2020-2021 advanced English lexicon

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pre:new words

lancet [ˈlɑ:nsɪt] n.柳叶刀; 刺血针; 口针
morale [məˈrɑːl] n.士气，精神面貌
trance [trɑːns] n.出神，恍惚
apparatus [ˌæpəˈreɪtəs] n.机构，组织；器械，设备
falcon [ˈfɔ:lkən] n.猎鹰
wrath [rɒθ] n.愤怒，激怒
compost [ˈkɒmpɒst] n.堆肥；混合，合成 vt.施堆肥；把…制成堆肥
depot [ˈdepəʊ] n.仓库；车库；公共汽车站，火车站
amenity [əˈmiːnəti] n.愉快；礼仪；举止；（环境等的）舒适
esoteric [ˌesəˈterɪk] adj.秘传的；机密的；难解的
proprietary [prəp’raɪətri] adj.专有的，专利的；专卖的
salutary [ˈsæljətri] adj.有益的，效果好的
defamatory [dɪˈfæmətri] adj.诽谤的，中伤的
desultory [ˈdesəltri] adj.散乱的；东拉西扯的；不合程序的；不按条理的
inflammatory [ɪnˈflæmətri] adj.令人激动的; 有煽动性的; 炎性的，发炎的
statutory [ˈstætʃətri] adj.法定的；依照法令的
nonchalent [ˈnɒnʃələnt] adj.漠不关心的，冷淡的；漫不经心的
docile [ˈdəʊsaɪl] adj.温顺的，驯服的
juvenile [ˈdʒuːvənaɪl] adj.少年的；幼稚的 n.青少年；雏鸟
versatile [ˈvɜːsətaɪl] adj.（指工具、机器等）多用途的; 多才多艺的; 有多种学问、技能或职业的; 多功能的
speculative [ˈspekjələtɪv] adj.投机的; 思考的; 推理的，揣摩的

106-lexicon-210302

phrases and words in the text

salvage the peace process 挽救和平进程
reject the deal 拒绝提案
amend 修正，修订
landmark 里程碑
lambast 鞭打（鞭策？促使？）
shirk one’s responsibility towards 逃避责任
truce 休战，停止
acrimonious 剧烈的，严厉的，辛辣的
cessation 暂时停止，休止，中断
pristine outdoor spaces 原始的，全新的，未开发的

daily vocabulary learning(CET6)

spite n.恶意，怨恨；不顾（in spite of）vt.刁难，欺侮 out of spite
tenure n.任期；保有期；（教授）终身职位
eradicate v.消灭，解决(根除) eradicate the problems
primarily adv. 首先，主要地
eg:The article is primarily concerned with pollution.
deadlock n.僵局 v.僵持不下 break the deadlock 打破僵局 adj.deadlocked 相持不下的
arrogant 傲慢的 conceited 自负的
erode v.侵蚀，逐渐破坏，削弱 eg:This system of production eroded workers’ condition of labour.
severe adj.朴素的，不加装饰的 a rather severe red-brick building
propel vt.推进，推动；激励，驱使 n. propeller 螺旋桨
lure n.吸引力，诱惑 vt.吸引，诱惑 be lured by
sponge off n. 海绵 vt. 用湿海绵擦，揩 sponge off 依赖他人生活
feeble adj. 虚弱的，衰弱的，无力的；无效的，无益的
spontaneous adj.自发的，无意识的；自然的，天真率直的
ensue vi. 接着发生，接踵而来，因…而产生 eg: After the heavy rain, flood ensued.
eg: His illness ensued from malnutrition.
notion n.理念，观念；意图，想法 the central notion
be comparative to 与…相似
clutch n.离合器；掌握控制 vt. 抓紧，紧握 vi. 企图抓住 clutch at 企图抓住

