Unit 2 CI - C2

Question 1

assess (v)

Answer 1

to carefully consider a situation, person or problem in order to make a judgment: We tried to assess his suitability for the job.

Question 2

assess (v)

Answer 2

to calculate what something costs or is worth: Our agent will assess the value of your property.

Question 3

assume (v)

Answer 3

to believe that something is true, even though no one has told you or even though you have no proof: Everyone accepted she was telling the truth, although in fact this was quite a lot to assume.

Question 4

baffle (v)

Answer 4

if a problem, someone’s behaviour, etc baffles you, you cannot understand it or solve it: Detectives remain baffled by these murders.

Question 5

biased (adj)

Answer 5

preferring one person, thing or idea to another in a way that is unfair: It was a biased report.

Question 6

concentrate (v)

Answer 6

to give all your attention to the thing you are doing: I was sleeping badly and finding it hard to concentrate.

Question 7

consider (v)

Answer 7

to think about something carefully before making a decision or developing an opinion: She paused and considered for a moment.

Question 8

consider (v)

Answer 8

to have a particular opinion about someone or something: They consider it inevitable that some jobs will be lost.

Question 9

contemplate (v)

Answer 9

to consider doing something in the future: I’m contemplating retirement next year.

Question 10

contemplate (v)

Answer 10

to think very carefully about something for a long time: I haven’t got time to sit around contemplating the meaning of life.

Question 11

cynical (adj)

Answer 11

someone who is cynical believes that people care only about themselves and are not sincere or honest, or expects things not to be successful or useful: I know some very cynical about the proposals.

Question 12

deduce (v)

Answer 12

to know something as a result of considering the information or evidence that you have: Finding fossils far inland, he deduced that the area had once been covered by water.

Question 13

deliberate (v)

Answer 13

to think about or discuss something very carefully, especially before you make an important decision: The judges deliberated for an hour before choosing the winner.

Question 14

dilemma (n)

Answer 14

a situation in which you have to make a difficult decision: I’m in a dilemma over whether to tell him or not.

Question 15

discriminate (v)

Answer 15

to treat someone unfairly because of their religion, race or other personal features: Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the basis of gender.

Question 16

discriminate (v)

Answer 16

to recognise the difference between things: Long-range missile attacks simply cannot discriminate between military and civilian targets.

Question 17

genius (n)

Answer 17

someone who is much more intelligent or skilful than other people: She was a mathematical genius.

Question 18

genius (n)

Answer 18

a very high level of skill or ability: Baking allows you to show your creative genius.

Question 19

grasp (v)

Answer 19

to understand something: He was finding it difficult to grasp the rules of the game.

Question 20

guesswork (n)

Answer 20

the process of trying to find the answer to something by guessing, or the answer found by using this method: It was a theory based on pure guesswork.

Question 21

hunch (n)

Answer 21

a feeling that something is true or will happen, although you do not know any definite facts about it: I’ve got a hunch there’ll be an election soon.

Question 22

ideology (n)

Answer 22

a system of ideas and principles on which a political or economic theory is based: State control is a fundamental aspect of Marxist ideology.

Question 23

ingenious (adj)

Answer 23

an ingenious plan, piece of equipment, etc uses new and clever ideas: This is an ingenious device for opening bottles.

Question 24

inspiration (n)

Answer 24

a sudden feeling of enthusiasm or a new idea that helps you to do or create something: Dreams are a rich source of inspiration for some writers.

Question 25

intuition (n)

Answer 25

an ability to know or understand something through your feelings, rather than by considering facts or evidence: Archaeologists often use their intuition to decide where to dig.

Question 26

justify (v)

Answer 26

to show that there is a good reason for something, especially something that other people think is wrong: You’ll be expected to justify your actions.

Question 27

naïve (adj)

Answer 27

a naive person lacks experience of life and tends to trust other people and believe things too easily: I was a naive 17-year-old at the time.

Question 28

notion (n)

Answer 28

an idea or understanding of something: I haven’t the faintest notion what you’re talking about.

Question 29

optimistic (adj)

Answer 29

someone who is optimistic is hopeful about the future and tends to expect that good things will happen: She said that she was optimistic about the future of the company.

Question 30

optimistic (adj)

Answer 30

based on beliefs that are too confident: That’s a very optimistic assessment of the overall situation.

Question 31

paradox (n)

Answer 31

a person, thing or situation that is strange because they have features or qualities that do not normally exist together: We get this apparent paradox of people migrating to an area that has very high unemployment.

Question 32

pessimistic (adj)

Answer 32

someone who is pessimistic is not hopeful about the future and tends to expect that bad things will happen: She was pessimistic about the future of the company.

Question 33

academic (n)

Answer 33

someone who teaches or does research at a college or university: The meeting was chaired by a leading Japanese academic.

Question 34

conscientious (adj)

Answer 34

working hard and being careful to do things well: Simon is a very conscientious worker.

Question 35

cram (v)

Answer 35

to study hard in order to learn a lot in a short time, especially for an examination: My exams are in two weeks, so I’m cramming at the moment.

