Unit 8 - Brain Games | Exercises and Flashcards

Unit 8, Straight to First Exercises and Flashcards

These exercises focus on Unit 8, Straight to First

Wordlist for Unit 8, Straight to First

Word	Definition	Example
forgetful	often unable to remember things	I'm getting more and more forgetful as I get older
from memory	to do something based on what you remember or have learned in the past	Can you write down five people's phone numbers from memory?
have a good memory for facts and figures	to have the ability to remember pieces of information well	Sophie has a good memory for facts and figures
keep forgetting	to continually not remember	I keep forgetting to post this letter
learn by heart	to memorise; to learn something so well that you can write or recite it without thinking	She learned the lyrics by heart
memorable	worth remembering or easy to remember, because of being special in some way	The concert was a very memorable experience
memorise	to learn something so that you remember it perfectly	Sara is able to memorise large amounts of information
remember names and faces	to have the ability to not forget people's names or people you've seen before	I am terrible at remembering names and faces
remind you of sbdy	to make you think of someone because of being very similar to them	He really reminds me of my brother
unforgettable	something that is unforgettable will be remembered for a very long time	The trip was an unforgettable experience
bored	feeling impatient or dissatisfied, because you are not interested in something or because you have nothing to do	I was so bored in the lecture – I thought it would never end
depressed	if you are depressed, you feel very unhappy because of a difficult or unpleasant situation that you feel you cannot change	Rainy days make me feel depressed
emotional	relating to feelings and the way that they affect your life	I felt very emotional at my graduation ceremony
pleased	happy and satisfied	Thomas was pleased with his score on the test
worried	unhappy because you are thinking about your problems or about bad things that could happen	Everyone was very worried when Juan didn't show up
aggressive	behaving in an angry or rude way that shows you want to fight, attack, or argue with someone	Jorge can be vey confrontational and aggressive
attention-seeking	attempting to get other people's attention, especially by behaving badly or in a very noticeable way	She never used to be so attention-seeking and spoilt
modest	a modest person does not like to talk about themselves, their achievements, or their abilities, even if they are successful	Peter is very modest about his extraordinary achievements
moody	likely to become unhappy or angry for no particular reason	Lack of sleep is making Sheila really moody
placid	rarely showing or experiencing excitement or anger	Sonia was a very placid baby
polite	someone who is polite behaves towards other people in a pleasant way that follows all the usual rules of society	The receptionist was polite but not very friendly
rebellious	opposing authority or accepted ways of doing things	Ben has never been very rebellious, he's always done what he's told
respectful	feeling or showing respect	Farah is very respectful of her grandparents
timid	shy and nervous	We need to encourage Matthew to be less timid
vain	someone who is vain is very proud and thinks they are very attractive or special	She's so vain she's constantly taking selfies
abstract	abstract ideas exist as thoughts in the mind, and are not related to physical objects or real events and actions	His painting are very abstract so not everyone understands them
ballerina	a woman who performs in ballets, especially as her job	The ballerina danced beautifully
ballet	a type of dancing used for telling a story, with complicated movements that need great skill and a lot of training	His dream had been to study ballet
best-seller	a book that many people buy	The Fault in our Stars was a best-seller
biography	a book that someone writes about someone else's life	The biography tells the story of how Tom Cruise became a star
cartoon	a humorous drawing in a magazine or newspaper, often with words written below	There was a very funny satirical cartoon in The Daily Timesthe other day
choir	a group of singers who perform together, for example in a church or school	Alison sings in the school choir
choreographer	someone whose job is to plan the movements that dancers perform on stage	He is a choreographer for Broadway shows
classical	relating to music written according to standard European forms or structures by people such as Mozart and Beethoven	When I'm trying to relax I listen to classical music
comic	a magazine for children that contains stories told in a series of drawings	The Amazing Spiderman was the first comic I ever bought
composer	someone who writes music, especially classical music	He is one of the most famous composers of our time
concert hall	a large building where people go to listen to concerts	I prefer to listen to music in small venues rather than in a great big concert hall
exhibition	a public show where art or other interesting things are put so that people can go and look at them	There is an exhibition of paintings by Matisse at the gallery
exhibits	objects that are part of an exhibition	There are many intersting exhibits at the British Museum
gallery	a public building where you can look at paintings and other works of art	The gallery on main street only has modern works of art
graffiti	words or pictures drawn on walls in public places	Some people think graffiti is vandalism but I think it's art
graphics	pictures produced by computers	The video game's graphics were stunning
graphic novel	a novel that uses drawings to tell the story	Andy loves to collect graphic novels
hip-hop	a type of music that developed among African-American musicians using rap and samples that are repeated and combined with musical instruments	Hip-Hop is one of the most popular types of music in our country
instrument	an object such as a piano, guitar, or drum that you use for playing music	I wish I had learned to play a musical instrument when I was younger
jazz	a type of music that developed in the late 19th century in which there is a strong lively beat and the players often improvise	The one type of music I can't stand is jazz
lead singer	the main person in a music group who sings	Rafael is the lead singer of the band
lyrics	the words of a song	The singer forgot the lyrics halfway through the song
musician	someone who performs or writes music, especially as their job	She is an extremely accomplished musician
novel	a long written story about imaginary or partly imaginary characters and events	J K Rowling's first novel was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
novelist	someone who writes novels	Tina is an award-winning novelist
opera	a type of play performed by singers and an orchestra	We usually go to the opera once or twice a year
orchestra	a large group of musicians using many different instruments to play mostly classical music. The person in charge of an orchestra is its conductor	Vanesssa is a violinist in a famous orchestra
painting	a picture made using paint	The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous painting in the world
paperback	a book with a cover made of thick paper	I usually buy paperback books as they're cheaper than hardbacks
performance	the act of performing a play, dance, or other form of entertainment	The college drama society will give a performance of Hamlet
play	a piece of writing intended to be performed by actors in a theatre or on television or the radio	Denise should be very proud of her performace in the play
playwright	someone who writes plays, especially as their job	William Shakespeare was an English playwright
poem	a piece of writing using beautiful or unusual language arranged in fixed lines that have a particular beat and often rhyme	We sometimes had to write poems at school
poet	someone who writes poetry	I never knew Gregory was such a gifted poet
portrait	a painting, drawing, or photograph of someone, especially of their face only	Stefan is paying an artist a lot of money to paint his portrait
sculpture	a solid object that someone makes as a work of art by shaping a substance such as stone, metal, or wood	There is a sculpture that I want to buy at the auction
self-portrait	a picture of you that you draw or paint yourself	Vermeer painted several self-portraits throughout his life
soap opera	a television or radio series about the imaginary lives of a group of people. A soap opera is often simply called a soap	I recognise that actor from that soap opera set in Mexico
solo	a piece of music or a part of a piece of music that is performed by one person	The trumpeter did a brilliant solo in the middle of the song
stage	the part of a theatre where the actors or musicians perform	Frederick has never acted on stage before
storyline	the events in a book, film etc	This series' storyline hasn't been as interesting as the first series'
studio	a room or rooms where music or a film, television show, or radio show is recorded	Tamsin is going to the studio today to record her album
venue	the place where an activity or event happens	The venue was absolutely packed with people

