The language of headlines

to pin your hopes on something to rely on something in order to be successful

a hitch (noun) a small problem

’flu short word for influenza, a common winter illness in Britain

The language of news reports

unbiased (adj) neutral, does not favour one side or the other

objective (adj) unbiased, not emotional or sensational

impartial (adj) unbiased

burglary (noun) the crime of stealing from someone’s house. The verb is to burgle and the person who burgles houses is a burglar.

to combat (crime) to try to prevent crime happening

to trigger (an action) to make something happen offences crimes

The language of sports commentaries

to sprint (verb) to run very quickly for a short time

a photo in this situation, a photo finish. The runners have finished the race very close together. To decide who has won third place, the race officials must look at a photograph of the finish of the race.

the ball whistles past when something whistles past you, it goes past very quickly making a high, loud sound as it goes though the air!

The language of holiday programmes

infamous (adj, neg) famous, but for bad reasons

disgusting (adj, neg) horrible, very unpleasant

bustling (adj, pos) very busy

cliché (noun) a phrase that has been used so much that it no longer has any real effect

vast (adj) very big, huge

ultimate (adj) the last or the most important; it cannot be beaten

wilderness (noun) wild place

pollution (noun) dirt in the environment, for example from household rubbish, fumes from cars and chemicals from factories

intrepid (adj) very brave and adventurous

teeming (adj) full of people, or animals. e.g. The lake was teeming with fish.

stunning (adj) very beautiful

out of bounds (adj) if a place is out of bounds you are not allowed to go there

The language of arts reviews

significant (adj) important

consequently (adv) as a result of this…

social activist a person who works to create changes in society

feminist a person who believes in equal rights for women

decades (noun)a decade is a period of ten years

extraordinary (adj) having some special or extreme qualities

The language of interviews

to irritate someone to make someone a little angry

a trend (noun) a fashion or a new way of doing business

publicists people whose job is to make films, events or people famous or well-known. From the verb to publicise.

to damp (something) down to make something less noticeable. In this case, the interviewee is damping down his use of showbusiness language because it is too sensational.

to fawn over (someone) to flatter someone, to tell them only good things about themselves

glittering (adj) shining brightly. Stars in this situation are famous actors and actresses.

blockbusters very famous films or books which many people see or buy

The language of financial reports

to mesmerise to hypnotise or fascinate someone

anaemic growth very weak growth

(economic) recession a time when the country’s economy is failing badly

the stock market the place where shares in companies are bought and sold

to call off (a sale) to cancel something which has been planned (in this example, the sale of a large company)

to underwrite (a sale) to guarantee that people will not lose money if they participate in a sale of a company. The underwriters accept responsibility for any losses which a sale might make.

to wipe (money) off (a price)

to reduce the cost of something by a large amount

to plummet to fall very, very quickly

to rocket to rise very, very quickly