1. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Height:
of medium height
tall
short

Built:
well-built
heavily built
plump
powerful
slender= slim

Complexion:
tanned
swarthy
pale

Special features:
round cheeks
grey beard
bushy eyebrows
moustache
mole
spots

Face:
freckled
oval
round
wrinkled

Eyes:
almond-shaped
slanting

Nose:
hooked
upturned
crooked
straight

Hair:
curly
receding hairline
wavy

Lips:
thin
round
full

shrug shoulders
fold arms

cross legs

bite nails

pick nose

clench fist

tap fingers2. GRAPHS

Survey - Statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population. When the questions are administered by a researcher, the survey is called a structured interview or a researcher administered survey. When the questions are administered by the respondent, the survey is referred to as a questionnaire or a self-administered survey.

A variable ['ve@.ri.@.bl] is a symbol that stands for a value that may vary; the term usually occurs in opposition to constant, which is a symbol for a non-varying value, i.e. completely fixed or fixed in the context of use. Variables need not be numeric [hair colour] . The concepts of constants and variables are basic to all modern mathematics, science, engineering, and computer programming as well as social science.

Graph - a drawing illustrating the relations between certain quantities plotted with reference to a set of axes

Graphs have many features in common, such as: title, a grid (that is used to plot points or other data)a horizontal axis or X-axis, a vertical axis or Y-axis.

When a graph contains more than one set of results, it must also contain a key, or legend. The key identifies the results that have been used for each line in the graph.

Take something at face value - to accept a situation or accept what someone says, without thinking there may be a hidden meaning.

The Majority: large, substantial (=considerable), small, reasonable percentage, a fair number of, in complete agreement, unanimous, each and every one, a fair number of, the bulk of, an overwhelming majority, significant fraction, a fair number of

Multiply: double 2x, triple 3x, quadruple 4x, proliferate >4x, snowball [if a plan, problem, business etc snowballs, it grows bigger at a faster and faster rate]

100 per cent turnout
1. the number of people who vote in an election; high/low turnout; the low turn-out of 54 percent in the March elections
2. the number of people who go to a party, meeting, or other organized event: I was disappointed by the turn-out for our home match.

The minority: half and half, equally divided, equal shares of, 50-50 split; small number, small section, fraction of, the odd one and two, not a soul,
splinter group - a group of people that have separated from a political or religious organization because they have different ideas

even numbers: 2,4,6,8
odd numbers: 1,3,5,7
a three-figure sum
a three consecutive numbers
a multiple of ...
a fractional [tiny]

a number with 5 digits (one of the written signs that represent the numbers 0 to 9) after the decimal point - three-digit/four-digit

variation - a difference between similar things, or a change from the usual amount or form of something

ballpark figure - guess believed to be accurate

Verbs to memorise: contract [to become smaller or narrower], decline, strengthen, weaken, tighten up, lower, build up run down, extend, widen, narrow, phase out [to gradually stop using or providing something], enlarge, daily event, tot everything up [add e-thing up - less formal], err on the side of something to be more careful or safe than is necessary, in order to make sure that nothing bad happens, round things down/up (make 2.5 rather 2 than 3, or the other way round)

TYPES OF GRAPHS:

1. bar graph

2. line graph

3. area graph

4. pie/ circle graph

5. doughnut graph

6. radar

7. scatter graph/ scatter diagram

8. 3D scatter

9. box plot

10. histogram

11. stock chart

12. 3D graph

13. compound graph

3. HOUSING

to bring down the house - to make the audience laugh or clap very loudly

to get on like a house on fire - to like each other very much and become friends very quickly

on the house - provided free by the owner 

to go through the roof - to go up very quickly

to hit the roof/ceiling - to become very angry and start shouting

the roof caves/falls in - something very bad suddenly happens

to drive someone up the wall - to make someone angry or crazy

to go/fall through the floor - to become very low (esp. prices or value)

barracks - a building or group of buildings in which soldiers live

bed and breakfast - a private house or small hotel where you can sleep and have breakfast

