Family and friends
- A lifelong friend – A friend that you have had for most of your life
- A relationship of trust – a connection with another in which you have faith and confidence
- Arrange a dinner date – Plan to share an evening meal
- A shoulder to cry on – Someone to sympathize with you
- Close knit family – A close family with common interests
- Dear to my heart – Someone that I care about
- Distant cousins – People who share a common ancestor but are not closely related
- Extend the hand of friendship – Reach out to someone in a friendly manner
- Extended family – Uncles, aunts and cousins form part of the extended family
- Face to face – In person
- Get to know one another – Learning different aspects of each other
- Get together – Meet up
- Immediate family – Spouse, parents, children, grandparents
- Long lost friend – A friend that you have lost contact with
- Long-term relationships – A committed relationship between partners
- Nurture our friendships – Looking after our relationships with friends
- Professional relationships – The relationships that we have in the workplace
- Relationship problems – Difficulties with people with whom we interact regularly
- Share a common background – The share a similar heritage or culture
- Share the same ideas – To have similar opinions and views
- Stand the test of time – To last a long time
- Struck up a friendship – To make friends
- To enjoy someone’s company – To enjoy spending time with someone
- To have a good working relationship – To work together well
- To have a lot in common – To have shared interests
- To hit it off – To like each other straight away
- To keep in touch with – To keep in contact
- To lose touch with – To lose contact
Food
- A balanced diet – A diet of mostly healthy food that has the right amount of nutrients
- A bottle of bubbly – Sparkling wine
- A decadent chocolate pudding – Luxurious or self-indulgent chocolate pudding
- A doggy bag – The leftovers of a meal in a restaurant taken home
- A scrumptious meal – A delicious meal
- A slap up meal – an expensive or very indulgent ‘treat’ meal
- A sweet tooth – An enjoyment of sweet food
- An English breakfast – A large cooked breakfast that includes egg and bacon
- Calm the hunger pangs – To reduce the discomfort caused by hunger
- Candle lit dinner – A romantic dinner by candlelight
- Covered in a rich sauce – Covered in a creamy gravy
- Cut down on – To reduce consumption
- Daily consumption – The amount that you eat everyday
- Dying of hunger – Very hungry
- Exotic meals – Meals that originate in other countries
- Fine dining – Food catering to expensive tastes in a formal setting
- Food preparation – Preparing food
- Food production – Producing food
- Fussy eater – Someone dislikes many foods
- Home cooked meals – Meals cooked at home
- Homemade food – Food made at home
- Junk food – Food with little nutritional value
- Leafy vegetables – Vegetables such as spinach and cabbage
- Mouth-watering meals – Delicious meals
- Nutritious food – Food with many nutrients
- Quick snack – a small meal that’s easy to eat ‘on the go’.
- Packed with vitamins – Full of vitamins
- Piping hot cup of coffee – Very hot coffee
- Pub lunch – Lunch served in a bar
- Rabbit food – Salad vegetables
- Ready meals – Heat and eat meals
- Refined carbohydrates – Foods such as white rice, white bread
- Savouring the food – Enjoying the food
- Scrumptious meal – An exceptionally tasty meal
- Seasonal fruits – Fruits that grow in season
- Starving hungry – Extremely hungry
- Wining and dining – Entertainment that includes good food
Travel
1. Affordable destinations – Places within a reasonable price range
2. Affordable travel – Travel which is within your price range
3. Around the world – In all corners of the globe
4. Arts and culture – The art, music and other cultural aspects of an area
5. Craft markets – Stalls where goods made by the local people are sold
6. Do as the locals do – Enjoy the activities as the local people do
7. Efficient public transport – A functioning transport system intended for the use of residents and visitors
8. Exotic destinations – Unusual or strange holiday destinations
9. Get around – Get from place to place
10. Guided tours – Walking, hiking or driving visits led by a guide who knows the area
11. Holiday brochures – Pamphlets advertising holiday destinations
12. Holiday destination – Place to which you leave on holiday
13. Long haul flights – Long distance flights
