SAMPLE PAGES FROM THE BOOK

Polish your vocabulary!

(until it gleams with perfection…)

REVISED EDITION

FEKETE
MÁTÉ

Vocabulary builder for Hungarian students

SAMPLE PAGES FROM THE BOOK

UPPER-
+
B2 INTERMEDIATE

Copyright ® Fekete Máté, 2016

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All characters and events in this publication,other than those

clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance
to real persons,living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

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Preface
This book you are holding in your hands has long been my goal to create. However, the idea
remained buried beneath the dust and cobwebs for years; but finally it has been
effectuated. It contains words that are rarely taught in schools, not necessarily because they
are less-used but rather because they are more advanced. However, I reckon they can come
in handy too. To my mind, one can make real progress in learning words only if one sees
how the given word is used. For this reason, there is an example sentence after each word,
which is either of my own invention or copied from series, books, newspapers etc. Since the
primary target audience is Hungarian students, I have added the Hungarian meanings, too.
Also, you will find the pronunciations based on American IPA-phonetics. Here’s an example
from the book’s syllabus:

peculiar(pəˈkju lɪər-világi/egyedi): With all the nuances and peculiar expressions in

Hungarian, it simply makes sense to dub fims and series.

As you turn the pages, you will see that words come randomly, they aren’t put in
alphabetical order and aren’t categorized either. The imagination behind this system is the
following: this is how we learn our vernacular languages. Little by little, picking up words
from every walks of life. I find it more efficient this way with second languages too, much
rather than simply sitting down and learning for example ’family words’ , ’sport words’
’travelling words’ or whatever categories and topics we relate the words to….
I do hope this book will help those wishing to learn more specific, varied and sundry
words. My advice is to take your time, maybe 15 words a day will suffice, but you know
your own limits. Should you have any comment, please contact me, I am keenly waiting for
any suggestions to revise the book.

Some sentences include extra idioms or phrases(written in italics), which can be easily
deciphered by the context; or other times you will find the Hungarian meanings of such
extras within the given sentence.
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Előszó
A könyv, melyet a kezében tart a kedves olvasó, egy új nyelvtanulási praktikát kísérel meg
bemutatni. E módszer még kevésbé elterjedt itthon, mely a megszokottól eltérően kívánja
segíteni a közép- és felsőfokú nyelvvizsgára készülőket, újrakezdőket vagy azokat, akik
szeretnék bővíteni kicsit szókincsüket-az iskolai tananyagokban általában nem szereplő
kifejezésekkel, szavakkal.

A módszer elve a következő: nincs sorba rendezés sem ABC szerint, sem kategóriák
szerint(pl. sporthoz kapcsolódó, utazáshoz kapcsolódó vagy egyéb témakörökhöz passzoló
osztályozások szerint.) Helyette össze-vissza, az élet minden területéről véletlenszerűen
jönnek a szavak(optimálisan például 15 egy napra, de mindenki tudja saját korlátjait). Ha
végig gondoljuk, így tanuljuk anyanyelvünket is, "fel-felszedegetve" egy-egy szót innen-
onnan. Szerintem ez a hatékony módszer az idegennyelveknél is. Ellenben, a visszakeresés
megkönnyítése érdekében a könyv végén található egy ABC szerinti lista valamennyi
könyvben található angol szóról. A szavak mellett megtalálhatóak a magyar jelentések,
fonetikai kiejtések, és természetesen példamondatok, hogy lássa a tanuló, hogyan is
használják az adott kifejezést/szót. Akadnak saját kitalált példák is, de a legtöbb mondat
sorozatokból, cikkekből, könyvekből és egyéb szövegekből, azaz az élő, használt nyelvből
származik. Itt egy példa a könyv tematikájából :

peculiar(pəˈkju lɪər-világi/egyedi): With all the nuances and peculiar expressions in

Hungarian, it simply makes sense to dub fims and series.

Bármilyen észrevétellel kapcsolatban keressenek bátran, szívesen veszem a

visszajelzéseket.
Néhány mondat további extra kifejezéseket is tartalmaz(dőlttel szedve), ezek jelentése a
szövegkörnyezetből egyszerűen kikövetkeztethető; illetve ha nem, ott vastagon szedve a
mondaton belül a magyar jelentés is fellelhető.
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Proofread by: Rácz Tünde , Georege Seel, Leslie D. Kovács

Produced by: Fekete Máté
e-mail: zoli970314@gmail.com
Sources: -BBC, CNN (articles,news),
sentence.yourdictionary.com, Sky News, flo-joe.com,
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/,
lingorado.com/ipa/, TV shows(Devious Maids, Desperate
Housewives, Marvel Runaways, The Gifted, Lost, Dynasty)

http://www.learn-portuguese-now.com/portuguese-
vocabulary.html

FIRST EDITION 2015

REVISED EDITION 2016
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vaguely (veɪgli -bizonytalanul,halványan): -Do you remember him from our classes?-Vaguely. I have
a bad memory for faces.

self-reliant(sɛlf-rɪˈlaɪənt –magától döntő/magában bízó): I chose to write this book on my own so I

was completely self-reliant in this respect.

intrinsic(ɪnˈtrɪnsɪk -valódi,belülről fakadó): A mother’s love is something that is intrinsic, it’s

something that is natural as opposed to something that has to be learned.

