Perspectives Upper-Intermediate Unit 1

left to your own devices (phr)

not supervised; free to do what you want When the children were left to their own devices for ten minutes, they made a mess of the kitchen. έλευθερος να κάνω ότι θέλω χωρίς επίβλεψη

individual (n)

one person or thing Every individual has to go through security checks at the airport. άτομο

participant (n)

person who takes part in an activity or event There were more than thirty participants in today's game. συμμέτοχος

sights (n pl)

places of interest to see in an area Tourists can take a trip on an open-top bus to see the interesting sights of Glasgow. αξιοθέατα

perspective (n)

point of view; way of looking at something International travel enables people to see life from different perspectives. προοπτική, οπτική

ridiculous (adj)

silly The restaurant's ridiculous prices will stop people eating there. αξιογέλαστος

accessible (adj)

that can be reached

tutor (n)

a private teacher; a teacher who instructs a small group I have a tutor who helps me with maths and history. καθηγητής, καθηγήτρια, παιδαγωγός

strategy (n)

a set way of doing something It's good to use strong strategies to help you learn a new language. στρατηγική

investment (n)

the act of putting money into something to make it better; the thing that you invest in An improved education system would be an investment in the future of the next generation. επένδυση

hiking (n)

the activity of going for a long walk in the country as a hobby The best time to go hiking in the hills is in spring, when the trees are in bloom. πεζοπορία

robbery (n)

the crime of stealing things from a place or person

culture shock (n)

the feeling of anxiety and worry when you experience life in another country I grew up in the centre of Boston so I went through a culture shock when I moved to a small village in Cyprus. πολιτισμικό σοκ

anxiety (n)

the feeling of being nervous or worried

come down to (phr v)

the most important aspect of a situation or problem When it comes down to it, you'll never succeed without hard work and a bit of luck. συνοψίζομαι σε κάτι

reputation (n)

the opinion that people have about what somebody/something is like The new doctor has a very good reputation for being helpful. φήμη

honesty (n)

the quality of being honest and not telling lies

similarity (n)

the state of being or looking the same as something/somebody else The similarity between the two brothers makes you think they are twins. ομοιότητα

rush (v)

to be in a hurry I rushed to the bus stop so I wouldn't miss the bus. σπεύδω

opt (v)

to choose

pick up (phr v)

to collect from

keep in touch (phr)

to communicate with someone We use text messages to keep in touch. κρατάω επαφή

trip up (phr v)

to confuse; to cause somebody to make a mistake The final exam question tripped me up and I got a very bad mark. μπερδεύω

turn out (phr v)

to end in a particular way Despite the rain, the party turned out to be fun. καταλήγω

come across (phr v)

to find or see by chance

ban (v)

to forbid something by law Certain dangerous chemicals have been banned from use on farms. απαγορεύω

upgrade (n)

to get a better place in a hotel or seat on a plane/train. We paid a little more and got an upgrade to a luxury room. αναβάθμιση

summarize (v)

to give a short account of something Could you summarize the whole book in 500 words? συνοψίζω

step out (phr v)

to go out, usually for a short time He stepped out for a breath of fresh air and then continued working. βγαίνω έξω για λίγο

decline (n)

a drop in the frequency, number or value of something The decline in sales from traditional shops is partly due to online shopping. ελάττωση

host family (n)

a family that takes you into their home for a few days or a long period of time The host family I stayed with in Liverpool really made me feel at home. οικογένεια που φιλοξενεί κάποιον

servant (n)

a person who cooks, cleans, and does many other chores in another person's home The rich actor has five servants who do everything for her. υπηρέτης

prawn (n)

a shellfish with ten legs and a tail I love seafood and my favourite Indian dish is prawn curry. γαρίδα

resource (n)

a supply of things we can use The climbers ran out of essential resources, such as food, and had to turn back. πόρος

B&B (abbrev)

accommodation that offers bed and breakfast The hikers stopped at a mountain village and stayed the night in a B&B. ξενώνας με πρωινό, διαμονή με πρωινό

community (n)

all the people who live in a particular area Our community helped many incoming refugees to settle here. κοινότητα

legal (adj)

allowed by law

revolution (n)

an attempt to change a government or the way something is done The French Revolution started in 1789 and changed the way the country was run. επανάσταση

food poisoning (n)

an illness caused by something you ate that has harmful bacteria All the guests got food poisoning from the meat which had gone off. τροφική δηλητηρίαση

get used to (phr v)

become accustomed to

get a (real) feel for (phr)

become familiar with something and understand it Staying with locals helped us get a real feel for the town. καταλαβαίνω την ουσία, έχω κλίση σε κάτι

extensive (adj)

