Exercises

40.1 Match the words on the le with the definitions on the right.
1 interest e a an account for money you don’t need immediately
2 mortgage b payment taken automatically from an account
3 overdra c an account for day-to-day use
4 savings account d a loan to buy a house or flat
5 current account e money that is charged on a loan
6 direct debit f an account with a negative sum of money in it

40.2 Use words from A opposite to complete the sentences.

1 Nico owes his brother 5,000 euros and he borrowed 10,000 euros to buy a car. Nico has
d ebts totalling 15,000 euros.
2 Misha spent 6,000 euros on her credit card; the bank said she’d spent 1,000 euros too much.
Her c l was 5,000 euros.
3 Newbank o ers interest rates on loans that are similar to the rates other banks o er and are
sometimes better. Newbank’s rates are c
4 Before she bought her new car, Alice paid £500 to the dealer. She paid a d
of £500.
5 If a customer needs more money than is in their account, they can get permission to go on using
the account. The bank o ers an o f
6 Harry sold his car, got a part-time job and o ered to clean people’s windows. He was trying to
r money to f his trip to Africa.
7 You only need one credit card. You can c all the sums you owe into one
p
8 If you want to buy a house, the bank o ers loans where you can pay the money back over
30 years. The bank o ers m with r over 30 years.

40.3 What do we call ...

1 the tax you pay on imported goods? customs / excise duty
2 a shop at an airport where you don’t pay tax?
3 a tax which is added to most goods and services?
4 a tax on money paid if someone dies?
5 the tax that companies pay on their profits?
6 the tax that the government takes out of your salary?

40.4 Answer the questions. Give reasons for your answers.

1 If you were overdrawn, would you be in a good situation or a bad one?
A bad situation - you would have a negative amount of money in your bank account.
2 Why might a person open a savings account as well as a current account?
3 Joel’s account is in the red. Why is his bank manager unhappy?
4 Why might someone transfer money from a savings account to a current
account?
5 Why is online banking easier than visiting your branch?
6 Why are cash machines so convenient? Are there any risks in using them?
7 Zara’s account is in credit. Is she probably happy or unhappy?
8 Bob doesn’t have a steady income and his outgoings are very high. Do you think he feels secure
or insecure?
9 If your bank debited your account for 500 euros, would you feel you had more or less money as
a result?
10 If you have a good credit rating, what will you find it easier to do?

English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate 87

41 Describing objects
A Some pairs of opposite adjectives
Cotton is a natural material and nylon is artificial.
Red and yellow are vivid colours while grey is a sombre colour.
You can see through a transparent material but you can’t see a conventional a bizarre chair
through an opaque material. chair
A machine that has no problems at all is perfect while one that doesn’t work properly is faulty.
Something that is hard and doesn’t move or bend easily is sti while something that bends easily is
flexible.
A material that can be easily spoilt by, for example, washing,
can be called delicate while something that is hard to spoil
can be called tough.
A material like glass that can be easily broken can be called
fragile while something that does not break easily can be
a plain frame a decorative frame
called strong or sturdy.
I prefer strong co ee to weak co ee - I can’t stand co ee that has too much water or milk in it. I like
to be able to really taste my co ee!
The painting is not a genuine Picasso - it’s a fake.

B Adjectives and nouns

adjective noun example meaning
decent decency I’d like to get a table that’s a decent size so we good
can have ten people to a meal.
entire entirety Between them they ate the entire cake! whole
characteristic character, Big windows are characteristic of houses built in typical
characteristic the early 1900s.
precise precision We need to take precise measurements before exact
we decide which fridge to get.
severe severity It’s a severe building - all concrete and straight very serious
lines.
solid solidity The table is made of solid oak. hard all through
trivial trivia, triviality He doesn’t write serious novels, just trivial insignificant
romances.

The only verbs that can be formed from adjectives in the above table are characterise, solidify and
trivialise.

C Phrases typical of speech

Did you see that great big cat run across the grass? [very big]
This photo isn’t half as interesting as that one. [is much less]
Jessie’s car is nowhere near as powerful as mine. [much less]
Tamara makes an unusually strong cup of co ee.
It’s a reasonably good piece of sculpture. [fairly good]
It’s a pretty thick book. [fairly thick]

88 English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate

 Exercises
41.1 Answer these questions relating to the adjectives in A opposite.
1 Which is artificial - silk or lycra? lycra
2 Which is more delicate when it comes to washing - silk or cotton?
3 Would you say a watch that looks like a snake has a conventional or a bizarre design?
4 How could you describe car brakes that are not working properly?
5 Which would cost more - a genuine Monet painting or a fake one?
6 Which of these materials is more fragile - china or wood?
7 Which is more flexible - metal or rubber?

41.2 Choose the correct option to complete each sentence.

1 Jana’s clothes are never frivolous - they’re always rather B .
A delicate B severe C precise D bizarre
2 This painting is of the works of Rembrandt.
A characteristic B solid C entire D plain
3 I’d like to buy the salami, please, not just a small piece of it.
A precise B trivial C entire D solid
4 Do have the to put on a new shirt, not that one with the hole.
A decency B severity C vividness D characteristic
5 Writing a good job application is not a matter.
A solid B conventional C trivial D transparent
6 Making beautiful jewellery requires a high degree of .
A entirety B precision C character D triviality

41.3 Choose words from the box to complete the dialogue.

reasonably nowhere half great unusually pretty

NINA: I love this room, Mark. Those 1 great big windows are wonderful, and the views
from them are 2 amazing too.
MARK: Thanks. And I’m sure it isn’t 3 as expensive as you might imagine.
I only pay 1,000 euros a month.
NINA: Wow! That’s 4 near as much as I pay. And my flat’s very noisy too. It seems
5
quiet here - you don’t seem to hear too much noise from the street.
MARK: No, it’s not too bad. And I’ve certainly got 6 quiet neighbours. I never hear
a sound from their flat.
NINA: Lucky you! I wish I could say the same about mine.

41.4 Some words in this unit can be used to talk about abstract ideas as well as objects.
Use your knowledge of these words to answer the questions.
1 If someone gives you a genuine smile, do they feel friendly or not particularly friendly
towards you? They feel friendly
2 Do you think a transparent argument is one that is easy or di icult to follow?
3 If a writer describes something vividly, is their writing e ective?
4 If a person behaves in a sti way, are they more likely to be relaxed or tense?
5 If the teacher says your work is ‘solid’, are you likely to be pleased or not?

English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate 89