quash

 

quash

= to officially invalidate something 

= to suppress or put an end to something 

My boss promptly issued a statement to quash any speculation about the acquisition.

我老闆立刻發布了一份聲明，打消任何關於這次併購的猜測。

To quash the unrest among the team, Susan organized a meeting to clarify that she won't leave the team this season.

為了平息團隊之間的不安，Susan 安排了一場會議，說明她這個賽季不會離開團隊。

Mark's proposal was quashed during the meeting.

Mark 的提案在會議中被否決了。

Mark thought of a new idea, but it was quashed by the team.

Mark 想出了一個新點子，但被團隊給否定了。

Some synonyms and antonyms for "quash":

Synonyms:

Suppress

Cancel 

Abolish 

Antonyms:

Encourage

Promote

Support

Approve 

#English #Vocabulary #EnglishLearning #Grammar #英単語 #英語学習 #TOEIC #IELTS

Which of the following best describes the verb "quash"?

A) To create or promote something new.

B) To suppress, extinguish, or put an end to something, often legally or forcefully.

C) To encourage a discussion or debate.

D) To celebrate or acknowledge a success.

background

 background

= personal and professional history

During the job interview, Mark highlighted his background in the IT industry and his track record of scaling tech startups.

Mark’s strong background in endurance running allowed him to comfortably complete the charity marathon without prior specialized preparation.

As a university student from a small town, Susan often uses her unique cultural background as inspiration for her creative writing assignments.

Susan explained that her foodie adventures started early due to her multicultural family background and frequent international travels.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "background":

Synonyms:

history

resume

record

upbringing

Antonyms:

ignorance

amnesia

forgetting

blank

Question: What does “background” mean in “personal and professional history”?

A) Past experiences and education

B) Only job responsibilities

C) Current schedule

D) Future plans

The Red Rocket and the Honda Honey

Mark, a successful businessman, and his girlfriend Chloe were enjoying their coffee at the weekend. Mark talked about his new sports car a lot, bragging about its speed and curves. When buying his new sports car, Mark mentioned that his engineering background helped him appreciate the vehicle's advanced aerodynamics.

Chloe, however, was not interested in it at all. Taking a sip of her latte, she rolled her eyes and said, "You are just driving at 50 kilometers per hour in city traffic. There is no need to drive your red shiny sports car! A tiny Honda S660 is already the best for you, my honey!"

Mark suddenly agreed with her on the parking nightmare, but, you know, Mark would never sell his precious sports car and buy a micro Honda S660.

After chatting a lot, they felt tired and finally drove back to his house. On the highway, Mark happily pressed the gas pedal. Suddenly, he saw a police car struggling to chase a speeding white hatchback. The police car was simply not fast enough to catch the clever escapee. Desperate, the officer leaned out of the window and shouted to Mark for help.

"Please block that front white car! We need to catch him now! This is an order!" the officer yelled.

Mark replied with total confidence, "Yes, sir!"

Channeling his inner race car driver, Mark chased the runaway vehicle, swerved gracefully, and blocked the road so that the police could catch the thief immediately.

Later, Mark received a shiny good citizen reward from the local government. And Chloe? Well, she finally understood the difference between a roaring sports supercar and a Honda S660—mostly because Mark talked about his heroics for the next three months.

Questions

According to the story, why did Mark appreciate the advanced aerodynamics of his new sports car?

A. Because a police officer explained it to him on the highway.

B. Because his engineering background helped him understand it.

C. Because Chloe read about it in a car magazine.

D. Because the Honda S660 manual recommended it.

Based on the definition provided in the text (background = personal and professional history), which sentence uses the word background with the same meaning?

A. She painted the kitchen wall with a blue background to match the curtains.

B. The suspect was standing in the background of the security camera footage.

C. His background in computer science helped him fix the software bug easily.

D. The photographer blurred the background to make the portrait stand out.

category

 category

= a group or class of things that share a common feature

Mark placed car reviews in the category of sports vehicles.

Mark checked the category of coffee flavors at the shop.

Susan listed her category of hobbies as sports and games.

Susan chose a category for her university projects and tasks.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "category":

Synonyms:

class

group

type

division

Antonyms:

individual

variety

mixture

randomness

Question: Which option best matches the meaning of “category”?

A) A single person

B) A group of similar items

C) A random event

D) A type of weather

The Great AI Art Disaster

Susan, a university student with no talent for brushstrokes, stared at a blank canvas for a whole week. Inspired by daily life, she finally entered the award competition in her age category.

Desperate, she called Mark—her successful businessman uncle and an eccentric character. At this moment, Mark paced his shiny red sports car stuck in a brutal traffic jam and yelled via Bluetooth, “Draw this misery! Capture my soul burning in gridlock while you flash a victory V-sign!”

Susan sketched Mark looking like a melted potato, groaning at the steering wheel, paired with herself cheesing like a tourist at Disneyland.

Mark slammed his palm on his horn and reviewed the painting she’d sent. “My facial expression looks like a tax audit gone wrong, Susan Bond! This won’t win squat.”

“So…?” Susan blinked.