106-lexicon-210309

language points

fabric: cloth used for making clothes, curtains etc
call to someone: to shout to one in an attempt to draw their attention
loom: a machine on which thread is woven into cloth
confide in somebody: to tell someone about something very private or secret, especially a personal problem, because you feel you can trust them
prod: to make someone do something persuading or reminding them that it is necessary, especially when by they are lazy or unwilling
to death: informal used to emphasize that a feeling or emotion is very strong
set sb to doing sth: to make someone do work for you, especially when they do not want to do this
grind: to break something such as corn or coffee beans into small pieces or powder
sway: to influence someone so that they change their opinion; Don’ t allow yourself to be swayed by
hysterical: informal extremely funny; It was absolutely hysterical! Ive never laughed so much
infiltrate: to secretly join an organisation or enter a place in order to find out information about it or harm it
sweat: perspiration, hard physical work
LEX Downsizing (verb)

dismiss: to remove someone from their job; Bryant was unfairly dismissed from his post
dispense with sb’s services: no longer employ someone; Ex-tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is another contender to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if Manchester United dispense with the Norwegian
downsize: if a company or organization downsizes, it reduces the number of people it employs in order to reduce costs: The airline has downsized its workforce by 30%
ease out: to make someone leave their job in a way that makes it seem as if they have chosen to leave; He had been eased out of office in an attempt to prevent a political crisis
fire: to force someone to leave their job; She didn,t want to get fired
lay off: to stop employing someone because there is no work for them to do; The company laid off 250 workers in December
let somebody go: to make someone leave their job; We’ve had to let two members of staff go
make somebody redundant: to make someone leave their job because they are no longer needed, Five staff will be made redundant at the end of this month 9)out on your ear: informal to be forced to leave a job, organisation etc, especially because you have done something wrong: You d better start working harder, or you’ii be out on your ear
pink-slip: to dismiss(someone) from employment; Along with thousands of other steelworkers, I got pink-slipped something wrong. Used especially to avoid saying this directly, and also when the job is a powerfi/ one
relieve somebody of their post/position: formal to make someone leave their job because they have one: The colonel and two other senior officers were relieved of their posts
sack: informal to dismiss someone from their job; They couldn’t sack me II. workforce: all the people who work in a particular industry or company, or are available to work in a particular country or area, Schools are working increasingly with businesses to fill gaps in the workforce

restructure: to change the way in which something such as a government, business, or system is organized proposals to radically restructure Britain’ s electronics industry The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has offered a 40% pay rise in the increment this year. The latest rise comes a day after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the government.
increment: a regular increase in the amount of money someone is paid; Most staff will receive an annual increment .
abstain: to choose not to vote for or against something: Six countries voted for the change, five voted against, and two abstained .
expel: to force a foreigner to leave a country, especially because they have broken the law or for political reasons; Foreign priests were expelled from the country deport: to make someone leave a country and return to the country they came from, es do not have a legal right to stay.
LEX Diplomatic Missions

01)embassy: a diplomatic mission generally located in the capital city of another country which offers a full range of services, including consular services: LDR ambassador 02)high commission: an embassy of a Commonwealth country located in another Commonwealth country, LDR high commissioner
03)permanent mission: a diplomatic mission to a major international organisation; LDR permanent representative(UN, WTO, NATO, EU), permanent delegate (UNESCO)
04) consulate-general: a diplomatic mission located in a major city, usually other than the capital city, which provides a full range of consular services; LDR consul-general
05)consulate: a diplomatic mission that is similar to a consulate-general, but may not provide a full range of services: LDR consul More than a million people have signed a petition, demanding that a captive polar bear in China be moved Animal rights groups have released a video of the creature, named Pizza, in a small glass enclosure in a shopping mall etition: a written request signed by a lot of people, asking someone in authority to do something or change something; Local residents have drawn up a petition to protest the hospital closure .
19. captive: kept in prison or in a place that you are not allowed to leave; His son had been taken captive during the raid.
20. enclosure: an area surrounded by a wall or fence, used for a particular purpose; the bear enclosure at the zoo.
21. orientate/orient: to give a lot of attention to one type of activity or one type of person; A lot of the training is orientated around communications skills .
22. self-righteous: derogatory believing that your ideas and behaviour are morally better than those of other people, She’s a vegetarian, but she’s not at all self-righteous about it .
23. grasp: to completely understand a fact or an idea, especially a complicated one; At that time, we did not fully grasp the significance of what had happened.
24. pay lip service to somebody/something: to say that you support or agree with something without doing anything to prove it; organizations that pay lip service to career development.
25. litany: derogatory a long list of problems, excuses etc; a litany of complaints
26. the crux: the most important part of a problem, question, argument etc, The crux of the matter is how do we prevent a flood occurring again.
27. buzz: if a group of people or a place is buzzing, there is a lot of activity or excitement; a classroom buzzing with activity.

