Unit 2 – High energy

p18 – Speaking
innovative /ˈɪnəvətɪv/
new, original, and advanced
an innovative approach
designs full of innovative ideas
She was an imaginative and innovative manager.

bring sth to life
to make something more real or exciting
It's always been an interesting period in history and this film really brought it to life.

clown around
to do silly things in order to make people laugh
Left alone, the class threw books, pulled faces, and generally clowned around.

extravaganza noun /ɪkstrævəˈɡænzə/

a large and impressive celebration or event
a musical/dance extravaganza

rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/
a regular pattern of sounds or movements
the slow rhythm of the rocking chair
I've got no sense of rhythm, so I'm a terrible dancer.

wealth noun /welθ/
a large amount of money and other valuable things
They used some of their wealth to build magnificent town halls.
During a successful business career, she accumulated a great amount of wealth.

youthful adjective /ˈjuːθfl/
typical of young people
youthful enthusiasm/rebellion
She has very youthful skin.
At the time I admired his youthful enthusiasm.

take something by storm

to be very successful in a particular place or among a particular group of people
Jazz took London and Paris by storm in the 1920s.

precision noun [ U ]  /prɪˈsɪʒən/
the quality of being very accurate and exact
He kicks the ball with precision and accuracy.
Great precision is required to align the mirrors accurately.

p18 – Vocabulary
lead singer
the person who sings the main vocal parts in a band
Strummer briefly replaced MacGowan as lead singer after his sacking from the band.

1
mime verb [ I or T ]  /maɪm/
to pretend to sing or play an instrument while a piece of recorded music is being played
Most of the bands that appear on the show just mime to a recording of their songs.

the charts
a list showing the CDs that people have bought the most copies of in the previous week
Their new single is likely to top the charts again this week.

percussion noun [ U ]  /pəˈkʌʃən/ 
 musical instruments such as drums, cymbals, or rattles that you play by hitting or shaking them
Drums, tambourines, and cymbals are all percussion instruments.

wind instrument noun [ C ]  /ˈwɪndˌɪnstrəmənt/
a musical instrument that you play by blowing through it
Saxophones and flutes are wind instruments.

string instrument noun [ C ]  /ˈstrɪŋ ˌɪnstrəmənt/ (also stringed instrument)

one of a group of musical instruments that have strings, for example the guitar and the violin
Guitars, pianos, and cellos are different types of string instrument.

p19 – Listening

versatile adjective /ˈvɜːsətaɪl/
having a wide range of different skills and abilities
Baldwin was a very versatile writer.
one of the cinema’s most versatile and sought-after actors
He's a very versatile young actor who's as happy in highbrow dramas as he is in TV comedies.

interval noun [ C ] /ˈɪntəvəl/

a period of time between two events
The normal interval between our meetings is six weeks.
Payments are to be resumed after an interval of several months.
Progress is reviewed at monthly intervals.

a short break between the parts of something such as a play or a concert

How long is the interval?

p23 – Reading

goalpost noun [ C ] /ˈɡəʊlpəʊst/
one of the two posts that the ball must go between to score a goal in games such as football

pass verb /pɑːs/ 
to kick, hit, or throw the ball to another player in a sports team
Are you allowed to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper?

tackle verb /ˈtækəl/ 
to try to take the ball from an opponent in a game such as football

enchant verb [ T ]  /ɪnˈtʃɑːnt/
to interest and attract someone very strongly
We were all enchanted by the island.
The audience was clearly enchanted by her performance.

2
resist verb  /rɪˈzɪst/
 to stop yourself from doing something that you would very much like to do
It’s difficult to resist a challenge like that.
She couldn’t resist asking him about his date.
He was unable to resist the temptation of taking the wallet.
I can never resist the urge to laugh.

obstacle noun [ C ]  /ˈɒb.stəkəl/
something that blocks you so that movement, going forward, or action is prevented or made
more difficult
The biggest obstacle in our way was a tree trunk in the road.
Disabled people succeed in overcoming many obstacles in everyday life.
Tiredness was the biggest obstacle in the way of their attempt to rescue the climbers.
This decision has removed the last obstacle to the hostages' release.

