Madurai # Improve Vocabulary

August 4, 2016 IELTS Research

Guts and Glory: On a Chettinad Food Pilgrimage in South India

Madurai’s towering temples are feats of the imagination, filled with deities and demons draped in jewellery, armed with weapons, and often, bearing more limbs than usual.

[PARA 1]

There are two reasons people visit Madurai: Meenakshi and mutton. Meenakshi is Madurai’s feared and revered temple deity, the three-breasted consort of Shiva, who presides over the scorching city from the cool, stone sanctum of the Meenakshi Amman kovil. The temple is an arresting sight, its gopuram crowded with candy-coloured angels and demons that seem crafted from fondant. Like a gaudy, tiered confection of mythical proportions. But I am more interested in the mutton. Madurai’s no-nonsense Chettinad messes, I am told, serve every part of the goat—brain, intestine, liver, lung, tongue, hooves, and head—and I intend on sampling each one.

[PARA 2]

My hankering for the peppery flavours of Chettinad food dates back to my schooling in Madras. Thanks to generous neighbours, classmates’ dabbas, and a mother who is both curious and a wonderful cook, I am well acquainted with the powers of traditional Tamil cooking. I know, for instance, that a good rasam delivers not just potency but also clarity of thought. That there is no better way to start the day than with a tumbler of filter coffee, and no better way to end it than with a steel plate of sambhar, rice, and ghee, preferably with pappadums. But my most treasured food memories of Madras are dinners at Chettinad restaurants. Decades later, recollections of that feisty mutton pepper fry flecked with curry leaves and glistening with pure coconut oil, still make me quiver.

[PARA 3]

Geographically, Chettinad is part of the districts of Sivaganga and Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu, spread over some 1,500-odd kilometres of arid scrubland. Today, the region is known for its cotton saris, heritage hotels, and antique markets. But before India became independent, and even before the British colonised our ports, spices, and princely states, Chettinad was part of the ancient Tamil Pandyan Kingdom. Its capital was Madurai.

[PARA 4]

The one thing that has remained constant from the 13th century is the city’s blistering weather. Our auto weaves past rickety cycle rickshaws, ambassador cars, and ladies on mopeds, hair neatly plaited and gleaming with oil. We’re headed to Amma Mess, one the city’s most popular restaurants, known for its delicious, inexpensive fare. Within minutes of scoring a table, we’re faced with seven shiny steel plates piled with food: rabbit roast, pepper quail, dosa layered with keema and eggs, parotta mashed with mutton, a neat mound of pigeon biryani, fish curry, and an omelette stuffed with bone marrow. As my fiancé and I lock eyes across the table like soldiers before battle, a waiter appears. “Madam” he says, smiling. “Ghee?”

[PARA 5]

Later that day, we meet Praveena and Mukunthan, a chatty couple who conduct food trails, introducing travellers to Madurai’s markets and lesser-known culinary gems. Within minutes, we see the merits of walking with a local. Madurai’s Old Town seems like a warren of rickety lanes, but Praveena tells us it’s actually remarkably well planned. The streets are laid out in concentric squares around the Meenakshi temple. Each has a different focus: jewellery, flowers, spices, saris, kitchenware. The layout instantly becomes easier to grasp.

[PARA 6]

It’s past 9 p.m. but the market buzzes like a Mumbai railway station at peak hour. It’s warm and terribly crowded and yet, I can’t wipe the smile off my face. The scent of jasmine, the snatches of Tamil, the roly-poly script on store-fronts, like a queue of plump ladies waiting for a bus: Like an incantation, these sights and sounds invoke long-forgotten memories. It’s strange, the things our brains choose to save. With every recollection, the dust clears a little more, my confidence is boosted, and soon I tentatively ask for a bottle of water—in Tamil.

[PARA 7]

As we eat our way through the market, we learn about Madurai’s earliest association with food. Madurai is named after maduram, which means nectar in Tamil, and according to Hindu scriptures, the city was birthed when a drop of ambrosia fell to Earth from Shiva’s dreadlocks. This is why “God and food are Madurai’s favourite pastimes,” Praveena says grinning. Egged on by our charming and enthusiastic guides, we devour ungodly amounts of meat: chicken parottas, goat’s trotters, uttappam and mutton keema, idli and fish curry.

[PARA 8]

And yet, it’s the vegetarian flavours that have me scribbling in my food diary. From street carts we have slices of tender coconut tree bark, cottonseed and jaggery payasam, and adirasam, a decadent cross between a doughnut and a puff pastry that’s deep-fried in ghee. The cottonseed payasam, Mukunthan says, helps curb respiratory disorders and was traditionally consumed by workers in Madurai’s cotton mills.

[PARA 9]

Every plate of food we eat is memorable (pigeon incidentally, tastes like gamier chicken) but it’s not authentic Chettinad food, our hosts inform us. Like the many migrant communities that moved to Madurai for work, regional cuisines too adapt to survive, especially when they’re served in restaurants. Recipes are tweaked for local palates—a little more oil, a little less cooking time, maybe a dash of colour—and before long they barely resemble the original. “You’ll have to go to Karaikudi for the real thing,” emphasizes Mukunthan.

[PARA 10]

We round off our night with Tirunelveli halwa, a gooey, melt-in-the-mouth dessert made from wheat, just the right amount of sugar, and far too much ghee. Served warm, on a dried peepul leaf, it is the closest thing to maduram I have tasted.