inspiring/incentivizing(ɪnˈspaɪrɪŋ /ɪnˈsɛn tɪˌvaɪzɪŋ -ösztönző): Extra money is quite incentivizing for

those employees who work extra hours on a project./ The film about the young girl who overcame her
physical disabilities was really inspiring; it made a lot of other people in her situation think much more
positive about life.

smother(smʌðər -elolt):The paper was on fire, so I tried smothering the flames with a blanket.

sterile(ˈstɛrəl -terméketlen): After the third unsuccessful attempt to breed the finches I began to
suspect the male was sterile. I gave up on this dead duck attempt for good.

bug screen(bʌg skrin -szúnyogháló): The bug screen is now useless thanks to Cirmi, who made it
possible for all the flies and mosquitos to walk in freely by tearing it up with his claws.

ensue(ɪnˈsu -követ): He rose and paced around the room, dwelling on the carnage that would
surely ensue if the Guardians remained vulnerable for long.

massacre/carnage/slaughter(mæsəkər/ˈkɑrnɪʤ/ˈslɔtər -mészárlás): The Bible may, indeed does,

contain a warrant for trafficking in humans, for ethnic cleansing, for slavery, for bride-price, and for
indiscriminate massacre/carnage/slaughter, but we are not bound by any of it because it was put
together by crude, uncultured human mammals.

relentless(rɪˈlɛntlɪs -hajthatatlan): Rachel sighed and continued her relentless search for romance.

reckless(ˈrɛkləs -nemtörődöm): -I am fed up with your recent behaviour. –What do you mean?
- You know… …being reckless and hostile with me. –You have no idea what the word reckless means.
-See? That’s what I am talking about!
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embodiment(ɛmˈbɑdimənt-megtestesülés): The president gave him the declaration, the token

and embodiment of the struggle for national redemption.

lease(lis-bérel):Was it merely coincidence that her lease would be up next Friday and the landlord
was raising the rent?

dregs(drɛgz-söpredék/alja a folyónak):Dregs are defined as the most worthless and most

undesirable of all items, or the remnants that settle to the bottom of liquid in a container.

bleach(bliʧ-öblítő):Sunlight has a tendency to bleach furs and to encourage the development of

moth eggs, therefore continued exposure is to be avoided.

frank(fræŋk-egyenes,nyílt): „If we're going to be frank," she said, "why don't you ditch that stupid
rug you're wearing on your head?”

dejected(dɪˈʤɛktɪd-kedvetlen):An example of someone who would be dejected is someone who has

just lost his job and who is feeling very low.

conspicuous(kənˈspɪkjʊəs-feltűnő):An example of conspicuous is a naked person on the field during

a football game.

steep/arduous(stiːp/ˈɑːdjʊəs-meredek):Isn’t it a bit of a steep/arduous mountain to climb?

aslope(əˈsləʊp-ferde): While the two crews were yet circling in the waters, reaching out after the
revolving line-tubs, oars, and other floating furniture, aslope little Flask bobbed up and down like an
empty vial, twitching his legs upwards to escape the dreaded jaws of sharks.

pillaged(pɪlɪʤd-zsákmányolt): It was then wrecked, plundered and left roofless, all goods
were pillaged, all cattle destroyed.

writhe(raɪð-vonaglik):Writhing means twisting body movements, as in pain or struggle.

tweak(twiːk-csíp):When you twist someone's nose, this is an example of tweak.

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kowtow(kaʊˈtaʊ -meghunyászkodik): In 1996, the McKinsey Quarterly journal described him as ‘the
one guru to whom other gurus kowtow’ .

eat humble pie(it hʌmbəl paɪ-megalázkodik):

The producers of the advert had to eat humble pie and apologize for misrepresenting the facts.

quail(kweɪl-fürj): A quail punctuated her statement with its crisp call.

treacherous(trɛʧərəs-alattomos): He'd even made his peace with Claire before feeding
the treacherous woman to the sociopathic Original Vamp.

disingenuous(dɪsɪnˈʤɛnjuəs-képmutató): An example of disingenuous is a child's excuse, “the dog

ate my homework.”

abscission(æbˈsɪs.ən-metszet):Abscission derives from the latin ‘abscissa’ meaning a cutting off, as in

surgery.

transition(trænˈzɪʃən-átmenet):He made the transition from horse to wagon in one smooth

movement.

cornice(kɔr·nɪs-karnis):Facing the main entrance is a small open shrine, consisting of a cornice and
dome upheld by four pillars.

rabies(reɪbiz-veszettség):Rabies is an acute, infectious, usually fatal viral disease of the central

nervous system that is transmitted by the bite of infected animals and occurs in many mammals,
including dogs, cats, raccoons, and bats.

stampede(stæmˈpid-csörtetés,eszeveszett rohanás): Most people, both children and grown-ups,

can’t help crying when little Simba mourns his father after the deadly wildebeest-stampede that
stomped Mufasa to death.
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Ez egy bemutató darab a könyv teljes terjedelméből, a könyv

további oldalain számos példa található még, beleértve egy
teljes szólistát is.

This is only a sample version of the original book. In its full

version, there are many more pages including a complete
wordlist in alphabetical order at the end.
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