Word Skills: Compounds

characters you can identify with /ˈkærəktəz ju kən aɪˈdentɪfaɪ wɪð/

nhân vật mà bạn đồng cảm được

characters in a story whose feelings you understand and share

Teenage readers want characters you can identify with, who have the same worries as them.

evocative descriptions /ɪˈvɒkətɪv dɪˈskrɪpʃnz/

những đoạn miêu tả giàu sức gợi

descriptions that bring strong pictures, feelings or memories into the reader’s mind

The evocative descriptions of the old market made me feel I was really there.

a fast pace /ə fɑːst peɪs/

nhịp truyện nhanh

a quick speed at which the events of a story happen

The thriller has a fast pace, so there is never a dull moment.

a happy ending /ə ˈhæpi ˈendɪŋ/

kết thúc có hậu

an end to a story in which things finish well for the main characters

Most fairy tales have a happy ending.

humour noun. /ˈhjuːmə/

tính hài hước

the quality in something that makes it funny and makes people laugh

The humour in the dialogue makes the serious story easier to read.

an intriguing plot /ən ɪnˈtriːɡɪŋ plɒt/

cốt truyện hấp dẫn, gây tò mò

a main story that is very interesting because it is strange, mysterious or unexpected

An intriguing plot kept me guessing until the last page.

love interest noun. /ˈlʌv ɪntrəst/

tuyến tình cảm (trong truyện)

a theme or part of the plot in a story or film that is mainly about love between two characters

Some readers like a bit of love interest in a story, but I prefer stories about adventure and friendship.

mystery and suspense /ˈmɪstri ənd səˈspens/

sự bí ẩn và hồi hộp

a feeling of excitement or worry in a story because things are not explained and you do not know what will happen next

Detective stories are full of mystery and suspense.

natural dialogue /ˈnætʃrəl ˈdaɪəlɒɡ/

lời thoại tự nhiên

conversations between characters that sound normal, like real people talking

The author writes natural dialogue, so the teenagers in the book sound like my friends.

realistic characters /ˌriːəˈlɪstɪk ˈkærəktəz/

nhân vật chân thực

characters who are shown as people are in real life

Realistic characters make mistakes and change, just like real people.

believable characters /bɪˈliːvəbl ˈkærəktəz/

nhân vật đáng tin

characters who seem possible and real, so the reader can believe in them

Even in a fantasy world, readers need believable characters.

alliteration noun. /əˌlɪtəˈreɪʃn/

phép điệp âm đầu

the use of several words together that begin with the same sound or letter in order to make a special effect, especially in poetry

'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers' is a famous example of alliteration.

analogy noun. /əˈnælədʒi/

phép loại suy, sự so sánh tương đồng

something that seems similar between two situations, processes etc

Our teacher used an analogy between the heart and a pump to explain how blood moves.

assonance noun. /ˈæsənəns/

phép điệp vần (lặp nguyên âm)

similarity in the vowel sounds of words that are close together in a poem, for example between ‘born’ and ‘warm’

The repeated vowel sound in 'a lake of pale grey shapes' is an example of assonance.

euphemism noun. /ˈjuːfəmɪzəm/

uyển ngữ, nói giảm nói tránh

a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone

'Between jobs' is a euphemism for 'unemployed'.

hyperbole noun. /haɪˈpɜːbəli/

phép cường điệu, nói quá

a way of describing something by saying it is much bigger, smaller, worse etc than it actually is

'I've told you a million times' is a common example of hyperbole.

metaphor noun. /ˈmetəfə(r)/

phép ẩn dụ

a way of describing something by referring to it as something different and suggesting that it has similar qualities to that thing

In the metaphor 'the classroom was a zoo', the writer means it was very noisy.

onomatopoeia noun. /ˌɒnəmætəˈpiːə/

phép tượng thanh

the use of words that sound like the thing that they are describing, for example ‘hiss’ or ‘boom’

