My movable dictionary

Bullying (family): part I

Empathise:
To be able to understand how someone else feels:
It's very easy to empathize with the characters in her books.
Sympathise:
To understand and care about someone's problems:
I know what it's like to have migraines, so I do sympathize (with you).
Aggression:
Spoken or physical behaviour, which is threatening or involves harm to someone or something:
Some types of dog are bred for aggression.
An act of aggression
Enlist:
To ask for and get help or support from someone:
We've got to enlist some people to help prepare the food.
The organization has enlisted the support of many famous people in raising money to help homeless children.
Tease:
To laugh at someone or say unkind things about them, either because you are joking or because you want to upset them:
I used to hate being teased about my red hair when I was at school.
I was only teasing, I didn't mean to upset you.
Probe:
To try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions in an indirect careful way:
The interviewer probed deep into her private life.
Detectives questioned him for hours, probing for any inconsistencies in his story
Bullying (family): part II
Flurry:
A sudden, short period of activity, excitement or interest:
The prince's words on marriage have prompted a flurry of speculation in the press this week.
A flurry of activity
Sneaker:
A type of light comfortable shoe that is suitable for playing sports
Backpack:(rucksack)
A large bag used to carry things on your back, used especially by walkers and climbers:
It's a frame rucksack with a belt and padded shoulder straps.
Aspiration:
Something that you hope to achieve:
I've never had any political aspirations.
It's a story about the lives and aspirations of poor Irish immigrants.
Humiliate:
To make someone feel ashamed or lose their respect for themselves:
How could you humiliate me by questioning my judgment in front of everyone like that
Timid:
Shy and nervous; lacking confidence; easily frightened:
Lucy is a rather timid child.
My horse is a bit timid and is easily frightened by traffic.
Portray:
To represent or describe someone or something in a painting, film, book or other artistic work:
The painting portrays a beautiful young woman in a blue dress.
Stature:
Height:
His red hair and short stature made him easy to recognize
Validate:
To make something officially acceptable or approved, especially after examining it:
It is a one-year course validated by London's City University
Accomplish:
To finish something successfully or to achieve something:
The students accomplished the task in less than ten minutes.
She accomplished such a lot during her visit
We celebrated the successful accomplishment of our task.
Endure:
To suffer something difficult, unpleasant or painful:
We had to endure a nine-hour delay at the airport.
She's already had to endure three painful operations on her leg.
Resilient:
Able to quickly return to a previous good condition:
This rubber ball is very resilient and immediately springs back into shape.
She's a resilient girl - she won't be unhappy for long.
Perseverance:
Continued effort and determination:
Through hard work and perseverance, he worked his way up from being a teacher in a village school to the headmaster of a large comprehensive.
Resort:
When you have to do something because there is no other way of achieving something:
He got hold of the money legally, without resort to violence
A place where many people go for rest, sport or another stated purpose:
a tourist resort
Embrace:
To hold someone tightly with both arms to express love, liking or sympathy, or when greeting or leaving someone:
She saw them embrace on the station platform.
He leant over to embrace the child.

Get down (on the floor) and play with your child (Family)

Errands:                                                                                                                                                            A short journey either to take a message or to deliver or collect something:
I'll meet you at six; I've got some errands to do/run first.

Growling:                                                                                                                                                       To make a low rough sound, usually in anger:
The dog growled at her and snapped at her ankles.
"Not now, I'm busy, " he growled.                          

Hop:                                                                                                                                                                   To jump on one foot or to move about in this way:
I tried to hop on my good foot while holding onto Jim.                                                                                     

Sally:                                                                                                                                                                  A sudden attack on an enemy, especially when they are surrounding you

Tickle:                                                                                                                                                                    To touch someone lightly with your fingers, making them slightly uncomfortable and often making them laugh:
Stop! You're tickling me!
I tickled her feet and she laughed

David Speaks with Dr. Morley Phillips (Canadian life)

Eminent:
Famous, respected or important:
an eminent historian
Regretful:
Feeling sad or unhappy:
A regretful goodbye/glance/smile
Admittedly:
Used when you are agreeing that something is true, especially unwillingly:
Admittedly, I could have tried harder but I still don't think all this criticism is fair.
Compete:
To try to be more successful than someone or something else:
It's difficult for a small supermarket to compete against/with the big supermarkets.
Momentous:
Very important because of effects on future events:
the momentous news of the President's death
Whether or not to move overseas was a momentous decision for the family.
Astute:
Clever and quick to see how to take advantage of a situation:
an astute investor/businesswoman
his astute handling of the situation
an astute observer of human behaviour
Tide:
The rise and fall of the sea that happens twice every day:
high/low tide
the tide is out/in
A noticeable change in a situation or increase in a particular type of behaviour:
We must look for ways of stemming (= stopping) the rising tide of protest.
Exploit:
To use someone or something unfairly for your own advantage:
Laws exist to stop companies exploiting their employees
Exploitation:
When someone uses someone else unfairly for their own advantage:
Marx wrote about the exploitation of the workers

Dr. Laura speaks with the mother of a cheeky Teenager (Category: Family)

Cheeky:

Slightly rude or showing a lack of respect, but often in a funny way:
She's got such a cheeky grin.
Don't be so cheeky!

