Word definitions    （English Brush-up Series No. 16)

characteristic     n.

a typical feature or quality: She has many of her father's characteristics.   9A Unit 1

confident       adj.

feeling or showing trust in oneself or one's ability: She answered the questions in a confident way.     9A Unit 1

creative         adj.    

able to create: She is a very creative fashion designer.   9A Unit 1

elegant adj.

tasteful or stylish in appearance or manner: She looks very elegant in that dress.      9A Unit 1

energetic     adj.

full of energy: The child is so energetic. He never stops running around.       9A Unit 1

fair   adj.     treating each person, side, etc. equally and according to the law, rules, etc.: A teacher should be fair to every student in judging his or her performance.   9A Unit 1

impatient     adj.

       disinclined to wait for something / someone: She became very impatient while waiting in the queue.  9A Unit 1

outgoing        adj.    

       friendly and cheerful with other people: She loves parties because she is very outgoing.  9A Unit 1

patient  adj.

       having or showing patience: You must be patient when talking to a young child.  9A Unit 1

peace    n.   

       the state of being calm or quiet: She likes to enjoy the peace of the summer evenings. 9A Unit 1

practical       adj.

       sensible and realistic: He is not practical as he always dreams of becoming a millionaire.  9A Unit 1

cheer…up          

              cause to become happier or more cheeerful: We must cheer her up because she is very sad about failing the exam.      9A Unit 2

envy      n.   

       feeling of discontent caused by someone else's good fortune or success, especially when one wants something that someone else has: He looked with envy at his friend's new car.       9A Unit 2

harmony      n.   

       agreements of feelings, interests, opinions: His tastes are in harmonyt with mine.      9A Unit 2

mood     n.   

       the way you are feeling at a particular time: I believe that the weather can affect a person's mood.    9A Unit 2

purity    n.   

       state or quality of being pure: The scientist is testing the purity of the water.      9A Unit 2

relaxed    adj.    

       not feeling or showing worry, anxiety or tenseness: He looked relaxed as he sat in the chair watching TV. 9A Unit 2

stressed       adj.

       anxious; feeling pressure or tension: She always feels stressed during exam time.     9A Unit 2

accept   v.   

       agree to receive something offered: They accepted my gift happily. 9A Unit 3

achieve v.   

       gain or reach something, usually by effort, skill, courage, etc.: You can achieve your goals by working hard.       9A Unit 3

choice   n.   

       something that you can choose: Going to Thailand will be a good choice for you winter holiday.    9A Unit 3

doubt    v.   

       question the truth of: I don't doubt that he will come.  9A Unit 3

hand in       

              to bring or give something: The teacher asked the student to hand in their test papers at the end of the class.  9A Unit 3

hardly   adv.

       almost no, almost not: He hardly ever goes to bed at midnight.       9A Unit 3

refuse   v.   

       say no to: He refused to help the poor.     9A Unit 3

value     n.   

       importance; benefit: The camera has great value for her; it belonged to her father who passed away last year.     9A Unit 3

worth    adj.

       used to recommend something because you think it may be useful, interesting, etc.: The book is worth reading. You will find it very interesting.   9A Unit 3

director    n.      

       a person in charge of a film, play, etc. who supervises and instructs the actors, camera crew and other staff: John Woo is a famous Hong Kong director.     9A Unit 4

documentary        n.  

a progamme giving a factual report of some subject or activity: The film is a documentary about changes to Beijing over the past ten years.    9A Unit 4

live   adv.    

       broadcast directly from an actual performance without being edited: The charity show is being shown live on TV. 9A Unit 4

mystery          n.      

       something that is difficult to understand or to explain: It is a mystery how he became rich overnight. 9A Unit 4

photography       n.   

       the art of process of taking photographs: The photography in the film about the giant panda is excellent.  9A Unit 4

presentation      n.   

       a ceremony during which a gift or prize is given: He received an award for his acting at the presentation in Shanghai. 9A Unit 4

round-up        n.

summary: I like to watch the news round-up before I go to bed.     9A Unit 4

achievement      n.   

       something that you have done successfully using your own effort: His great achievement is in science.      9A Unit 5

angel     n.   

       someone who is believed to be a servant or messenger of God, or someone who is very kind, nice or beautiful: Sam is no angel.       9A Unit 5

beyond  prep.     

       more or greater than: The pop band's success was beyond what anyone had expected.   9A Unit 5

cancer   n.   

