Book 7 Test 1 Section 1

Ancestry ( noun) Synonym: Pedigree

The family or the race of people that you come from

· To have Scottish ancestry

· He was able to trace his ancestry back over 1 000 years.

Exploit ( verb) Synonym: Misuse

Exploit something (disapproving) to treat a person or situation as an opportunity to gain an advantage for yourself

· He exploited his father's name to get himself a job.

· She realized that her youth and inexperience were being exploited.

· The opposition parties will always exploit government problems to their own advantage.

Exploit somebody (disapproving) to treat somebody unfairly by making them work and not giving them much in return

· What is being done to stop employers from exploiting young people?

Exploit something to use something well in order to gain as much from it as possible

· She fully exploits the humour of her role in the play.

· Teachers should be exploiting computers in education.

· To develop or use something for business or industry

Exploit something

· No minerals have yet been exploited in Antarctica.

Exploit something for something

· Countries exploiting the rainforests for hardwood

Extinction noun Synonym: Annihilation

A situation in which a plant, an animal, a way of life, etc. stops existing

• A tribe threatened with extinction/in danger of extinction
• The mountain gorilla is on the verge of extinction.
• We know of several mass extinctions in the earth's history.
• A campaign to save wild koalas from extinction
• Will technology in music drive creativity to extinction?

Illuminate verb Synonym: Enlighten

lluminate something (formal) to shine light on something

· Floodlights illuminated the stadium.

· The earth is illuminated by the sun.

Illuminate something (formal) to make something clearer or easier to understand

· This text illuminates the philosopher's early thinking.

Illuminate something to decorate a street, building, etc. with bright lights for a special occasion

· We have just finished illuminating our street for the upcoming event.

Illuminate something (literary) to make a person’s face, etc. seem bright and excited

· Her smile illuminated her entire being.

Manoeuvre noun Synonym: Tactic

[countable] a movement performed with care and skill

· a complicated/skilfulmanoeuvre

· You will be asked to perform some standard manoeuvres during your driving test.

[countable, uncountable] a clever plan, action or movement that is used to give somebody an advantage

· Diplomatic manoeuvres

· The amendment was somehow introduced by political manoeuvre.

Manoeuvres [plural] military exercises involving a large number of soldiers, ships, etc.

· The army is on manoeuvres in the desert.

Mysterious adjective Synonym: Enigmatic

Difficult to understand or explain; strange

· He died in mysterious circumstances.

· A mysterious illness is affecting all the animals.

(especially of people) strange and interesting because you do not know much about them

· A mysterious young woman is living next door.

(of people) not saying much about something, especially when other people want to know more

· He was being very mysterious about where he was going.

Navigation noun Synonym: Itinerary

The skill or the process of planning a route for a ship or other vehicle and taking it there

· Navigation systemsan expert in navigation

The movement of ships or aircraft

· The right of navigation through international waters

The way that you move around a website or the Internet when you are looking for information

· The site was redesigned to improve navigation.

Nocturnal adjective Synonym: Nightly

(of animals) active at night

· These animals are strictly nocturnal.

· These insects are largely nocturnal.

(formal) happening during the night

· A nocturnal visit

Obstacle noun Synonym: Hindrance

Obstacle (to something/to doing something) a situation, an event, etc. that makes it difficult for you to do or achieve something

· A lack of qualifications can be a major obstacle to finding a job.</