14. Lush rainforests – Luxuriant equatorial forests
15. Magnificent landscapes – Impressive scenery
16. Make advance reservations – Booking ahead of time
17. Memorable experiences – Activities that you will remember for years
18. Off the beaten track – A place that is not on the main thoroughfare
19. Out of season – Outside the most popular holiday period
20. Packaged deals – Travel deals that are put together by an agency and sold as a package
21. Quaint villages – Old-fashioned or charming small towns
22. Scenic views – Lovely scenes
23. Self-catering accommodation – A Place to stay where you see to your own food
24. Spectacular beaches – Impressive sandy shorelines
25. Stunning architecture – Magnificent buildings
26. Swarming with tourists – Full of holidaymakers
27. Time on their hands – Available time to do as you choose
28. To get away from it all – To get away from everyday routines
29. To go sightseeing – Take a trip around an area to see what it has to offer
30. Travel abroad – Travel to overseas destinations
31. Travelling light – Travelling with little luggage
32. Value for money – A good return on investment
33. Visa regulations – Laws that relate to entry into a country
34. Wildlife safari – A guided tour through a game park
Technology
- Access to the Internet – Able to connect to the Internet
- Advances in technology – Progressive forward movement in technology
- Back up your files – To save your data to another device
- Become rapidly obsolete – Quickly become out of date
- Computer literate – Adequate knowledge of a computer
- Control remotely – To control technology from a distance
- Downloading from the Internet – Take data off one computer to another via the Internet
- Electronic Funds Transfer – EFT Payment via the Internet
- Emerging technology – Brand new machines and software
- Glued to the screen – Unable or unwilling to leave the digital device
- Hacking into the network – To gain illegal access to the computer
- Internet access – The ability to enter the Internet
- Internet of Things – A network connecting machines in a location so that they can be remotely controlled
- Internet-enabled – Machines or appliances that have Internet access
- Keep a hard copy – Keep a paper copy
- Labour saving device – An appliance that saves work
- Not rocket science – It is not very difficult
- Online piracy – The downloading of licenced media without payment
- Re-install the programs – To put computer programs back onto the computer
- Shop online – Shop via the Internet
- Shut down – Turn the computer off
- Social media networks – Online platforms for communication between people and organisations
- State of the art technology – The best technology available
- Surfing the web – To move from one site to another on the Internet
- To click on an icon – To use the mouse to click on the pictures to get into programs
- To crash – To stop working suddenly
- To Log in – To sign onto the computer
- To upgrade your computer system – To get a larger, quicker or more modern computer
- Wireless hotspots – A location where the Internet is available
Pollution and Environment
- outskirts of large towns: areas outside the city centre, suburbs or industrial district
- factory emissions: smoke and pollution from factories
- toxic fumes: smoke which is poisonous
- traffic jams: large queues of cars not moving
- pollutants in foods: dangerous chemicals
- pesticides: chemicals to keep bugs and animals away from plants
- chemical fertilizers: chemicals added to make soil stronger
- commute to work: drive or travel to work every day
- Mantra: frequently repeated statement
- reuse and recycle: use products again or find another purpose for them
- industrial waste is incinerated: waste which is burnt
- facilities for recycling: places where you can dispose of plastic / cardboard
- education programme: teaching and learning in school or elsewhere
- consequences: the outcomes
- interspersed with (birds): mingled with, mixed with
- campaign: high profile policy for the public
- scientists predict: ideas for the future
- disintegrate: break down into small particles
- microplastics: very tiny pieces
- single-use applications: use once then throw out
- own- brand products: unique to the shop or supermarket
- policy should be rolled out: implemented all over the country
- documentaries: factual TV programmes
People and Personalities
- confident: in control
- awkward: uncomfortable
- underneath the surface, I am paddling like a swan: looking calm but not feeling it.
