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CAE preparation > Words > Flashcards

Words Flashcards

1
Q

Deplete

A

[usually passive] to reduce sth by a large amount so that there is not enough left

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2
Q

Controversy (over/about/surrounding sb/sth)

A

public discussion and argument about sth that many people strongly disagree about, disapprove of, or are shocked by

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3
Q

Downturn

A

[usually sing.] ~ (in sth) a fall in the amount of business that is done; a time when the economy becomes weaker; ≠ upturn

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4
Q

Accountable

A

[not usually before noun] ~ (to sb) (for sth) responsible for your decisions or actions and expected to explain them when you are asked

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5
Q

Onlooker

A

a person who watches sth that is happening but is not involved in it

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6
Q

Derivative

A

a word or thing that has been developed or produced from another word or thing

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7
Q

Scarce

A

Not enough of sth and only available in small quantities

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8
Q

Hog

A

to use or keep most of sth yourself and stop others from using or having it all

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9
Q

Alleviate

A

(written) to make sth less severe, = ease

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10
Q

Spirited

A

[usually before noun] full of energy, determination or courage

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11
Q

Surplus

A

~ (to sth) more than is needed or used

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12
Q

By-products

A
  1. a substance that is produced during the process of making or destroying sth else
  2. a thing that happens, often unexpectedly, as the result of sth else
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13
Q

Instill

A

~ sth (in/into sb) to gradually make sb feel, think or behave in a particular way over a period of time

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14
Q

Opportunistic

A

[only before noun] (medical) harmful to people whose immune system has been made week by disease or drugs

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15
Q

Predator

A

an animal that kills and eats other animals

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16
Q

Detrimental

A

(to sb/sth) Harmful

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17
Q

Contemplate

A

to think about whether you should do sth, or how you should do sth; =consider

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18
Q

Feline

A

like a cat; connected with an animal of the cat family

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19
Q

Neuter

A

to remove part of the sex organs of an animal so that it cannot produce young

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20
Q

Finite

A

having a definite limit or fixed size; ≠ infinite

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21
Q

Dual

A

having two of sth or two parts

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22
Q

Offspring

A

someone’s child or children - often used humorously

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23
Q

Dispose

A

to get rid of sth, especially sth that is difficult to get rid of

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24
Q

Landfill

A

the practice of burying waste under the ground, or the waste buried in this way

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25
Q

Dusk

A

the time before it gets dark when the sky is becoming less bright

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26
Q

Advocate

A

to publicly support a particular way of doing sth

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27
Q

Excess

A

additional and not needed because there is already enough of sth

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28
Q

Spark off

A

to be the cause of sth, especially trouble or violence

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29
Q

Emit

A

to send out gas, heat, light, sound etc.

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30
Q

Give rise to

A

to be the reason why sth happens, especially sth bad or unpleasant

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31
Q

Wipe out

A

to destroy, remove, or get rid of sth completely

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32
Q

Spray

A

to force liquid out of a container so that it comes out in a stream of very small drops and covers an area

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33
Q

Build-up

A

an increase over a period of time

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34
Q

Spark off (x2)

A

to cause sth to start or develop, especially suddenly

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35
Q

Thick/Thin on the ground

A

there are a lot/not many of them in a place

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36
Q

Use up

A

to use all of sth so that there is none left

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37
Q

Make up for

A

to do sth that corrects a bad situation

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38
Q

Asylum

A

protection that a government gives to people who have left their own country, usually because they were in danger for political reasons

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39
Q

Proactive

A

(of a person or policy) controlling a situation by making thing happen rather than waiting for things to happen and then reacting to them

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40
Q

Ozone layer

A

a layer of gases in the sky that prevents harmful radiation from the sun from reaching the Earth

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41
Q

Famine

A

a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die

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42
Q

Genetically-modified

A

genetically-modified foods have had their GENETIC (=the materials that control the developmen of particular qualities) structure changed so that they are not affected by certain diseases or harmful insects

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43
Q

Imminent

A

an event that is an unpleasant on, will happen very soon

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44
Q

Oblivious

A

not knowing about or not noticing sth that is happening around you

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45
Q

In the space of

A

a period of time

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46
Q

Implication

A

a possible future effect or result of an action, event, decision etc.