Comic books are full of onomatopoeia such as 'bang', 'crash' and 'pop'.

personification noun. /pəˌsɒnɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/

phép nhân hóa

the representation of a thing or a quality as a person, in literature or art

'The wind whispered through the trees' is an example of personification.

simile noun. /ˈsɪməli/

phép so sánh (dùng like, as)

an expression that describes something by comparing it with something else, using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, for example ‘as white as snow’

'She was as quiet as a mouse' is a simile.

scandal noun. /ˈskændl/

vụ bê bối

an event in which someone, especially someone important, behaves in a bad way that shocks people

The scandal about fake reviews on the shopping website shocked many customers.

tip-off noun. /ˈtɪp ɒf/

tin mật báo

a secret warning or piece of information, especially one given to the police about illegal activities

After a tip-off from a student, the school newspaper looked into why the library had closed early.

dig around for sth /dɪɡ əˈraʊnd fə(r)/

lục lọi, đào bới tìm (thông tin)

to search carefully and for a long time to find something, especially information

The young reporter dug around for facts about the history of our school.

ethics noun. /ˈeθɪks/

đạo đức, nguyên tắc đạo đức

moral rules or principles of behaviour for deciding what is right and wrong

We discussed the ethics of posting photos of people without asking them first.

incognito adverb. /ˌɪnkɒɡˈniːtəʊ/

cải trang, giấu danh tính

in a way that prevents other people from finding out who you are

The food critic visited the restaurant incognito so that the staff would treat her like everyone else.

gruesome adjective. /ˈɡruːsəm/

rùng rợn, ghê sợ

very unpleasant or shocking, and involving someone being killed or badly injured

I skipped the gruesome parts of the old legend because they were too scary for me.

revelations noun. /ˌrevəˈleɪʃnz/

những điều được tiết lộ (gây bất ngờ)

a surprising fact about someone or something that was previously secret and is now made known

The documentary contained surprising revelations about how cheap clothes are made.

gutsy adjective. /ˈɡʌtsi/

gan dạ, quả cảm

if someone’s behaviour is gutsy, it is brave and determined

It was a gutsy decision to write about the problem when nobody else would.

infiltrate verb. /ˈɪnfɪltreɪt/

thâm nhập, trà trộn vào

to secretly join an organisation or enter a place in order to find out information about it or harm it

The journalist infiltrated a fake online shop to show how it tricked customers.

pressure group noun. /ˈpreʃə ɡruːp/

nhóm gây áp lực

a group or organisation that tries to influence the opinions of ordinary people and persuade the government to do something

A local pressure group is campaigning for more cycle lanes near schools.

opinion poll noun. /əˈpɪnjən pəʊl/

cuộc thăm dò dư luận

the process of asking a large group of people the same questions in order to find out what most people think about something

An opinion poll showed that most teenagers read the news on their phones.

breaking news noun. /ˌbreɪkɪŋ ˈnjuːz/

tin nóng, tin mới nhất

new information that is being received about events that have just happened

The sports programme stopped for breaking news about the World Cup draw.

gutter press noun. /ˌɡʌtə ˈpres/

báo lá cải

the newspapers that print shocking stories about people’s personal lives – used to show disapproval

The singer complained that the gutter press followed her everywhere.

news channel /ˈnjuːz ˈtʃænl/

kênh tin tức

a television station that broadcasts news programmes

My dad watches the news channel every evening at seven.

press conference noun. /ˈpres kɒnfərəns/

cuộc họp báo

a meeting held by a person or group at which they answer questions from people who write or present news reports

The coach held a press conference after the team's victory.

press freedom /ˌpres ˈfriːdəm/

tự do báo chí

the right of newspapers to publish what they like, free from political control

Press freedom allows journalists to ask difficult questions.

media coverage /ˈmiːdiə ˈkʌvərɪdʒ/

sự đưa tin của truyền thông

when a subject or event is reported on television or radio, or in newspapers

The science fair received a lot of media coverage this year.

