Simon Haines, Vocabulary for Advanced (CAE)Unit 2 Personal history – ancestry, autobiography

English definition example Español

to unlock the mys- tery/mysteries/secret of sth

to discover new important facts about sth

The scientists are going to unlock the mysteries of the human mind.

Los científicos van a descifrar los misterios de la mente humana

an ancestor (n.)a person related to you who lived a long time ago

There were portraits of his ancestors in the room.

Había retratos de sus ancestros en la habitación

ancestry (n.)your ancestors who lived a long time ago; the origin of your family

His wife was of royal ancestry. Su mujer era de la realeza

ancestral (adj.) to do with your ancestorsTheir ancestral home is in Northern Eng- land.

Su ancestral casa está en el norte de Inglaterra

genealogy (n.)(the study of) the history of past and present members of a family

People often become interested in the genealogy of their families La gente casi siempre se vuelve interesada en

la genealogía de sus familias

genealogical (adj.) related to genealogyThere are no genealogical clues as towhere the family originated.

No hay pruebas genealógicas de donde su familia se originó

to approach a taskto deal with a piece of work to be done

I’m not sure how to approach this task – it seems impossible!

No estoy seguro sobre cómo afrontar esta tarea, parece imposible

to conduct an investigationto organise and perform a careful ex-amination of sth

The investigation was conducted by a team of experts.

La investigación fue llevada a cabo por un equipo de expertos

a source (n.)someone or something that suppliesinformation

The journalist refused to reveal hersources.

El periodista rechazó revelar sus fuentes

a record (n.)a piece of information stored on paper or computer

The weather centre keeps a record of theweather.

El centro del tiempo guarda un registro de eltiempo

to record (n.)to keep information for the future, inwriting or on computer

She records everything happening to her in her diary.

Ella guarda todo lo que le pasa a ella en su diario

to document factsto support a claim with evidence or decisive information

The facts stated in the report are well documented.

Los hechos mostrados en el trabajo estan bien documentados

(your) descent (n.)the state of being related to a particu-lar people who lived in the past

She claims direct descent from the last Russian emperor.

Ella reclama ser descendiente directa del ultimo emperador ruso

a descendant (n.) a relative who lived in the pastHe claims to be a descendant of Michel-angelo.

El afirma ser un descendiente de Miguel Ángel

another thing altogether a totally different thingFigurative art is one thing. Abstract art isanother thing altogether.

El arte figurative es una cosa. El arte abstracto es otra cosa distinta

to accumulate (v.)to gradually increase in amount; to collect an amount of something over a period of time

We’ve accumulated so much clutter over the years!

Nosotros hemos acumulado mucho desastre a través de los años

an accumulation (n.) an amount of something that has been Accumulations of sand can be formed by La acumulación de arena puede ser debida a las olas a lo largo de las playas de la costa

collected or formed a larger mass waves along coastal beaches.

(in)accuracy (n.)a situation where something is (not) exactly correct

The film is full of historical inaccuracies. La película está llena de errores históricos

(in)accurate (adj.) (not) exactly correctPrediction of earthquakes is hoped to become more accurate in future.

La predicción de terremotos es esperada a llegar a ser más correcta en el futuro

to embellish (v.)to make sth more beautiful or interest- ing by adding sth to it

He couldn’t resist embellishing the story of his accident.

El no pudo resistir embellecer la historia con suaccidente

an embellishment (n.) Flowers are an embellishment of life. Las flores son un adorno de la vida

to reminisce (v.)to talk or write about past experiencesthat you remember with pleasure

Whenever we get together, we reminisce about our time together at college.

En cualquier momento en el que nos encontramos, recordamos sobre nuestra vida

reminiscence (n.)the act of remembering events and experiences from the past

The novel contains endless reminis- cences of the author’s youth.

La novella contiene interminables reminiscencias de la juventud del autor

reminiscent of sth (adj.)making you remember a particular person, thing, time, etc.

Bruckner’s symphonies are sometimes reminiscent of Wagner’s music.

Las sinfonías de Bruckner son a veces recuerdos de la música de Wagner

to verify sth (v.)to prove that something exists, or istrue or correct

You have to verify these facts before you go public with them!

Tu tienes que verificar estos hechos antes de que los hagas publicos a ellos

verification (n.)the act of proving that something ex- ists, or is true or correct

Please submit your passport for verifica- tion of your identity.

Por favor, presenta tu pasaporte para la verificación de tu identidad

a verifiersomeone who verifies or confirms the truth of something

Verifiers will check the documents of all applicants.

Los verificadores chequearán los documentos de todos los solicitantes

verifiable able to be verifiedNot all data used in the study are easily verifiable.