Emancipated:

Not limited socially or politically:
We live in more emancipated times.
The twenties and sixties are often regarded as the most emancipated decades.

Yell:

To shout something or make a loud noise, usually when you are angry, in pain or excited:
Our neighbours were yelling (obscenities) at each other this morning.
The child yelled out in pain.

Privilege:

An advantage that only one person or group of people has, usually because of their position or because they are rich:
Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege

An opportunity to do something special or enjoyable:
I had the privilege of interviewing Picasso in the 1960s.
It was a real privilege to meet her

Owe:

To need to pay or give something to someone because they have lent money to you, or in exchange for something they have done for you:
[+ two objects] I owe Janet ten pounds.
We still owe $1000 on our car (= We still need to pay $1000 before we own our car).

Owing:

Still to be paid:
We have several hundred pounds owing on our car

Crap:

Something which is worthless, useless, nonsense or of bad quality:
I can't believe she's trying to pass off this crap as art!

San Francisco’s Terra Infirma( Category: History)

My Recording:

In vain:

Unsuccessful or useless:
I tried in vain to start a conversation.
All the police's efforts to find him were in vain

Flock:

To move or gather together in large numbers:
Hundreds of people flocked to the football match.

Illustrious:

Famous, well respected and admired:
She comes from an illustrious political family, which includes two former Cabinet ministers.

Exposition:

A clear and full explanation of an idea or theory:
It purports to be an exposition of Catholic social teaching

A show in which industrial goods, works of art, etc. are shown to the public:
the San Francisco exposition

Crumble:

To break, or cause something to break, into small pieces:
She nervously crumbled the bread between her fingers.
The cliffs on which the houses are built are starting to crumble.

Rubble:

The piles of broken stone and bricks, etc. that is left when a building falls down or is destroyed:
The bomb reduced the house to rubble

Personal effects:

Things that you own which you often carry with you, such as keys or clothing:
After she had identified the body of her husband, the police asked her to collect his personal effects

Antique:

Something made in an earlier period and collected and valued because it is beautiful, rare, old or of high quality:
You can't give away Granny's old bookcase - it's a valuable antique.
My mother collects antiques

Unearth:

To discover something in the ground:
Building at the site was halted after human remains were unearthed earlier this month.

Demolish:

To completely destroy a building, especially in order to use the land for something else:
A number of houses were demolished so that the supermarket could be built.

Wipe:

To destroy something completely:
Whole villages were wiped out in the fighting

Salvage:

To save goods from damage or destruction, especially from a ship that has sunk or been damaged or a building that has been damaged by fire or flooding:
gold coins salvaged from a shipwreck
after the fire, there wasn't much furniture left worth salvaging.

Rot:

To (cause to) decay:
The fruit had been left to rot on the trees.
Rain has got in and rotted (away) the woodwork

Abandon: (don’t confuse with abundant)

To leave a place, thing or person forever:
We had to abandon the car.
By the time the rebel troops arrived, the village had already been abandoned

Skyrocket:

To rise extremely quickly or make extremely quick progress towards success

Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent months

Remains:

Pieces or parts of something, which continue to exist when most of it has been used, destroyed or taken away:
The remains of lunch were still on the table.
We visited the remains of a 12th-century monastery.

Landfill:

A place where rubbish is buried:
Ninety per cent of American rubbish is dumped in landfill sites.

Trivial:

Having little value or importance:
I don't know why he gets so upset about something that is utterly trivial.

Seismic:

Relating to or caused by an earthquake:
seismic activity/waves

Embedded:

Fixed into the surface of something:
The thorn was embedded in her thumb

Shoreline:

The edge of a sea, lake or wide river:
Oil from the wrecked tanker polluted more than 40 miles of the Normandy shoreline.

Are Your Children Growing Up Too Fast? (Family)

Yell:

To shout something or make a loud noise, usually when you are angry, in pain or excited:
Our neighbours were yelling (obscenities) at each other this morning.
The child yelled out in pain.

