Objective Proficiency p 63. Keys and Vocabulary

Style extra
Adjectives that carry disapproval:

• Slavish:/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/ following or copying somebody/something exactly without having any original thought at all. Sp. Falto de originalidad. E.g. a slavish adherence to the rules. Slavish obedience. A slavish imitation of Hitchcock's films. The slavish copying of images.
• Squat:  /skwɒt/  short, wide or fat and ugly. Small and ugly. E.g. a squat tower. A squat muscular man with a shaven head. A squat greetings card.
• Childish behaviour
• Florid: (usually disapproving) having too much decoration or detail. E.g. florid language. A florid style of painting. Florid poetry. Florid speeches.
• Fatuous /ˈfætʃuəs/ stupid. E.g. a fatuous comment/ grin/ remark.
• Glaring /ˈɡleərɪŋ/ (of something bad) very easily seen. E.g. a glaring error/ faults/ omission/ inconsistency/ injustice. The most glaring example of this problem.

Ex4
KEY

such as those

Take for instance 

Ex  4 (2002 edition)

• Ramble:  to talk about somebody/something in a confused way, especially for a long time. Sp. Divagar. E.g. He had lost track of what he was saying and began to ramble.
• Lift something (from something): to use somebody's ideas or words without asking permission or without saying where they come from. Plagiarize. E.g. She lifted most of the ideas from a book she had been reading .

Ex 5
KEY
clichéd /ˈkliːʃeɪd/ adjective. Repeated regularly without thought or originality. E.g. a clichéd view of upper-class life. Clichéd images.

 
1. Experimentation



2. landmark
landmark a major event or achievement that marks an important stage in a process and makes progress possible. Milestone. E.g. This book has become a landmark in art criticism. The ceasefire was seen as a major landmark in the fight against terrorism. The vaccine is a landmark in the history of preventive medicine.
(Only before noun) important and likely to influence future actions or decisions. E.g. a landmark ruling (=an important decision made in a court of law). A landmark decision/ ruling in the courts.

Irving Penn

Diane Arbus

3. inspirational
trigger (for something) something that is the cause of a particular reaction or development, especially a bad one. E.g. The trigger for the strike was the closure of yet another factory. Intense sunlight may be a trigger to skin cancer. Food, music, and looking at creative workspaces are some of my inspirational triggers.

replicate something (formal) to copy something exactly. E.g. it might be impractical to replicate Eastern culture in the west. Other scientists have been unable to replicate his results.

Slavish:/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/ following or copying somebody/something exactly without having any original thought at all. Sp. Falto de originalidad. E.g. a slavish adherence to the rules. Slavish obedience. A slavish imitation of Hitchcock's films. Slavish copying. 



4. dismissively
dismissively: feeling or showing that something is unworthy of consideration. Showing that you do not believe a person or thing to be important or worth considering. E.g. ‘I don't know where this stuff comes from, it's nonsense, nonsense,’ he says dismissively.


outline:  to give the main ideas of a plan or a piece of writing without giving all the details. E.g. The document outlines our company's recycling policy.  In his speech, the Prime Minister will outline his new proposals.

pivotal: /ˈpɪvətl/ of great importance because other things depend on it. E.g. a pivotal role in European affairs. Accountancy, law and economics are pivotal to a successful career in any financial services area.

imagery /ˈɪmɪdʒəri/ pictures, photographs, etc. E.g. Advertising agencies use imagery to sell products.

A cliché-ridden style (contains a lot of clichés). E.g. His speeches tend to be boring and cliché-ridden.
Cliché /ˈkliːʃeɪ/ a phrase or an idea that has been used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting. E.g. She trotted out the old cliché that ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved.’ It has become a cliché to say that Prague is the most beautiful city in Europe. Tired clichés like ‘the information revolution.
trot something out (informal, disapproving) to give the same excuses, facts, explanations, etc. for something that have often been used before. Sp. echar mano de. E.g. They trotted out the same old excuses for the lack of jobs in the area.



5. countless

Given that considering that. E.g. It was surprising the government was re-elected, given that they had raised taxes so much.

ubiquitous /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/ seeming to be everywhere or in several places at the same time; very common. E.g. the ubiquitous bicycles of university towns. The ubiquitous movie star, Tom Hanks.



6. persuasive
familiarity breeds contempt (saying) knowing somebody/something very well may cause you to lose admiration and respect for them/it.
breed something to be the cause of something. E.g. Nothing breeds success like success.
contempt /kənˈtempt/ the feeling that somebody/something is without value and deserves no respect at all. Sp. desprecio. E.g. She looked at him with contempt. 


overuse something to use something too much or too often. E.g. ‘Nice’ is a very overused word. 



7. devalues 
devalue: /ˌdiːˈvæljuː/ to give a lower value to something, making it seem less important than it really is. E.g. Work in the home is often ignored and devalued.

banal: /bəˈnɑːl/ very ordinary and containing nothing that is interesting or important. E.g. a banal conversation about the weather.



8. commonplace
commonplace done very often, or existing in many places, and therefore not unusual. Not interesting or original; trite. E.g. the usual commonplace remarks. Computers are now commonplace in primary classrooms.  It is now commonplace for people to use the Internet at home. 

trite: /traɪt/ dull and boring because it has been expressed so many times before; not original. E.g.
this point may now seem obvious and trite.



Ex 5 (2002 edition)

• Stock: standard. Sp. De serie, estandard, típico. E.g. stock portrait. 

Ex 6 
KEY
1 b



2 d
in your own right because of your personal qualifications or efforts, not because of your connection with somebody else. E.g. She sings with a rock band, but she's also a jazz musician in her own right. 


3 a



4 c 
second best
second best 1. not as good as the best. E.g. The two teams seemed evenly matched but Arsenal came off second best (= lost). My second-best suit. 2. not exactly what you want; not perfect. E.g. a second-best solution.

Ex 6 (2002 edition)

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: (saying) people all have different ideas about what is beautiful.
• Half-truth: a statement that gives only part of the truth, especially when it is intended to cheat somebody. E.g. The newspaper reports are a mixture of gossip, lies and half-truths.
• Fairly: to some extent but not very. E.g. I go jogging fairly regularly.
• Remote: distant.
• Kinship: affinity.
• Continuance: /kənˈtɪnjuəns / the state of continuing to exist or function. E.g. We can no longer support the President's continuance in office.
• Swaddle:/ˈswɒdl/ swaddle somebody/something (old-fashioned): to wrap somebody/something, especially a baby, tightly in clothes or a piece of cloth. Envolver. 
• Unchallengingly:In an unchallenging way; without challenge or difficulty.
• Squat:  /skwɒt/  short, wide or fat and ugly. E.g. a squat tower. A squat muscular man with a shaven head.
• Hue: a colour; a particular shade of a colour. Hued: coloured.
• Florid: red. E.g. a florid complexion.
• Render: render somebody/something + adjective (formal) to cause somebody/something to be in a particular state or condition. Make. E.g. to render something harmless/useless/ineffective.
• Commonplace: done very often, or existing in many places, and therefore not unusual. E.g. Computers are now commonplace in primary classrooms. 
• Transient: /ˈtrænziənt/ continuing for only a short time. Ephemeral.  Efímero, fugaz, pasajero, transitorio.
• Height: the point when something is at its best or strongest. E.g. He is at the height of his career.    

Ex 7 (2002 edition)

• Conjure sth up: /ˈkʌndʒə/ to make something appear as a picture in your mind. Evoke. E.g. That smell always conjures up memories of holidays in France. He strained to conjure up her face and voice, but they had vanished.