IELTS Book 8 Test 3 Section 1

8 T3 S1

Seldom(Adverb)                                                                                                 Synonym: Rarely

Not often

·         He had seldom seen a child with so much talent.

·         She seldom, if ever, goes to the theatre.

·         They seldom watch television these days.

·         (literary) Seldom had he seen such beauty.

Thunderstorm(Noun)                                                                                                        Synonym: Downpour

A storm with thunder and lightning and usually very heavy rain

·         He slept well, unaware of the thunderstorms which filled the night.

·         The church was struck by lightning during a violent thunderstorm.

Roll in  (phrasal verb)                                                                                                       Synonym: Appear

(informal)to arrive in great numbers or amounts

·         Offers of help are still rolling in.

To arrive late at a place, without seeming worried or sorry

·         Steve rolled in around lunchtime.

Neutralize (verb)                                                                                                                Synonym: Counteract

Neutralize something to stop something from having any effect

·         The latest figures should neutralize the fears of inflation.

·         This strategy effectively neutralizedwhat the Conservatives had hoped would be a vote-winner.

Neutralize something (chemistry) to make a substance neutral 

·         Lime was used to neutralize the acidity of the soil.

Neutralize something to make a country or an area neutral 

·         The treaty neutralized the Black Sea.

 Precise (adjective)                                                                                                             Synonym: Exact

Clear and accurate

·         Precise details/instructions/measurements

·         Can you give a more precise definition of the word?

·         I can be reasonably precise about the time of the incident.

[only before noun] used to emphasize that something happens at a particular time or in a particular way

·         We were just talking about her when, at that precise moment, she walked in.

·         Doctors found it hard to establish the precise nature of her illness.

Taking care to be exact and accurate, especially about small details

·         A skilled and precise workersmall,

·         Precise movements

·         (disapproving) She's rather prim and precise.

Someplace  (adverb, pronoun)                                                                                        Synonym: Place

·         It has to go someplace.

·         Can't you do that someplace else?

·         We need to find someplace to live.

Reveal (Verb)                                                                                                                      Synonym: Disclose

To make something known to somebody

Reveal something (to somebody) 

·         To reveal a secret

·         Details of the murder were revealed by the local paper.

·         The doctors did not reveal the truth to him.

·         Salted peanuts were recently revealed as the nation’s favourite snack.

·         Her expression revealed nothing.

Reveal (that)… 

·         The report reveals (that) the company made a loss of £20 million last year.

It is revealed that… 

·         It was revealed that important evidence had been suppressed.

Reveal how, what, etc… 

·         Officers could not reveal how he died.

Reveal somebody/something to be/have something 

·         Salted peanuts were recently revealed to be the nation's favourite snack.

To show something that previously could not be seen

Reveal something 

·         He laughed, revealing a line of white teeth.

·         The door opened to reveal a cosy little room.

·         X-rays revealed a fracture.

Reveal yourself 

·         She crouched in the dark, too frightened to reveal herself.

Brewing(verb)                                                                                                                     Synonym: Seethe

[transitive, intransitive] brew something to make beer.

·         This beer is brewed in the Czech Republic.

[transitive] brew something to make a hot drink of tea or coffee

·         Freshly brewed coffee

[intransitive] (especially British English) (of tea or coffee) to be mixed with hot water and become ready to drink

·         Always let tea brew for a few minutes.

[intransitive] brew (up) (usually used in the progressive tenses) if something unpleasant is brewing or brewing up, it seems likely to happen soon

·         Trouble has been brewing for some time now.

·         A storm was brewing up out at sea.

Stumble(noun)                                                                                                                     Synonym: Adapt

(informal) a problem or temporary failure when you are on the way to achieving something

·         There were good reasons for the team's first-round stumble against Los Angeles…

An act of falling or almost falling, especially because you hit your foot against something

·         After a slight stumble backwards, he regained his balance.

A mistake that causes you to stop when you are reading, speaking or playing music

·         Verbal stumbles

Reckon(verb)                                                                                                                       Synonym: Evaluate

[transitive, intransitive] reckon (that)… (informal, especially British English) to think something or have an opinion about something

·         I reckon (that) I’m going to get that job.

·         He'll be famous one day. 

·         What do you reckon (= do you agree)?

·         It's worth a lot of money, I reckon.

·         ‘They'll never find out.’ ‘You reckon?’ (= I think you may be wrong about that)

Avalanche(noun)                                                                                                                Synonym: Landslide

A mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain

·         Alpine villages destroyed in an avalanche

·         He was killed in an avalanche while skiing.

·         (figurative) We received an avalanche of letters in reply to our advertisement.

Forecast( Noun)                                                                                                                  Synonym: Predict

A statement about what will happen in the future, based on information that is available now

·         Sales forecasts

·         It is difficult to make long-term forecasts for a fast-growing industry.

·         The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers.

·         The shipping forecast gave warnings of gales

Menace (Noun)                                                                                                                    Synonym: Threat

[countable, usually singular] menace (to somebody/something) a person or thing that causes, or may cause, serious damage, harm or danger

·         A new initiative aimed at beating the menace of illegal drugs

·         The communists remain a potential menace to the stability of the government.

[uncountable] an atmosphere that makes you feel threatened or frightened

·         A sense/an air/a hint of menace in his voice

[countable, usually singular] (informal) a person or thing that is annoying or causes trouble

Menaces [plural] (law, British English) threats that somebody will cause harm if they do not get what they are asking for

·         To demand money with menaces

Hailstones(noun)                                                                                                                Synonym: Ice

A small ball of ice that falls like rain

·         Britain’s biggest recorded hailstone weighed 5 oz.

·         We struggled up the hill in a wind full of dust and hailstones.