covering a wide area

incredibly (adv)

extremely, very

off the beaten track (phr)

far away from other people and places We had difficulty finding the small hotel because it was so far off the beaten track. πέρα από τους συνηθισμένους δρόμους

independence (n)

freedom from control by others Many countries had to fight for their independence. ανεξαρτησία

welcoming (adj)

friendly towards somebody who is visiting My grandparents are always very welcoming when I haven't seen them in a long time. φιλόξενος

standard (n)

how good or bad something is We are lucky to have a good standard of living in our country. επίπεδο, πρότυπο

genuinely (adv)

in a way that is true or real

overseas (adv)

in other countries

wealth (n)

large amount of money or things Wealth is something that not many people have. πλούτος

budget (adj)

low-priced

basically (adv)

most importantly The two hotels offer basically the same facilities, but the Milton is a bit more expensive. βασικά

hitchhiking (n)

travelling by waiting at the roadside and getting vehicles to stop to ask for free rides When they went hitchhiking, a friendly farmer stopped and gave them a lift to the next town. ωτοστόπ

vice versa (adv)

used to mean the opposite of what you have just said is also true You can walk from the station to the centre or vice versa. αντιστρόφως

simply (adv)

used to say how easy and straightforward something is It's simply not true that I took your bag! απλά, απλώς

grand (adj)

very impressive or large Many grand old mansions in the city centre are now luxury hotels. μεγαλειώδης

major (adj)

very large, important The Eiffel Tower is a major tourist attraction in Paris. σημαντικός, πρεσβύτερος

strongly (adv)

very much; to a great degree I strongly suggest you eat better if you want to be healthier. πολύ ίσχυρα

be up for (phr v)

want to do

roots (n)

where a family comes from Our family has roots in India and Turkey. ρίζες

media (n pl)

where we get information from, e.g. newspapers, TV, radio, the internet We can't always trust what the media say - they just love to turn everything into a drama. μέσα ενημέρωσης

restriction (n)

a law or rule that limits what you can do The club has an age restriction of 18. περιορισμός

fluent (adj)

to read, speak and write a language very well Shirley is fluent in Chinese and French, so she works as a tour guide. που έχει ευχέρεια, εύγλωττος

stand for (phr v)

to represent an idea or a word The number of stars given for each hotel stands for the type of facilities offered. σημαίνω, υποστηρίζω

hang out (phr v)

to spend a lot of time in one place or with somebody Local teenagers enjoy hanging out at the cafés square in the summer. περνώ τον καιρό μου

lie around (phr v)

to spend time lazily not doing much Tim's idea of chilling out is lying around a hotel pool all day. αράζω

rob (v)

to steal something from a person or a place A masked man tried to rob the local bank this morning. ληστεύω

break down (phr v)

to stop working Our car broke down on the way to the airport. χαλάω, παθαίνω βλάβη

pull up (phr v)

to stop your vehicle by the side of a road

negotiate (v)

to try and reach an agreement The shop manager refuses to negotiate wage increases with employees. διαπραγματεύομαι

queue up (phr v)

to wait in line

alongside (prep)

together with We worked alongside the locals to help stop their homes flooding. παραπλευρώς

reliability (n)

/rɪˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪti/ the quality of being able to be considered correct or reliable

look after (phr v)

/ˌlʊk ˈɑːftə(r)/ to take care of

influence (v)

to have an effect on somebody or something Some famous people lead the kind of lifestyles which negatively influence younger people. επηρεάζω

evaluate (v)

to have an opinion about something after thinking about it carefully We studied the farm animals closely to evaluate what made them ill. αξιολογώ

date back (phr v)

to have existed in the past for a period of time The statues in the museum date back to 300 B.C. χρονολογούμαι (από)

suffer (v)

to hurt, to be in pain

upgrade (v)

to improve the quality of something I upgraded my old computer by installing a new hard drive. αναβαθμίζω

stare (v)

to look at something for a long time Everyone stared at the waiter when he dropped the tray of food. κοιτάω επίμονα

look back (phr v)

to look at the past I sometimes look back and try to learn from my mistakes. αναπολώ

spread (v)

to make a thing, an idea or value go to a different place In her travel blog, Tracy spreads the idea of independent tourism by giving loads of advice for solo travellers. εξαπλώ

cause (v)

to make happen The heavy rains caused the river to overflow so the roads were flooded. αναγκάζω, κάνω, προκαλώ

force (v)

to make someone do something We were forced to leave the room by the police. αναγκάζω, υποχρεώνω

establish (v)

to make something become known The town's polo club was opened in 1948 and was soon established as one of the best in the country. γνωστοποιώ

reinforce (v)

to make stronger