Monday, December 21, 2015

C1 16-17/12/15

p. 55

know-how /ˈnəʊhaʊ/ noun [ U ]
practical skill and knowledge
technical know-how


E-marketplace
a one-stop shop
organic, animal friendly, sweat-shop labour free
sweat‧shop [countable]
a small business, factory etc where people work hard in bad conditions for very little money - used to show disapproval
shoes
home cleaning

self-regulating
earth berries
soap berry tree

get/start off on the wrong foot
to start a relationship or activity badly
He got off on the wrong foot with my parents by arriving late.
Practice it anywhere

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

C1 14-15/12/15


Homework: Write a description of how something works as in the model on page 53.


p.51
/ˌɔrgənəˈzeɪʃən/  
/ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃən/
entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜː r / noun [ C ]
someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves risks
entrepreneurial adjective

businessman, businesswoman /ˈbɪznɪsmən, ˈbɪznɪsˌwʊmən/ noun [ C ] plural businessmen , businesswomen
someone who works in business, usually in a high position in a company

An angel to invest (sb helping an entrepreneur develop an idea)

Hit on/upon sth
— phrasal verb with hit UK    US    /hɪt/ verb (past participle hitting, past tense and past participle hit)       
› To think of an idea when you didn’t expect or intend to, especially one that solves a problem:
When we first hit on the idea, everyone told us it would never work.

Thrive
Verb [I] UK    US    /θraɪv/ (thrived or US also throve, thrived or US also thriven)       
To grow, develop, or be successful:
His business thrived in the years before the war.
She seems to thrive on stress.

Wear someone out
— Phrasal verb with wear    /weər/ verb (wore, worn)       
› to make someone very tired:
All this walking is wearing me out.

Let alone
Used after a negative statement to emphasize how unlikely a situation is because something much more likely has never happened:
Some people never even read a newspaper, let alone a book.

bring somebody/something ↔ in 
phrasal verb
1 to introduce a new law:
Harsh anti-Trade Union laws were brought in in the early 1980s.
2 to ask someone to become involved in a discussion or situation:
I'd like to bring in Doctor Hall here and ask him his views.
bring somebody in to do something
The police were brought in to investigate the matter.
3 to earn a particular amount or produce a particular amount of profit:
The sale of the house only brought in about £45,000.
4 to attract customers to a shop or business:
We've got to bring in more business if we want the restaurant to survive.
5
 bring in a verdict
to say officially in a law court whether someone is guilty or not guilty of a crime [= return a verdict]:
The jury brought in a verdict of not guilty.

/ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜːr/  
UK  /ˌɒn.trə.prəˈnɜː.ʃɪp/  US  /ˌɑːn.trə.prəˈnɝː-/

sil‧i‧con [uncountable]
a chemical substance that exists as a solid or as a powder and is used to make glass, bricks, and parts for computers. It is a chemical element: symbol Si

sil‧i‧cone [uncountable]
a chemical that is not changed by heat or cold, does not let water through, and is used in making artificial body parts, paint, and rubber

p.54

PITCH
business deals
 [intransitive and transitive] informal to try to persuade someone to do business with you, buy something etc
pitch for business/contracts/custom etc
Booksellers are keen to pitch for school business.
pitch to
For many companies, pitching to investors has become almost a full-time job.
sales reps pitching new gadgets

sweatshop
 (ˈswɛtˌʃɒp)
n
1. (Industrial Relations & HR Terms) a workshop where employees work long hours under bad conditions for low wages


peek‧a‧boo [uncountable]
a game you play to amuse young children, in which you hide your face and then show it again, or the word you say when you play this game:
Peekaboo! I see you!

Less is more-> lo bueno, si breve...

What is Copyleft?
Copyleft is a strategy of utilizing copyright law to pursue the policy goal of fostering and encouraging the equal and inalienable right to copy, share, modify and improve creative works of authorship. Copyleft (as a general term) describes any method that utilizes the copyright system to achieve the aforementioned goal. Copyleft as a concept is usually implemented in the details of a specific copyright license, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License. Copyright holders of creative work can unilaterally implement these licenses for their own works to build communities that collaboratively share and improve those copylefted creative works.

Six pack



Wednesday, December 09, 2015

C1 9-10/12/15




C1 2-3/12/15
out‧ing
1 [countable] a short trip that a group of people take for pleasure
a family/school etc outing
a class outing to the ballet
outing to
an outing to the beach
on an outing
They had gone on an outing to the pool for Robert's birthday.

