vocabulary3 7991

Practice Test 1
creation noun / kri 'eɪʆən / [uncountable] the act of creating something
•

creation of
 The plan should result in the creation of 2000 new jobs.
 the creation of a single European currency

creativity

noun / kriːeɪ 'tɪvəti / [uncountable] the ability to use your imagination to produce new

ideas, make things etc
 artistic creativity
 They have little opportunity to use judgment or creativity.

advantage noun / əd 'vɑːntɪdʒ/

1.

[uncountable and countable] something that helps you to be more successful than others, or the

state of having this ￚ opposite disadvantage

• advantage over
 Her experience meant that she had a big advantage over her opponent.
 His height gives him an advantage over the other players.
 Western countries enjoyed considerable advantages in terms of technology.
 Younger workers tend to be at an advantage when applying for jobs.

• advantage of

 One of the many advantages of living in New York is that you can eat out at almost any time
of day.
 The hotel is not very modern, but it does have the advantage of being close to the city

2.

centre.

take advantage of somebody to treat someone unfairly in order to get what you want,

especially someone who is generous or easily persuaded
 Don't lend them the car - they're taking advantage of you!

3.   take advantage of something (to do something) to use a particular situation to do or get
what you want
 I took advantage of the good weather to paint the shed.
 You'll want to take full advantage of the beachfront clubs.

at the top (of) something
 He was standing at the top of the stairs.
 Write your name at the top of the page.

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on top of something

on the highest surface of something

 There should be an envelope on top of the fridge.

external

adjective / ɪk 'stɜːnl / relating to the outside of something or of a person's body

ￚ opposite internal
 the external appearance of the building
 For external use only (=written on medicines which must be put on your skin and not
swallowed)

exterior

noun / ɪk 'stɪəriə / [countable] the outside of something, especially a building

ￚ opposite

interior

• exterior of
 the exterior of the factory
 The dome is tiled on the exterior.

renew

verb / rɪ'njuː/ [transitive] to arrange for an agreement or official document to continue for a

further period of time

• renew somebody's contract/licence/membership etc
 I need to renew my passport this year.

reform

verb / rɪ'fɔːm / [transitive] to improve a system, law, organization etc by making a lot of

changes to it, so that it operates in a fairer or more effective way
 plans to radically reform the tax system

level

noun / 'levəl / [countable] the amount or degree of something, compared to another amount

• level of
• high/low level
• price/income/salary etc levels
 Increased supplies are needed to meet the level of demand.
 Dolphins show a high level of intelligence.
 Inflation dropped to its lowest level in 30 years.
 At the moment, public interest is at a high level.
 the high salary levels of top executives

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basis

noun / 'beɪsɪs /

[countable] the facts, ideas, or things from which something can be

developed

• basis of something
• basis for something
 Bread forms the basis of their daily diet.
 The video will provide a basis for class discussion.

• on the basis of something : because of a particular fact or situation
 discrimination on the basis of sex
•

on a regular/daily/weekly etc basis every day, week etc
 I'm saving money on a regular basis.

• on a voluntary/part-time/temporary etc basis a system or agreement by which someone
or something is voluntary etc
 Nurses are employed on a full-time basis.

make out phrasal verb
1. make something ↔ out to understand something, especially the reason why something has
happened

• make out what/how/why etc
 I couldn't make out what I had done to annoy her.
2. make somebody ↔ out to understand someone's character and the way they behave
 Stuart's a strange guy - I can't make him out at all.

make up phrasal verb

1. to combine together to form something ￚ synonym constitute

• make up something
• be made up of something
 Women make up only a small proportion of the prison population.
 The committee is made up of representatives from every state.

2. to produce a new story, song, game etc by thinking
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 Nick made up a song about them.

3.

 When you're the boss you can make up your own rules.
to put make-up (=special coloured substances) on someone's face in order to make them look

better or different
 They made him up as an old man for the last act of the play.

after [preposition/adverb/conjunction] after something happens or after someone does something
 We went for a walk after lunch.
 Gingrich won election to the House in 1978, after Flynt retired.
 What did you do after leaving school?

• an hour/two days/a year etc after
 My father died two days after I was born.
•

just after/ right after /soon after/not long after
 My sister and her husband moved west just after their wedding.

 Paul rushed home right after school.

afterwards

[adverb] after an event or a time that you have just mentioned

• two years/three months etc afterwards
• soon/shortly afterwards
 The operation was rather painful, but I felt a lot better afterwards.
 A couple of years afterwards I bumped into her in a supermarket.
 His wife fell ill in June and died soon afterwards.

next

/nekst/ [adverb] after something happens or after someone does something -- use this when

you are describing a series of events in the order they happened
 Can you remember what happened next?

later [adverb] some time after now or after the time you are talking about
•
•
•
•

three months/two years/ten days etc later
later on
much later (=a long time later)
later that day/month/year etc
 A couple of days later I saw her in a downtown bar.

