Practise writing about names in your family.

Practise writing a description of your career path.

Practise writing a film synopsis.

Practise writing an email describing recent news and changes in your neighbourhood.

Practise writing the story of a journey that went wrong.

Practise writing a letter to the editor to complain about something.

Practise writing a blog entry about danger in extreme sports.

Practise writing a description of a symbol or an image from your country.

Practise writing a blog entry describing an experience on a reality show.

Practise writing a letter describing an invention.

Practise writing a description of a photo.

Practise writing a summary of an article.

Practise writing a business letter making a complaint.

Practise writing a personal anecdote.

Practise writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper.

Practise writing a personal letter giving advice on parenting problems.

Practise writing an article about different theories.

Practise writing a report describing advantages and disadvantages of different types of education.

Practise writing a product description for a brochure.

Practise writing a description of social groups and fashions.

Practise writing a personal anecdote about a disastrous holiday.

Practise writing a discursive text describing phenomena.

Practise creative writing describing a fictional character.

Practise writing a business letter asking for a bank loan.

Practise writing an album review.

Practise writing a newspaper report.

Practise writing a dramatic dialogue.

scarlet_fever

scarlet fever (n)

an infectious disease

frustrated

frustrated (adj)

how you feel if you can't do something you want to do

seek

seek (v)

to look for

partially_sighted

partially-sighted (adj)

able to see but not perfectly

battling

battle (v)

to fight

resistance

resistance (n)

refusal to accept something

persistence

persistence (n)

continuing to do something that is difficult

scenario

scenario (n)

the outline of the story of a film

starved

starved (participle)

not having enough of something, usually food

speech_therapist

speech therapist (n)

a person trained to help people with speech problems

raised

raise (v)

in this context, to collect money for a special purpose

therapy

therapy (n)

the treatment of illnesses

within

within (prep)

before the end of a period of time; "within days" means "before a few days had passed"

youngsters

youngsters (n)

children

utter

utter (v)

to speak words

halting

halting (adj)

slow, hesitating

tank

tank (n)

a big pool for fish, dolphins, etc.

allowed

allow (v)

to give permission

pointed

point (v)

to use your finger to make someone look at something

shock

shock (n)

complete surprise

got_over

get over (v)

to recover from something

cheered_up

cheer up (v)

to become happier

coached

coach (v)

to train someone, such as sportspeople

vocal_cords

vocal cords (n)

a part of your throat that makes sound for speaking

picking_up

pick up (v)

to learn

healing

heal (v)

to make a person healthy

overjoyed

overjoyed (adj)

extremely happy

fully

fully (adv)

completely

mute

mute (adj)

unable to speak

hanky

hanky (n)

(short for handkerchief) a cloth or soft paper for cleaning your nose

horn

horn (n)

the part of the car that makes a sound to warn other drivers

butt

butt (n)

the end of a cigarette that you put in your mouth

tyre

tyre (n)

the outside rubber part of a wheel, usually inflated with air

gothrough

go through (v)

to experience

faceupto

face up to (v)

to accept the existence of a problem and do something to solve it

founded

founded (adj)

justified, not invented or exaggerated

cope

cope (v)

to be able to deal with a problem or difficult situation

shift

shift (v)

to move

chore

chore (n)

a task or job that needs doing regularly

accordingly

accordingly (adv)

in a way that is consistent with something that happened before

tenaciously

tenaciously (adv)

in a determined or stubborn manner

overrun

overrun (v)

to have too many of something in one place; for example, "This park is overrun with stray cats"

set

set (n)

a group of similar or connected things

breed

breed (n)

a particular type of person

backbone

backbone (n)

the part of something that gives it strength and unity

do

do up (v)

to repair and decorate something (usually an old house or flat)

dockside

dockside (n)

the area next to a dock (=the place in a port where ships are loaded and unloaded)

yawn

yawn (v, n)

to open your mouth wide and breathe deeply, usually when you are tired

shiver

shiver (v, n)

an involuntary shaking action of your body when the weather is cold

hiccup

hiccup (n, v)

a repeating, uncontrollable movement of the chest causing a sound in your throat

vacant

vacant (adj)

not occupied

fleshy

fleshy (adj)

thick and soft

concertina

concertina (adj)

a musical instrument

ripe

ripe (adj)

usually of fruit: fully developed and ready to eat

sculpturally

sculpturally (adv)

like a sculpture, or statue

inexorably

inexorably (adv)