       a serious disease that is hard to treat and often causes death: One of my friends got lung cancer because he smoked too much. 9A Unit 5

career   n.   

       a job that you have been trained for: What made you decide on a career as a director?  

devote   v.   

       to use all or most of your time, attention, effort, etc. in order to do something or help someone: She devoted herself to her career.  9A Unit 5

effort     n.   

       energy that is needed to do something: Tom lifted the heavy box without suing much effort. 9A Unit 5

humanitarian     n.   

       a person who works to improve bad living conditions and prevent unfair treatment of people: People think he is a great humanitarian.       9A Unit 5

industry       n.   

       businesses that produce a certain type of thing or provide a particular service: I work in the oil industry.   9A Unit 5

immediately       adv.

       at once: The news got around immediately.     9A Unit 5

lead       n.   

       the main part in a play or a film: Who was playing the lead role in the film? 9A Unit 5

mourn   v.   

       to feel very sad because someone has died: Many people came to mourn those who died in the war.       9A Unit 5

nomination  n.   

the act of officially suggesting someone or something for a position, a prize, etc.: She had seven nominations.       9A Unit 5

presidential adj.

       having something to do with president: Both the men want to win the presidential election.   9A Unit 5

bleed     v.   

       lose blood: She had bled from the cut on her leg for a long time before she arrived at a hospital.       9A Unit 6

charge   v.   

       accuse someone of something, especially formally in a court of law: The man was charged with stealing.   9A Unit 6

clue       n.   

       a fact or piece of evidence that helps to solve a problem or shows the truth in an investigation: The clothing the police found at the scene of the crime provided a clue to the identity of the murderer.  9A Unit 6

confirm   v.

       establish the truth of; provide evidence for the truth or correctness of a report, opinion, etc.: The fire department has confirmed that the fire was caused by a cigarette.      9A Unit 6

doorway       n.   

       an opening containing a door that leads into a building or room: We waited for the taxi in the hotel doorway.       9A Unit 6

evidence      n.

information that gives a reason for believing something or proves something: There is not enough evidence for the police to charge the suspect with robbery.  9A Unit 6

fingerprint   n.

a mark on the tip of a person's finger that is used to identify people: Every person has different fingerprints.   9A Unit 6

guilty    adj.

       having done something illegal: She was found guilty of robbery. 9A Unit 6

particularly    adv.    

       especially: I love ice cream, particularly.     9A Unit 6

struggle       n.   

       a physical fight: After a short struggle, I got the knife away from him.    9A Unit 6

victim    n.   

       a person, an animal or a thing that is injured, killed or destroyed as the result of a crime, bad luck, an accident, etc.: He is the victim of last night's attack in Valley town.   9A Unit 6

witness n.

person who sees something happen and is able to describe it to other people:  She is the only witness to the murder.   9A Unit 6

compare       v.   

examine people or things to see how they are similar and how they are different: We carefully compared the first report with the second. 9B Unit 1

crowded       adj.

full of people or having too many people: The supermarket is very crowded at weekends.       9B Unit 1

develop        v.

cause someone or something to grow gradually: She developed the company from nothing.   9B Unit 1

dome     n.

a rounded roof with a circular base: The Space Museum is shaped like a dome.   9B Unit 1

float      v.   

move without resistance in air, water or gas: You can float high up in the air by travelling in a hot-air balloon.  9B Unit 1

gravity  n.   

force that pulls objects in space towards each other; on Earth, it pulls objects towards the centre of the planet so that things fall to the ground when dropped: An astronaut can float in outer space due to the absence of gravity.   9B Unit 1

imagine v.

form a picture in your mind of what something might be like: Close your eyes and imagine you are in a forest.       9B Unit 1

oxygen  n.

a colourless gas that is present in air and water and is needed by people, animals and plants to live with: We cannot breathe in space because there is no oxygen.         9B Unit 1

pills       n.   

small balls or flat round pieces of medicine made to be swallowed whole: She needs to take six pills a day until she recovers.      9B Unit 1

planet   n.   

one of the bodies in space that moves around a star, such as the sun, and is illuminated by it: Mercury is the planet nearest to the sun.  9B Unit 1

polluted         adj.

containing substances in land, air, water, etc., which is dirty or harmful to people, animals and plants:  We cannot swim here because the water is very polluted.     9B Unit 1

settlers n.

people who come to live permanently in a new, developing area: They were the first Chinese settlers in that country.       9B Unit 1

spacecraft    n.