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47
Q

Pollinate

A

to give a flower or plant pollen so that it can produce seeds

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48
Q

Crucial

A

sth that is crucial is extremely important, because everything else depends on it

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49
Q

Inevitable

A

certain to happen and impossible to avoid

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50
Q

Knock-on effect

A

to start a process in which everything that happens causes sth else to happen

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51
Q

Availability

A

sth that is available is able to be used or can easily be bought or found

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52
Q

Scenario

A

a situation that could possibly happen

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53
Q

Deteriorate

A

to become worse

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54
Q

Corresponding

A

caused by or connected with sth you have already mentioned

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55
Q

Hedge

A

a row of bushes or small trees planted close together, usually along the edge of a field, garden/yard or road

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56
Q

Repetitive

A

done many times in the same way, and boring

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57
Q

Diversity

A

the fact of including many different types of people or things

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58
Q

Be prone to

A

likely to do sth or suffer from sth, especially sth bad or harmful

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59
Q

Immune system

A

the system by which your body protects itself against disease

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60
Q

Thrive

A

to become very successful or strong and healthy

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61
Q

Infect

A

to give sb a disease

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62
Q

Pesticide

A

a chemical substance used to kill insects and small animals that destroy crops

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63
Q

Wipe out

A

to destroy, remove, or get rid of sth completely

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64
Q

Disoriented

A

confused and not understanding what is happening around you

65
Q

Habitat

A

the natural home of plant or animal

66
Q

Further afield

A

further away

67
Q

Phenomenon

A

sth that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially sth that is studied because it is difficult to understand

68
Q

Pest

A

a small animal or insect that destroys crops or food supplies

69
Q

Virtually

A

almost

70
Q

Bitterly

A

in a way that produces or shows feelings of great sadness or anger

71
Q

Unspoilt

A

an unspoilt place is beautifyl because it has not changed for a long time and does not have a lot of new buildings

72
Q

Dependent

A

needeng sth or sb in order to exist, be successful, be healthy, etc.

73
Q

Beneficial

A

having a good effect

74
Q

Indigenous

A

~ (to…) (formal) belonging to a particular place rather than coming to it from somewhere else; native

75
Q

Ingenious

A
  1. (of an object, a plan, an idea, etc.) very suitable for a particular purpose and resulting from clever new ideas
  2. (of a person) having a lot of clever new ideas and good at inventing things
76
Q

Acknowledge

A

to admit or accept that sth is true or that a situation exists

77
Q

In perspective

A

judge the importance of sth correctly

78
Q

Ferret through

A

to search for sth that is lost or hidden among a lot of things or inside a drawer, box etc.

79
Q

Discard

A

to get rid of sth

80
Q

Hush sth up

A

to prevent people from knowing about sth dishonest or immoral

81
Q

Unsettle

A

to make sb feel slightly nervous, worried, or upset

82
Q

Hardened

A

a criminal, police officer etc. who has had a lof ot experience of things thar are shocking and is therefore less affected by them

83
Q

Fall for

A

to be tricked into believing sth that is not true

84
Q

Scam

A

a clever but dishonest way to get money

85
Q

Stalk

A

to follow a person or animal quietly in order to catch and attack or kill them

86
Q

Hold hostage

A

keep sb as a prisoner so that the other side will do what the enemy demands

87
Q

Sharp-witted

A

able to think and react very quickly

88
Q

One step ahead

A

already doing what needs to be done

89
Q

Outsmart

A

to gain an advantage over sb using tricks or your intelligence

90
Q

Dire

A

extremely serious or terrible

91
Q

On your guard

A

to be paying attention to what is happening in order to avoid danger, being tricked, etc.

92
Q

Mugger

A

sb who attacks people in a public place and robs them

93
Q

Fire off

A

send quickly and without much thought

94
Q

Instantaneous

A

happening immediately

95
Q

Body scan

A

a scan with special machine that produces a picture of sth outside your body, for security purposes

96
Q

Biometric

A

relating to technology that can be used to measure things such as people’s eyes or fingerprints. These measurements can be kept on computer and then used to check sb’s identity, for example when they show a passport at an airport

97
Q

CCTV camera

A

security cameras that help police find criminals

98
Q

Fencing

A

fences or the pieces of wood, metal etc. used to make them

99
Q

Phone tap

A

an act of secretly listening to sb’s telephone, using electronic equipment

100
Q

Swipe card

A

a special plastic card that you slide through a machine in order to get into a building or open a door

101
Q

Intimidating

A

making you feel worried and not confident

102
Q

Pick up

A

to learn sth by watching or listening to other people

103
Q

Deter

A

~sb (from sth/from doing sth) to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth, especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results of their actions

104
Q

Deterrent

A

~(to sb/sth) a thing that makes sb less likely to do sth (=that deters them)

105
Q

Battery

A

(of sth) (written) a large number of things or people of the same type

106
Q

Snoop on

A

~(around/round sth) / ~ (on sb) (informal, disapproving) to find out private things about sb, especially by looking secretly around a place

107
Q

Intercept

A

to stop sb/sth that is going from one place to another from arriving

108
Q

Scoop

A

a piece of important or exciting news that is printed in one newspaper before other newspapers know about it

109
Q

Embellish

A
  1. to make sth more beautiful by adding decorations to it

2. to make a story more interesting by adding details that are not always true; =embroider

110
Q

From the outset of

A

at/from the beginning of sth

111
Q

Rapid-fire

A

(of questions, comments, etc.) spoken very quickly, one after the other

112
Q

Geek

A

(slang, especially AmE) a person who is boring, who wears clothes that are not fashionable, etc.