big-budget adjective. /ˌbɪɡ ˈbʌdʒɪt/

kinh phí lớn

involving spending a large amount of money

Big-budget films sometimes rely on special effects instead of a good story.

breath-taking adjective. /ˈbreθˌteɪkɪŋ/

ngoạn mục

very impressive, exciting, or surprising

The film has breath-taking shots of the mountains of Ha Giang.

chilling adjective. /ˈtʃɪlɪŋ/

rợn người

something that is chilling makes you feel frightened, especially because it is cruel, violent, or dangerous

The chilling music tells you that something bad is about to happen.

clichéd adjective. /ˈkliːʃeɪd/

sáo rỗng, rập khuôn

relating to a phrase or an idea that has been used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting

The ending was clichéd: the hero saved the day at the very last second.

complex adjective. /ˈkɒmpleks/

phức tạp

consisting of many different parts and often difficult to understand

The plot is so complex that I had to watch the film twice.

disappointing adjective. /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntɪŋ/

đáng thất vọng

not as good as you hoped or expected

The sequel was disappointing compared with the first film.

far-fetched adjective. /ˌfɑː ˈfetʃt/

khó tin, viển vông

extremely unlikely to be true or to happen

A boy who rides his bicycle to the moon? The plot is a bit far-fetched.

fast-paced adjective. /ˌfɑːst ˈpeɪst/

nhịp độ nhanh

moving, changing or happening very quickly

It is a fast-paced adventure film with hardly a quiet moment.

gripping adjective. /ˈɡrɪpɪŋ/

hấp dẫn, lôi cuốn

a gripping film, story etc is very exciting and interesting

The documentary about the mountain climbers was gripping from start to finish.

ground-breaking adjective. /ˈɡraʊndˌbreɪkɪŋ/

đột phá, tiên phong

groundbreaking work involves making new discoveries, using new methods etc

The film was ground-breaking because it was shot over twelve years.

low-budget adjective. /ˌləʊ ˈbʌdʒɪt/

kinh phí thấp

involving spending only a small amount of money

Our class made a low-budget film with just a phone and a lot of imagination.

mediocre adjective. /ˌmiːdiˈəʊkə/

xoàng, tầm thường

not very good

The acting was mediocre, but the music was excellent.

nail-biting adjective. /ˈneɪl baɪtɪŋ/

gay cấn, hồi hộp

extremely exciting because you do not know what is going to happen next

The film ends with a nail-biting race to the finish line.

powerful adjective. /ˈpaʊəfəl/

có sức tác động mạnh

having a strong effect on someone’s feelings or opinions

It is a powerful film about a girl who never gives up on her education.

slow-moving /sləʊ ˈmuːvɪŋ/

(diễn biến) chậm chạp

(of a film or story) developing slowly, with not much happening

Some viewers found the slow-moving first half of the film boring.

spectacular adjective. /spekˈtækjələ/

ngoạn mục, hoành tráng

very impressive

The film's spectacular opening scene shows a city made of ice.

tedious adjective. /ˈtiːdiəs/

tẻ nhạt, dài dòng

something that is tedious continues for a long time and is not interesting

The long speeches in the middle of the film were tedious.

thought-provoking adjective. /ˈθɔːt prəvəʊkɪŋ/

gợi nhiều suy nghĩ

making people think seriously about a particular subject

The documentary was so thought-provoking that we discussed plastic waste for the whole lesson.

two-dimensional adjective. /ˌtuː daɪˈmenʃənl/

(nhân vật) đơn điệu, thiếu chiều sâu

a two-dimensional character in a book, play etc does not seem like a real person

The villain is two-dimensional – he is simply bad for no reason.

well-rounded adjective. /ˌwel ˈraʊndɪd/

(nhân vật) được xây dựng đầy đặn, nhiều mặt

(of a character in a book or film) having many different sides, like a real person

Each of the four friends in the film is a well-rounded character with real hopes and fears.