Vocabulary

• before long: Soon; in a short time.
• in flames: Burning fiercely
• under fire: Being heavily criticized.
• blast out: To play music very loudly.
• around the clock: All day and all night; continuously.
• at home: In one's own residence or country.
• at work: Located at one's place of employment
• once upon a time: A conventional phrase used to begin fairy tales and other stories.
• upon a time: An introductory phrase used to begin a story, typically a fairy tale.
• in particular: Specifically; especially.
• such as: For example; like
• speed up: To move more quickly
• on to: Toward something; forward
• hold on: To wait for someone (e.g. on a phone call)
• on the brink of: Very near to experiencing something, usually something unpleasant.
• expression: Act of making your thoughts and feelings known
• realize: To become aware of or understand mentally
• surge: Sudden movement in one direction by many
• appetite: Feeling of hunger or desire for something
• describe: To tell the appearance, sound, smell of something
• explore: To examine something in detail to learn about it
• surveillance: Careful watching of a person/place, e.g. by police
• lack: To not have, or not have enough, of something
• brutal: Extremely violent or mean
• chill: State of being a little cold
• portrait: Picture of a person's head and shoulders
• suspect: Person thought to have committed a crime
• occasionally: Not very often; sometimes; seldom
• gradually: Occurring in a slow manner over a period of time
• society: A group who meet to share values or interests
• resist: To not be affected by e.g. a force or an effect
• blast: To attack someone with words
• virtual: Existing only on the internet or on a computer
• regime: A system of management; a form of government
• preserve: To cook food so it can be kept for long periods
• diminish: To make something smaller or less important
• fatal: Causing death; having very bad consequences
• genre: Category of art, music with its own qualities
• digest: To convert food into energy in your stomach
• curiosity: Something unusual and perhaps worthy of collecting
• independent: Making your own decisions; acting by yourself
• widespread: Happening or existing in many places
• mentality: Attitude toward, or a belief about something
• fiction: Made-up stories; imagined events
• depict: To represent or describe something using words
• mass: Religious ceremony in some Christian churches
• wander: To move through a place with no particular purpose
• pleasure: Feeling of happiness, enjoyment, or satisfaction
• entertainment: Act or process of providing service for someone
• accuracy: Being exactly right; correctness
• censorship: Removing inappropriate material from books, films
• reduce: To try to decrease, e.g. your weight if overweight
• shape: The outer form of something, what it looks like
• monopoly: Complete market control for a service or product
• mind: To be bothered or upset by something
• masterpiece: Greatest work, e.g. of a famous artist
• brink: Near to happening; on the verge of
• protagonist: Main character in a story
• smack: To slap or hit, e.g. with a resounding noise
• information: Collection of facts and details about something
• amplify: To increase the effect of something
• learn: To get knowledge or skills by study or experience
• government: Group of people and system that rule a nation
• paranoia: Disorder in which you fear people want to harm you
• question: To ask for or try to get information
• set: Prepared for something; ready
• descriptive: Telling what something is like or looks like
• crackdown: Increased effort to enforce the law or a rule
• burn: To destroy with fire
• disappear: To no longer see because it's not there any more
• apathy: Feeling of indifference; not caring about anything
• world: All the humans, events, activities on the earth
• combustion: An act or instance of burning
• barren: (Of a woman) not able to have children
• erase: To remove data in computer memory, tape, etc.
• dystopian: As bad as can be; characterized by human misery
• short: (Of electric circuit) to spark because faulty
• listen: To carefully consider what someone is saying
• kerosene: A liquid fuel used in heaters, lamps
• parable: Short story, usually with a moral lesson
• salamander: Amphibian resembling a lizard