113
Q

Skim over

A

go quickly through sth

114
Q

Fixation

A

(with/on sb/sth) a very strong interest in sb/sth, that is not normal or natural

115
Q

Well-connected

A

(formal) (of a person) having important or rich relatives or friends

116
Q

Nerd

A

a person who is very interested in computers

117
Q

Depict

A

to describe sth in words, or give an impression of sth in words or with a picture

118
Q

Ambigious

A
  1. that can be understood in more than one way; having different meanings
  2. not clearly stated or defined
119
Q

Outburst

A

a sudden strong expression of an emotion

120
Q

Whizz

A

(informal) a person who is very good at sth

121
Q

Dreary

A

that makes you feel sad; dull and not interesting

122
Q

To date

A

untill now

123
Q

Menace

A

~(to sb/sth) a person or thing that will probably cause serious damage, harm or danger; =threat

124
Q

Mediocre

A

(disapproving) not very good; of only average standard

125
Q

Even-handed

A

completely fair, espeacially when dealing with different groups of people

126
Q

Obsessionalism

A

obsessive behaviour

127
Q

Empathy

A

(with sb/sth) / ~ (for sb/sth) / ~ (between A and B) the ability to understand another person’s feelings, experience, etc.

128
Q

Frantic

A

done quickly and with a lot of activity, but in a way that is not very well organized

129
Q

To a fault

A

(written) used to say that sb has a lot, or even too much, of a particular good quality

130
Q

Relentless

A

not stopping or getting less strong

131
Q

Fraudster

A

a person who deceives sb in order to get money or goods illegally

132
Q

Vigilant

A

(formal) very careful to notice any signs of danger or trouble

133
Q

Downturn

A

~(in sth) a fall in the amount of business that is done; a time when the economy becomes waker

134
Q

Encounter

A

come across

135
Q

Cloze

A

a test with certain words removed

136
Q

Coherence

A

the quality of being logical and consistent

137
Q

Cohesion

A
  1. (formal) the act or state of sticking together
    SYN UNITY
  2. (psysics, chemistry) the force causing molecules of the same substance to stick together
138
Q

Innate

A

sth you are born with

139
Q

Ruthless

A

(disapproving) (of people or their behaviour) hard and cruel; determined to get what you want and not caring if you hurt other people; merciless

140
Q

Graduate (n.)

A

~(in sth) a person who has a university degree

141
Q

Graduate (v.)

A

~(in sth) / ~(from…) to get a degree, especially your first degree, from a university or a college

142
Q

Hold sb back

A

to prevent the development or progress of sb/sth

143
Q

Exprertise

A

~(in sth/in doing sth) expert knowledge or skill in a particular subject, activy or job:
professional/scientific/technical expertise

144
Q

Daunting

A

frightening in a way that makes you less confident

145
Q

High-flying

A

extremely successful

146
Q

Land a job

A

get a job

147
Q

Lawyer

A

a general term for a person who is qualified to advise people about the law, to prepare legal documents for them and/or to represent them in a court of law

148
Q

Solicitor

A

a lawyer who prepares legal documents, for example for the sale of land or buildings, advises people on legal matters, and can speak for them in the lower courts of law

149
Q

Barrister

A

a lawyer in Britain who has the right to argue cases in the higher courts of law

150
Q

Attorney

A

a lawyer, especially one who can act for sb in a court of law

151
Q

Advocate

A
  1. ~(of/for sth/sb) a person who supports or speaks in favour of sb or of a public plan or action
  2. a person who defends sb in a court of law
152
Q

Counsel

A

a lawyer or group of lawyers representing sb in a court of law

153
Q

State benefits

A

money given by the government to people who are poor

154
Q

Live on

A

to have enough money for the basic things you need to live

155
Q

Scrape through

A

to only just succeed in passing an examination or dealing with a difficult situation

156
Q

Master’s degree

A

a university degree such as an MA, M.Sc., or M.S., that you can get by studying for one or two years after your first degree

157
Q

Work placement

A

a job, usially as part of a course of study, which gives you experience of a particular type of work

158
Q

Shadow

A

to follow sb closely in order to watch what they are doing

CAE preparation (1 decks)

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