106-lexicon-210321

language points

class-elected speaker/valedictorian: the student who has received the best marks all the way through school, and who usually makes a speech at the graduation ceremony.
get off to a good/bad start: to begin well or badly: On your first day of work, you want to get off to a good start
prestigious: admired as one of the best and most important: a prestigious literary award.
ingredient: a quality you need to achieve something;
conviction: a very strong belief or opinion; The Dotens have a deep conviction that marriage is for life.
dimensions: [P] how great or serious a problem is; a catastrophe of enormous dimensions.
delinquency: illegal or immoral behaviour or actions, especially by young people; the ever-rising statistics of delinquency and crime.
calamity: a terrible and unexpected event that causes a lot of damage or suffering, It will be a calamity for farmers if the crops fail again
distinctly: used to say that something has a particular quality or character that is easy to recognise, dishes with a distinctly Jewish flavour.
distinctive: having a special quality, character, or appearance that is different and easy to recognize; Male birds have distinctive blue and yellow markings
crop up: if a problem crops up, it happens or appears suddenly and in an unexpected way, New problems crop up every day.
ensue: formal to happen after or as a result of something; problems that ensue from food and medical shortages
predate: to happen or exist earlier in history than something else; The kingdom predates other African cultures by over 3, 000 years.
transpire: formal to happen; Exactly what transpired remains unknown
superfluous: formal more than is needed or wanted:; a modern building with no superfluous decoration.
LEX A Large Amount/Number of Something

a body of something: [C] a large amount or mass of something, especially something that has been collected; a considerable/growing body of knowledge/evidence/opinion
a cascade of something: [S] a large number or amount of something occurring or arriving in rapid succession: a cascade of anti-war literature
a clutter of something: [S] a large number of things that are scattered somewhere in an untidy way; a clutter of motels and restaurants
a great/good deal of something: [S] a large quantity of something, His work has been attracting a great deal of attention
a load of something: [C informal a lot of something: We got a load of complaints about the loud music
a myriad of something: [C] a very large number of things; We’re still studying a myriad of options
an orgy of something: [S] used to emphasize that people suddenly do a lot of a particular especially far too much of it; an orgy of spending
a panoply of something: [S] formal a large number of people or things; a panoply of men in grey suits
a raft of something: [S]a large number of things; The company has launched a whole raft of new software products a shedload of something: [C] informal a lot of something; A shedload of sludge and rubble has sparked traffic delays across Liverpool today
a slew of something: [S] informal a large number of things; a whole slew of cheap motels
a torrent of something: [S] a lot of words spoken quickly, especially in order to insult or criticise someone; When I asked him to move, he unleashed a torrent of abuse.
a volley of something: [S] a lot of questions, insults, attacks etc that are all said or made at the same time; a volley of abuse
many a something: formal old-fashioned a large number of people or things; Many a parent has had to go through this same painful process.
the weight of something: a large amount of something; The weight of evidence is that unemployment leads to all sorts of health problems

know of: to have heard of someone or something and be able to give a small amount of information about him, her, or it; I only know of one case in which this has happened.
dysfunctional: not following the normal patterns of social behaviour, especially with the result that someone cannot behave in a normal way or have a satisfactory life; dysfunctional family relationships.
the proverbial something: used when you describe something using part of a well-known expression; The store had everything including the proverbial kitchen sink.
the something/somebody from hell: informal not polite something or someone that is the worst you can imagine.

