TED 1 Flashcards
bureau
/ ˈbjʊərəʊ $ ˈbjʊroʊ / noun ( plural bureaus or bureaux / -rəʊz $ -roʊz / )
1 an office or organization that collects or provides information :
an employment bureau
»> the Citizens Advice Bureau
2 an office of a company or organization that has its main office somewhere else :
»> the London bureau of the Washington Post
———-
to reduce foreign bureaus by half.
to form a particular amount or part of something
account for something
> > > ## Afro-Americans account for 12% of the US population.The U.S. accounted for 79 percent of total news coverage.
SYN explain
to be the reason why something happens
account for something
> > > Recent pressure at work may account for his behavior.
Can you account for your movements on that night?
The … coverage of Russia and China … just 1 percent.
combined
reached
a situation in which something becomes less important
to make another person or thing seem much less important, good, or famous:
eclipse [n-v]
> > > The economy had eclipsed the environment as an election issue.
The economy has eclipsed all other issues during this election campaign.
——
> > > The eclipse of the ruling political party was inevitable.
> > > His remarkable contribution to literature has been too long in eclipse.
loom large
/ luːm /
to seem important, worrying, and difficult to avoid
»> Fear of failure loomed large in his mind.
——-
Britney has loomed pretty large lately.
if a problem or difficulty …s, it is likely to happen very soon
loom / luːm /
|»_space;> An economic crisis is looming on the horizon .
This channels only ….s 12 percent of its … to international news.
This channels only dedicates 12 percent of its coverage to international news.
someone or something that has the same job or purpose as someone or something else in a different place
counterpart / ˈkaʊntəpɑːt $ -tərpɑːrt /
+ sb’s counterpart
»> Belgian officials are discussing this with their French counterparts.
Engineers Australia promotes sustainability – think before you print.
كار شود
used to say that someone has become unable to think clearly, especially because they are old
sb’s mind is wandering
to walk slowly across or around an area, usually without a clear direction or purpose
wander / ˈwɒndə $ ˈwɑːndər /
+ wander in/through/around etc
»> I’ll wander around the mall for half an hour.
»> She “wandered aimlessly” about the house.
»> Ana wandered off to get a drink.
»> He was found “wandering the streets” of New York.
if your mind, thoughts etc wander, you no longer pay attention to something, especially because you are bored or worried
wander / ˈwɒndə $ ˈwɑːndər /
> > > ## Mrs Snell’s mind wandered and the voices went on and on.When I was first learning to meditate, the instruction was to simply pay attention to my breath, and when my mind wandered, to bring it back.
a period of time that you spend praying or studying religion in a quiet place
retreat / rɪˈtriːt /
+ on (a) retreat
»> I spent three weeks on retreat in Scotland.
——–
»> Yet I’d sit on these silent retreats, sweating through T-shirts in the middle of winter.
to gradually fall asleep :
drift off phrasal verb
»> I was just drifting off when the phone rang.
»> He felt himself drifting off to sleep .
——
at some point, about half of us will drift off into a daydream.
to happen in a particular way, or to have a particular result, especially one that you did not expect
+ turn out well/badly/fine etc
»> It was a difficult time, but eventually things turned out all right.
»> To my surprise, “it turned out that” I was wrong.
»> As it turned out (= used to say what happened in the end ) , he passed the exam quite easily.
—–
It turns out that we’re fighting one of the most …
positive/negative reinforcement
positive reinforcement is when you give someone praise or rewards for their behaviour or work, so they want to continue doing well. Negative reinforcement is when you give someone punishments or criticism when their behaviour or work is bad, so that they want to improve to avoid punishments again :
»> We need to give students plenty of positive reinforcement .
make a difference
- To have some effect on something; to cause a change.
➡ Will it make a difference if I add the salt before or after I heat up the soup? I don’t think it will make a difference if we’re five minutes late. - To have an impact, especially in a positive way.
➡ Graduates, you can make a difference in this world. You can reshape the future!
➡ He probably doesn’t know it, but his kindness to us as kids really made a difference.
clueless
نا آگاه
/ˈkluːləs/adjective
(informal)
having no understanding or knowledge of something – used to show disapprovalclueless about
➡ Many teachers are clueless about the needs of immigrant students.
posh
/pɒʆ$pɑːʆ/adjective(informal)
1)a posh restaurant, hotel, car etc is expensive and looks as if it is used or owned by rich people
➡ a posh private school
2)(BrE)upper class
➡Her parents are terribly posh
if you are ….., you are not as good at something as you used to be, because you have not practised it for a long time
rusty
➡ My French is a bit rusty.
➡a rusty nail
➡ a new metal that will nevergo rusty
dirty:
soiled
adjective
UK/sɔɪld/US/sɔɪld/
soil
verb[T]
UK/sɔɪl/US/sɔɪl/formal
to make somethingdirty,especiallywithsolidwaste:
✔ soilednappies/underwear/sheets
smear
/smɪə$smɪr/noun[C]
Verb
to put dirty or oily marks on something
➡ smeared windows
ink/paint[I,T]
if writing, a picture, or paint smears or is smeared, the ink or paint is accidentally touched and spread across the surface
SYN smudge
➡Several words were smeared
smudge
/smʌdʒ/noun[C]
a dirty
markSYNsmear
✔ smudge of
➡ a smudge of lipstick on the cup
————
smudge2
verb
1)[I,T]if ink, writing etc smudges, or if you smudge it, it becomes dirty and unclear because it has been touched or rubbed
➡Don’t touch it! You’ll smudge the ink.
2)[T]to make a dirty mark on a surface
➡ Someone had smudged the paper with their greasy hands.
to make a short sharp noise by moving one of your fingers quickly against your thumb, for example in order to get someone’s attention or to mark the beat of music
snap your fingers
fortnight
S3/ˈfɔːtnaɪt$ˈfɔːrt-/nounC usually singulartwo weeks
➡a fortnight’s holiday
➡in a fortnight’s time
➡a fortnight ago
jolly
/ˈdʒɒli$ˈdʒɑːli/adjective(especially BrE)
1)happy and enjoying yourself
➡Everybody was in a very relaxed and jolly mood.
2)(old-fashioned)very pleasant and enjoyable➡ We had a jolly time with the family.