Depend /dɪˈpend/ verb
It/that depends
Used to say that you are not certain about something because other things affect your answer
[+ Question word] "Are you coming out tonight?" "It depends where you're going."
Depend on/upon sb/sth phrasal verb
1 NEED to need the help of someone or something in order to exist or continue as before
She depends on her son for everything.
The city's economy depends largely on the car industry.
2 BE INFLUENCED BY If something depends on someone or something, it is influenced by them, or changes because of them.
[+ question word ] The choice depends on what you're willing to spend.
3 TRUST to be able to trust someone or something to help, or to do what you expect
[+ to do sth ] You can always depend on Andy to keep his promises.

Double-barreled  
Young
McLaughlin
Visual
Aural
Kinesthetic

make a pig's ear of sth

informal› to do something ​badly, ​wrongly, or ​awkwardly: He's made a ​real pig's ​ear of that ​bookcase he was ​supposed to be making.

C1 9-10/12/15
Homework: p.50, reading act. (1, 2 and 3)

p.49
DROP
Small amount [usually singular] informal
a) A small amount of liquid that you drink, especially alcohol
Drop of
She likes to add a drop of brandy to her tea.
George hasn't touched a drop (=drunk any alcohol) for years.
b) A small amount of something
Drop of
I haven't got a drop of sympathy for him.

To drop a hint
When you say something that suggests what you think or want, but not in a direct way
He dropped (= made) several hints that he wanted a CD player for his birthday.

STROKE
Stroke of luck/fortune-> something lucky that happens to you unexpectedly:
In a stroke of luck, a suitable organ donor became available.

Stroke of genius/inspiration etc-> a very good idea about what to do to solve a problem:
It was a stroke of genius to film the movie in Toronto.

Not do a stroke (of work) ->to not do any work at all

Stroke of lightning -> a bright flash of lightning, especially one that hits something

SHRED

Shred of something-> a very small amount of something:
There's not a shred of doubt (=no doubt at all) in my mind that we will win.
He does not have a shred of evidence (=none at all) to prove his claim.
The last shred of hope
! Usually used with negative words such as not, without, and hardly.

GLIMMER [countable] /ˈglɪmər/
1 a small sign of something such as hope or understanding
Glimmer of       
1 a glimmer of happiness/hope, etc
A glimmer of hope for the future->a small sign of something good
2 [C] when a light shines in a weak way
2 a light that is not very bright [= gleam]
Glimmer of       
The first glimmer of dawn

FLASH
A flash of lightning
Flash of inspiration/brilliance/insight/anger etc
If someone has a flash of brilliance, anger etc, they suddenly have a clever idea or a particular feeling

HINT OF
A very small amount or sign of something
'When?' He asked with a hint of impatience.
We shall have to turn back if there's the slightest hint of fog.
Hint of scandal, spring, garlic, cinnamon, irony, mockery, glamour, mystery...
---
A pack of lions/wolves
A school of fish
A swarm of bees
A flock of birds (geese)/sheep
A herd of cattle
Herds of elephant
---
A pinch of salt

convey /kənˈveɪ/ verb [ T ]
1 COMMUNICATE to communicate information, feelings, or images to someone
She always conveys a sense of enthusiasm for her work.
2 TRANSPORT to transport something or someone to a particular place

Pork out (on something)
Inf.-> to overeat on something; to become fat as a pig from eating something. -> I pork out on French fries whenever I get the chance. I wish I didn't pork out all the time.
Pork out
v. Slang
1. To eat greedily, ravenously, or voraciously; gorge: After we porked out at the buffet, we didn't have room for dessert. I went to my favourite restaurant and porked out on pizza.
2. To become fat: I porked out over the holidays, and now I can barely fit into my pants.


p.52


Song:
Protein
Helmet
Engines
Ignition
Whose
Capsule
Floating
Tin can
Still
Spaceship
Sign


To be spoilt for choice
nuance /ˈnjuːɑːns/ noun [ C ]
a very slight difference in meaning, appearance, sound, etc
a subtle nuance
Linguists explore the nuances of language.