106-lexicon-210404

language points

LEX Something Increases

creep: to increase very slowly; The unemployment rate crept upwards from 16.7% to 16. 8%
mount: [I-UIP] to increase gradually in amount or degree, Tension here is mounting, as we await the final result
rocket(up): to increase quickly and suddenly; Interest rates rocketed up
shoot up: to increase very quickly and suddenly; Demand for water has shot up by 70% over the last 30 years
soar: to increase quickly to a high level; Her temperature soared
spike: if the number or rate of something spikes, it increases quickly and by a large amount; New telephone orders have spiked in the last two years 07)surge: to suddenly increase; Oil prices surged

LEX Something Decreases

01)decline: to decrease in quantity or importance; Spending on information technology has declined. 02)diminish: to become or make something become smaller or less; The partys share of the electorate has diminished steadily.
03)dive: if numbers, prices etc dive, they suddenly become much lower than before, The dollar dived against the yen in Tokyo today
04) drop: to fall to a much lower level or amount; The number of deaths on the roads has dropped sharply. 05)dwindle: to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller, The elephant population is dwindling
06) fall: to go down to a lower level, amount, price etc, especially a much lower one; The rate of inflation was falling
07) fall away: to diminish gradually in size; Demand for our more theoretical courses has fallen away
08)nosedive: if a price, value, or condition of something nosedives, it suddenly goes down or gets much worse, Sales have nosedived since January.
09)plummet: to suddenly and quickly decrease in value or amount; Profits plummeted from to
10)plunge: if a price, rate etc plunges, it suddenly decreases by a large amount; The unemployment rate plunged sharply.
11) slide: if prices, amounts, rates etc slide, they become lower; Stocks slid a further 3% on the major markets today
12)slump: to suddenly go down in price, value, or number: Sales slumped by 20% last year. 13)taper off: to decrease gradually; Profits may be tapering off in the near future
14)tumble: if prices or figures tumble, they go down suddenly and by a large amount: Oil prices have tumbled
3. level off/out: to stop rising or falling and become steady; After climbing steeply, the path levelled off
4. account for: to give a satisfactory explanation of why something has happened or why you did something Can you account for your movements on that night?
5. decay: the gradual destruction of ideas, beliefs, social or political systems etc; During the war, the area fell Into decay
6. spell: to do someone else’s work for them for a short period so that they can rest; I can spell you if you get tired.
7. outlive its/your usefulness: to become no longer useful; The docks have outlived their usefulness.
8. intimacy: a state of having a close personal relationship with someone, a close sense of intimacy between parent and child
9. in your own right: used to say that you have something or achieve something on your own, without depending on other people, She’s a very wealthy woman in her own right.
10. egalitarian: based on the belief that everyone is equal and should have equal rights, an egalitarian society
11. apprenticeship: the job of being an apprentice, or the period of time in which you are an apprentice; He’s serving an apprenticeship as a printer.
12. roughhouse: to play roughly or pretend to fight; No more roughhousing
13. denude: formal to take something away from someone or something: The fact that people have left farm work has denuded many villages of their working populations
14. rehabilitate: to help someone to live a healthy, useful, or active life again after they have been seriously ill or in prison; a special unit for rehabilitating stroke patients.
15. refrain: formal to not do something that you want to do: Please refrain from smoking in this area
16. tender something to somebody: formal to formally offer or show something to someone; The seller has the right to keep the goods until payment is tendered to him
17. consolation: something that makes you feel better when you are sad or disappointed; The only consolation for the team is that they get a chance to play the game again
18. assuage: literary to make an unpleasant feeling less painful or severe; Nothing could assuage his guilt
19. anguish: written mental or physical suffering caused by extreme pain or worry; the anguish of not knowing what had happened to her
20. bereavement: formal when someone loses a close friend or relative because they have died, depression caused by bereavement or divorce
21. get (somebody )the hell out(of somewhere): informal not polite to leave a place quickly and suddenly; Lets get the hell out of here!
22. disembodied: existing without a body or separated from a body; disembodied spirits
23. protracted: used to describe something that continues for a long time, especially if it takes longer than usual necessary, or expected; the expense of a protracted legal battle
24. epiphany: an occasion when you suddenly understand something
25. fidget: to keep moving your hands or feet, especially because you are bored or nervous, The kids had started to fidget.
26. box off: to separate a particular area from a larger one by putting walls around it; Were going to box off that corner to get extra storage space
27. tensile strength: the ability of steel or concrete etc to bear pressure or weight without breaking compressive strength/compression strength: the capacity of a material or structure to withstand loads tending to reduce size, as opposed to which withstands loads tending to elongate
28. aspire: to desire and work towards achieving something important; At that time, all serious artists aspired to go to Rome
29. weather: if rock, wood, or someones face is weathered by the wind, sun, rain etc, or if it weathers, it changes colour or shape over a period of time; The brick has weathered to a lovely pinky-brown
30. foster: to help a skill, feeling, idea etc develop over a period of time; The bishop helped foster the sense of a community embracing all classes
31. pivot: to turn or balance on a central point, or to make something do this; The table-top pivots on two metal
32. do justice to somebody/something: to treat or represent someone or something good, beautiful etc in a way that is as good as they deserve; The photo doesn’t do her justice

