’s best friend.

Question 17

regent

Answer 17

a person who rules a country for a limited period, because the king or queen is absent or too young, too ill, etc.

Question 18

sermon

Answer 18

a part of a Christian church ceremony in which a priest gives a talk on a religious or moral subject, often based on something written in the Bible:

The Reverend William Cronshaw delivered/preached the sermon.
Today’s sermon was on the importance of compassion.

2) to give a long talk to people, telling them how they should behave in order to be better people:
My grandmother’s all right until she starts sermonizing and then she’s unbearable.

Question 19

quake

Answer 19

to shake because you are very frightened or find something very funny, or to feel or show great fear:
Every time I get on a plane, I quake with fear.
The play was so funny, we were all quaking with laughter.
His entire body quaked when he stood up in front of the judge.

Question 20

expedient

Answer 20

helpful or useful in a particular situation, but sometimes not morally acceptable:
It might be expedient not to pay him until the work is finished.
The management has taken a series of expedient measures to improve the company’s financial situation.

Question 21

wretched

Answer 21

C2
unpleasant or of low quality:
a wretched childhood
The people live in wretched conditions, with no running water.

Question 22

stray

Answer 22

to travel along a route that was not originally intended, or to move outside a limited area:
A herd of cattle had strayed into the road.
They got lost when they strayed too far from the path.
The ship strayed off course during the storm.

to start thinking or talking about a different subject from the one you should be giving attention to:

I think we’ve strayed too far from our original plan.
Sorry - I’ve strayed from the subject.

Question 23

chastisement

Answer 23

a severe criticism or punishment:
His bad behaviour invited chastisement.
The scolding was a rare public chastisement by the committee.

Question 24

extrapolate

Answer 24

to guess or think about what might happen using information that is already known:
extrapolate something from something You can’t really extrapolate a trend from such a small sample.

Question 25

arcane

Answer 25

mysterious and known only by a few people:
He was the only person who understood all the arcane details of the agreement.
This argument may seem arcane to those not closely involved in the world of finance.

Question 26

raze

Answer 26

to completely destroy a city, building, etc.:
The town was razed to the ground in the bombing raid - not a building was left standing.

Question 27

reconfigure

Answer 27

to arrange or put together something in a new or different way:
The architect said they could reconfigure the track to have eight sprint lanes instead of six.
One of the boat’s engines is actually a reconfigured aircraft engine.
Schools may need to be re-configured, with junior schools adding more classrooms.

Question 28

austere

Answer 28

very simple, with only the things that are absolutely necessary, especially because of severe limits on money or goods:
an austere childhood during the war

Question 29

whisk

Answer 29

to take something or someone somewhere else suddenly and quickly:
Our coffees were whisked away before we’d even finished them.
We only had half an hour to see her before she was whisked off to some exotic location.
Her husband whisked her off to Egypt for her birthday.

Question 29

precipitate

Answer 29

to make something happen suddenly or sooner than expected:
An invasion would certainly precipitate a political crisis.
Fear of losing her job precipitated (= suddenly forced) her into action.

Question 29

impute

Answer 29

to say that someone is responsible for something that has happened, especially something bad, or that something is the cause of something else:
For purposes of the company’s violations, the conduct of its officials and employees may be imputed to the firm.

to calculate something when you do not have exact information, by comparing it to something similar:
imputed costs/data/income
The Treasury imputes a notional income from such interest-free loans of 8% a year.

Question 29

copious

Answer 29

in large amounts, or more than enough:
They drank copious amounts of wine.
He took copious notes during the lecture.

Question 30

demarcate

Answer 30

to show the limits of something:
Parking spaces are demarcated by white lines.
Responsibilities within the department are clearly demarcated.

Question 31

fluid

Answer 31

C2
a substance that flows and is not solid:
If you have a fever you should drink plenty of fluids.
power steering fluid
bodily fluid The virus is contracted through exchange of bodily fluids (= liquids, such as blood, that come from the human body).

2. smooth and continuous:
   fluid movements
   His piano playing was beautifully fluid, adding grace to every song he played.
3. If situations, ideas, or plans are fluid, they are not fixed and are likely to change, often repeatedly and unexpectedly:
   The military situation is still very fluid.
   For travellers whose plans are more fluid, try looking for flights on a different day.

4, not solid, and flowing easily:
It might be made of a soft or fluid substance.
The image can reveal whether any lumps found are fluid or solid.

Question 32

obscurity

Answer 32

the state of not being known to many people:
He was briefly famous in his twenties but then sank into obscurity.
He rose from relative obscurity to worldwide recognition.

Question 33

impromptu

Answer 33

done or said without earlier planning or preparation:
an impromptu party/performance

Question 34

pulp

Answer 34

a soft, wet mass:
Mash the bananas to a pulp and then mix in the yogurt.

a mixture of old paper, plant fibres, and wood mixed with water until they form a soft wet mass, used for making paper:
wood pulp
a pulp mill

Question 35

mill around

Answer 35

If a group of people mill around, they move around with no particular purpose or in no particular direction, sometimes while waiting for someone:
In the square, people were milling around in the sunshine.

Question 36

burst

Answer 36

verb. If a river bursts its banks, the water rises and goes on to the land. Monsoons caused the river to burst its banks. [ VERB noun] 4.

Question 37

mound

Answer 37

a large pile of earth, stones, etc. like a small hill:
a burial mound (= a place where people were buried in ancient times)

a large pile of something:
a mound of potatoes/papers

Question 38

shed

Answer 38

small building, usually made of wood, used for storing things:
a tool/storage shed
UK a garden/bicycle shed

2. (often used in newspapers) to get rid of something you do not need or want:
   900 jobs will be shed over the next few months.
   Psychotherapy helped him to shed some of his insecurity/inhibitions.
   I’m going on a diet to see if I can shed (= become thinner by losing) a few pounds.
3. to lose a covering, such as leaves, hair, or skin, because it falls off naturally, or to drop something in a natural way or by accident:
   shed its leaves The trees shed their leaves in autumn.
   They ran down to the water, shedding clothes as they went.
   UK A lorry had shed a load of gravel across the road.

4, C1
to allow tears or blood to flow:
She shed a few tears at her daughter’s wedding.

Question 38

moult

Answer 38

(of a bird or animal) to lose feathers, skin, or hair as a natural process at a particular time of year so that new feathers, skin, or hair can grow

Question 38

stilt

Answer 38

one of a set of long pieces of wood or metal used to support a building so that it is above the ground or above water:
The houses are built on stilts to protect them from the annual floods.

one of two long pieces of wood with supports for the feet that allow you to stand and walk high above the ground:
to walk on stilts

Question 39

abstruse

Answer 39

not known or understood by many people:
an abstruse philosophical essay

Question 40

pull the threads

Answer 40

Sasha started to pull the threads behind her family story.

Question 41

pull the strings

Answer 41

to be in control of an organization, often secretly:
I want to know who’s pulling the strings around here.

Question 42

docile

Answer 42

quiet and easy to influence, persuade, or control:
The once docile population has finally risen up against the ruthless regime.

Question 43

blot

Answer 43

a small area of ink made by mistake:
an ink blot

2. to dry a wet surface, or writing done in ink, by pressing something soft against it:
   I signed my name and blotted the paper.
   She put on her lipstick and then carefully blotted her lips with a tissue.

Question 44

scarlet

Answer 44

bright red:
scarlet berries
He went scarlet with shame.

Question 45

emblematic

Answer 45

representing a particular person, group, or idea:
emblematic of A sword is emblematic of power gained by violence.