overcome verb  /ˌəʊvəˈkʌm/
to defeat or succeed in controlling or dealing with something
Juventus overcame Ajax in a thrilling game.
Jimmy overcame his difficulties to graduate with a first-class degree.
What can I do to overcome my fear of rejection?

p25 – Vocabulary

referee noun [ C ] /ˌrefəˈriː/ 
someone whose job is to make sure that players in a game obey the rules
We only lost the game because the referee was biased.

slope noun [ C ] /sləʊp/ 
an area of steep ground covered with snow that people ski down
We got to Tahoe on Friday, and hit the slopes (=skied on them) the next day.

goggles noun [ plural ] /ˈɡɒɡlz/ 
special glasses that protect your eyes, for example when you are usinga dangerous machine or when
you are swimming
ski goggles

lane noun [ C ] /leɪn/ 
one of the parts that something such as a swimming pool or sports track is divided into, intended for
one swimmer or one runner
The German runners/swimmers are in lanes 4 and 6.

ice rink noun [ C ] /ˈaɪs ˌrɪŋk/

a large flat area of ice inside a building, where people can go to ice-skate
The village boasts an ice rink, nursery ski school and boutiques, hotels and restaurants.

beat verb /biːt/ beat, beaten 
to defeat someone in a game, competition, election, or battle
Simon always beats me at tennis.
In 2000, George W Bush narrowly beat Al Gore in the election.
They were beaten hands down (= completely) by their opponents.

draw verb /drɔː/
if two teams or opponents draw, they both have the same score so neither wins. 
Coventry drew 1–1 with United in the semifinal.

3
runner-up noun [ C ] /ˌrʌnəˈrʌp/
a person or team that comes second in a race or competition
But Whitaker's luck changed in the four rider Horsemaster final when he again looked likely
to finish as a runner-up.

p26 – Listening

capture verb [ T ] /ˈkæptʃə/ 
to record an event in a film or photograph
The whole incident was captured by a young American photographer.
The idea was to capture on film how the countryside was changing.

demanding adjective  /dɪˈmɑːndɪŋ/ 
needing a lot of time, attention, or energy
Young children can be very demanding.
Police work is physically demanding and stressful.
I like a nice light novel to read when I'm on holiday - nothing too demanding.

daft  adjective /dɑːft/  UK INFORMAL

silly and not sensible or reasonable
I think it’s a daft idea.
Don’t be daft – of course I won’t forget you.
Who would be daft enough to pay so much for a car?

astonishing adjective /əˈstɒnɪʃɪŋ/
very surprising
He was eating his food with astonishing speed.
It’s astonishing how much the place has changed.
Her first novel enjoyed an astonishing success.

virtually adverb /ˈvɜː.tʃuəli/ 
almost 
Their twins are virtually identical.
Virtually all the students live in university halls of residence.
That wine stain on my shirt has virtually disappeared.
It’s virtually impossible to get him to eat vegetables.

enthusiast noun [ C ]  /ɪnˈθjuːziæst/ 
someone who is very interested in something or excited by it and spends time doing it
or learning about it
The company was started ten years ago by two young computer enthusiasts.

p27 – Word formation

immodest adjective /ɪˈmɒdɪst/
someone who thinks they are very good and clever and who likes to talk about their achievements
I don't mean to sound immodest, but I graduated from high school when I was 15.

impractical adjective  /ɪmˈpræktɪkəl/
not sensible, or not likely to be effective or successful
I love high heels but they're rather impractical.
It's impractical to have so many people all trying to use this equipment at the same time.

4
disobedient adjective  /ˌdɪsəˈbiːdiənt/
deliberately doing the opposite of what someone in authority has told you to do,
or deliberately not obeying rules
a disobedient child

extraterrestrial  adjective /ˌekstrətəˈrestriəl/ 
a living being believed by some people to come from another planet
extraterrestrial beings

p28 – Review

undercharge verb [ I or T ]  /ˌʌndəˈtʃɑːdʒ/ 
to sell something to someone for too low a price, or to accidentally not ask them for enough money in
a shop etc
The girl at the till made a mistake and undercharged me by £2.

overgrown adjective  /ˌəʊvəˈɡrəʊn/ 
covered with plants that are growing thickly and in an uncontrolled way
The field is overgrown with weeds.