Susan went to Mark’s house and saw the AI robot machine painting. “Use my Robo-Pablo—my AI art droid!”

Robo-Pablo whizzed across the canvas, airbrushing hyper-realistic tears of despair onto Mark’s cheeks and rendering a Ferrari emblem shinier than real life. Ten minutes later, Mark declared, “Victory is ours!”

Later, the judges agreed and awarded Susan first place. She held the shiny trophy high and high-fived Mark.

Then, Chloe—Mark’s hyper-observant girlfriend, who happened to be a judge at the regional design finals—zoomed in with a magnifying glass. “Babe, why does your ear have a USB-C port in this oil painting?”

Busted. The association stripped the title faster than Robo-Pablo could redraw a middle finger. Susan kept the trophy anyway—as a doorstop.

Questions

1. Why did Susan get disqualified from the art competition?

A) She drew her uncle Mark without asking permission.

B) The association discovered an AI robot helped paint the final details.

C) She missed the submission deadline by ten minutes.

D) Her drawing of the traffic jam was too realistic.

2. Which sentence best uses the word category as defined in the text (a group or class of things that share a common feature)?

A) Susan put her red sports car into the garage category.

B) Uncle Mark categorized his stress levels during the traffic jam from one to ten.

C) Susan competed for the award in her age category against peers born in the same multi-year bracket.

D) Chloe categorized the AI robot as a dangerous household appliance.

brainstorm

 brainstorm

= to generate a large number of ideas, thoughts, or solutions about a particular topic or problem, usually in a spontaneous and creative way

Mark decided to brainstorm ideas for his new sports car project.

During his coffee break, Mark would brainstorm ways to improve his running pace.

Mark often brainstorms marketing strategies for his IT startup.

Susan decided to brainstorm ideas for her university project.

During her free time, Susan would brainstorm new ways to meet friends.

Synonyms and antonyms for "brainstorm"

Synonyms:

generate ideas

think creatively

mind map

idea session  

Antonyms:

block ideas

limit thoughts

restrict thinking

stifle creativity  

Question: What does "brainstorm" mean?

A) To organize files

B) To generate ideas

C) To read books

D) To run marathons

The Ultimate Friday Shortcut

Mark, a successful businessman, really wanted to enjoy more free time on Friday since he did not want to work hard near the weekend. Sitting at his desk, he started to brainstorm ideas on how to get it done quickly. Finally, he decided to buy an advanced AI robot to replace him every single Friday!

He bought all the parts and built a replica that looked exactly like him. Because it was packed with powerful AI chips, this robot was actually much smarter than the real Mark. When Friday arrived, the real Mark felt thrilled and let the robot take his place at the office.

The robot Mark walked into the building, greeted everyone cheerfully, and headed straight to the office. No one suspected a thing except Chloe, Mark's girlfriend, who happened to work at the same company. Confused by seeing two Marks, Chloe peeked into the room. By that time, the real Mark had already escaped out the window with a parachute!

"Mark, how are you?" Chloe asked, feeling suspicious.

"I am fine. I need to work right now. Let us chat later," the robot replied smoothly.

"If you are really Mark, do you know what color socks I am wearing?" Chloe challenged.

The robot used his built-in infrared scanner, looked down at her shoes, and proudly announced, "Black!"

Chloe gasped in surprise. "Oh, you are the real one!"

"Oh, come on! I have a razor-sharp mind and infrared detectors!" the robot bragged.

Suddenly, Chloe realized that a real human would never talk about infrared eyes. She demanded to know where Mark had gone. Realizing he was caught, the robot confessed that the real Mark had fled to enjoy his day off.

Chloe rushed out of the building and waited inside Mark's car. When the real Mark finally showed up, he was shocked to find her sitting in the driver's seat.

"What is going on here?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mark sighed and confessed everything. "I just needed a good day to enjoy my life! Don't worry, the robot is much smarter than me anyway. He can handle all the work!"

Smiling, Chloe locked the office doors remotely, hopped into the passenger seat, and they drove off to enjoy a wonderful Friday together.

Question 1

Why did Mark decide to buy an AI robot?

A) He wanted help to brainstorm ideas for a new business project.

B) He wanted to avoid working hard on Fridays and enjoy some free time.

C) He wanted Chloe to have someone smart to talk to at the office.

D) He needed someone to drive his car while he worked.

Question 2

Based on the story and the definition provided, what does it mean to "brainstorm" a list of ideas?

A) To copy someone else's homework or work tasks.

B) To generate a large number of creative ideas or solutions spontaneously.

C) To memorize a list of difficult technical rules.

D) To argue with coworkers about office policies.

calculate

 calculate

= to figure something out by using numbers, a method, or reasoning

Mark will calculate the cost before buying a sports car.

Mark can calculate his weekly running time for training.

Mark needs to calculate fuel expenses for his sports car trips.

Susan needs to calculate the cost of a new sports outfit.

Susan will calculate how long it takes to reach campus by bus.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "calculate":

Synonyms:

compute

determine

figure out

evaluate

Antonyms:

guess

estimate

improvise

ignore

Question: Which means “calculate” in the sentence?