106-lexicon-210502

language points

avert: to prevent something unpleasant from happening: The last-minute agreement averted renewed fighting
brace: to mentally or physically prepare yourself or someone else for something unpleasant that is going to happen; Nancy braced herself for the inevitable arguments
endure: written to accept an unpleasant or difficult situation for a long time; The victims of this war have endured tremendous pain and suffering
foil: to prevent something bad that someone is planning to do: A massive arms-smuggling plan has been foiled by the CIA
foment: formal to cause trouble to develop; foment revolution/trouble/discord: The song was banned on the grounds fhat it might foment racial tension
fuel: to make something, especially something bad, increase or become stronger; His words fuelled her
have had my fill of: informal to have done something or experienced something, especially something ad my fill of screaming kids for one day
instigate: to persuade someone to do something bad or violent: He accused union leaders of instigating the disturbances
perpetuate: to make a situation, attitude etc, especially a bad one, continue to exist for a long time; ar education system that perpetuates the divisions in our society
provoke: to cause a reaction or feeling, especially a sudden one; The proposal provoked widespread
)spell: if a situation or action spells trouble etc, it makes you expect trouble etc; The lack of rain could spell disaster for farmers
stamp out: to prevent something bad from continuing; We aim to stamp out poverty in our lifetimes
proclivity: a tendency to behave in a particular way, or to like a particular thing-used especially about something bad; The child showed no proclivity towards aggression
LEX Phrase Noun(Something Bad)

