CLOUDS ON THE HORIZON
Vocabulary
Broaden your horizon: BrE / ˈbrɔːdn / NAmE / ˈbrɔːdn / verb
1 [ intransitive ] to become wider - Her smile broadened.
2 [ transitive , intransitive ] ~ (sth) to affect or make sth affect more people or things
a promise to broaden access to higher education
The party needs to broaden its appeal to voters.
3 [ transitive ] ~ sth to increase your experience, knowledge, etc
Few would disagree that travel broadens the mind (= helps you to understand other people's customs, etc.) .
Spending a year working in the city helped to broaden his horizons .
en • vir • on • ment BrE / ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt / noun
1 [ countable , uncountable ] the conditions that affect the behaviour and development of sb/sth; the physical conditions that sb/sth exists in
a pleasant working/learning environment - An unhappy home environment can affect a child's behaviour.
2 the environment [ singular ] the natural world in which people, animals and plants live
the Department of the Environment - measures to protect the environment
pollution of the environment - damage to the environment
en • vir • on • men • tal BrE / ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmentl / adjective
[ usually before noun ]
1 connected with the natural conditions in which people, animals and plants live; connected with the environment
the environmental impact of pollution
environmental issues/problems
an environmental group/movement - environmental damage
2 connected with the conditions that affect the behaviour and development of sb/sth
environmental influences - an environmental health officer
en • vir • on • men • tal • ly / BrE ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmentəli ; adverb
an environmentally sensitive area (= one that is easily damaged or that contains rare animals, plants, etc.)
environmentally damaging
halt verb, noun BrE / hɔːlt / verb
[ intransitive , transitive ]
to stop; to make sb/sth stop
She walked towards him and then halted.
‘Halt!’ the Major ordered (= used as a command to soldiers) .
~ sb/sth The police were halting traffic on the parade route.
The trial was halted after the first week.
ac • count noun, verb BrE / əˈkaʊnt / verb
acˈcount for sth
1 to be the explanation or cause of sth
explain
The poor weather may have accounted for the small crowd.
Oh well, that accounts for it (= I understand now why it happened) .
2 to give an explanation of sth
explain
How do you account for the show's success?
He was unable to account for the error.
scheme noun, verb BrE / skiːm / noun
1 ( BrE ) a plan or system for doing or organizing sth
a training scheme
~ (for doing sth) a local scheme for recycling newspapers
~ (to do sth) to introduce/operate a scheme to improve links between schools and industry
Under the new scheme only successful schools will be given extra funding.
en • cour • age BrE / ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ / verb
1 to give sb support, courage or hope
~ sb in sth My parents have always encouraged me in my choice of career.
~ sb We were greatly encouraged by the positive response of the public.
2 ~ sb to do sth | ~ doing sth to persuade sb to do sth by making it easier for them and making them believe it is a good thing to do
Banks actively encourage people to borrow money.
discourage
en • cour • aging / BrE ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒɪŋ ; / adjective [ not usually before noun ]
This month's unemployment figures are not very encouraging.
You could try being a little more encouraging!
en • cour • aging • ly / BrE ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒɪŋli ;adverb
to smile encouragingly - The attendance was encouragingly high.
en • cour • age • ment BrE / ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒmənt / noun
a few words of encouragement
He needs all the support and encouragement he can get.
With a little encouragement from his parents he should do well.
~ (to sb) (to do sth) She was given every encouragement to try something new.
Her words were a great encouragement to them.
discouragement