- put up a façade: to pretend to be something you are not
- a control freak: to want to do things yourself
- an eye for detail: making sure everything is perfect
- reliable and dependable: be trusted not to let someone down
- punctuality: being on time
- disrespectful: impolite
- a negative trait: bad characteristic
- parental way: behave like a mother or final
- interpersonal skills: be good at talking to others
- empathetic: understanding others emotions
- generous listener: take time to hear what others are saying
- to emulate: to be like
- considerate: kind and thoughtful
- insecure: shy and not confident
- moody: sometimes happy and sometimes sad/ cross
Fitness and Health
- balanced diet: eating a sensible mix of different foods
- conscientious about my health: watching and caring about your heath
- flavoursome and appealing: good to eat and looking attractive
- convenient take away: food which you can eat at home
- healthier eating habits: eating less sugar or salt
- productive at work: achieving more, better results
- processed meat: meat in which there are additives or chemicals
- function successfully: to work, perform in a great way
- tempted by diets: interested in other ways of eating
- adopted a vegan diet: a vegan does not eat meat, or dairy foods
- broad minded: open to other ideas
- Sceptical: not believing something
- over production of meat: factories or agricultural methods which are focused on this
- Public service education message: advice from the government
- Positive reinforcement: rewarding people for doing the right thing
School and Education
- authentic: real, true
- old-school strict: traditional learning with punishments and controlling teachers
- teacher centred: where the teacher is leading the class
- encourage collaboration: learning together through discussions
- pressure to meet deadlines: having to finish work by a certain time / date
- assignments: homework or essays
- sail through them: not to have to work hard and to find things easy
- learning expectations: what the teacher expects from their student
- role plays: acting out a situation to simulate or practice it
- dictation: writing down what the teacher says, accurately and fast.
- breakthrough: a new development
- inspiring: something which makes you want to do better
- intonation: the ‘singing’ sound of speech
- paid off: was worth the effort
- outdated: old fashioned
- league tables: tables which rank the position of schools according to academic success
- alumni: students who used to go to a certain school or college
- boarding school: where students live at school during the term time
- extra- curricular activities: anything NOT academic, eg sport, drama
- peer group: students of your own age, in your class
- remote: not being physically there / learning via computer
Work and Career
- A field (of work): an area or type of career
- Motivated about: wanting to do well in
- Internship: working for a short time, sometimes unpaid
- Apprenticeship: hands on, or practical work to learn a job
- Hands on: getting involved and doing everything to help
- Innovative small companies: with new, creative ideas
- Cutting edge: the best new technology
- Diagnose: to find out what is wrong
- Pediatrics: specialist child medicine (also spelled paediatrics)
- Routine check ups: a regular (not urgent) visit to the doctors
- Huge appreciation: gratefulness and gratitude
- Follow up care: an appointment after an operation or illness
- Lucrative: money making or profitable
- Highly merited: well deserved
- Career ladder: moving up through promotions to the top of the company
- Pension scheme: money for retirement
- Job security: knowing you can keep your job / job safety
- Start up community: new small businesses sometimes internet based
University and Student Life
- Challenging: academically difficult
- Day in, day out: full time without a break
- Wide-ranging: covering a large spectrum / area of different knowledge
- Undergraduate: studying for a degree but having not yet achieved it.
- Postgraduate: having achieved a degree and now studying for a higher qualification, possibly a professional qualification
- STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths
- Further education: studies after leaving school
- Technical colleges: places which do not demand such high entrance qualifications as university
- Vocational studies: focus on learning or mastering a skill
- Hands-on training: practical work/ learning
- To apply for a course: the process of registering for a university
- To get an (un)conditional offer: an offer which does not depend on previous exam results
- Halls of residence / student accommodation: a particular place to live for students
- Student union: an organisation for students / sometimes a physical place
- A fresher / an undergraduate / a graduate: a new student, someone studying for a Bachelors degree, a student who has finished their Degree
- A graduation ceremony: a formal occasion when Degrees are given out
- To take a gap year: a year between study and university
- To drop out of university: to leave before the course is finished
- Out of my depth: finding work / study too hard
- Seminar: smaller class of students with a Professor leading the discussion
- Lecture theatre: large building for a talk / lecture
- Extensive research: in-depth work done in a particular academic field
