READING 1

HOW A UGANDAN GIRL GOT AN EDUCATION

diploma /dəˈpləʊmə / noun [countable]     a document showing that a student has successfully

completed their high school or university education →  high school/college diploma

 I’m hoping to get my teaching diploma this year.

diploma in

 a diploma in catering

accomplishment /əˈkʌmplɪʃmənt /  noun    1 [countable] something successful or impressive that
is achieved after a lot of effort and hard work SYN achievement

impressive/significant/great etc accomplishment 

 Cutting the budget was an impressive accomplishment. 

 It was a major accomplishment for a player who had been injured so recently.

self-sufficient adjective    able to provide all the things you need without help from other people 

 a self-sufficient farm

self-sufficient in 

 Australia is 65% self-sufficient in oil.

commitment /kəˈmɪtmənt/  noun    1 [countable] a promise to do something or to behave in a

particular way 

 Are you ready to make a long-term commitment?

commitment to 

 Our company has a commitment to quality and customer service.

pregnant /ˈpreɡnənt/  adjective     if a woman or female animal is pregnant, she has an

unborn baby growing inside her body → pregnancy 

 medical care for pregnant women

sibling /ˈsɪblɪŋ/  noun [countable]    1 formal a brother or sister 

 Most young smokers are influenced by their friends’ and older siblings’ smoking habits.

breeze through something phrasal verb

to achieve something very easily SYN sail through 

 He breezed through the exam.

preparatory ˌschool noun [countable]    1 a private school in Britain for children between

the ages of 8 and 13

2 a private school in the US that prepares students for college

prestigious /preˈstɪdʒəs / adjective    admired as one of the best and most important 

 a prestigious literary award 

 a highly prestigious university

veterinarian /ˌvetərəˈneəriən/noun [countable]    American English someone who is trained to

give medical care and treatment to sick animals SYN vet British English

READING 2

HOW TO MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE WHEN GIVING TO CHARITY

time-consuming  adjective    taking a long time to do 

 a complex and time-consuming process

fortunate /ˈfɔːtʃənət / adjective    1 someone who is fortunate has something good happen to

them, or is in a good situation SYN lucky

fortunate to do something 

 I’ve been fortunate to find a career that I love. 

 I was fortunate enough to obtain a research studentship at Stanford.

philanthropic /ˌfɪlənˈθrɒpɪk/ adjective    a philanthropic person or institution gives money and

help to people who are poor or in trouble

multiply /ˈmʌltəplaɪ/  verb (multiplied, multiplying, multiplies)    1 [intransitive,
transitive] to do a calculation in which you add a number to itself a particular number
of times → divide 

 Children will learn to multiply in the second grade.

multiply something by something 

 Multiply the total by 12.

2 [intransitive, transitive] to increase by a large amount or number, or to make something do
this 

 The amount of information available has multiplied. 

 Smoking multiplies the risk of heart attacks and other health problems.

3 [intransitive] to breed 

 Bacteria multiply quickly in warm food.

loan1 /ləʊn  /  noun    1 [countable] an amount of money that you borrow from a bank etc

loan of 

a loan of £60,000 

I had to take out a loan to buy my car. 

It’ll be years before we’ve paid off the loan.

2 [singular] when you lend something to someone

loan of 

Thanks for the loan of your camera.

magnify /ˈmæɡnɪfaɪ/ verb (magnified, magnifying, magnifies) [transitive]    1 to make something

seem bigger or louder, especially using special equipment

 At the Sheffield arena, the speakers were magnified ten times on a giant screen. 
 A public address system magnifies all the little noises and coughs.

2 to make something seem more important than it really is SYN exaggerate 

 The report tends to magnify the risks involved.

entrepreneur /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜ /noun [countable]    someone who starts a new business

or arranges business deals in order to make money, often in a way that involves financial risks

offspring /ˈɒfˌsprɪŋ /noun (plural offspring) [countable]  an animal’s baby or babies SYN young 

 a lion and its offspring