01)a litany of: a long list of problems, excuses etc; a litany of complaints
02)a spate of: a large number of similar things that happen in a short period of time, especially bad things, a pate of burglar
03)be caught up in something: to be or get involved in something, especially something bad; I didnt want to get caught up in endless petty arguments
04)be fraught with something: full of something, especially something bad; Their marriage has been fraught with difficulties
05)be prone to something: likely to do something or suffer from something, especially something bad or harmful; Kids are all prone to eat junk food
06)be subject to something: if someone or something is subject to something, especially something bad, it Is possible or likely that they will be affected by it; All flights are subject to delay
07)be tantamount to something: if an action, suggestion, plan etc is tantamount to something bad, it has the same effect or is almost as bad; To leave a dog home alone is tantamount to cruelty
08)be in the grip of something: to be experiencing a very unpleasant situation that cannot be controlled or stopped; a country in the grip of famine
09) in the wake of something: if something happens in the wake of something bad. it happens after and often because of it; Airport security was extra tight in the wake of yesterdays bomb attacks
10) on top of something: if something bad happens to you on top of something else, it happens when you have other problems; On top of everything else, I now have to go to work next Saturday
11) the onset of something: the beginning of something, especially something bad; An active and healthy lifestyle can delay the onset of disease in later life
15. LEX Kill(verb)
01) assassinate: to murder an important person, especially a politician; He was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler
02)butcher: to kill someone cruelly or unnecessarily, especially to kill a lot of people; They rounded up and butchered 250 people
03)cull: to kill animals so that there are not too many of them, or so that a disease does not spread; The plan to cull large numbers of seals has angered environmental groups
04)eliminate: slang to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble; a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
05)execute: formal to kill someone as a punishment for a crime; Mcveigh, who killed 168 people in a bombing attack, was executed by lethal injection
06)exterminate: to kill large numbers of people or animals of a particular type so that they no longer exist; Staff use the poison to exterminate moles and rabbits
07) massacre: to kill a large number of people in a violent way: Thousands of peaceful demonstrators were massacred by the soldiers.
08)slay(PT slew PP slain): journalism to kill someone or something in a violent way, Two teenagers were slain in the shootings
09)slaughter: to kill a lot of people in a cruel or violent way: Hundreds of innocent civilians had been slaughtered by government troops caver: a North American animal that has thick fur and a wide flat tail, and cuts down trees with its teeth
16. virus: a very small living thing that causes infectious illnesses
endemic: [A] an endemic disease or problem is always present in a particular place epidemic: [C/A] a disease with a large number of cases that happen at the same time pandemic: [C/A] a disease that affects people over a very large area or the whole world
17. LEX Cheat for Money (verb)
01) con: informal to get money from someone by deceiving them; He conned me out of #300
02)defraud: to trick a person or organisation in order to get money from them; She defrauded her employers of thousands of pounds
03)stitch someone up: to deceive someone, especially in order to gain money from them: I dont want to stitch you up.
04)swindle: to get money from someone by deceiving them; a businessman who swindled investors out of millions of pounds
18. LEX Very Surprising(adjective)
01) amazing: very surprising, especially about good or impressive things 02)astonishing: very surprising
03) astounding ng: formal very surprising or shocking
04)staggering: very surprising, especially by being so large 05) stunning: very surprising or shocking
19. reversal: a change to an opposite arrangement, process, or way of doing something; Some Internet firms have suffered a painful reversal of fortune
20. conspire: to secretly plan with someone else to do something illegal; conspire(with somebody)to do something: All six men admitted conspiring to steal cars. conspirator, conspiracy, conspiratorial
21. disruptive: causing problems and preventing something from continuing in its usual way, Night work can be very disruptive to home life
22. through thick and thin: in spite of any difficulties or problems
23. LEX Increase Something(transitive verb)
01)augment: formal to increase the value, amount, effectiveness etc of something: Any surplus was sold to augment their income.
02)beef up: informal to increase or improve something, or to make it more interesting: The hotel plans to beef up its marketing effort
03)boost: to increase something and make it more successful; The new resort area has boosted tourism 04)pump up: informal to increase the value, amount, or level of something; The US was able to pump up exports
05) ramp up: to increase something such as a rate or level, especially the rate at which goods are produced;
Producers can quickly ramp up production
ratchet up: to increase something by a small amount, especially after a series of increases, or to increase in this way: Raising the minimum wage would ratchet up real incomes in general
07) scale up: to increase the amount or size of something; Production at the factory is being scaled up 08) step up: to increase the amount of an activity or the speed of a process in order to improve a situation
24. LEX Decrease Something(transitive verb
01) curtail: formal to reduce or limit something: The new law will curtail police powers
02)dampen down/dampen: to make something such as a feeling or activity less strong; The light rain dampened the crowd’s enthusiasm
03)dial down: to reduce or diminish in effect or intensity; Nobody wants a war-we ought to dial down the rhetoric
04)diminish: to become or make something become smaller or less; These drugs diminish blood flow to the
05)eat into: to gradually reduce the amount of time, money etc that is available; Johns university fees have been eating into our savings
06)whittle away: to gradually reduce the amount or effectiveness of something, especially something that you think should not be reduced; The museum is worried that government funding will be whittled down: to gradually reduce the work of a business or organization so that it can be closed down completely; They’re winding down their overseas operation because it is losing money
25. envoy: someone who is sent to another country as an official representative; The United Nations is sending a special envoy to the area
26. annex: to take control of a country or area next to your own, especially by using force; The Baltic republics were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940
27. distort: if you distort a statement, fact, or idea, you report or represent it in an untrue way, The media distorts reality
falsify: to change figures, records etc so that they contain false information; The file was altered to falsify the evidence
skew: if something skews the results of a test etc, it affects them, making them incorrect; All the people we questioned lived in the same area, which had the effect of skewing
vist: 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

