Part I. Multiple Choice Cloze
Boston: Two Halves of a City
- Landmark: something, such as a large building, that you can see clearly from a distance and that will help you to know where you are. Sp. punto de referencia, lugar muy conocido. E.g. The Empire State Building is a familiar landmark on the New York skyline.
- Signpost: a sign at the side of a road giving information about the direction and distance of places. Sp. señal. E.g. Follow the signposts to the superstore. (Figurative) The chapter headings are useful signposts to the content of the book.
- Persona: /pəˈsəʊnə/ (pl. personae /pəˈsəʊniː/or personas) the aspects of a person's character that they show to other people, especially when their real character is different. Sp. imagen. E.g. His public persona is quite different from the family man described in the book.
- Scarcely: /ˈskeəsli/ only just; almost not. Sp. apenas. E.g. I can scarcely believe it. We scarcely ever meet. Scarcely a week goes by without some new scandal in the papers. There was scarcely a tree left standing after the storm.
- Sparsely: /spɑːsli/ only present in small amounts or numbers and often spread over a large area. E.g. a sparsely populated area. A sparsely furnished room.
- Rutted: with deep tracks that have been made by wheels.
- Furrowed: with long narrow cuts in the ground made by a plough (Sp. arado) for planting seeds in. Sp. con surcos. E.g. furrowed fields.
- Grooved: having long narrow cuts in the surface of something hard (grooves: Sp. ranuras)
- Indented: an indented edge is not even, because parts of it are missing or have been cut away. E.g. an indented coastline. The first line of each paragraph should be indented.
- Diminish: 1. to become or to make something become smaller, weaker, etc. E.g. The world's resources are rapidly diminishing. His influence has diminished with time. 2. To make somebody/something seem less important than they really are. Belittle. E.g. I don't wish to diminish the importance of their contribution.
- Dwarf: /dwɔːf/ to make something seem small or unimportant compared with something else. E.g. The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks.
- Minimize something: to reduce something, especially something bad, to the lowest possible level. E.g. Good hygiene helps to minimize the risk of infection. Costs were minimized by using plastic instead of leather.
- Stunt somebody/something: to prevent somebody/something from growing or developing as much as they/it should. Sp. detener. E.g. The constant winds had stunted the growth of plants and bushes. His illness had not stunted his creativity.
- Cuff: the end of a coat or shirt sleeve at the wrist. Puño.
- Hot under the collar: (informal) angry or embarrassed. E.g. He got very hot under the collar when I asked him where he'd been all day.
- Phenomenal: /fəˈnɒmɪnl/ very great or impressive. Extraordinary. E.g. The product has been a phenomenal success. The company has seen phenomenal growth. The response to the appeal has been phenomenal.
- Bog something/somebody down (in something): [usually passive]1 to make something sink into mud or wet ground. Sp. inundarse. E.g. The tank became bogged down in mud. 2 to prevent somebody from making progress in an activity. Sp. enredarse. E.g. We mustn't get bogged down in details.
City of Literature
- Stretch + adverb/preposition: to continue over a period of time. E.g. The town's history stretches back to before 1500. The training stretches over a period of 16 months. The tradition stretches back for well over 200 years.
- Many a: (formal) used with a singular noun and verb to mean ‘a large number of’. E.g. Many a good man has been destroyed by drink.
- Come to/into something: used in many expressions to show that something has reached a particular state. E.g. At last winter came to an end. He came to power in 2006. When will they come to a decision? The trees are coming into leaf.
- Being: existence. E.g. The Irish Free State came into being in 1922. The single market came into being in 1993.
- Be (a) witness to something: (formal) to see something take place. E.g. He has been witness to a terrible murder.
- Incomparable: /ɪnˈkɒmprəbl/
- Put yourself/somebody forward: to suggest yourself/somebody as a candidate for a job or position. E.g. Can I put you/your name forward for club secretary? He has put himself forward for a place on the national executive.
- Sit up (and do something): (informal) to start to pay careful attention to what is happening, being said, etc. E.g. The proposal had made his clients sit up and take notice.
- Riveting: /ˈrɪvɪtɪŋ/ so interesting or exciting that it holds your attention completely. engrossing. Sp. fascinante. E.g. As usual, she gave a riveting performance. (Humorous) It was hardly the most riveting of lectures, was it?
- Overview: a general description or an outline of something. E.g. a brief overview of the survey. Exam overview.
- Arise, arose /əˈrəʊz/, arisen: to happen; to start to exist. Sp. surgir. E.g. A new crisis has arisen.
- Insight (into something): an understanding of what something is like. E.g. The book gives us fascinating insights into life in Mexico. I hope you have gained some insight into the difficulties we face.
- Appeal: 1. a quality that makes somebody/something attractive or interesting. E.g. mass/wide/popular appeal. The Beatles have never really lost their appeal. The prospect of living in a city holds little appeal for me.
- Appeal: 2. an urgent and deeply felt request for money, help or information, especially one made by a charity or by the police. E.g. to launch a TV appeal for donations to the charity.
- Appeal (to somebody/something) (against something): to make a formal request to a court or to somebody in authority for a judgement or a decision to be changed. Sp. apelar, recurrir. E.g. He said he would appeal after being found guilty on four counts of murder. The company is appealing against the ruling (Sp. fallo, resolución).
- Table something: to leave an idea, a proposal, etc. to be discussed at a later date. Sp. posponer. E.g. They voted to table the proposal until the following meeting.
- Table manners: the behaviour that is considered correct while you are having a meal at a table with other people.
- Water table: the level at and below which water is found in the ground.
- Fanfare: a large amount of activity and discussion on television, in newspapers, etc. to celebrate somebody/something. E.g. The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. Despite the fanfare of publicity that accompanied its launch, his latest novel sold only a few hundred copies.
- Outlet: a point from which goods are sold or distributed. Sp. punto de venta. E.g. a fast-food outlet.
- Stand (on something): an attitude towards something or an opinion that you make clear to people. Sp. postura. E.g. to take a firm stand on something. He was criticized for his tough stand on immigration.
- Stand (for/as something): (North American English usually run) to be a candidate in an election. He stood for parliament (= tried to get elected as an MP). She stood unsuccessfully as a candidate in the local elections.
- Stand: a table or a vertical structure where things are displayed or advertised, for example at an exhibition. E.g. a display/an exhibition/a trade stand. Oxford University Press's stand at the book fair.
- Come to light: to become known to people. E.g. New evidence has recently come to light.
- Stick to something: 1 to continue doing something despite difficulties. E.g. She finds it impossible to stick to a diet. 2 to continue doing or using something and not want to change it. E.g. He promised to help us and he stuck to his word (= he did as he had promised). ‘Shall we meet on Friday this week?’ ‘No, let's stick to Saturday. ’She stuck to her story.
