IELTS Book 8 Test 1 Section 1

8 T1 S1

Advent (noun) Synonym: Dock

[singular] the advent of something/somebody the coming of an important event, person, invention, etc.

· The advent of new technology

Advent [uncountable] (in the Christian religion) the period of approximately four weeks before Christmas

ANCHOR noun Synonym: Mainstay

[countable, uncountable] a heavy metal object that is attached to a rope or chain and dropped over the side of a ship or boat to keep it in one place

· To drop anchor

· The ship lay at anchor two miles off the rocky coast.

· We weighed anchor (= pulled it out of the water).

[countable] a person or thing that gives somebody a feeling of safety

· The anchor of the family

[countable] (especially North American English)

· Anchorman

· Anchorwoman

CALIBRATE verb Synonym: Measure

Calibrate something (specialist) to mark units of measurement on an instrument such as a thermometer so that it can be used for measuring something accurately

· Thermometer is used to measure temperature.

COMMENCE verb Synonym: Start

To begin to happen; to begin something

· The meeting is scheduled to commence at noon.

· I will be on leave during the week commencing 15 February.

Commence with something

· The day commenced with a welcome from the principal.

Commence something

· She commenced her medical career in 1956.

· The company commenced operations in April.

· to commence bankruptcy proceedings against somebody

Commence doing something

· We commence building next week.

Commence to do something

· Operators commenced to build pipelines in 1862.

Conspicuous adjective Synonym: Distinct

Easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention

· Mary's red hair always made her conspicuous at school.

· I felt very conspicuous in my new car.

· The advertisements were all posted in a conspicuous place.

· The event was a conspicuous success (= a very great one).

· Bay windows are a conspicuous feature of his architecture.

COUNTERPART Noun Synonym: Match

A person or thing that has the same position or function as somebody/something else in a different place or situation

· The Foreign Minister held talks with his Chinese counterpart.

· The women's shoe, like its male counterpart, is specifically designed for the serious tennis player.

DESCEND verb Synonym: Plummet

[intransitive, transitive] (formal) to come or go down from a higher to a lower level

§ The plane began to descend.

§ The results, ranked in descending order (= from the highest to the lowest) are as follows…

Descend something

· She descended the stairs slowly.

[intransitive] (formal) (of a hill, etc.) to slope downwards

§ At this point the path descends steeply.

[intransitive] (literary) (of night, darkness, a mood, etc.) to arrive and begin to affect somebody/something

· Night descends quickly in the tropics.

Descend on/upon somebody/something

· Calm descended on the crowd.

Escapement noun Synonym: Equipment

A piece of machinery in a clock or watch that transfers movement from the spring or weight to a wheel or pendulum which is connected to the hands

· The escapement of my watch is acted out.

Fuse noun Synonym: Device

A small wire or device inside a piece of electrical equipment that breaks and stops the current if the flow of electricity is too strong

· To change a fuse

· Check whether a fuse has blown.

A long piece of string or paper which is lit to make a bomb or a firework explode

(North American English also fuze) a device that makes a bomb explode when it hits something or at a particular time

· He set the fuse to three minutes.

· The bombs inside were on a one-hour fuse.

Lunar adjective Synonym: Moony

Connected with the moon

A lunar eclipse/landscape

Revolutionary adjective Synonym: Radical

[usually before noun] connected with political revolution

· A revolutionary leader

· Revolutionary uprisings

Involving a great or complete change

· A revolutionary idea

· A time of rapid and revolutionary change

· Revolutionary advances in medicine

· The effects of technological development are revolutionary.

· At the time this idea was revolutionary

Wane verb Synonym: Decrease

[intransitive] to become gradually weaker or less important

· Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly.

· Their popularity waned during that period.

· Her popularity was waning somewhat.

[intransitive] (of the moon) to appear slightly smaller each day after being round and full

Wax Noun Synonym: Thing

A solid substance that is made from beeswax or from various fats and oils and used for making candles, polish, models, etc. It becomes soft when it is heated.

· Styling wax for the hairfloor wax

· Wax crayonswax polish

A soft sticky yellowish substance that is found in your ears

· Ear wax

A person or object suggesting wax, as in manageability

· I am helpless wax in your hands.