Faint-hearted:

Describes someone who is not confident or brave and dislikes taking unnecessary risks:
The terrorist threat in the region has kept faint-hearted tourists away.

Peer:

A person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as other people in a group:
Do you think it's true that teenage girls are less self-confident than their male peers?

Rage:

Extreme or violent anger:
Her sudden towering rages were terrifying.
I was frightened because I had never seen him in such a rage before.

Very severe or extreme:
a raging toothache

Very strong or violent:
a raging temper.

Miniature:

Describes something, which is a very small copy of an object:
I bought some miniature furniture for my niece's dolls' house.

Reminiscence:

Reminisce means to talk or write about past experiences, which you remember with pleasure:
My grandfather used to reminisce about his years in the navy.

Reminiscences mean your reminiscences are the experiences you remember from the past, often written in a book:
The novel contains endless reminiscences of/about the author's youth.

Content studied: The Linguist, about learning English

                         Volume 1  Issue 12
                        
My recording :

Download MP3 files: The linguist about learning English

Transcript:

English is well established as the most useful world language. The largest demand for second language instruction in the world is for English. Whether we like it or not, English dominates in business, science, travel and popular culture, not to mention the Internet. English is a rather clumsy language, combining the influences of Old English, Latin, Norman French and natural evolution. As a result, English has all kinds of inconsistencies of grammar and spelling to frustrate the learner. Yet English dominates, whereas artificial international languages like Esperanto have never had any following.
 
Two thousand years ago, or even five hundred years ago, it would have seemed ridiculous to suppose that the language spoken on a small damp North Atlantic island would one day be the world's most widely used language. Certainly Chinese, Latin, Greek, Arabic, or even Mongolian would, at various times in history, have seemed more likely candidates. Who knows what languages will be spoken in another five hundred years? As Spencer Wells explains in The Journey of Man, A Genetic Odyssey (Princeton University Press) "[Although] Sogdian was once the lingua franca of the Silk Road - in much the same way that English is the language of commerce today, by the twentieth century all dialects were extinct but one. "
 
If you are not a native speaker of English, then I encourage you to read this book in English. This may be the first book that you read in English, but you can do it. Perhaps most of the English content you have read up until now has consisted of short texts or articles. Perhaps the thought of reading a whole book in English is intimidating to you. It should not be.
 
This book, which contains over 4,000 of the most common English words, is presented in a mixed media format that is at the core of a language learning system we call The Linguist. By reading this book in conjunction with our system, you can be sure that these 4,000 words will become part of your active vocabulary.
 
This book is printed on paper, the most comfortable and intimate format. Books are portable and convenient. But I have also recorded the contents on a CD so that you can hear the language and allow it to stimulate those neural networks in your brain which respond to the spoken language. Finally, the book is available in electronic format so you can look up words using dictionary software and take advantage of the many functions you will find at our web site, www.thelinguist.com.

Content studied: Your Language Adventure: Part 5

Download MP3 files: Steves recording 

My recording

Steve's recording

Transcript:

At The Linguist you can choose from a vast library of content to listen to and read. There is content on literature, business, philosophy, self-improvement, clothes, shopping, food, sport, travel and many other subjects. You can surround yourself with the content that you need. As you learn ideas and facts that are important to you, you will learn the language. The content in The Linguist consists mostly of real authentic content spoken by native speakers for native speakers, not "learner language". You will not be learning from artificial scenarios which pretend to take place at the train station, the post office or the bank.
It does not matter what your level is or what your goal is. The Linguist will help you select material at your level. If you are a beginner you will learn from easier English. If you want to learn specialized terms you will study content that is meaningful to your special field. If you want to improve your business English or academic English, the method is the same. If you need to get better at socializing in English you can find content that will help you.
The Linguist will help you speak and write better. Rather than writing tests and answering questions on grammar, at The Linguist you are asked to be creative in using the language in writing and speaking. You express yourself about things that are important to you. As you speak and write you will make mistakes. It does not matter. The Linguist program will show you how to use your mistakes to improve.
Even if you are a native speaker and want to improve your word power, The Linguist methods will help you become a more effective communicator.
The Linguist will train you to notice the words and phrases of the language. Normally when you listen and read you only concentrate on the meaning. You will learn to notice how words are used. You will notice how English words are used together to become phrases. By deliberately noticing important words and phrases, you will train your brain to use them, naturally. You will start to notice how, in English, words come together in certain ways that are different from what happens in your own language. You do not need to know why this is. You do not need to memorize rules. You just need to notice that it is so and imitate it. That is how children learn. You will do the same, regardless of your level.
Here is how it works. After you listen to something from The Linguist on your MP3 player or CD player, you then read the same content on your computer. You will come across a word or phrase that you do not understand or that you do not feel comfortable using yourself. You highlight this term on the screen and save it. This creates a link to your personal database. You also link this term to a dictionary definition and translation. You can ask your tutor for an explanation of any phrase you do not understand (if you are a member of The Linguist).

