Informal Vocabulary for CAE

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The place where you live

Possible CAE Part I questions:

1. What is the best thing about the place where you grew up? 2. Where is your dream house situated: in the city or in the village? 3. What's your dream home like? 4. What do you think homes will be like in the future? 5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad for a short time. 6. What attracts people to your town or city?

7. If some friends from abroad were visiting your region, which places would you take them to see? Why?

Possible Part II questions

to whittle smth down - сокращать постепенно избавляться

a pretty daunting task

to feel hemmed in - чувстовать себя зажатым, стиснутым

A man had to move into a small flat. As he had had lots of stuff it was a daunting task to whittle it down.

He spent more time outside as he felt pretty hemmed in in such a small space.

in her heart of hearts = deep in her heart - в глубине души

to be on about smth - speak in public

to be walled in - surrounded with walls

to get to smb - make smb feel annoyed or upset

to feel edgy - нервничать, испытывать тревогу, раздражение

a complete nightmare

poky - too small

Afer years of living in poky flats, a woman moved into a large house. But then it turned out a complete nightmare.

She felt edgy because it always seemed that smb was lurking in one of the numerous rooms of the house.

A couple lives in the center of the city. They are walled in by other buildings on all sides and it sometimes gets to them.

The wife is always on about how much she would love a big house, but in her heart of hearts she knows she doesn't want it.

City vs Village

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/uk-now/video-uk/homes-future

This is a video about homes of the future with tasks.

energy efficient / solar-powered TV / eco house that uses renewable energy

fingerprint recognition technology

a self-cleaning house

The Art of Conversation

Possible Part II questions:

1)Compare two of the pictures and say why people need to communicate well while doing these jobs and what skills they need to be able to do this?

2) ...why people might be communicating in this way and how effective this form of communication might be?

3) ...why the people might be putting up the messages and what sort of reaction they might get? Do you think putting up messages is a good way to help people remember things?

4)...how important it is to give this information clearly and what might happen if the information is misunderstood? Do you think it's always necessary to put important information down?

a bit of a slog - скучное занятие (BrE informal)

to get over = to get across = to communicate

to get a message / a point / an idea / some information across / over - изложить, довести до сведения, донести

to get across / over to smb that...

The man liked the book about introverts, but he found there were to many details. So reading it was a bit of a slog.

Both doctors and politicians try to get some information across, but for different reasons.

what I'm trying to get across to you is...

The politician in the picture looks as if he's trying to get over some important point.

slick - done in a skillful and attractive way, but often containing no important or interesting ideas

break new ground - раскрывать новые возможности

push smth on smb - to persuade smb to do smth. (buy a product / start practising a religion etc.)

cajole smb into doing smth - to talk smb into doing smth

(уговорить, упросить, улестить)

stick to smth - keep using one particular thing

In the woman's opinion, the presentations at the conference were generally slick, but the content was average.

The woman'd hoped the conference would break new ground, but it didn't happen.

The presenters seemed to be willing to push their own products on the listeners, but the woman wasn't ready to be cajoled.

She was deeply sceptical about new software and said she would stick to the tried and tested stuff she knew

Road to success

be stuck in a rut - завязнуть в рутине

have it all - have everything you want

not be cut out for - not have qualities needed for

keep your nose to the grindstone - stay focused on work

early on - at an early stage in relationship, process etc.

put paid to smth - spoil and end hopes or plans

have a ball - (inform) have a very good time

grab opportunities with both hands

to call the shots / tune - to be in a position of authority so that you can give orders and make decisions

Sales

sucker for

get wind of - find smth out / learn of smth

have an issue / issues with - disagree with or disapprove of

take my hat off to smb - admire smb greatly

trick smb into doing smth ( Cf. cajole smb into doing smth / coerce smb into doing smth / talk smb into doing smth / brainwash smb into doing smth)

to backfire - to have the opposite effect to the one intended

before starting her own business as a life coach, the woman did a few dead-end jobs and felt stuck in a rut.

The business worked like a dream, they made a lot of money and seemed to have it all.

She believed not all people are cut out for individual success.

Being self-employed you could easily end up with your nose to the grindstone at all hours of the day

I realised It was going to be my thing early on.

The girl's parents hoped she would do smth safe like medicine or computing, but her academic record put paid to this hope.

At school she had a ball acting in school plays.

You have to grab the opportunities with both hands, because if you don't someone else will.

I was taking financial risks, but I was in charge, calling the shots.

I'm a sucker for a good marketing campaign. I fall for it every time.

People become mad if they get wind of the fact that the scent from a store is being used to manipulate them, to trick them into entering the shop

I think nobody has an issue with chocolate smelling like chocolate

I take my hat off to successful entrepreneurs.

the sense of smell is used to trick people into coming inside the shop and spending money

Commercials brainwash people into buying things they don't need.

The approach may well backfire if...

TRAVEL

to take smth with a pinch of salt - infml - not completely beleive

Reading the Brain

to get a real kick out of smth - to enjoy smth very much

get the hang of smth - learn how to do smth

Blogs might be useful, but sometimes take them with a pinch of salt.

Babies get a real kick out of the game of peekaboo.

At 2 babies get the hang of dressing themselves