106-lexicon-210512

language points

the weight of something: a large amount of somethings The weight of evidence is that unemployment leads to all sorts of health problems
something is not for the faint-hearted/the faint of heart: something is an extreme or very unusual example of its kind, and is not suitable for people who like only safe and familiar things; It’s a film about a serial killer and not for the faint-hearted.
the faint of heart: someone who is lacking the courage to face something difficult or dangerous; This is a difficult climb that is not for the faint of heart.
runaway: [A-OBNJ happening very easily or quickly, and not able to be controlled; The film was a runaway success.
strain: to make excessive demands upon: strain nnes ability/finances/luck/relations/resource
a flurry of something: [C]a small amount of snow or rain that is blown by the wind; a flurry of snow
cascade: a large number or amount of something occurring or arriving in rapid succession; a cascade of anti-war literature
set/put something in motion: to start a process or series of events that will continue for some time; The Church voted to set in motion the process allowing women to be priests
LEX Forces

friction: the natural force that prevents one surface from sliding easily over another surface; Putting oil on both surfaces reduces friction
gravitation: the force that causes two objects such as planets to move towards each other because of thei Ir mass; Newton’s law of gravitation
momentum: the force that makes a moving object keep moving; The wheel was allowed to roll down the slope, gathering momentum as it went
propulsion: the force that drives a vehicle forward; research into iquid hydrogen as a means of propulsion
tension: the amount of force that stretches something; This wire will take 50 pounds tension
traction: the force that prevents something such as a wheel sliding on a surface; The tires were bald and lost traction on the wet road

fully-fledged/full-fledged: [A-OBN] completely developed, trained, or established: After seven years of training, she’s now a fully-fledged doctor
scatter: if someone scatters a lot of things, or if they scatter, they are thrown or dropped over a wide area in an irregular way
confound: to confuse and surprise people by being unexpected
knavish: old-fashioned dishonest and unscrupulous
LEX Prepositional Differences

01)advocate/advocate for: to publicly support a particular way of doing something: Extremists were openly advocating violence.
02)go off on a tangent/go off at a tangent: to suddenly start thinking or talking about a subject that is only slightly related, or not related at all, to the original subject; Lets stay with the topic and not go off at a tangent
03)harp on about something /harp on something: informal to repeat or complain about something many times in an annoying way; Don’t keep harping back to that.
04)in the hot seat/on the hot seat: informal in a difficult position where you have to make important decisions, answer questions etc; It’s been a bad week for the men in the hot seat
05) protest against/about protest: to come together to publicly express disapproval or opposition to something: Thousands of people blocked the street, protesting against the new legislation

