_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

IELTS TOPIC#2: MENTAL & PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Useful nouns
No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

1. ability /əˈbɪləti/ the fact that  + to do sth

somebody/something is able to
do something

2. autism /ˈɔːtɪzəm/ a mental condition in which a

person finds it very difficult to
communicate or form
relationships with others

3. behaviour /bɪˈheɪvjə(r)/ the way that somebody behaves,  towards sb/sth

especially towards other people
 behave (v)

4. brain /breɪn/ the organ inside the head that

controls movement, thought,
memory and feeling

5. concept /ˈkɒnsept/ an idea or a principle that is  concept of sth

connected with
something abstract  grasp the concept

6. consequence /ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/ a result of something that has  of sth

happened
 for sb/sth

7. creativity /ˌkriːeɪˈtɪvəti/ the ability to use skill and  creative (adj)

imagination to produce something
new or to produce art; the act of  create (v)
doing this

8. disability /ˌdɪsəˈbɪləti/ a physical or mental condition  disabled /dɪsˈeɪbld/

that means you cannot use a part (adj) = impaired
of your body completely or easily, /ɪmˈpeəd/
or that you cannot learn easily

9. disorder /dɪsˈɔːdə(r)/ an illness that causes a part of the

body to stop functioning correctly

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

10. effect /ɪˈfekt/ a change that  + on sb/sth

somebody/something causes in
somebody/something else  affect (v)

 effective (adj)

11. function /ˈfʌŋkʃn/ a special activity or purpose of a  function (v)

person or thing

12. genius /ˈdʒiːniəs/ a person who is unusually  + at sth

intelligent or artistic, or who has a
very high level of skill, especially  genius (adj)
in one area
 prodigy (n)
/ˈprɒdədʒi/

13. gesture /ˈdʒestʃə(r)/ a movement that you make with  make a gesture
your hands, your head or your
face to show a particular
meaning

14. growth /ɡrəʊθ/ (of people, animals or  stunt ><

plants) the process of growing encourage the
physically, mentally or growth of sth
emotionally
 grow (v)

15. height /haɪt/ the measurement of how tall a

person or thing is

16. hemisphere /ˈhemɪsfɪə(r)/ one half of the brain

17. imagination /ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃn/ the ability to create pictures in  vivid/fertile

your mind; the part of your mind imagination
that does this
 in one’s
imagination

 use one’s
imagination

18. infancy /ˈɪnfənsi/ the time when a child is a baby  infant/ˈɪnfənt/

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

or very young

19. intuition /ˌɪntjuˈɪʃn/ the ability to know something by

using your feelings rather than
considering the facts

20. judgement /ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/ the ability to make sensible  judge (v)

decisions after carefully
considering the best thing to do

21. knowledge /ˈnɒlɪdʒ/ the information, understanding  + of/about sth

and skills that you gain through
education or experience  wide >< poor
knowledge

22. limitation /ˌlɪmɪˈteɪʃn/ a limit on what  limited (adj) in sth

somebody/something can do or
how good they or it can be

23. maturity /məˈtʃʊərəti/ the quality of thinking and  mature (a)

behaving in a sensible, adult
manner

24. memory /ˈmeməri/ your ability to remember things  short >< long

 short-term ><
long-term

 in/within sb’s
memory

25. milestone /ˈmaɪlstəʊn/ a very important stage or event  in sth

in the development of something
 mark a milestone

26. mind /maɪnd/ the part of a person that makes

them able to be aware of things, to
think and to feel

27. peer /pɪə(r)/ a person who is the same age or  peer pressure
who has the same social status
as you

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

28. perception /pəˈsepʃn/ the way you notice things,  perceive /pəˈsiːv/
especially with the senses

29. period /ˈpɪəriəd/ a particular length of time  over a period (of ...
)

 for a ... period

30. phase /feɪz/ a stage in a process of change or  initial, final,

development passing , new,
critical etc. phase

31. phobia /ˈfəʊbiə/ a strong unreasonable fear of  + about

something

32. potential /pəˈtenʃl/ qualities that exist and can be  + for sth
developed
 potential (adj)

33. psychology /saɪˈkɒlədʒi/ the scientific study of the mind  psychologist

and how it influences behaviour (n)/saɪˈkɒlədʒɪst/

 psychological (a)
/ˌsaɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkl/

34. rate /reɪt/ a measurement of the speed at  at a (slow/fast...)

which something happens rate (of ...)

35. reminder /rɪˈmaɪndə(r)/ something that makes you think  reminder of sb/sth
about or remember
somebody/something, that you  reminder that ...
have forgotten or would like to
forget

36. response/ /rɪˈspɒns/ a reaction to something that has  + to sth

reaction /riˈækʃn/ happened or been said

37. skill /skɪl/ the ability to do something well  + in/at doing sth

38. stimulus /ˈstɪmjələs/ omething that produces a reaction  stimuli (plural)

in a human, an animal or a plant /ˈstɪmjəlaɪ/

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

39. technique /tekˈniːk/ a particular way of doing  + for doing sth

something, especially one in
which you have to learn special
skills

40. thought /θɔːt/ something that you think of or  + of sth

remember
 think (v)

