be in a back seat
быть в тени
a back seat is a position of less importance or a position not in control
I’m used to taking a back seat and letting others lead
she’s been in a back seat role for years, but now she’s in charge
become a beacon /ˈbiːkən/
стать образцом чего-то
a beacon is something that attracts attention because it is very good, successful, or important
the new building has become a beacon for modern architecture
the city has become a beacon for green technology
she’s a beacon of hope in difficult times
bounds /baʊndz/
границы возможного
the bounds are the limits of what is reasonable or acceptable
the city is busy, chaotic, and noisy
that’s within the bounds of reason
her demands are beyond the bounds of what we can offer
commission /kəˈmɪʃ(ə)n/
заказ на завершение какой-то работы
if you commission someone, you formally ask them to do an important piece of work, such as write an expert report, paint a portrait, or design a building. A commission is the job that has to be done. The group of people who work on preparing such a report are also called a commission
who was the report commissioned by?
we’ve commissioned some research into the matter
in 1998, NPG began commissioning portraits of presidents, starting with George H. W. Bush
according to a report commissioned by Greenpeace, a serious accident could occur
credit /ˈkredɪt/
преуспеть в результате чего-то
if you credit something to something else, you mean that the first thing succeeded because of the second thing. If someone is credited with something good, they were responsible for its success.
Collocates: credit something to someone or something
the mayor’s new policy was credited with reversing the trend
the Conservative’s majority victory in 2019 was largely credited to the appeal of Boris Johnson
she credited her success to the team who supported her throughout the campaign
demolish /dɪˈmɒlɪʃ/
полностью разрушить
to demolish a building means to destroy it completely, for example because it is old and no longer safe or because you are going to put a new building there. Demolish is a formal word; in ordinary spoken English, people usually say knock down.
the slums were demolished to make way for a golf course
they demolished the old cinema last week
the old school is going to be demolished
the farm buildings were demolished and replaced by four new houses
desalination /diːˌsælɪˈneɪʃən/
опреснение воды
desalination is the process of removing salt from sea water to make it suitable for drinking and farming
desalination is a solution to water shortages in some areas
they’re building a new desalination plant near the coast
the technology for desalination has improved over the years
emerge /ɪˈmɜː(r)dʒ/
возникать, всплывать
if something emerges, it becomes visible or known about after having been hidden or unknown
these urban myths apparently emerge from nowhere and take on a life of their own
the truth will emerge eventually
more details have emerged about the new iPhone
entity /ˈentɪti/
организация, объект
an entity is something that exists as a single and whole unit
the company is now a separate entity from its parent corporation
each department in the organization is a distinct entity
envisage /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/
предусматривать
to envisage is to imagine or expect something in the future, especially something good
he doesn’t envisage working with them again
she envisages a positive outcome from the talks
give or take
Плюс-минус
approximately, or about
there were 50 people there, give or take a few
think the journey is ten miles, give or take
harness /ˈhɑːnɪs/
поставить себе на службу
to harness something is to use something in a way that helps you
we need to harness the sun’s energy for power
she harnessed her communication skills to start her own business
hurdle /ˈhɜːdəl/
препятствие
a hurdle is a problem or difficulty that must be solved or dealt with before you can achieve something
funding was the biggest hurdle for the project
getting approval was another hurdle they had to overcome
impose /ɪmˈpəʊz/
навязывать
to impose a law, rule, or restriction means to introduce it officially and make people accept it, even if they do not want to
Collocates: impose something on someone | impose a fine/punishment/penalty | impose a condition/deadline
/limit/restriction | impose a ban
the government has imposed restrictions on car use
it’s difficult to impose controls on internet use
there can be no justification for imposing limits on the amounts that can be spent
they imposed a ban on all tobacco advertising
moonshot project/keɪˈɒtɪk/
амбициозный проект
a moonshot project is an ambitious, ground-breaking project, especially one without any expectation of near-term profitability or benefits
the company announced its moonshot project to make cars fly
developing a new energy source is a moonshot project
renewables /rɪˈnjuːəbəlz/
возобновляемые источники энергии
renewables are sources of energy that can be used and replaced naturally
Collocate: renewable energy
the country is investing heavily in renewable energies
wind and solar are popular forms of renewables
we need to shift our focus to renewables to combat climate change
scale up /skeɪl ʌp/
масштабировать
to scale up means to increase the size, amount, or importance of something, usually an organization or process
after the success of the product, they decided to scale it up
the company is planning to scale up its operations next year
Opposite: scale down
they’ve had to scale down the business due to losses
spiral /ˈspaɪrəl/
стремительно расти. выходить из-под контроля
to spiral means to continuously become worse or to get out of control
costs have spiralled since the start of the project
after losing his job, his life began to spiral out of control
the team’s performance started to spiral after the key player got injured
thriving /ˈθraɪvɪŋ/
процветающий
growing, developing, or being successful
the city has a thriving tech industry
her business is thriving and expanding
the park has become a thriving community spot
top-down
сверху-вниз
organized or controlled by the people in the highest positions in a company or organization rather than by the people in lower positions
the company has a top-down management style
it was a top-down decision, so there wasn’t much discussion
many people prefer a bottom-up approach rather than top-down
visionary /ˈvɪʒəneri/
дальновидный
having the ability to see and plan for the future
her visionary leadership transformed the company
he was a visionary artist, ahead of his time