Pre-Listening Activities – Test 4 Part 3

Below are a few expressions/ some vocabulary used in the listening excerp you will be asked some questions about in the Listening Test you can take here:

My suggestion is to take the test before you do the next activity, and then take the test again, to see if the exercise has helped you with improving your score.

The expressions/vocabulary along with examples in sentences only reflect the way the expressions/vocabulary are/is used in the listening excerpt. Some of the expressions might have multiple uses and meanings, Albeit expressions vocabulary have different uses and meanings in different contexts.

Each definition and example comes with a listening sample. Since you are trying to improve your listening here, make sure you listen to all the samples carefully so that you will recognise them in the listening and not only when you read them.

judging by/from something

used to say that you are making a guess based on what you have just seen, heard, or learned 

Judging by his jovial manner, he must have enjoyed his meal.
Judging from what you say in your letter, you don’t sound well.

thesis 

/ˈθiːsɪs/ noun (plural theses /-siːz/) [countable]

a long piece of writing about a particular subject that you do as part of an advanced university degree such as an MA or a PhD

Cynthia’s still working on her thesis.

golden years/days/age etc

[only before noun] a golden period of time is one of great happiness or success

the golden years of childhood
the golden age of radio

interviewer

/ˈɪntəvjuːə/  noun [countable]

the person who asks the questions in an interview

interviewee

/ˌɪntəvjuˈiː/ noun [countable]

the person who answers the questions in an interview

columnist

/ˈkɒləmɪst,/ noun [countable]

someone who writes articles, especially about a particular subject, that appear regularly in a newspaper or magazine

celebrity

/səˈlebrəti/ ●●○ noun (plural celebrities)

[countable] a famous living person SYN star

a sporting celebrity
We invited a number of minor celebrities (=people who are not very famous).

star

/stɑː/  noun [countable]

 the best or most successful person in a group of players, workers, students etc

the star columnist of ‘The Sunday Times’

byline

/ˈbaɪlaɪn/ noun [countable]

a line at the beginning of an article in a newspaper or magazine that gives the writer’s name

remuneration

/rɪˌmjuːnəˈreɪʃən/ noun [countable, uncountable]

formal the pay you give someone for something they have done for you

handsome

/ˈhænsəm/ adjective

[only before noun] a handsome amount of money is large

He managed to make a handsome profit out of the deal.

lure

 /lʊə, ljʊə/  verb [transitive]

People may be lured into buying tickets by clever advertising

People may be lured into buying tickets by clever advertising

lure somebody away

Computer games are luring youngsters away from their lessons.

voice of

[singular] a person, organizationnewspaper etc that expresses the opinions or wishes of a group of people

The senator is the voice of the religious right.

blah

/blɑː/ noun

[uncountable] spokenremarks or statements that are boring and do not mean much

the usual blah about everyone working harder

blah, blah, blah

spoken used when you do not need to complete what you are saying because it is boring or because the person you are talking to already knows it

You know how Michelle talks: ‘Tommy did this, and Jesse did that, blah, blah, blah

fob somebody ↔ off

 to tell someone something that is not true in order to stop them from complaining

…with

 She fobbed him off with a promise to pay him the money next week.

to give someone something that is not very good instead of the thing they really want

…with

They tried to fob me off with a cheap camera.

provocative

/prəˈvɒkətɪv/ adjective

provocative behaviourremarks etc are intended to make people angry or upset, or to cause a lot of discussionprovocative comment/remark/statement

The minister’s provocative remarks were widely reported in the press

be a breeze / like a breeze

informal to be very easy

Don’t think that learning Dutch will be a breeze.

be in for something

if someone is in for something unpleasant / daunting, it is going to happen to them

I’m afraid he’s in for a bit of a disappointment.

play the game

o do things in the way you are expected to do them or in a way that is usual in a particular situation

If you want a promotion, you’ve got to play the game.

fret

/fret/ verb (fretted, fretting) [intransitive]

to worry about something, especially when there is no need

Don’t fret – everything will be all right.

fret about (doing st)

She’s always fretting about dealing with disruptive pupils.

never/not in a month of Sundays

spoken especially British English used to emphasize that something will definitely never happen

You won’t find anyone to do that job in a month of Sundays.

longhand

/ˈlɒŋhænd/ noun [uncountable

if you write something in longhand, you write it by hand using complete words, rather than typing it or using special short forms of words

off the record

off the record adjective

if you say something off the record, you do not want people to repeat what you say, for example in newspapers or meetings

May I talk to you, strictly off the record?

hidden agenda

the secret purpose behind a plan or activity that you do not tell other people about – used to show disapproval

Voters suspected a hidden political agenda.
Was there a hidden agenda behind this decision?

well-behaved/badly-behaved

not do things that annoy or offend people / do things that annoy or offend people

a badly-behaved class

beastly

/ˈbiːstli/ adjective British English

very unpleasant SYN nasty

beastly weather

regret

/rɪˈɡret/ noun

noun [countable usually plural, uncountable] sadness that you feel about something, especially because you wish it had not happened

with regret

I decided with some regret that it was time to move on.

intimacy

/ˈɪntəməsi/ noun

[uncountable] a state of having a close personal relationship with someone/ between two people

a close sense of intimacy between parent and child

readable

/ˈriːdəbəl/ adjective

interesting and enjoyable to read, and easy to understand

The book is informative and highly readable.

chat show

/ˈʧetʃəʊ/ noun [countable]

British English a television or radio show on which people talk about themselves in reply to questions

a TV chat show host (=person who asks the questions on the show)