No todos los datos usados en el studio son facilmente veribicables

to expose a (long-buried) secretto make information public which was unknown for many years

The ex-lover threatens to expose a long-buried secret from Robert’s past.

La ex amante amenaza con contra un secreto largamente oculto del pasado de Robert

to keep sb in the dark about sthnot share information with people whoare interested

They may reveal things about you that you'd rather keep her in the dark about.

to dig up dirt on sbto investigate to find unpleasant or damaging information

She is one of those journalists who are always trying to dig up dirt on celebrities

jemanden durch den Schmutz ziehen

to sweep sth under the carpet(swept/swept)

to ignore or avoid discussion of an issue

The incident has forced into the althoughthe government would rather have sweptit under the carpet.

etw. unter den Teppich kehren

to cover (your) tracksto make evidence more difficult or im- possible to find

He was smart enough to cover his tracks so the police wouldn't connect him to the crime.

die eigenen Spuren verwischen

to muddy the waters to confuse an issue under discussionHe's just trying to muddy the waters so we won't notice all the things he's done.

Perspektive verzerren; Wasser trüben

to dictate the course of sthto determine how something shoulddevelop

Strict guidelines dictate the course of the application process.

den Kurs von etw. bestimmen; dieRichtung vorgeben

to draw the lineto never do sth because you think it’s wrong

I swear quite a lot but I draw the line at saying certain words.

bei etw. die Grenze ziehen

to be in the public interest‘public interest’ is concerned with the fundamental health of a free society

By doing what he did, he thought he was acting in the public interest.

im Interesse der Öffentlichkeit

a councillor (n.)an elected member of a local govern- ment

City councillors have voted to pedestri-anize the city centre.

Ratsmitglied

scrapped discardedThe idea had to be scrapped as it was not viable.

verschrottet; (für Pläne) versenkt; stillgelegt

to raise an issue to bring up a topicI think we should raise the issue of his behaviour.

ein Thema ansprechen

intimacy (n.) closenessHe wasn’t used to intimacy and ap- peared reserved and distant to others.

Nähe; Intimität; Innigkeit

intimate (adj.) closeAs best friends they have always had a really intimate relationship.

intim; persönlich; innig

to confront sth/sbto face and deal with a difficult situa- tion or person

You have to confront your past if you want to leave it behind.

gegenübertreten; ins Auge sehen

to dredge sth upto talk about sth bad or unpleasant happening in the past

He hates it when people dredge up the crimes that happened here 50 years ago.

etwas Vergangenes aufbringen; auf-arbeiten

to weigh sth upto consider the good and bad aspects of sth in order to come to a decision

He weighed up his chances of escape and decided to wait for a better moment

etwas abwägen

a family mythsomething a family believes about it- self which isn’t necessarily true

Uncle Harry as an adventurer is a bit of a family myth.

Familienmythos

a skeleton in the cupboard an embarrassing secretThey look like a perfect family, but I bet they have a skeleton in the cupboard!

eine Leiche im Keller; ein peinlichesGeheimnis

blankempty; not containing any written in-formation

Use a blank sheet of paper to start taking notes.

blank; leer

a blanka space left empty to be filled withinformation

There are various blanks in her past – we don’t know anything about those times.

Leerstelle; Lücke

to draw a blank (drew/drawn) not find any answers or results He googled her name but drew a blank.leer ausgehen; keine Antwort aufetwas finden

a multitude of sth a great number of sthDespite a multitude of problems the ne- gotiators reached a consensus.

Menge; Vielzahl

multitudinous (formal adj.) numerous; countlessThere are multitudinous translations of the Old Testament.

zahlreich; massenhaft

valuable (adj.) worth a lot; of high valueThis is an extremely valuable experience for him.

wertvoll

to prove to be sth.to show a particular result after a peri- od of time

The new treatment has proved to be a success.

sich herausstellen als etwas

to hoard sthto collect large amounts of sth and keep it in a safe, often secret, place

During the siege people began to hoard food.

horten; Vorräte anlegen

a school reportan official statement of a student’s abilities and performance at school

He dreaded having to show his school report at home.

Schulzeugnis

off the recordin a way that is not meant to be madepublic

She made it clear that her comments were strictly off the record.

inoffiziell; vertraulich

to have a criminal recordto have an official of crimes a personhas committed

They fired him when they found out that he had a criminal record.

vorbestraft sein

to gain entry to sth (formal) to enter (illegally)The burglars gained entry to the house through a balcony door.

sich Zugang verschaffen zu etw.;eindringen

an entrya door, gate, etc. by which you enter a place; the act of entering

Entry to the USA requires a valid visa for passengers from Pakistan.

Eintritt; Eingang; Eintrag

to take note of sth to notice sth consciouslyYou should take note of what you are told on the first day in your job.

einer Sache Aufmerksamkeit schen- ken; sich etwas merken