Sneaky:                                                                                                                                                         To go somewhere secretly, or to take someone or something somewhere secretly:
I managed to sneak in through the back door while she wasn't looking.
Jan hasn't got a ticket but I thought we might sneak her in.

Abrasive:                                                                                                                                                         Rude and unfriendly:
She has a rather abrasive manner

Implicitly:                                                                                                                                                Complete and without any doubts:
Implicit trust.
All her life she had implicit faith in socialism.

Fallout:                                                                                                                                                           The unpleasant results or effects of an action or event:
The political fallout of the revelations has been immense

Instil:
To put a feeling, idea or principle gradually into someone's mind, so that it has a strong influence on the way they think or behave:
It is part of a teacher's job to instil confidence in/into his or her students.
Triumph:
A very great success, achievement or victory, or a feeling of great satisfaction or pleasure caused by this:
The book celebrates the hostages' remarkable triumph over appalling adversity.
The signing of the agreement was a personal triumph for the Prime Minister.
Perspective:
A particular way of considering something (view, thought):
Her attitude lends a fresh perspective to the subject.
Reluctant:
Not very willing to do something and therefore slow to do it:
I was having such a good time I was reluctant to leave.
Many parents feel reluctant to talk openly with their children.
Mourning:
Great sadness felt because someone has died:
Shops will be closed today as a sign of mourning for the king.
He was in mourning for his wife.
Bleak:
If weather or a place is bleak, it is cold, empty and not welcoming or attractive:
The house stands on a bleak, windswept moor.
If a situation is bleak, there is little or no hope for the future:
The economic outlook is bleak.
Counsel:
To give advice, especially on social or personal problems:
The police have provided experts to counsel local people affected by the tragedy.                                  
Council:
Stevenage borough council, city council

Flip:
If you flip something, you turn it over quickly one or more times, and if something flips, it turns over quickly:
When one side is done, flip the pancake (over) to cook the other side.
I lost my place in my book when the pages flipped over in the wind
Embarrassed:
Feeling ashamed or shy:
She felt embarrassed about undressing in front of the doctor.
Subordinate:
Having a lower or less important position:
a subordinate role
subordinate status
the individual's needs are subordinate to those of the group. 
A person who has a less important position than you in an organization:
He left the routine checks to one of his subordinates
Intimacy:                                                                                                                                                        When you have a close friendship or sexual relationship with someone:
Intimacy between teachers and students is not recommended                                                                  Reliance:
When you depend on or trust in something or someone:
The region's reliance on tourism is unwise.
You place too much reliance on her ideas and expertise.
 Self-reliance means dependent on yourself or independent
Self-esteem:
Belief and confidence in your own ability and value:
The compliments she received after the presentation boosted her self-esteem.

Indictment:
A formal statement of accusation:
The charges on the indictment include murder and attempted murder
A reason for giving blame:
This seems to me to be a damning indictment of education policy.
Deportation:
Deport means to force someone to leave a country, especially someone who has no legal right to be there or who has broken the law
There were mass deportations in the 1930s, when thousands of people were forced to leave the country
Apprehend:
To catch and arrest someone who has not obeyed the law:
The police have finally apprehended the killer
Both the army and the police were involved in the apprehension of the terrorists
Unfounded:
Describes a claim or piece of news that is not based on fact:
I'm pleased to see that our fears about the weather proved totally unfounded                                       Detention:
To detain means to force someone officially to stay in a place
When someone is officially detained:
Concern has been expressed about the death in detention of a number of political prisoners
Damning:
Describes a report, finding, remark, etc. which is very critical or which shows clearly that someone is wrong, guilty or has behaved very badly:
He made some fairly damning remarks about the government's refusal to deal with the problem.