block of flats

bungalow/cottage - a small house with a single story

camper - BrE: a vehicle that has cooking equipment and beds in it; AmE: a special type of a tent in wheels that has cooking equipment and beds in it

caravan (BrE) / trailer (AmE) - a vehicle that can be pulled behind a car, used for living and sleeping during a holiday

chalet - a house with a steep sloping roof, common in places with high mountains and snow

convent or nunnery - a religious residence especially for nuns

guest house - a private house where people can pay to stay and have meals

houseboat - a river boat that you can live in

log cabin - a small house made of logs

mansion - a very large house

monastery - the residence of a religious community

motel - a roadside hotel for motorists

nursing home - a private hospital or home for people who are old or ill; `a home for the elderly'

old hut - small crude (rough) shelter used as a dwelling

palace

castle

penthouse - a very expensive and comfortable apartment or set of rooms on the top floor of a building

ranch

semi-detached house (BrE) / duplex (AmE) - houses that are attached, usually to only one other house via a party wall

shack - a small building that has not been built very well

shanty - a small, roughly built hut made from thin sheets of wood, tin, plastic, etc. that very poor people live in

single-family detached house= single dwelling - a house that stands alone

suite - a set of rooms, especially expensive ones in a hotel

tent

terraced house (BrE); also: row house - attached to other houses, possibly in a row, each separated by a party wall

villa

wigwam/ tepee

4. CURRENT AFFAIRS

acquaintance

(amorous) advances

love bite (BrE)

lovesick

old flame

the way to a man's heart is through his stomach

puppy love

blind date

to make the first move

to pick up sb

to feel head over heels in love with sb

to consummate a marriage

illegitimate child

infidelity

mistress =(female) lover

to two-time sb

5. HEALTH AND MEDICINE

to get over something - to recover from an illness, shock or surprise

to come/go down with something - to develop the symptoms of an illness or disease

to get through an amount of something - to use a quantity of something such as food or money

to pick something up - to catch an illness

to cut something out - to stop doing/ using something

to put on an amount of something - to increase on weight or size

to take something up - to develop an interest in something

to cut down (on) (something) - to reduce something, to consume less of something

to pass out - to faint, to lose consciousness for a short time because of lack of food or air, or because of shock

to come round - to recover consciousness

to come through something - to survive or to recover from a serious illness or situation

to build something /someone up - to increase the strength, size or intensity of someone/ something

to go ahead with something - to proceed with something

to fight someone/ something off - to overcome or defeat someone/ something unpleasant or threatening

to wear off - to disappear gradually until it no longer exists or has any effect

to bring something on - to cause an illness or pain to occur

to feel up to (doing) something - to feel mentally or physically capable of doing something

to try something out (on someone) - to test something to see if it is useful or effective

6. EDUCATION

core subjects/curriculum/skills etc - subjects that have to be studied at a school or college

trainee teacher - someone who is being trained for the teacher's job

continuous assessment - a way of judging a student's ability by looking at the work they have done during the year rather than by an examination

placement - a job, usually as part of a course of study, which gives you experience of a particular type of work

“Students are sent out on placement for training.”

vocational - teaching or relating to the skills you need to do a particular job

disenchanted [+ with] - disappointed with someone or something, and no longer believing that they are good (=disillusioned)

attention span - the period of time during which you continue to be interested in something

graduation - 1. [U] the time when you complete a university degree course or your education at an American high school; on graduation (=after completing a first degree) 2. [U] a ceremony at which you receive a university degree or a diploma from an American high school; graduation day

scholarship - [C] an amount of money that is given to someone by an educational organization to help pay for their education; to win a scholarship to somewhere; on scholarship

to send sb out of the lesson

detention - [U] a punishment in which children who have behaved badly are forced to stay at school for a short time after the others have gone home; to be put in detention

mark - [C] a letter or number given by a teacher to show how good a student's work is [AmE = grade]

good/high mark

bad/low/poor mark

pass mark - the mark you need in order to pass an exam

“The pass mark was 75%.”

