unit 3 headway upper intermediate Flashcards
to be sacked
verb [transitive]
1 British English informal to dismiss someone from their job SYN fire
They couldn’t sack me – I’d done nothing wrong.
sack somebody from something
He was sacked from every other job he had.
sack somebody for (doing) something
He was sacked for being drunk.
Register
In written and formal British English, people often prefer to use dismiss rather than sack:
People can be dismissed for misusing the Internet at work.
2 to knock down the quarterback in American football
3 if soldiers sack a place, they go through it destroying or stealing things and attacking people
dawn
/dɔːn $ dɒːn/ ●●○ noun [countable, uncountable]
1 the time at the beginning of the day when light first appears SYN daybreak, → dusk
at dawn
The boats set off at dawn.
When dawn broke (=the first light of the day appeared), we were still 50 miles from Calcutta.
I was up at the crack of dawn (=very early in the morning) to get the plane.
We worked from dawn to dusk (=through the whole day while it is light).
the cold light of dawn
towed away
/təʊ $ toʊ/ ●○○ verb [transitive]
to pull a vehicle or ship along behind another vehicle, using a rope or chain
The ship had to be towed into the harbor.
tow something away
Our car had been towed away.
in tow
informal following closely behind someone or something
Hannah arrived with her four kids in tow.
He turned up at my office with two lawyers in tow.
moved to tears
EMOTION [transitive] to make someone feel strong emotions, especially of sadness or sympathy
be deeply/genuinely/profoundly moved
Russell was deeply moved by what he heard.
His speech moved the audience to tears.
thriller
/ˈθrɪlə $ -ər/ ●●○ noun [countable]
a book or film that tells an exciting story about murder or crime
page turner
Londoners
double decker bus
giving news
did you hear about?
the incredible thing was that
apparently
anyway, in the end
it says here that
what happened was
asking for more information
how did it happen
did he die?
who called the police
then what happened
where did this happen
reacting to news
really?
that;s amazing
you’re kidding
I don;t believe it
that’s such a shame
prolific writer
/prəˈlɪfɪk/ adjective
1 a prolific artist, writer etc produces many works of art, books etc
Handel’s prolific output of opera
2 a prolific sports player produces a lot of runs, goals etc
the most prolific goalscorer this decade
3 an animal or plant that is prolific produces many babies or many other plants
4 existing in large numbers
the prolific bird life
her novels had been adapted for
/əˈdɒpt $ əˈdɑːpt/
under the pen name
a name used by a writer instead of their real name SYN pseudonym, nom de plume
suspense at its best
suspense novel/story/movie etc (=one which is exciting because you do not know what will happen next)
best inventors of plots
the events that form the main story of a book, film, or play
The plot was a little confusing.
We discover that Jack isn’t as innocent as he seems, as the plot unfolds (=gradually becomes clearer).
unexpected twists
to change the true or intended meaning of a statement, especially in order to get some advantage for yourself
He’s always trying to twist my words and make me look bad.
spine-chilling
a spine-chilling story or film is very frightening in a way that people enjoy► see thesaurus at frightening
—spine-chiller noun [countable]
page-turner
agriculture department
/ˈæɡrɪˌkʌltʃə $ -ər/ ●●○ W2 noun [uncountable]
the practice or science of farming
More than 75% of the land is used for agriculture.
—agricultural /ˌæɡrɪˈkʌltʃərəl◂/ adjective
agricultural land
agricultural labourers
—agriculturalist noun [countable]
clinging woman
/klɪŋ/ ●●○ verb (past tense and past participle clung /klʌŋ/) [intransitive]
1 [always + adverb/preposition] to hold someone or something tightly, especially because you do not feel safe
cling to/on/at etc
He wailed and clung to his mother.
beehives
civil war broke out
if something unpleasant such as a fire, fight, or war breaks out, it starts to happen
I was still living in London when the war broke out.
Does everyone know what to do if a fire breaks out?
Fighting broke out between demonstrators and the police.
→ outbreak
2 to escape from a prison
of
Three men have broken out of a top-security jail.
→ breakout
3 to change the way you live because you feel bored
of
She felt the need to break out of her daily routine.
4 break out in spots/a rash/a sweat etc if you break out in spots etc, they appear on your skin
I broke out in a painful rash.
My whole body broke out in a sweat.
set up a company
to start a company, organization, committee etc SYN establish
set something ↔ up
They want to set up their own import–export business.
new regulations for setting up political parties
set (yourself) up (as something) (=start your own business)
John decided to set up as a graphic designer.
set up shop/set up in business (=begin operating a business)
Now Betterware plans to set up shop elsewhere in Europe.
squeaky
/ˈskwiːki/ adjective
1 making very high noises that are not loud
a squeaky voice
squeaky floorboards
never having done anything morally wrong
politicians who are less than squeaky clean
b) completely clean
squeaky clean hair
this has since become
out of recycled wood
launch the project