Sneak:
To go somewhere secretly, or to take someone or something somewhere secretly:
I managed to sneak in through the back door while she wasn't looking.
Doing things in a secret and unfair way:
a sneaky plan
They're the ones who spoil the kids, sneak them the candies, sneak them the dollar here, dollar there
Rotten:
Decayed:
The room smelled of rotten vegetables.
Very bad:
rotten weather

Irony:
A situation, in which something which was intended to have a particular result, has the opposite or a very different result:( wrong result)
The irony (of it) is that the new tax system will burden those it was intended to help
Resurrect:
To bring back something into use or existence that had disappeared or ended:
Several members of the party have resurrected the idea of constitutional change.
Renovation:
To repair and improve something, especially a building:
He renovates old houses and sells them at a profit.
The museum is closed for renovation
Stringent:                                                                                                                                                        Having a very severe effect, or being extremely limiting:
The most stringent laws in the world are useless unless there is the will to enforce them.
We need to introduce more stringent security measures such as identity cards.                           Emulate:
To copy something achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they have:
They hope to emulate the success of other software companies.
Authentic:
If something is authentic, it is real, true, or what people say it is:
an authentic 1920s dress
authentic Italian food
He was there and saw what happened, so his is the only authentic account.
The quality of being real or true:
The poems are supposed to be by Sappho, but they are actually of doubtful authenticity

Innate:
An innate quality or ability is one that you were born with, not one you have learned:
Cyril's most impressive quality was his innate goodness
Expertise:
A high level of knowledge or skill:
We admired the expertise with which he prepared the meal.
I have no expertise in sewing/sewing expertise.
Commodity:
A substance or product that can be traded bought or sold:
The country's most valuable commodities include tin and diamonds.
The international commodities market
Flounder:
To experience great difficulties or be completely unable to decide what to do or say next:
He lost the next page of his speech and floundered (about/around) for a few seconds
Succinctly:
Said in a clear and short way; expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words:
I thought she expressed her feelings most succinctly in the meeting

Concerted:
Describes an effort or attempt that is determined and serious:
There has been a concerted campaign against the proposals.
He's making a concerted effort to improve his appearance.
Efficacy:
An ability, especially of a medicine or a method of achieving something, to produce the intended result; effectiveness:
They recently ran a series of tests to measure the efficacy of the drug.
Prohibition:
When something is officially forbidden, or an order forbidding something:
London Transport has announced a prohibition on smoking on buses
Contour:
The shape of a mass of land or other object, especially its surface or the shape formed by its outer edge:
He studied the contours of her face.
Her latest collection of swimwear shows off the contours of the human body to perfection.                      Counter:
To react to something with an opposing opinion or action; to defend yourself against something:
When criticisms were made of the school's performance, the parents' group countered with details of its examination results.
Extra police have been moved into the area to counter the risk of violence.
A long flat narrow surface or table in a shop, bank, restaurant, etc. at which people are served:
There was nobody behind/on the counter when I went into the bank, and I had to wait to be served.
Rival:
A person, group, etc. competing with others for the same thing or in the same area:
He beat his closest/nearest rival by 20 marks.
The companies produce rival versions of the toy
Vender:
Someone who is selling something:
For the past few months she's been working as a street vendor, selling fruit and veg.   
Vending machines or in UK slots machines:
A machine from which you can buy small items such as cigarettes, drinks and sweets by putting coins into it

Immortalise:
To make someone or something so famous that they are remembered for a very long time:
Marlene Dietrich was immortalized through her roles in films like 'The Blue Angel'.
Outlaw:
To make something illegal or unacceptable (banned):
The new law will outlaw smoking in public places
Legend:
A very old story or set of stories from ancient times, or the stories, not always true, that people tell about a famous event or person:
The dance was based on several Hindu legends.
She is writing a thesis on Irish legend and mythology

Shopped-out:
If you are 'shopped-out', then you have done so much shopping that you just cannot do any more
I think I am quite shopped-out after Christmas.
Messy:
Untidy:
a messy kitchen
Producing or causing dirt and untidiness:
Eating spaghetti can be a messy business.
Vicky cooks really well but she's rather messy
Describes a situation that is confused and unpleasant:
A war will be a long and messy business
Recreational:
(A way of) enjoying yourself when you are not working:
His favourite recreations are golf and playing Scrabble.
Emma's only form of recreation seems to be shopping
Recreational activities/facilities/interests

Compete:
To try to be more successful than someone or something else:
It's difficult for a small supermarket to compete against/with the big supermarkets.
Inclination:
A preference or tendency, or a feeling that makes a person wants to do something:
My own inclination would be to look for another job
Tempt:
To make someone want to have or do something, especially something that is unnecessary or wrong:
The offer of a free car stereo tempted her into buying a new car.
They tempted him to join the company by offering him a large salary and a company car
Segregate:
To keep one group of people apart from another and treat them differently, especially because of race or sex:
a segregated school/society
Blacks were segregated from whites in every area of life.                                                                                 Clad:
(Of people) dressed, or (of things) covered:
A strange figure appeared in the doorway, clad in white.
An ivy-clad wall
an armour-clad vehicle