Question 36

curriculum (n)

Answer 36

the subjects that students study at a particular school or college: Our mathematics curriculum is much broader now.

Question 37

distance learning (n phr)

Answer 37

a system in which students work at home with the help of television and radio broadcasts and send work to their teachers by post or e-mail: Are you doing the course by distance learning?

Question 38

graduate (n)

Answer 38

someone who has a degree from a university: There aren’t many careers for history graduates.

Question 39

graduate (v)

Answer 39

to complete your studies at a university or college, usually by getting a degree: He graduated from Yale University in 1936.

Question 40

ignorant (adj)

Answer 40

not knowing something that you should know or need to know: I was ignorant of the terms used in business.

Question 41

inattentive (adj)

Answer 41

not giving much attention to someone or something: I hate speaking in front of an inattentive audience.

Question 42

intellectual (adj)

Answer 42

relating to the ability to think in an intelligent way and to understand things, especially difficult or complicated ideas and subjects: Students were asked which task represented the greatest intellectual challenge.

Question 43

intellectual (adj)

Answer 43

well educated and interested in art, science, literature, etc at an advanced level: Though not intellectual, my mother was highly intelligent.

Question 44

intellectual (n)

Answer 44

someone who is well educated and interested in art, science, literature, etc at an advanced level: Though not an intellectual, my mother was highly intelligent.

Question 45

intelligent (adj)

Answer 45

good at thinking clearly and quickly, at understanding difficult ideas and subjects, and at gaining and using knowledge: Surely an intelligent person like you can deal with this?

Question 46

intensive (adj)

Answer 46

involving a lot of teaching or training in a short time: It’s an intensive language course for beginners.

Question 47

knowledgeable (adj)

Answer 47

knowing a lot about many different subjects or about one particular subject: He’s extremely knowledgeable about business and finance.

Question 48

lecture (n)

Answer 48

a talk to a group of people about a particular subject, especially at a college or university: The course will be taught through a series of lectures and seminars.

Question 49

lecture (v)

Answer 49

to give a lecture or a series of lectures: She lectures on Greek Literature at the Sorbonne.

Question 50

dubious (adj)

Answer 50

not completely good, safe or honest: The story seemed a bit dubious to me.

Question 51

dubious (adj)

Answer 51

not sure about the truth or quality of something, or whether you should do something: I’m very dubious about his ability to do the job.

Question 52

estimate (n)

Answer 52

an amount that you guess or calculate using the information available: According to official estimates, over 25% of carbon emissions come from the United States.

Question 53

estimate (n)

Answer 53

a statement telling a customer how much money you will charge if they employ you to do a particular piece of work: The committee are currently getting estimates for repairs to the stonework.

Question 54

estimate (v)

Answer 54

to say what you think an amount or value will be, either by guessing or by using available information to calculate it: It’s difficult to estimate the cost of making your house safe.

Question 55

faith (n)

Answer 55

strong belief or trust in someone or something: I’m delighted to know you have such faith in me.

Question 56

gather (v)

Answer 56

to believe that something is true, although no one has directly told you about it: You’re new here, I gather.

Question 57

reckon (v)

Answer 57

to believe that something is true: I reckon there’s something wrong with him.

Question 58

reflect (v)

Answer 58

to think about something carefully and seriously: Josie reflected on how easily she could have been killed.

Question 59

sceptical/skeptical (adj)

Answer 59

having doubts about something that other people think is true or right: Harrison approved the plan, but Riley remained sceptical.

Question 60

speculate (v)

Answer 60

to consider or discuss why something has happened: We can only speculate on the reasons for his sudden resignation.

Question 61

suppose (v)

Answer 61

to believe that something is probably true, based on your experience, your knowledge and any other information that you have: She was about 35, Dexter supposed.

Question 62

academic (adj)

Answer 62

relating to education, especially in colleges and universities: The book brings together several academic subjects.

Question 63

academic (adj)

Answer 63

good at learning things by studying: She’s certainly bright, but she’s not very academic.

Question 64

academic (adj)

Answer 64

not relating to a real situation, and therefore not relevant: Given the lack of funding, any discussion of future plans was somewhat academic.

Question 65

mock exam (n phr)

Answer 65

an examination you take for practice before an important examination: We’ve got our mock GCSE exams next month.

Question 66

plagiarise (v)

Answer 66

to take someone else’s work, ideas or words, and use them as if they were your own: They accused her of plagiarising her speech.

Question 67

self-study (n)

Answer 67

work that you do without the help of a teacher: I have to do a lot of self-study on this course.

Question 68

seminar (n)

Answer 68

a class at a college or university in which a small group of students discusses a subject with a teacher: We had a very interesting seminar on climate change.

Question 69

special needs (n phr)

Answer 69

the particular needs of people who are physically or mentally disabled: If a student has special needs, he or she will be offered additional support.

Question 70

tuition (n)

Answer 70

the work that a teacher does when they teach a particular subject, especially to one person or a small group: He’s been getting private tuition in French.

Question 71

tutorial (n)

Answer 71

a lesson in which a small group of students discusses a subject with a tutor, especially at a university or college: We had a very interesting tutorial on climate change.