manned or unmanned vehicles(s) for travelling in space: It is predicted that future spacecraft will be capable of carrying a large number of passengers for travel in space.     9B Unit 1

space shuttles

spacecraft designed for repeated use, especially between Earth and a space station: Some people believe that human beings will be able to visit other planets in space shuttles in the future.     9B Unit 1

dustbin n.

a container for rubbish: His mother asked him to throw the peel into the dustbin after he had eaten the orange.       9B Unit 2

iron         v.

smooth clothes, etc. with an iron: He ironed his shirts every morning before going to work.   9B Unit 2

knock over

hit someone or something and make them fall to the ground: Be careful not to knock over the flower vase.    9B Unit 2

laundry n.

clothes, sheets, etc. that have been or need to be washed: He does the laundry himself every day.   9B Unit 2

mess     n.

a dirty state or untidiness: The children made a terrible mess in the kitchen.       9B Unit 2

salesman     n.

a person whose job is to sell goods in a shop or in people's homes: The salesman said that this was the best one to buy.    9B Unit 2

sweep   v.

clean a room, surface, etc. with a broom: Don't forget to sweep the floor before you go out. 9B Unit 2

virus      n.

a computer program designed to cause faults or destroy data and prevent the computer from working normally: My hard drive was ruined by a virus.    9B Unit 2

although      conj.

used for introducing a statement that makes the main statement in a sentence seem surprising: Although the sun was shining, it wasn't very warm.   9B Unit 3

border   n.

a line dividing two countries or areas: The river serves a natural border between the two countries.     9B Unit 3

consist  vi.

to be formed from the things or people: Their diet consisted largely of vegetables.    9B Unit 3

cycle      vi.

to ride a bicycle; to travel by bicycle: We went cycling on Sunday.   9B Unit 3

emperors     n.

rulers of an empire: The emperors of the Qing Dynasty lived in the Forbidden City.    9B Unit 3

fill   vt.  

to make something full of something: Please fill the glass for me.    9B Unit 3

forbidden     adj.

not allowed: It is forbidden to take photos inside the shop. 9B Unit 3

gather   v.

to come or bring someone or something together in one place: They gathered around the bonfire to keep warm.       9B Unit 3

heavenly      adj.

of or from heaven: He thought he had survived the plane crash thanks to heavenly protection.     9B Unit 3

hire       v.

to obtain the use of something or the services of someone temporarily and especially for a short period of time in return for payment: You should hire a tutor to help your son with his English. 9B Unit 3

landscape    n.

the scenery of an area or land: Guilin is famous for its beautiful landscape.   9B Unit 3

lie   vi.

to be situated in a particular place: The town lies on the coast. 9B Unit 3

shape    n.

the form of the outer edges of surfaces of something: Squares, circles and triangles are different shapes.        vt.   to make something into a particular shape: Shape the dough into small balls.   This tool is used for shaping wood.  egg-shaped / V-shaped / an L-shaped living room    9B Unit 3

underground      adj.

under the surface of the ground: They built an underground cave to hide themselves in when attacked by the enemies. 9B Unit 3

unless   conj.

used to say that something can only happen or be true in a particular situation: You won't get paid for time off unless you have a doctor's note.  9B Unit 3

astronaut    n.

a person who has been trained to travel and work in a spacecraft: His dream is to become an astronaut.  9B Unit 4

engineering n.   

the practical application of scientific knowledge to the designing, construction and control of machines, public services, electrical apparatus, chemicals, etc.: Despite a lack of knowledge in engineering, he succeeded in making an electronic bicycle by himself.      9B Unit 4

leap       n.

a vigorous jump: He crossed the brook in one big leap.      9B Unit 4

license  n.

an official document that by law you are allowed to do, own and use something: He obtained a license from the manufacturer to sell the software. 9B Unit 4

mankind      n.

all human beings thought of as a large group: There have been a lot of wars in the history of mankind.     9B Unit 4

mission n.   

an important official job that a person or group of people is/are sent somewhere to do: The doctors are on a mission to cure patients in poor areas of Africa.   9B Unit 4

naval     adj.

connected with/ belonging to the navy of a country: China's navy is among the strongest in the world.      9B Unit 4

out of control

impossible to manage or control: The car was out of control on the ice-covered road.      9B Unit 4

pilot       n.

a person who flies an aircraft: The pilot has ten years' experience of flying.   9B Unit 4

spinning       v.

moving round the round rapidly: The wind sent the leaves spinning in the air.     9B Unit 4