FAQ: Memory, Emotions, Personality, and Arts Vocabulary

What’s the difference between “memorise” and “learn by heart”?

Memorise means to actively commit something to memory (e.g., He memorised all the dates for the history test).
Learn by heart means to remember something so well that you don’t need to read it (e.g., She learned the poem by heart).

What does it mean to be “moody” or “attention-seeking”?

Moody means having frequent emotional changes (e.g., He’s very moody—happy one moment and angry the next).
Attention-seeking describes someone who behaves in a way to get attention (e.g., Her loud behavior was just attention-seeking).

What’s the difference between a “novelist,” a “playwright,” and a “poet”?

A novelist writes novels (e.g., J.K. Rowling is a famous novelist).
A playwright writes plays for theatre (e.g., Shakespeare was a famous playwright).
A poet writes poetry (e.g., Emily Dickinson was a well-known poet).

How is a “graphic novel” different from a “comic”?

A comic is a short, often humorous story with illustrated panels (e.g., Superhero comics are very popular).
A graphic novel is a longer, more complex illustrated story (e.g., Maus is a famous graphic novel).

What’s the difference between “concert hall,” “studio,” and “venue”?

A concert hall is a place where live music performances happen (e.g., They performed in a famous concert hall in Vienna).
A studio is where musicians or artists work (e.g., The band recorded their album in a studio).

A venue is any location where events take place (e.g., The theatre was a perfect venue for the festival).