Vocabulary

Look up the translation of the following words and word combinations in the dictionary:

1. appeal (to) (v) I think Jane Austen’s novels probably appeal more to women.

2. attach importance to sth (phr) Women attach greater importance to birthdays than men.

3. attract (v) Have you ever lied about your age to attract somebody?

4. class (n) (U) At the end of the story love overcomes differences in class.

5. compared with Three out of four women buy new clothes to attract somebody, compared with one in five men.

6. cross paths (phr) If two people cross paths, they meet.

7. delighted (adj) Mrs Bennet is delighted when Mr Bingley is attracted to one of her daughters.

8. despise (v) If you despise someone, you strongly dislike them.

9. diet (v) If you diet, you eat less to lose weight.

10. eligible (adj) Mrs Bennet wants to find wealthy husbands for her eligible daughters.

11. enormous (adj) Something that is enormous is extremely big.

12. estate (n) An estate is a very large area of land that belongs to one person.

13. executioner (n) An executioner is someone whose job is to kill criminals.

14. fate (n) Fate is the power that is supposed to control people’s lives.

15. be in favour of (phr) Men are more in favour of marriage than women.

16. gradually (adv) Mr Darcy gradually grows more interested in Elizabeth.

17. grow interested (phr) At first he considers her inferior but then grows more interested in her.

18. handsome (adj) A handsome man is good-looking.

19. hilarious (adj) Something that is hilarious is extremely funny.

20. I don’t care. (phr) “How do you feel if your partner forgets your birthday?” “I don’t care.”

21. infatuated (adj) Someone who is infatuated is in love with another person even though they may not know that person well.

22. inferior (to) (adj) If you think someone is socially inferior to you, you think they are not as wealthy or important as you.

23. knock a few years off (phr) If you knock a few years off your age, you lie and say you are younger than you are.

24. lie (v) People sometimes lie about their age to try to attract a partner.

25. live up to sth (phr v) Tom Hanks said he felt confident that he lived up to his reputation as “Mr Nice Guy”.

26. Mr Nice Guy (n) “Mr Nice Guy” is an expression for a man who is always kind and thinks of other people.

27. neighbouring (adj) “Neighbouring” is a word meaning “near the place where you live”.

28. overcome (v) A t the end of the story love overcomes differences in class.

29. prejudice (n) A prejudice is an unreasonable feeling of not liking someone or something.

30. pride (n) Pride is a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction about something you have achieved.

31. put on (a few kilos) (phr) If you put on a few kilos, you gain a few kilos in weight.

32. rebellious (adj) Someone who is rebellious does not accept authority or accepted rules.

33. relate (to) (v) I found the characters irritating and silly, and couldn’t relate to them at all.

34. save the planet (phr) If you want to save the planet, you want to help the environment by reducing pollution.

35. significant (adj) A significant number of men and women admitted they had lied about their age.

36. similarly (adv) “Similarly” is a word that means “in the same way”.

37. solar-powered (adj) A machine that is solar-powered gets its energy from the sun.

38. take an instant dislike (phr) Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to Darcy because she thinks he is superior.

39. take risks (phr) I don’t take risks – I always read books by authors I know.

40. wait ages (phr) “You’re late!” “I’m sorry, I had to wait ages for a bus.”

41. wealthy (adj) Someone who is wealthy has a lot of money.

42. witty (adj) Something that is witty is clever in an amusing way.

Adjectives ending in –ed

1. annoyed If you feel annoyed, you feel slightly angry.

2. bored The film was too long and we got bored.

3. challenged If you feel challenged, you feel slightly worried or frightened of something difficult.

4. confused If you feel confused, you don’t know what to think or feel.

5. excited I get really excited when one of my favourite authors brings out a new book.

6. exhausted If you feel exhausted, you feel very tired.

7. fascinated I’m fascinated by biographies of famous people.

8. inspired If you feel inspired to do something, you really want to do it.

9. interested Some people are more interested in films than books.

10. relaxed W e feel nice and relaxed after the holiday.

11. tired I usually feel tired after a day at work.

12. worried What are you so worried about?

Adjectives ending in –ing

1. annoying Something that is annoying makes you feel slightly angry.

2. boring I read the first page and if it’s boring, I don’t buy the book.

3. challenging Something that is challenging is difficult to achieve.

4. confusing Something that is confusing is difficult to understand.

5. engaging Characters who are engaging are attractive and easy to like.

6. exciting The book was really exciting – I couldn’t put it down.

7. exhausting Something that is exhausting makes you feel very tired.

8. fascinating Something that is fascinating is extremely interesting.

9. gripping The book wasn’t just exciting – it was gripping!

10. inspiring I find strong women in history particularly inspiring.

11. interesting What I find interesting in a book is the relationships between the characters.

12. relaxing Reading a book in a hot bath is very relaxing.

13. thought-provoking Something that is thought-provoking is stimulating and intriguing.