full/top marks - the highest possible mark

evening class - a class where adults can go to study in the evening

further education (FE) - education for adults after leaving school, that is not at a university

exam - [C] a spoken or written test of knowledge, especially an important one

to pass/to fail an exam

oral/written/multiple choice/practical exam

to take/sit an exam

to retake/resit an exam

correspondence course - a course of lessons in which the student works at home and sends completed work to their teacher by post

distance learning - a method of study that involves working at home and sending your work to your teacher

assignment - [C] a piece of work that a student is asked to do

to apply - to make a formal request, usually written, for something such as a job, a place in a university, or permission to do something

“I applied to four universities and was accepted by all of them.”

ambition - 1. [C] a strong desire to achieve something, 2. [U] determination to be successful, rich, powerful etc

to drop out - to leave a school or university before your course has finished

dropout - someone who leaves school or college before they have finished

to rule sb with a rod of iron/to rule sb with an iron fist/hand - to control a group of people in a very severe way

to rule sth out - to decide that something is not possible or suitable; to rule out the possibility of sth

TYPES OF SCHOOL: 

nursery school - a school for children who are between three and five years old

primary school - a school for children between five and 11 years old in England and Wales

secondary school - a school for children between the ages of 11 and 16 or 18

state school - a British school which receives money from the government and provides free education

public school - a private school for children aged between 13 and 18, whose parents pay for their education. The children often live at the school while they are studying

boarding school - a school where students live as well as study

day school - a school where the students go home in the evening rather than one where they live

comprehensive school - a state school in Britain for children over the age of 11 of different abilities

coeducation - a system in which students of both sexes are educated together

single-sex school - a school for only boys or girls

to exclude - to officially make a child leave their school because of their bad behaviour 

to expel - to officially force someone to leave a school or organisation

to suspend - to make someone leave their school or job for a short time, especially because they have broken the rules

expulsion - the act of stopping someone from going to the school where they were studying or from being part of the organization where they worked

truant - a student who stays away from school without permission

to play truant/to skive off - to stay away from school without permission [AmE = to play hooky]

report - a written statement by teachers about a child's work at school, which is sent to his or her parents

to obtain a certificate/a degree/a diploma/a scholarship

to write/defend a thesis

to have a good head for figures/facts - to be naturally good at doing calculations/remembering facts

to jog sb's memory - to make someone remember something

on the tip of your tongue - 1. if something is on the tip of your tongue, you really want to say it, but then you decide not to; 2. if a word, name etc is on the tip of your tongue, you know it but cannot remember it 

set book/text etc - a book that must be studied for an examination

timetable - a list of the times of classes in a school, college etc [AmE = schedule]

to pass with flying colours - to get very high marks

to administer a test

examination board

to bone up on sth - to learn as much as you can about a subject, because you need the knowledge, for example for an examination

brainwave - a sudden clever idea [AmE = brainstorm]

to scrape through sth - to only just succeed in passing an examination or dealing with a difficult situation

rote learning - when you learn something by repeating it many times, without thinking about it carefully or without understanding it

to learn by heart/by rote - to learn words, music etc so that you know them perfectly

swot - someone who spends too much time studying and seems to have no other interests - used in order to show disapproval

to swot - to study a lot in a short time, especially for an examination [= to revise; AmE = to cram]

toady - (informal) someone who pretends to like an important person and does things for them, so that that person will help them - used to show disapproval

to toady - (informal) to pretend to like an important person and do things for them, so that they will help you - used to show disapproval

teacher's pet - a child who everyone thinks is the teacher's favourite student and is therefore disliked by the other students

telltale - a child who tells adults about other children's secrets or bad behaviour - used by children to show disapproval [AmE = tattletale]

crib - a book or piece of paper with information or answers to questions, which students sometimes use dishonestly in examinations

to crib - to copy school or college work dishonestly from someone else

to crib something off/from somebody

7. WAR

Patriotism

Deterrent

To outlaw war

Aerial warfare

Nuclear annihilation

Great Powers (term concerning USA and the Soviet Union 1940-1990)

Revulsion against

Gain one's ends

To wage war

Hostilities

To besiege

To ambush

A truce

A ceasefire

To rout

A rout

Peacekeeping troops

An international observer

A campaign

An incendiary device

Germ/biological warfare

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