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language points

LEX A Group of Things

01)a bunch of something: [S] a group of things that are fastened, held, or growing together; I’ll send her abunch of flowers
02)a convoy of something: [S] a group of vehicles or ships travelling together, sometimes in order to protect one another; The British left in a convoy of 20 cars
03)a clump of something: [S] a group of trees, bushes, or other plants growing very close together; a thick clump of grass
04)a cluster of something: [S] a group of things of the same kind that are very close together; a cluster of low farm buildings
05)a clutch of something: [S] a small group of similar things; a clutch of eggs
06)a crop of something: [S]a group of things that happen at the same time; The judges will select the best from this year’s crop of first novels
07)a mass of something: [C] a large amount or quantity of something; a huge mass of data
08)a mosaic of something: [S] a group of different things that exist next to each other or together; The forest floor was a mosaic of autumn colours
09)a string of something: [S] a group of similar things:; She owns a string of health clubs
10)a(treasure)trove of something: [S] a group of valuable or interesting things or pieces of information; Our Science Shop is a treasure trove of curiosities and gadgets.
11)a volley of something: [S]a large number of bullets, rocks etc shot or thrown through the air at the same time: a volley of bullets
12)an array of something: [S] a group of things, especially one that is large or impressive: There was a vast array of colors to choose from
2. LEX A Group of People
01)a bunch of people: [S] a group of people: a friendly bunch of people
02) a cabal of people: [S] a small group of people who make secret- plans, especially in order to haveO2, political power; He was assassinated by a cabal of aides within his own regime.
3)a cluster of people: [S] a group of people all in the same place, A cluster of children stood around the ice cream van
04)a cohort of people: [S] technical a group of people of the same age, social class etc, especially when they are being studied; a cohort of 386 patients aged 65 plus
05)a crop of people: [S] a group of people who arrive at the same time; South Korea’s present crop of elected politicians
06)a cult of people: [S] a group of people who are very interested in a particular thing, O’Brien has a cult of devoted readers.
07) a faction of people: [C] a small group of people within a larger group, who have different ideas from the other members, and who try to get their own ideas accepted: A faction of people today only had one intention-to be violent and unlawful
08)a harem of women: [S] the group of wives or women who lived with a rich or powerful man in some Muslim societies in the past: A harem of women created the treat
09) a horde of people: [C] a large crowd: A horde of people was screaming for tickets
10) a legion of people: [C] literary a large number of people; Legions of fans attended the concert
11) a mass of people: [C] a large crowd; There was a mass of people around the club entrance
12)a party of people: [S] a group of people who go somewhere together or do a job together; a party of tourists
13) a posse of people: (S) informal a group of the same kind of people; I was surrounded by a posse of photographers
14) a rabble of people: [S] a noisy group of people who are behaving badly; He was met by a rabble ofnoisy angry youths.
15) an array of people: [S] a large number or wide range of people; A dazzling array of celebrities are expected at the Mayfair gallery to see the pictures
3. schadenfreude: (formal) a feeling of pleasure that you get when something bad happens to someone else
4. gloat: to show in an annoying way that you are proud of your own success or happy about someone else’s failure; gloat over something: The fans are still gloating over Scotlands victory.

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language points

catharsis: formal the act or process of removing strong or violent emotions by expressing them through writing, talking, acting etc; Music is a means of catharsis for me.
cathartic formal helping you to remove strong or violent emotions: a cathartic experience
Taste(adjective)

01)highbrow: a highbrow book, film etc is very serious and may be difficult to understand: The Divine
Comedy( Dante), The Iliad(Homer), Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
02)middlebrow: middlebrow books, television programmes ete are of fairly good quality but are not very difficult to understand: The Huger Games(Suzanne Collins), The Twilight Saga(Stephenie Meyer), A
Game of Thrones(George Martin)
03)lowbrow: lowbrow entertainment, newspapers, books etc are easy to understand and are not concerned with serious ideas about art, culture etc; Undisputed Truth: M biography(Mike Tyson)
04)frothy: a frothy book, film etc is enjoyable but not serious or important; Her first novel was a frothy romantic comedy
3. stunt something that is done to attract peoples attention, especially in advertising or politics; Todd flew over the city in a hot-air balloon as a publicity stunt.
4. contrived: seeming false and not natural; The characters are as contrived as the plot
5. trademark: to secure trademark rights for or register the trademark of something
6. brazed: used to describe a person, or the actions of a person, who is not embarrassed about behaving in a wrong or immoral way; her brazen admission that she was cheating on him
7. lecture somebody about/on something: to talk angrily or seriously to someone in order to criticize or warn them, in a way that they think is unfair or unnecessary; He began to lecture us about making too much noise.
8. mightily: formal with great effort; He spent ten years struggling mightily with the bureaucracy.
9. merit : to be good, important, or serious enough for praise or attention; It’s a fascinating book which merits attention
10. fleece: to take someones money dishonestly, by charging too much money or by cheating them; That restaurant really fleeced us!
11. refurbish: to decorate and repair something such as a building or office in order to improve its appearance, The Grand Hotel has been completely refurbished
12. malign: to say unpleasant things about someone that are untrue; She had seen herself repeatedly maligned in the newspapers
13. flavorful: having a strong pleasant taste; flavorful cheese
14. textured: having a surface that is not smooth; textured wallpaper
15. get something straight: spoken to understand the facts of a situation and be able to tell them correctly: I wanted to get the facts straight.
16. launch into something: to suddenly start a description or story: He launched into a speech about the importance of new products
17. unplugged: if a group of musicians perform up/egged, they perform without electric instruments: Eric Clapton unplugged.