14. tiring Something that is tiring makes you feel tired.

15. worrying Something that is worrying makes you feel worried.

Books

1. author (n) Who’s your favourite author?

2. autobiography (n) An autobiography is a book that a person writes about their own life.

3. bestseller (n) A bestseller is a book that sells a lot of copies.

4. biography (n) A biography is a book about a person’s life written by someone else.

5. book review (n) Book reviews are articles written by a journalist about new books.

6. can’t put it down (phr v) The book was gripping – I just couldn’t put it down!

7. chapter (n) Books are divided into chapters.

8. (central/main) character (n) The central female character in Pride and Prejudice is Elizabeth Bennet.

9. cover (n) If the cover of a book looks interesting, I buy it.

10. difficult to get into (phr) The book was a bit difficult to get into at first, but I ended up really enjoying it.

11. fantasy (n) A fantasy book is a book about an imaginary world.

12. fiction (n) I never read fiction but I love biographies.

13. novel (n) Pride and Prejudice is a classic romantic novel.

14. paperback (n) A paperback is a book with a soft cover.

15. plot (n) The plot of a story is the things that happen during the story.

16. revolve around (phr v) The storyline of Pride and Prejudice revolves around Mr and Mrs Bennet and their daughters.

17. romantic novel (n) Pride and Prejudice is a classic romantic novel.

18. science fiction (n) Science fiction is books and films about imaginary future events and characters.

19. be set in (phr v) Pride and Prejudice is set in England in the early 19th century.

20. short story (n) A short story is a short piece of fiction.

21. the story unfolds (phr) As the story unfolds true love overcomes all obstacles.

22. storyline (n) The “storyline” is a word that means the same as “plot”.

23. take place (v) Pride and Prejudice takes place in England in the early 19th century.

24. well written (adj) Jane Austen’s novels are all very well written.

Films

1. acting (n) The acting in the film was brilliant.

2. action film (n) An action film is one in which there are a lot of interesting, exciting events.

3. be based on (v) Forrest Gump is based on a true story.

4. comedy (n) A comedy is a film that makes you laugh.

5. direct (v) I can’t remember who directed Forrest Gump.

6. director (n) The film won six Oscars, including best director.

7. ending (n) Does the film have a happy or sad ending?

8. footage (n) Forrest Gump contains black and white footage from the 60s.

9. gangster film (n) A gangster film is about the activities of gangs of criminals.

10. a hit (n) The film was a real hit and won six Oscars.

11. horror film (n) A horror film is a film that is intended to frighten people.

12. leading actor (n) The leading actor in Forrest Gump is Tom Hanks.

13. love story (n) A love story is about a romantic relationship between two people.

14. make you cry (phr) “The film made you cry, didn’t it?” “No, it didn’t, I’ve got a cold.”

15. musical (n) A musical is a film that contains a lot of songs.

16. photography (n) The photography is the photographs and images that are shown during a film.

17. play the part of (phr) Tom Hanks also plays the part of the executioner in The Green Mile.

18. premier (n) The premier of a film is the occasion on which it is shown for the first time.

19. romantic comedy (n) A romantic comedy is a film about a romance that is also amusing.

20. science fiction film (n) A science fiction film is about imaginary future events and characters.

21. soundtrack (n) The soundtrack is the music that accompanies a film.

22. special effects (n pl) The special effects are all done using computers.

23. spy film (n) A spy film is about people who find out secret information about a country or organisation.

24. subtitles (n pl) The subtitles are the words appearing at the bottom of a screen to translate what people are saying in a foreign film.

25. a (sentimental) tearjerker (n) A sentimental tearjerker is a film that makes you cry.

26. thriller (n) A thriller is a film about something exciting or dangerous, such as a crime.

27. war film (n) War films are about war.

28. western (n) A western is a film about cowboys.

29. win (six) Oscars (phr) Forrest Gump was a very successful film that won six Oscars.

Music

1. album (n) What’s your favourite track on the album?

2. band (n) Who’s your favourite band?

3. blues (n) Blues is a type of slow, sad music that originally comes from the southern US.

4. classical (adj) Do you prefer classical or pop music?

5. dance (n) Dance music is very popular.

6. gig (n) A gig is a public performance of popular music.

7. hip-hop (n) Hip-hop is a type of music that uses rap combined with musical instruments.

8. lyrics (n pl) The lyrics are the words of a song.

9. opera (n) An opera is a type of play that is sung to classical music.

10. orchestra (n) An orchestra is a large group of musicians who play classical music on different instruments.

11. perform live (phr) We saw the band performing live at Wembley – they were brilliant.

12. reggae (n) Reggae is a type of music that developed in Jamaica in the 1960s.

13. stereo system (n) The sound’s not very good – I think there’s a problem with the stereo system.

14. techno (n) I can’t stand all that techno stuff – I like it when you can hear the lyrics!

15. track (n) The album is made up of twelve tracks.

Supplementary Reading