Wednesday, December 02, 2015

C1 31/11-1/12/15

Homework: reading p. 48 (1, 2, 3 and 4)

p.45
be spoilt for choice›
to be ​unable to ​choose because there are so many ​possible good ​choices:
There's so much good ​theatre in New York City - one is ​spoilt for ​choice.
feasible
adjective /ˈfiːzəbl/
› able to be done
factible, viable
a feasible solution to the problem.

stunt 1 /stʌnt/ noun [ C ]
1 DANGER when someone does something dangerous that needs great skill, usually in a film
He always does his own stunts .
2 ATTENTION something that is done to get people's attention
Their marriage was just a cheap publicity stunt .

There are better possibilities other than this one.

feasible /ˈfiːzəbl/ adjective
possible to do
a feasible plan
[ + to do sth ] It may be feasible to clone human beings, but is it ethical?
feasibility /ˌfiːzəˈbɪləti/ noun [ U ]

no pun intended (=used to show you do not mean to make a joke about something)
The clergy prey (no pun intended) on bereaved families.

propel /prəˈpel/ verb [ T ] present participle propelling , past propelled
1 propel sb into/to sth
to cause someone to do an activity or be in a situation
The film propelled him to international stardom.
2 to push or move something somewhere, often with a lot of force
a rocket propelled through space

rail
smooth‧ly
1 in a steady way, without stopping and starting again:
Traffic flowed smoothly.
2 if a planned event, piece of work etc goes smoothly, there are no problems to spoil it:
It'll take about three hours if everything goes smoothly.
Donna keeps the office running smoothly.
3 if you say something smoothly, you say it in a calm and confident way:
'All taken care of,' he said smoothly.
4 in a way that produces a smooth surface:
The jacket fit smoothly over her hips.

Amusement
Pedal
Above

Breakthrough [countable]
an important new discovery in something you are studying, especially one made after trying for a long time
breakthrough in     
Scientists have  made    a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer.

con‧trap‧tion [countable]
a piece of equipment or machinery that looks funny, strange, and unlikely to work well:
a bizarre contraption

sewing /ˈsəʊɪŋ/ noun [ U ]
1 ACTIVITY the activity of joining pieces of cloth together or repairing them with a needle and thread
2 CLOTH the pieces of cloth that you are joining together or repairing with a needle and thread

ec‧cen‧tric
1 behaving in a way that is unusual and different from most people:
His eccentric behaviour lost him his job.
Aunt Nessy was always a bit eccentric.

off-the-wall informal
very strange or unusual, often in an amusing way:
an off-the-wall concept

preposterous /prɪˈpɒst ə rəs/ adjective
extremely stupid
That's a preposterous idea!

ex‧hil‧a‧rat‧ing
making you feel happy, excited, and full of energy:
an exhilarating experience
an exhilarating walk

bizarre /bɪˈzɑː r / adjective
very strange and surprising
bizarre behaviour
bizarrely adverb

wack‧y informal
silly in an exciting or amusing way [= crazy]:
a wonderfully wacky idea

ob‧nox‧ious
very offensive, unpleasant, or rude:
She's really obnoxious.
an obnoxious idea
obnoxious odours

nifty /ˈnɪfti/ adjective
informal well-designed and effective
a nifty piece of software

litter 2 /ˈlɪtə r / verb [ T ]
If things litter an area, they cover parts of it in an untidy way.
Clothes littered the floor.
be littered with sth phrasal verb
to contain a lot of something
The whole book is littered with errors.

a case in point
a good example of something
Supermarkets often charge too much for goods. Bananas are a case in point.

Come about
phrasal verb
1 to happen, especially in a way that is not planned:
The opportunity to get into computing came about quite by accident.
How did this situation come about?

Come with sth phrasal verb
To think of a plan, an idea, or a solution to a problem
We need to come up with a good scheme to make money.

Come down to sth/doing sth phrasal verb
If a situation, problem, decision, etc comes down to something, then that is the thing that will influence it most.

Come across sb/sth phrasal verb
To meet someone or discover something by chance
I came across a lovely little restaurant in the village.
Finding and discovering
Meeting people ▶ See also Official meetings
Come across SEEM phrasal verb
1 to seem to be a particular type of person
He came across as shy.
Seeming and purporting to be ▶ See also Faking and pretending
Come across CLEAR verb2 If an idea or emotion comes across, it is expressed clearly and people understand it.
His bitterness comes across in his poetry.

Come off phrasal verb1
To happen successfully
His attempt to impress us all didn't quite come off.

Come up against sb/sth phrasal verb
To have to deal with a problem or difficulty

She came up against a lot of sexism in her first engineering job.