Essential vocabulary

1. object n 1) (C) a material thing: What is that dark object over
there? 2) (C) slightly/m/. Something or someone which causes par­
ticular feelings or actions, as an object of pity/admiration /embar­
rassment/ ridicule: She became an object of ridicule among the other
pupils. The disaster was an object lesson in how not to run a school. 3)
(C) purpose or reason for doing something: The object of her visit was
not clear.

object vi to say that you are against something because it is unfair or morally wrong: They want to sell the car, and naturally he objects. I object to the whole thing on principle.

objection n (C) a statement or feelihg of dislike, disapproval or opposition, as brush aside/have/raise/voice/withdraw objections: Her objection to/against the plan is based on incorrect facts. Have you any objections to his coming?

objective n (C) a concrete and clearly formulated purpose: His main/primary objective now is simply to stay in power.

objective a not influenced by personal feelings; fair as objective assessment/report/facts: The writer tried to be as objective as possible in evaluating his latest work.

2. oppose vt to think that something is wrong and try to prevent
it: His father opposed his wish to become an actor.

be opposed to to be against something, especially when this is your permanent opinion: Many people are opposed to the use of fur for clothes.

opposition n(U)Atthe meeting there was a lot of opposition to the proposed changes. The Opposition has/have condemned the Govern­ment's proposed tax increases.

opposite a 1) completely different: / wanted to impress them but probably had the opposite effect. 2) across from where you are; facing: He lives opposite.

opposite и (С) a person or thing that is as different as possible: You are nice, he's just the opposite. Black and white are opposites.

3. ground n 1) (C) a piece of land for a special use, as a football
ground, playground, parade ground, training ground, sports ground
2) (C) reason or cause or argument as on grounds of/on the ground
that/on the grounds of: She's suing the company on the grounds of
unfair dismissal. Do you have any ground for suspecting them?

cover much/a lot of ground 1) to travel a certain distance 2) to deal with many different subjects: 77/ try to cover all the ground in a short speech of half an hour.

suit someone down to the ground {informal) to be just what one wants or likes: This house will suit us down to the ground.

grounds n gardens and land surrounding or attached to a house or institution: The college grounds were beautifully planted.

groundless a (of feelings, ideas) without base or good reason as groundless fears/worries

well-grounded a based on fact: The claim must be well-grounded on fact.

4. thing n 1) (C) any material object: What's that thing you've got
on your head? 2) (C) a piece of clothing: Put your things on and
come for a walk. I've not got a thing to wear. 3) (C) that which is not
material: What a nasty thing to say to your sister! 4) (C) a subject,
matter: There's one more thing I wanted to say. I want to forget the
whole thing. 5) (C) a person or animal regarded as an object of pity,
affection or contempt: Your daughter's such a sweet little thing. What
a lazy/noisy/stupid thing you are! 6) (C) happening, event: A funny
thing happened yesterday. 7) pi possessions, belongings: Have you
packed your things for the journey? 8) pi the general state of affairs:
Things are not what they were. My doctor told me to take things easy
for a while.

just the thing, exactly what you want.

(not) quite the thing what is considered socially correct, fashion­able: It's not quite the thing to wear an open-necked shirt to a formal evening dinner.

It's (J^ust) one of those things means that there was no way of planning to avoid smth: The road was blocked, so we missed the meet­ing. — I'm afraid it was just one of those things.

the thing is often used to emphasise an important remark which follows: The thing is, can we get there in time?

have a thing about (informal) a peculiar attitude or feeling to­ward smth: She has a thing about cats.

It's good thing It's a good thing George can't hear us.

5. initial n usu. pi. first letter of a person's name.

initial a coming at the beginning, as the initial advantage, attempt, stage, step, symptoms: His initial response to the question was "no".

initiative n 1) (C) the first step in an undertaking, have/seize/ lose/take the initiative: They have attempted to take the initiative in dealing with the problem. 2) (U) the ability to use your judgement to make decisions as have/display/lack/show initiative: He doesn't have much initiative. Act on your own initiative.

6. attend vt/i \)fml to give one's attention: Are you attending to
what is being said? 2) to be present at: The meeting was well attended.
3) to provide help, esp. as part of your job: The president always has
his own doctor attending on him. A)fmlto result in, go to with: Danger
attended everything he did.

attention n 1) (U) active focusing of the mind as pay attention to, attract/draw smb's attention to: He likes being the centre of attention. Many countries are starting to turn their attention to new forms of en­ergy.

attentive a 1) paying attention 2) helpful and considerate: I had very attentive and loving parents.

inattentive a He has been wholly inattentive to the needs of his chil­dren.

attendant n a person who looks after a place as a museum/cloak­room attendant.

attendance n (C, U) the act of being present: Attendance at school is demanded by law.

7. reassure vt to restore confidence or courage: The doctor reas­
sured the sick man (about his health).

reassurance n (C, U) She won't believe it in spite of all our reassurance(s).

reassuringly adv "You'll be all right," he said reassuringly.

assure vt 1) to promise; try to persuade: He assured us of his abil­ity to work. 2) to make certain: Before going to bed she assured herself that the door was locked.

assured a self-possessed, confident: Now that the finance has been secured, the production of the film is assured.

self-assured a (approving) having confidence in your own abili­ties: The interview showed her as a self-assured and mature student.

assurance n promise: She gave me her assurance that she would post the cheque immediately.

8. yield v 1) to supply or produce smth. positive such as a profit, an amount of food or information: The talks with the management failed to yield any results 2) to give up, surrender: They were forced to yield (up) some of their lands during the war. We will not yield to pressure.

yield n that which is produced: The tree gave a high yield this year.

yielding a 1) submissive, obedient: He has a yielding character and will soon change his mind. 2) soft, easy to move or band, as yielding materials.