Vocabulary

1. corruption

n. dishonest, illegal, or immoral behavior, especially from someone with power 

e.g. Kissing in public is still considered a corrupt behavior 
in China.

2. nomination

n. the act of officially suggesting someone or something for a position, duty, or prize, or the fact of being suggested for it 

e.g. The nomination formally proposes that he should be chosen as the president.

Verb: nominate

3. competent

adj. having enough skill or knowledge to do something to a satisfactory standard 

e.g. Only your competence in solving problems can prove that you are a highly competent person and you are competent in different kinds of jobs.          

4. sophisticated

adj. having a lot of experience of life, and good judgment about socially important things such as art, fashion 

e.g. The inner system of a spaceship is rather sophisticated. 

Noun: sophistication

5. summon

v. to order someone to come to a place 

e.g. I had to summon up all my courage to face my boss, who summoned me urgently to explain my actions.

6. refrain

v. to not do something that you want to do, refrain from sth.

e.g. Teachers should refrain from sarcasm about their students.

7. impatient

(1) unable to deal calmly with sth. / sb. or to wait for sth; irritated by sb. / sth. , showing a lack of patience. 

e.g. You are too impatient with her; she is only a child.

(2) very eager to do sth. or for sth. to happen, 

e.g. We are impatient to have a good rest during the holiday. 

(3) intolerant of sth.
 e.g. You should finish the work punctually because the boss is impatient of delay.

8. intense 

(1) (of sensations), very great or severe; extreme 

(2) (of emotions) very strong

(3) highly emotional

e.g. They have shown intense interest in this issue and the intensity of their feelings surprises me.

9. agreeable 

(1) (fml) pleasant, nice, or satisfactory 

e.g. I find her a very agreeable woman.

2) [~ to] acceptable or able to be agreed on 

 e.g. Would it be agreeable to you to adopt the customary practice that has been used in the Sino-France trade?

Antonym:disagreeable

10. intellect 

(1) [C, U] the ability to think in an intelligent way and to understand difficult or complicated ideas and subjects 

e.g. Opinion is ultimately determined by the feelings, and not by the intellect. (Herbert Spencer)

(2) [C] someone who is extremely intelligent 

e.g. He was one of the most formidable intellects of his times. 

Adjective: intellectual   Adverb: intellectually   Noun: intellectualism

Phrases

1. track down 

find sb./sth. by searching

e.g. I finally tracked down the reference n a dictionary of quotations.

2. think on one’ s feet 

react quickly, be mentally agile

3. in the running for

having some chance of succeeding or achieving sth.

e.g. I hear that you are running for a management post. 

Sentences

1. People went to Joanne’ s for two reasons. They went because they were curious to see who their fellow diners were, and also to be seen themselves.

people went to Joanne’s not just to see who their fellow diners were, but to be seen themselves.

2. Senator Rogers was a Democrat in her third term of office, who knew Capitol Hill inside out but who had nevertheless managed to keep her credibility with her voters as a Washington outsider. (Para 3, L3-6)

Senator Rogers was in her third term of office and she knew the Senate and the government institutions in Washington thoroughly. Still, she had kept an image with voters that she was an outsider. In other words, she had not been affected negatively by knowing Washington too well or by becoming too much like other politicians.

3. It was election time in the following year, and the word was she was going to run for the Democratic nomination. (Para 3, L10-12)

“the word was …” means there was some talk that…, or people were saying that…