VOCABULARY:
to resign oneself
to (doing sth) – to accept sth reluctantly
I’d been searching for
a dream job for many years, but, unsuccessful, I finally resigned myself to
working for an international corporation.
My dad wanted us to
stay in the UK for the summer holidays, whereas we, together with mum, insisted
on spending them on the sunny beaches of Spain; being in the minority, daddy
had to resign himself to going so far abroad.
innocuous – nor
intended or likely to offend or upset anyone; harmless
When I asked you about
things between you and Sally, I didn’t mean to stick my nose into your private
life. It was just an innocuous question.
Although this spider
can bite, its venom is completely innocuous to people.
to have no place
in a framework – not to be suitable within a particular system or set
of beliefs
All activity of an
entreprise is to be exercised in accordance with the legal framework in vigour
at a given time.
We cannot tolerate
politicians whose projects are driven by sole particular interest; there is no
place for them in the framework of a fair, democratic system.
to be well-versed
in sth – having a lot of knowledge about something or skill in
something.
We are searching for
potential employees who are well-versed in cooperative work, data analysing and
marketing techniques.
Penny is so young and
yet, she is already astoundingly well-versed in science and mathematics.
to overcome an
affliction – to deal with pain and suffering or something that causes
it.
He used to suffer from
severe back pains, but thanks to regular exercise he managed to overcome this
affliction.
Kate is a very shy
person, so she has serious trouble with socialising. Overcoming this
affliction, with a psychologist’s help, could help her gain more
self-confidence in everyday contacts with other people.
to start from
scratch - start at the beginning
with no advantage; start from the very beginning
After the flood, in
which they lost all their belongings, they had to start from scratch.
Don’t buy cake mix to
bake a cheesecake. It’s so much better if you start from scratch and prepare
everything on your own!
to hone sth –
to develop and improve sth, esp. a skill, over a period of time.
Having spent years on
teaching, she honed the ability to create fun, compelling lessons, well suited
for her pupils’ needs.
I hadn’t felt very
confident playing the piano when I was a child. Nevertheless, I would practice
for hours every week and thus, I honed a perfect technique and an ability to
display a variety of emotions hidden in scores.
to morph into sth
– to change into something different
Being a
multipotentialite means, among other things, that you can easily morph into
anything you need to be, switching from one role to another.
In his dream, the
figure of his beloved one morphed into a
representation of his deepest fears, assuming the shape of a spider.
