Essential vocabulary

1. alarm и 1) a call to arms or action; a warning of danger: When the
people in the street noticed the clouds of smoke coming out of the window,
they gave the alarm. 2) a sudden feeling of fear and excitement because
of the possible approach of danger: The mother rushed out of the house
in alarm when she heard her son crying loudly in the yard.

an alarm bell: The soldiers were roused from their sleep by the sound of the alarm bell.

an alarm clock a clock that will ring and wake up a person at any time he wishes: / didn't hear the alarm clock and overslept.

a false alarm a hoax: There is nothing to be panicky about, it was a false alarm.

a fire-alarm: No sooner had they seen the flame than they sounded the fire-alarm.

to raise an alarm: Those who raise false alarms will get no help when help is needed.

to alarm vt to arouse to a sense of danger: The whole world is alarmed by these events.

alarming a exciting fear or anxiety: The news was alarming.

alarmist n a panic-monger: He's often subject to panic. An alarmist, that's what he is.

2. fuss (often about) vi to get nervous or excited: He fussed con­
tinually. Don't fuss over the children so much! She fussed about, scarcely
able to hide her impatience.

fuss n unnecessary or irritating activity, especially in small mat­ters: Why make a fuss!

to make a fuss about (over) smth to show too much anxiety or nervousness about smth: Why make all that fuss about trifles?

to make a fuss of smb to pay all sorts of little attentions to a per­son: They made a fuss of their guest, eager to please him.

fussy a paying too much attention to little, unimportant things: The old lady was so fussy, nothing seemed to satisfy her. She's a fussy housewife.

to be fussy about smth: Should we be fussy about our clothes or food?

3. lose vt/i to have no longer; to be deprived of, as to lose one's money (life, mind, balance, job, etc.): The boy lost his parents in the war. The poor man has lost a leg in the battle? The boy lost 5pence in a bet. I've lost the key to my suitcase.

to lose sight (track) of smb (smth) not to know where smb (smth) is: / lost sight of the boy in the crowd. The policemen lost track of the thief.

to lose one's temper to get angry or impatient: Don't lose your temper, try to control yourself.

to lose one's place (in a book, etc.) to be unable to find the line, paragraph, etc. at which one stopped reading: "Go on reading!" "I beg your pardon I lost my place. I'll be ready in a moment."

to be lost in thought (wonder, admiration) to be absorbed in: The girl was gazing at the picture, lost in admiration.

to be lost upon smb to fail to impress or attract the attention of smb: My hints were lost upon my friend, he failed to notice any of them.

to lose one's head to become confused or excited,. She lost her head at the sight of the fire and started screaming instead of acting (being useful).

to lose one's heart to smb to fall in love with smb: Do you know that Jack has lost his heart to Gwendolen?

to lose heart to feel discouraged; to lose courage: Jim lost heart after his failing the exam for the third time.

loss n the act or fact of losing or having lost smth: The death of Jim's friend was a great loss to him. Loss of health is worse than loss of wealth. The soldier died from loss of blood. Do it without any loss of time. The regiment suffered heavy losses

to be at a loss to be puzzled and perplexed, not to know what to

do: Nellie was seldom or never at a loss.

4. addict n a person who is unable to free himself from a harmful habit, as a drug addict, a TV addict, a coffee addict

addicted (to) a in need or in the habit of having: She's addicted to reading detective stories.

addiction n the state of being addicted or an example of this: Does he have any other addictions besides smoking?

addictive a causing addiction, habit-forming: Drinking coffee or eating chocolate can be addictive.

5. involve vt 1) to cause smb or smth to take part or be mixed up (in trouble, a difficult condition, etc.): Don't involve me in your fights, please. They are deeply involved ih debt. 2) to have as a necessary re­sult: The new design is involving me in a lot of extra work.

involvement n the condition of being involved: His involvement with that woman brought him nothing but trouble.

involved a 1) complicated in form, etc.: It's a very involved story and I kept getting confused. 2) (of people) closely concerned in rela­tionships and activities with others, esp. in a personal relationship: He's deeply involved with her and wants to get married.

6. sophsticated a\) having lost natural simplicity through expe­rience of the world, as with sophisticated taste, sophisticated clothes: / feel rather gauche among all these sophisticated people. She wears very sophisticated clothes. Some sophisticated device was used to de­fuse the bomb. 2) (of mental activity) cultured, elaborate, as a sophis­ticated discussion/argument

sophistication n the state of being sophisticated or an example of this: She entered the room with an air of great sophistication.

7. value n 1) the worth of smth in money or as compared with other goods for which it might be changed: The value of the British pound is less than it was 50 years ago. Jewels are articles of great value. 2) worth compared with the amount paid (often in the value for mon­ey): If your coat wore out in less than a year it certainly wasn't good value; it was poor value for money. 3) the (degree of) usefulness of smth, esp. in comparison with other things: You'll find this instrument of great value in making certain kinds of measurement.

7 3189 Аракин, 4 курс 193

value vt 1) to calculate the value, price, or worth of: He valued the house and its contents at 42,000 pounds. 2) to consider smb or smth to be of great worth: Young people don't always value the advice given them by their parents.

valuable a of great value or use, having value (ценный, драгоценный), as a valuable book; valuable property, furniture; valu­able advice, initiative, information: The book didn't cost much but it is very valuable to me.

valued a regarded as of great value (уважаемый, достойный уважения; такой, которым дорожат); as a valued possession, a val­ued friend (servant, correspondent); valued advice, help

invaluable a exceedingly valuable, as invaluable assistance, invalu­able treasure

valueless a having no value, as valueless good: You are too late with your advice, it's valueless now.

valuables n pi: Jewellery and other valuables are usually kept in a jewel-box.

8. urgent a 1) pressing, very important, requiring immediate ac­
tion, or attention, as to be in urgent need of smth; urgent repairs; an
urgent call (letter, business, telegramme etc.): What are the urgent
issues of the day? The matter is urgent. 2) earnest and persistent in
making a demand, as an urgent creditor: The girl's urgent entreaties
had their effect.

urge vt to ask earnestly, to plead with, to recommend strongly: We urged him to go. All his friends are urging him to join in.

urgency n the need for haste or immediate action: It is a matter of great urgency.

9. stuff n {informal) the material of which anything is made,
usually solid substance: What is this stuff? What kind of stuff is it
made of? Only very serious stuff interests him. The building was
made of some funny white stuff. He is not of the stuff poets are
made of.

stuff vt to pack tightly and untidily; to press tightly into smth, as to stuff a bag full, to stuff someone's head with nonsense, to stuff one's mouth full: Don't stuff anything eke in, or the bag will burst. Don't stuff the child with food. She stuffed the chicken with breadcrumbs, herbs and onion.

stuffy a lacking ventilation; close or oppressive: Do you mind open­ing the window? The room is stuffy.