 The first part of the film is really boring but it gets better later on.
 I found out much later that some of the children I taught had become teachers themselves.
 Later that month we got another letter from them asking for more money.

then

[adverb] after you have done something -- use this when you are describing a series of things

you did, or when you are giving instructions
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 First we played tennis, and then we went swimming.

subsequently

[adverb] formal after an event was finished in the past

 The book was published in 1954 and was subsequently translated into fifteen languages.
 The six men were subsequently acquitted of all charges, but only after they had served 17
years in prison.
confidential adjective / kɒnfɪ╹denʆl/ spoken or written in secret and intended to be kept secret
 a confidential government report
 Doctors are required to keep patients' records completely confidential.
 The information will be regarded as strictly confidential (=completely confidential).

implement

verb / 'ɪmplɪment / [transitive] to take action or make changes that you have officially

decided should happen

• implement a policy/plan/decision etc
 We have decided to implement the committee's recommendations in full.

sighting

noun /'saɪtɪŋ / [countable] an occasion on which something is seen, especially

something rare or something that people are hoping to see

• sighting of
 There were two unconfirmed sightings of UFOs in the area.

expel

verb / ɪk'spel /

1. to officially force someone to leave a school or organization

• expel somebody from something
• expel somebody for doing something
 Two girls were expelled from school for taking drugs.
 The main opposition leader was expelled from her party.
 He was expelled for making racist remarks.
2. to force a foreigner to leave a country, especially because they have broken the law or for political
reasons

• expel somebody from something
• expel somebody for something

 Foreign priests were expelled from the country.
 Three diplomats were expelled for spying.

repel verb / rɪ'pel / [transitive] to keep something or someone away from you
 a lotion that repels mosquitoes

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impel

verb / ɪm'pel / if something impels you to do something, it makes you feel very strongly that

you must do it
•

impel somebody to do something
 The lack of democracy and equality impelled the oppressed to fight for independence.

compel

verb / kəm'pel / to force someone to do something

• compel somebody to do something
 The law will compel employers to provide health insurance.
 She felt compelled to resign because of the scandal.

compelling adjective / kəm'pelɪŋ /

1.

compelling reason/argument/case etc an argument etc that makes you feel certain that

something is true or that you must do something about it
 The court was presented with compelling evidence that she'd murdered her husband.

2. very interesting or exciting, so that you have to pay attention
 His life makes a compelling story.

caution

verb to warn someone that something might be dangerous, difficult etc

• caution (somebody) against something
• caution (somebody) that
• caution somebody to do something
 Business leaders are cautioning against hasty action that would hamper flexibility.
 Officials were quick to caution that these remarks did not mean an end to the peace
process.
 He cautioned them to avoid the forest at night.

oversee verb /əʊvə╹siː/ = supervise
 A team leader was appointed to oversee the project.

overwhelm verb / əʊvə'welm / [transitive usually passive]
1. if someone is overwhelmed by an emotion, they feel it so strongly that they cannot think clearly
• be overwhelmed by/with something
 Harriet was overwhelmed by a feeling of homesickness.
 The children were overwhelmed with excitement.
2. if work or a problem overwhelms someone, it is too much or too difficult to deal with

• be overwhelmed by something
• overwhelm somebody with something
 We were overwhelmed by the number of applications.
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 They would be overwhelmed with paperwork.

overrule

verb / əʊvə'ruːl / [transitive] to change an order or decision that you think is wrong, using

your official power
 The House of Lords overruled the decision of the Court of Appeal.
 They have the power to overrule the local council.
overlook verb to forgive someone's mistake, bad behaviour etc and take no action
 She found him entertaining enough to overlook his faults.

inadmissible adjective / ɪnəd 'mɪsəbəl/ law inadmissible information is not allowed to be used in
a court of law
 The evidence issued on 12 February was ruled inadmissible.

procedure noun / prə'siːdʒə $ -ər / [uncountable and countable] a way of doing something
• procedure for
• correct/proper/normal etc procedure
• legal/court/parliamentary etc procedures
 What is the procedure for applying for a visa?
 This is standard procedure for getting rid of toxic waste.)

proceeds

noun / 'prəʊsiːdz / [plural] formal the money that is obtained from doing something or

selling something
• proceeds of/from something
 The proceeds of the concert will go to charity.

proceeding noun / prə 'siːdɪŋ /

[countable usually plural] when someone uses a court of law to

deal with a legal case

• begin/open/take proceedings (against somebody)
 She has begun divorce proceedings.
 John is taking legal proceedings against his ex-partner.

attain

verb / ə 'teɪn / [transitive] formal to succeed in achieving something after trying for a long

time
 More women are attaining positions of power in public life.
 Here is your opportunity to attain a goal.

attired adjective / ə 'taɪrəd / [not before noun] formal dressed in a particular way
 He arrived suitably attired in a dark dinner suit.

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