seeming to go on and on

dome

dome (n)

a round roof (used here metaphorically to describe his head)

tortoise

tortoise-shell (n)

material made from the hard shell of the tortoise or turtle

infantile

infantile (adj)

like a child, usually with a negative meaning

apish

apish (adj)

like an ape

spindly

spindly (adj)

thin and weak-looking

flanneled

flanneled (adj)

covered in flannel (=a kind of light cloth often used for making trousers)

frail

frail (adj)

weak

loan

loan (n)

a quantity of money that you borrow

swap

swap (v)

to exchange

weave

weave (v)

to create something by moving one thing around another thing

counterpoint

counterpoint (n)

a tune that is different from another one but complements it when the two are played together

release

release (v, n)

v: to make something available for the public to buy; n: the released product (such as a CD or DVD, a new release)

Julie

Julie Cruise

a rock singer with a fragile, emotional voice

haunting

haunting (adj)

with a delicate, almost unreal quality, one which fixes the thing described in your memory

enhance

enhance (v)

to make something better

hint

hint (n)

a small quantity

fad

fad (n)

something that is very popular for a short period of time

bother

bother (v)

to make an effort

crowd

crowd-diving (n)

the act of diving (=jumping head first) off the stage, where the musicians are, into the crowd (=the audience) at a concert

acknowledge

acknowledge (v)

to accept the truth of something

Kakadu

Kakadu (n)

a place in Australia

committed

committed (adj)

at one's best; a committed performance is one to which the performers give their best work

remainder

remainder (n)

what remains (=is still there) after some have been taken away

craft

craft (v)

to make with skill

survey

survey (n)

an examination of something showing how that thing changes from one time to another

stitch

stitch (v)

to join two things with a thread; for example, pieces of material are stitched together to make a shirt

flap

flap (n)

a flat piece of paper or material used to open or close something; you close the flap of an envelope before you send a letter

issue

issue (n)

a subject or problem (in this context it means a cause for an argument)

flour

flour (n)

powder made from wheat, used for making bread

biodegradable

biodegradable (adj)

decomposes naturally without causing pollution

flush

flush (v)

to wash away with water; you flush the toilet after using it

coated

coated (adj)

covered by another substance or material

pressured

pressure (v)

to try to make someone do something they don't want to do

stalemate

stalemate (n)

a situation in which neither person in an argument or fight can win

accommodating

accommodating (adj)

prepared to change your ideas, plans or wishes to suit other people

hint

hint (n)

an indirect suggestion

craze

craze (n)

an activity that is very popular, usually for a short time

damage

damage (v)

to have a bad effect, to cause physical harm

poo

poo (n)

excrement of animals or people (colloquial)

end

end up (v)

to be in a place or situation at the end (of a story, of a fight, of a journey, etc.)

secluded

secluded (adj)

quiet and private

insurance

insurance assessor (n)

a person whose job it is to calculate damage, etc., to see how much insurance money should be paid

impending

impending (adj)

about to happen soon

withdraw

withdraw (v)

to take out or away; for example, you can withdraw money out of your bank account

estranged

estranged (adj)

separated; for example, an estranged wife no longer lives with her husband

alibi

alibi (n)

proof that a person was not at the scene of a crime

complain

complain (v)

to say that you are not happy with a situation

banned

banned (adj)

illegal, prohibited

doping

doping (n)

the use of illegal substances by athletes to improve their performance

ignore

ignore (v)

to deliberately not pay attention

lodge

lodge a complaint (v)

to officially make a complaint

manipulated

manipulate (v)

to force or persuade someone to do something they don't want to do

long-term

long-term (adj)

in the distant future

side

side effect (n)

a negative health consequence that you can suffer when taking a drug, in addition to the benefits the drug has

take

take the matter up with someone (v)

to bring someone's attention to a topic

unfair

unfair (adj)

wrong or dishonest because it goes against the idea that people should be equal and have the same opportunities in a particular situation

jog

jog one's memory (idm)

to remind you of something you may have forgotten

trendy

trendy (adj)

very fashionable

conventional

conventional wisdom (n)

the way that most people think

up

up and about (adv)

out of bed and actively doing things

futon

futon (n)

a Japanese sofa-bed consisting of a low wooden structure with a hard mattress on it

slide

slide (v)

to gradually bring about a change in the way you look or behave

cardigan

cardigan (n)

a jumper with buttons down the front

slippers

slippers (n)

soft shoes that you wear around the house