A) Guess the answer quickly.

B) Compute the answer using a method.

C) Forget the numbers and stop.

D) Change the topic to something else.

The Ultimate Commute

Susan had a very important presentation at the university. Because the campus was miles away, Susan calculated how long it takes to reach campus by bus down to the exact minute. She felt fully prepared for her big morning.

Ten minutes into the ride, the bus slammed to a halt. A massive traffic jam blocked the road completely. Panicking, she called her uncle Mark, a successful businessman. Unfortunately, Mark could not rescue her because he was already at the university discussing an important deal with his professor clients.

Susan felt frustrated, but she was ready for anything. She quickly packed her laptop and mobile phone into a waterproof plastic bag and zipped it inside her sturdy backpack. Then, she unzipped her gym bag and swapped her heels for professional carbon-fibre running shoes built for speed. Without a second thought, she hopped off the bus and sprinted toward the campus.

The route was nearly twenty kilometers long, but Susan was an athlete who could handle the challenge. After running for about ten kilometers, she stopped to catch her breath and began to ponder. 'It will be much faster to go to the campus if swimming across the harbour,' she thought.

She weighed her options carefully. Should she keep running, or take a shortcut through the water? Impulsively, she chose to swim.

After an exhausting run and a freezing swim across the harbour, Susan finally arrived at the campus gates. She was dripping wet from head to toe, and a confused yellow rubber duck from the harbour was somehow stuck to her backpack. Despite smelling faintly of seaweed, Susan delivered her presentation with absolute perfection. Her professors were so impressed by her dedication that they praised her endlessly, proving that a little creativity goes a long way.

 

Questions 

Why did Susan decide to get off the bus and change her shoes?

A) She wanted to meet her uncle Mark for a quick business meeting.

B) A massive traffic jam delayed the bus, so she decided to run the rest of the way to her university presentation.

C) She forgot her laptop and had to run all the way back to her apartment.

D) Her carbon-fibre running shoes were much more comfortable for sitting on public transportation.

 

Based on the provided definition ("to figure something out by using numbers, a method, or reasoning"), which sentence uses the word calculate correctly?

A) Susan tried to calculate the heavy traffic jam by yelling at the bus driver.

B) Susan used math and reasoning to calculate how long the bus ride would take.

C) Susan forgot to calculate her waterproof plastic bag before jumping into the harbour.

D) Susan calculated her presentation by speaking very loudly to her professors.

assume

 assume

= to take something for granted or accept it as true without proof

Mark assumes his sports car will impress his clients.

Mark assumes his new software will boost sales quickly.

Mark assumes running every morning keeps him healthy.

Susan assumes the university library has all her books.

Susan assumes sports practice will help her stay fit.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "assume":

Synonyms:

presume

suppose

take for granted

believe

Antonyms:

doubt

question

disbelieve

reject

Question:

What does "assume" mean?

A) To doubt

B) To accept without proof

C) To reject ideas

D) To prove facts

The Shiny Mistake

Mark was a businessman who loved to impress people. When he had an important meeting with a new client, Mark assumed his sports car would impress his client.

He ran to his garage with buckets of detergent and polish. He scrubbed the bright red car until it shone like a giant apple. Next, he walked into his cloakroom and chose his most expensive silk suit. Looking in the mirror, Mark felt unstoppable. His girlfriend, Chloe, watched him and laughed, "Are you selling a contract or entering a fashion show?"

Mark just smiled confidently and sped off to the restaurant. When he arrived, he met his client, Mr. Dupont, and a young woman named Susan. Mark quickly flashed his brightest smile and adjusted his sparkling jacket.

"Bonjour! I am Susan," she said. "I am a university student doing an internship here. I will translate for Mr. Dupont because he only speaks French."

Mark grinned, "Oh, Susan! We really have a great serendipity!"

He then leaned toward Mr. Dupont, waiting for a compliment on his shiny suit or fast car. Instead, Mr. Dupont tapped the table with a white cane and put on heavy black sunglasses. Mark’s jaw dropped. His client was completely blind! He couldn't see the sparkling car or the fancy suit at all.

For three long hours, Mark sweated through his expensive suit while Susan translated endless business numbers. Finally, Mr. Dupont smiled and signed the contract.

As Mark walked back to his immaculate car, covered in sweat and exhausted, he chuckled to himself. He realized that appearance is not important after all—especially when your client can only hear your voice!

Questions

1. According to the story, why was Mark's expensive suit and shiny sports car unnecessary for the meeting?

A) The client cancelled the meeting at the last minute.

B) The client was blind and could not see Mark's appearance.

C) Chloe made Mark change into casual clothes before leaving.

D) Susan told Mark that French clients prefer simple outfits.

2. In which sentence is the word "assume" used correctly based on its definition?

A) Mark assumes his sports car will impress his client, even though he has never met him before.

B) Mark assumes his car with soap and water until it becomes very shiny.

C) Mark assumes to the restaurant quickly so he will not be late.

D) Mark assumes the contract to Mr. Dupont so he can sign it.