Hello, my dear students.
With the arrival of Summer comes that time of the year when days are long, popsicles are melting and dripping down on your clothes you wait impatiently for your long-awaited trip with your relatives and taking millions of pictures all over the world. Revise Before FIight brings you a great post with B2 / C1 vocab to stimulate your English even in the period of a well-deserved chill out. Enjoy your summer vacation and take care!
Let’s begin with the first sign of another season which is:
- summer solstice (noun)- The solstice at midsummer, at the time of the longest day, about 21 June in the northern hemisphere and 22 December in the southern hemisphere.
– Example: “Midsummer (near the summer solstice in June) is a long-awaited holiday of eating, drinking, and dancing, rivaled in importance only by Christmas.”
Many people spend their time on a beach*) in order to…
- soak up something (the sun/ the rays) – to absorb or enjoy something that exists around you:
– Example: “I just want to lie on the beach and soak up the sun.”
Beaches are often sandy but there’re also some
- pebble (noun) – a small smooth round stone, especially one found on a beach or in a river:
– Example: “They consist of particulate rocks that vary in size from sand to pebbles and cobbles.”
- sun-drenched (adjective + before nouns) – a place that is sun-drenched receives a lot of sun:
– Example: “There’s no place on earth quite like this handful of sun-drenched, mid-Pacific islands.”
What’s more, the sunbathers often lie on a
- lounger – a comfortable chair on which people can sit or lie in order to relax, especially outside in hot weather
– Example: “The accommodation has an outdoor pool, sun terrace, sun loungers, poolside snack bar, gardens and a pool table.”
Many employees are in June, July and August on a…
- paid leave (noun) – time allowed away from work for holiday, illness, etc. during which you receive your normal pay:
– Example: “Management authorized more bonuses and paid leave to honor good work.”
… and most of the days are real scorchers and, therefore, may be called…
- dog days (noun)- The hottest period of the year (reckoned in antiquity from the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star).
– Example: “The club started off blazing hot, winning its first 13 games before hitting the skids during the dog days of summer, losing 19 of 21 in late July and early August.”
As a result, the weather is…
- sultry (adjective) – (of weather) uncomfortably warm and with air that is slightly wet
– Example: “The long period of hot, sultry, humid, rainless weather has finally broken this morning, with a long, rumbling storm.”
When you take a photo, you may see some distortion of the distant views caused by the
- heat haze (noun) - an effect of very hot sun, making it difficult to see objects clearly
– Example: “The sun shone, the water glittered, and a fine heat haze shimmered over the distant shoreline.”
By the way, did you know ‘hot air’ may have another non-literal layer? Here’s a full and last definition in this article:
- full of hot air (informal) – nonsense, empty talk that is intended to impress.
– Example: “But I’m not afraid to walk away if I think the person offering it is full of hot air.”
Over and out.
Learning with Mr Gonzalo 