They picked out their cousins from the crowd.
cut off
to separate from others; isolate to stop suddenly; discontinue
eg: When the city was cut off, everyone know that the total defeat was certain. They cut off our food supply. The telephone operator cut us off.
Unit 4 Body Language Word usage:
major 1) adj. more important or serious than other things
2) v. major in sth. to study sth. as your main subject at university 3) n. a subject you major in. The house needs major repairs. He is a major writer.
Her major subject is chemistry. Alice majors in economics. His major is history.
2. represent v. 1) to act officially for another person or group of people 2) to be a sign for another thing
3) to describe or show a person or thing in a particular way They said that they represented the committee. The dove represents peace. What does X represent here?
curious adj. 1) [never before a noun] eager to know sth. or to learn about sth. 2) odd or strange
The boy was curious about everything he saw. We were curious about where she’d gone. I heard a curious noise last night.
4. experience 1) n. a) [U] knowledge or skill which comes from doing or feeling sth. for a long time rather than from books
b) [C] sth. that happens to you and has an effect on your mind and feelings 2) vt. to feel or to be influenced by sth. that happens She had no experience of life at all.
Have you had any experience of teaching English? Please tell us about your experiences in Africa. I had a rather odd experience the other day.
We have experienced many defeats, but we believe that we will succeed.
5. introduce v. make (a person) know to others; bring into use
I introduced John to Mary last year, and now they are married.
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Would you please introduce yourself?
Potatoes were introduced into Europe from South America.
6. approach 1) vt. come nearer to; set to do 2) n. the act of coming nearer; access
Silently we approached the enemy’s camp.
The time is approaching when we will have to leave. The approach of winter brings cold weather.
7. express 1) vt. put into words; show feelings;
2) n. fast train or delivery; a rapid, efficient system for the delivery of goods and mail
He can not express how he felt about the matter. Could you express yourself in English? Send the letter by express.
8. action n. deed or conduct; process of doing Actions speak louder than words.
We are tired of talking about the problem---now is the time for action. The police had to take firm action to deal with the case.
9. general adj. involving or applying to all persons or things of a group or category; concerning the overall aspects of a subject
There is a general feeling that this law isn’t working properly. The school gives a good general education.
Worry about high food prices has now become fairly general.
10. avoid v. keep away from; prevent
I avoided him as much as possible. They all avoided mentioning that name. She braked suddenly and avoided an accident.
11. comedy n. amusing play or film; amusing incident One of his new comedies is to be presented. Do you prefer comedy or tragedy?
There will be a comedy show in TV this evening.
12. misunderstand v. unable to understand the correct meaning; misinterpret His intentions were misunderstood. He misunderstood what I said.
They pretended to misunderstand my complaint.
13. similar adj. showing resemblance; resembling but not the same; of the same kind or amount
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His problem is similar to yours.
My view is similar to hers. They had similar opinion.
14. expression n. communication of an idea, emotion, etc.; the manner that expresses feeling I sent them flowers as an expression of thanks. There was no expression on her face. \
15. agreement n. accord or harmony of opinion and way of thinking; treaty My parents are in agreement on what color to paint the house. The three sides reached an agreement to stop the war. We are in agreement with their decision.
16. chest n. part of the body wrapped by ribs and the breastbone; big strong box for storing things in; treasury of a public institution. He has a severe pain in the chest. He’s got a weak chest. I keep the tea in a chest.
18. gesture n. movement of the body to express an idea, intentions or attitude. v. to make a gesture.
We hold a party for our new colleagues as a gesture of friendship. Handshake is a gesture of friendship.
She was gesturing so excitedly that I knew something was wrong.
19. adult 1) n. group-up or mature person 2) adj. grow-up or mature He'd spent all his adult life in the army. Sam is a rather adult child.
In this sense, children and adults have equal rights.
20. punish v. to inflict penalty on
Motorists should be severely punished for speeding. The teacher punished her students for cheating in the exam. He has never been punished by his parents.
Unit 5 Theme parks Word usage:
theme n. topic of discussion; main idea or topic in literary works, musical piece, etc.
The main theme of discussion was press censorship. The theme of the poem is love and peace.
Our school themes must be written in ink and on white paper.
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amuse v. entertain, make time pass pleasantly A clown's job is to amuse the spectators.
It was too rainy to play outside, so she amused herself with a book. He amused himself by playing the flute.
amusement n. the state of being amused; entertainment, a way of passing time pleasantly
To our amusement, the actor jumped on and off the stage. Reading and seeing movies are among my amusements. They often sing for their own amusement.
variety n. state of being varied or different; many sidedness; collection of different things
What other ways do you know to add variety? People like to live a life full of variety.
He has a variety of interests.
charge n. price set for getting goods or services; load, duty or responsibility
give as a job or task; entrust; blame or accuse by law; record as a debt; fix a price; rush upon or attack;
This store often charges only 65 US cents a dozen for large eggs. Please charge my account.
They charged the enemy three times.
admission n. sth that has been admitted; confession; access; an entrance fee She has the qualifications for admission to the college.
He made an admission that he had used threatening behavior.
profit n. benefit; advantage; money gained from business, etc. v. to be advantageous to, to obtain profit He made a profit of fifty thousand US dollars on his house. We gained a lot of profit from your advice. Telling lies won't profit you.
souvenir n. gift(s) used as a token of remembrance She spent the morning buying souvenirs.
He bought a little Eiffel Tower as a souvenir of his holiday in Paris. I got some souvenirs from my uncle.
athletic adj. physically strong; muscular; of athletics The school athletic meet is to be held next Tuesday. John is an athletic boy. He is good at running.
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brand n. trade mark; products of a kind; symbol of identification on animals created by using hot metal; a burning piece of wood put a symbol with a brand; identity or label This brand of tea is my favorite.
All cattle on the farm were branded with the letter A. The bitter lesson is branded on his memory.
equipment n. supply with the necessary materials for an undertaking The complete equipment of the new hospital will take a year. The store sells tents and other camping equipment. The teaching equipment in the school is quite poor.
minority n. a small group related to the whole group and is different from majority in terms of race, religion, etc. ; not accepted by most people Only a minority of the class voted for the plan.
The government passed a law to protect religious minorities. There are 55 minorities in China.
fantasy n. the illusive imagination; a daydream George lives in a world of fantasy. The whole story is a fantasy.
You didn't really see it — it was just your fantasy .
settler n. one who settles in a new region. They were the earliest settlers in America.
Many original settlers were killed by the English during the war. He is now a setter in Hongkong.
experiment n. test; trail
v. conduct an experiment
Some people learn by experiment and others learn by experience. He is experimenting with drugs to cure hepatitis.
Have they ever experimented on a large number of patients?
advance n. progress; loan; forward action; an increase in price or amount
vi. move forward; make progress; pay(money) beforehand; promote The president has done his utmost to advance the national interest. The date of the meeting was advanced by four days. She advanced on him silently.
technique n. way of doing sth
They need to learn modern management techniques. What he need is some handling technique.
Computer technique is developing very quickly nowadays.
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the