41. toddler /ˈtɒdlə(r)/ a child who has only recently

learnt to walk

42. transition /trænˈzɪʃn/ the process or a period of  from sth to sth

changing from one state or
condition to another  between sth and
sth

 in + transition

Useful adjectives
No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

43. abstract /ˈæbstrækt/ based on general ideas and not

on any particular real person,
thing or situation

44. aware /əˈweə(r)/ noticing that something is  + of sth

present, or that something is
happening  awareness (n)

45. cognitive /ˈkɒɡnətɪv/ connected with mental  cognition (n)

processes of understanding

46. conscious /ˈkɒnʃəs/ aware of something; noticing  + of sth

something
 consciousness (n)

 >< unconscious (a)

47. gifted/talented /ˈɡɪftɪd/ having a lot of natural ability or  gift, talent (n)
/ˈtæləntɪd/ intelligence

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

48. grown /ɡrəʊn/ mentally and physically an adult  full-grown

49. immature /ˌɪməˈtjʊə(r)/ behaving in a way that is not  >< mature

sensible and is typical of people
who are much younger

50. independent /ˌɪndɪˈpendənt/ confident and free to do things  of sth

without needing help from other
people

51. intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/ ] connected with or using a  intelligence (n)

person’s ability to think in a
logical way and understand things

52. irresponsible /ˌɪrɪˈspɒnsəbl/ not thinking enough about the  (of sb) to do sth
effects of what they do; not
showing a feeling of
responsibility

53. logical /ˈlɒdʒɪkl/ following or able to follow the  logic (n)

rules of logic

54. mature /məˈtʃʊə(r)/ behaving in a sensible way, like  maturity (n)

an adult

55. mental /ˈmentl/ connected with or happening in

the mind; involving the process of
thinking

56. physical /ˈfɪzɪkl/ connected with a person’s body

rather than their mind

57. significant /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt/ large or important enough to  >< insignificant

have an effect or to be noticed

58. skilled/ adept /əˈdept/ good at doing something that is  + at/in sth
quite difficult

59. subconscious /ˌsʌbˈkɒnʃəs/ connected with feelings that

influence your behaviour even
though you are not aware of them

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

60. tolerant /ˈtɒlərənt/ able to accept what other people  of/towards sb/sth
say or do even if you do not
agree with it

Useful verbs
No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

61. absorb /əbˈzɔːb/ to take something into the mind

and learn or understand it

62. acquire /əˈkwaɪə(r)/ to gain something by your own

efforts, ability or behaviour

63. analyse /ˈænəlaɪz/ to examine the nature or  analysis (n)

structure of something, especially
by separating it into its parts, in
order to understand or explain it

64. apply /əˈplaɪ/ to use something or make  + to sth

something work in a particular
situation

65. control /kənˈtrəʊl/ to have power over a person,  control (n)

company, country, etc. so that you
are able to decide what they must
do or how it is run

66. deduce /dɪˈdjuːs/ to form an opinion about  + from sth

something based on the
information or evidence that is
available

67. develop /dɪˈveləp/ to gradually grow or become  from A into B

bigger, more advanced, stronger,
etc.; to make something do this

68. gesture /ˈdʒestʃə(r)/ to move your hands, head, face,  to/for sb to do

etc. as a way of expressing what sth/that ...
you mean or want

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

69. grow /ɡrəʊ/ to become bigger or taller and  (+adj)

develop into an adult

70. imitate /ˈɪmɪteɪt/ to copy somebody/something  imitate sb/sth

 imitation (n)

71. influence /ˈɪnfluəns/ to have an effect on the way that  influence (n) + on
somebody behaves or thinks
 influential (a)

72. look back/ to think about something in your  on sth

past
reflect

73. make sense /sens/ to understand sth  + of sth

74. master /ˈmɑːstə(r)/ to learn or understand  master sth

something completely

75. mature /məˈtʃʊə(r)/ to become fully grown or

developed

76. reinforce /ˌriːɪnˈfɔːs/ to make a feeling, an idea, etc.  reinforcement (n)

stronger

77. remind /rɪˈmaɪnd/ to help somebody remember  remind sb of sth

something
 remind sb to do
sth/that...

78. reminisce /ˌremɪˈnɪs/ to think, talk or write about a  about sb/sth

happy time in your past

79. sustain /səˈsteɪn/ to provide enough of what  = maintain

somebody/something needs in
order to live or exist

80. throw/have a /ˈtæntrəm/ have a sudden short period of

tantrum angry, unreasonable behaviour,
especially in a child

81. trigger /ˈtrɪɡə(r)/ to make something happen

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_______________________________________________IELTS Preparation Course: Upper-Intermediate

No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

suddenly

82. visualize /ˈvɪʒuəlaɪz/ to form a picture of  visualize sb/sth as

somebody/something in your sb/sth
mind
 visualize doing sth

 visualize
what/how ...

Useful expressions
No. Word/phrase Pronunciation Definition Notes of usage

83. bear in mind /beə(r)/ to remember

somebody/something; to
remember or consider that…

84. broaden the /ˈbrɔːdn/ to increase your experience,

mind knowledge, etc.

85. have to be thinking of for sth

something in somebody/something, especially
mind/on your for a particular job, etc.
mind

86. it slipped my if something slips your mind,

mind you forget it or forget to do it

87. keep an open to be willing to listen to or about/on sth

mind accept new ideas or suggestions

88. my mind went showing no feeling,

blank understanding or interest

89. put sb’s mind to do or say something to make

at ease somebody stop worrying about
something

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