Vocabulary

1. impromptu

done without being planned, prepared, or organized

e.g. An impromptu visit broke up the long afternoon.

2. attendance

(1) [U] the fact of being present at an event or of going regularly to school, church etc.

e.g. Her attendance at church was very patchy.

(2) [C, U] the number of people who are present at an event or in a place such as a school or church

e.g. Despite falling attendances, the zoo will stay open.

3. steeply

in a steep manner

e.g. Export orders continued to fall steeply.

Adjective: steep

4. humiliation

(1) [U] the unhappy and ashamed feeling that you get when sth. embarrassing happens

e.g. I felt humiliation at her remarks.

(2) [C] sth. that makes you feel very embarrassed and ashamed

e.g. Never forget our national humiliation.

Verb: humiliate

5. diligence

[U] (fml) the attitude or behaviour of someone who works very hard and very carefully

e.g. Diligence leads to success while laziness results in failure.

Adjective: diligent

6. flyer

(1) (infml) a person, animal, or vehicle that can go very fast

e.g. He is acknowledged as a high flyer with high marks.

(2) a bird, insect, or animal that flies in a particular way

e.g. This is the bluethroat, a beautiful bird and magnificent flyer.

(3) an announcement or advertisement that is printed on a sheet of paper and given to people

e.g. People were giving out flyers advertising the event.

7. impressive

a. if sth. is impressive, you admire it, for example because it is very good, large, or shows great skill

e.g. It was an impressive list of achievements.

8. script

[C] the written words of a play, film, television programme, speech etc.

e.g. They wrote some excellent comedy scripts.

9. provisional

intended to be temporary, and likely to be changed when other arrangements are made

e.g. They write to give their provisional acceptance of the contract.

10. acceptance

(1) agreement to a plan, offer, or suggestion

e.g. The new laws gained widespread acceptance.

(2) (~ of) general agreement that sth. is true, reasonable, or cannot be changed

e.g. Alternative medicines are now winning greater acceptance among doctors.

Verb: accept

11.ambitious

(1) determined to be successful, rich, famous etc.

e.g. To some degree, only those people who are ambitious can have their own careers.

(2) an ambitious plan, aim, or attempt is difficult and will need a lot of effort to succeed

e.g. That is a very ambitious plan, and I hope it succeeds.

12.inevitably

used for saying that sth. is certain to happen

e.g. Historical experience has proven that the exercise of power without restraint and supervision inevitably leads to corruption.

Adjective: inevitable

Antonym: evitable

13.criticize

(1) v. (~ sb. / sth. for sth. / doing sth.) say what you think is wrong or bad about sth.

e.g.He is the manager's son but that does not qualify him to criticize my work.

(2) vt. consider sth. carefully and judge what the good and bad aspects of it are

e.g.These artists often meet to discuss things and criticize each other's work.

Noun: criticism/critic

Adjective: critical

14. brace

(1) (~ oneself for sth.; ~ oneself to do sth.) get ready for sth. Unpleasant

e.g. We must brace ourselves for a challenging new year.

(2) (~ oneself / sth. against sth. ) push your body, or a part of it, against something solid and strong in order to support yourself or to avoid falling

e.g. She braced herself against the wall.

15.resistance

(1) (meet with / face / encounter ~) refusal to accept sth. new such as a plan, idea, or change

e.g. This proposal is meeting with some resistance at the UN's headquarters.

(2) (~ to) the ability not to be affected or harmed by something, especially a disease or a drug

e.g. Lack of white blood cells lowers resistance to infection and becomes the major cause of death.

Verb:resist

16.Productive

(1) achieving good results

e.g. You will have a productive day if you organize yourself well at work.

(2) making or growing things in large quantities, especially so that they can be sold

e.g. During the most productive time in her career, she wrote five novels.

Noun: productivity/production/product

Verb: produce

Phrases

1. at/in the back of one's mind

in the memory but not consciously thought of or immediately recalled

e.g. He will stick the secret away in the back of his mind.

2. map out

plan in detail how sth. will happen

e.g. I like to map out the whole week in advance.

3. haul up

e.g. The boy hauled up the fishing net all by himself.

4. figure out

e.g. I can't figure out why he quit his job.

Sentences

1. Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year. (para.1)

This is a conversational elliptical sentence. A standard way of saying this is: The most important things, of course, were the final exams in April and May in the following year.

2. Quite often it was the quieter, less impressive students who had the next stages of their life mapped out.

To have something mapped out means to have something that will happen planned in detail.

3. You don' t need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment.

To go into a career means to start working in a particular job, business or career.