[PARA 11]

Oddly enough for a community that loves meat, the Chettiars were originally vegetarians from Kanchipuram in northern Tamil Nadu. They lived there for thousands of years before moving to a place called Kaveripoompattinam, a small thriving Chola port town in the marshy Kaveri delta. Here, they began trading in plump Kaveri rice and salt from the Coromandel Coast but before long, they were travelling with fleets to Malacca, Sumatra, and Java. Their zeal for commerce grew, and with it, their appetite for the Southeast Asian food they encountered on their voyages. Seafood entered the Chettiar kitchen, and soon pots of crab rasam were gently simmering in their handsome homes.

WORD	MEANING	SYNONYMS
1. Towering	Very high or tall	Colossal, gigantic, imposing, lofty, magnificent, massive, mighty, monumental, prodigious, soaring, stately, tall, elevated, sublime, surpassing
2. Imagination	The action or process of forming images or concepts	Thought, artistry, awareness, fancy, fantasy, idea, image, imagery, ingenuity, insight, inspiration, intelligence, inventiveness, originality, resourcefulness, thought, vision, wit
3. Deities	A god or goddess	Divinity, idol, immortal, creator, goddess, godhead, celestial, demigoddess, divine being, supreme being
4. Draped	To cover or hand with cloth or other fabric, especially in graceful folds	Cloak, clothe, cover, dangle, don, dress, enclose, envelop, fold, hang, sprawl, swathe, wrap, array, display, droop, drop, enwrap, line, model, roll, spread, spread-eagle, suspend
5.Revered	To regard with respect tinged with awe; venerate	Admire, adore, apotheosize, appreciate, be in awe of, cherish, defer to, deify, enjoy, esteem, exalt, hold in awe, honor, look up to, love, magnify, pay homage, prize, put on pedestal, regard, respect, think highly of, treasure, value, venerate, worship
6. Scorching	Burning very hot	Blistering, fiery, searing, sizzling, sweltering, burning, hot
7. Sanctum	A sacred place, especially a shrine within a temple or church	Altar, chancel, shrine, temple, holy place, sacrarium, sanctorium
8. Fondant	A thick paste mad of sugar and water and often flavored or colored, used in making of sweets and the icing and decoration of cakes.
9.Mythical	Occurring in or characteristic of myths or folk tales	Allegorical, fabled, fanciful, fictitious, imaginary, legendary, mythic, storied, unreal, whimsical, chimerical, created, fabricated, fabulous, fairy-tale, false, fantasy, fictive, folkloric, invented, made-up, mythological, non-existent, pretended, supposititious, traditional, untrue, visionary
10.Hankering	A strong desire to do or have something	Craving, pining, yearning, ache, druthers, hunger, itch, longing, thirst, urge, want, weakness, wish, yen, fire in belly, munchies.
11.Generous	Showing readiness to give more of something, especially money, than is strictly expected or necessary.	Acceptable, benevolent, big, charitable, considerate, fair, good, helpful, honest, hospitable, lavish, reasonable, thoughtful, tolerant, unselfish, willing, altruistic, beneficent, bounteous, bountiful, easy, equitable, excellent, free, greathearted, high-minded, honorable, just, kind, kind-hearted. Kindly, liberal, lofty, loose, magnanimous, moderate, munificent, noble, open-handed, philanthropic, profuse, soft-touch, ungrudging, unsparing, unstinting
12.Acquainted	Make someone aware of or familiar with	Abreast, conversant, informed, advised, enlightened, familiarized, apprised of, clued in, familiar with, in the know, versed in
13.Potency	The power of something to affect the mind or body	Capability, efficacy, efficiency, vigor, authority, birr, capacity, command, control, dominion, energy, force, go, hardihood, influence, juice, kick, might, moxie, muscle, pep, potential, power, puissance, punch, sinew, snap, sock, steam, strength, sway, virtue, zap, zing, zip, what it takes
14.Tumbler	A drinking glass with straight sides and no handle or stem;	Clown, dancer, gymnast, performer, aerialist, artist, athlete, balancer, contortionist, funambulist, stunt person, trapezist
	An acrobat especially one who performs somersaults
15.Feisty	Lively, determined and courageous	Bubbly, courageous, excitable, fiery, gritty, gutsy, high-strung, lively, scrappy, spunky, active, alive, difficult, enthusiastic, frisky, full of pep, game, gutty, hot-blooded, mettlesome, ornery, peppy quarrelsome, sensitive, thin-skinned, tough, truculent, zestful
16.Glistening	Shine with a sparkling light	Bright, burnished, glassy, glazed, gleaming, lustrous, polished, shining, shiny, silky, sleek, reflecting, slick, smooth, brilliant, silken
17. Quiver	Tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion	Convulsion, flash, glimmer, glitter, oscillation, palpitation, pulsation, shake, shimmer, shiver, shudder, sparkle, spasm, throb, tic, tremble, tremor, twinkle
18.Scrubland	Land consisting of scrub vegetation	Backwoods, bramble, briar, brush, chaparral, creeper, forest, hedge, hinterland, jungle, outback, plant, scrub, shrubbery, thicket, vine, wilderness
19.Blistering	Intense	Fiery, heated, scalding, scorching, searing, sizzling, sweltering, torrid, baking, boiling, broiling, burning, roasting, blistery, intense, broiling, burning, roasting, blistery, intense, red-hot, severe
20.Gleaming	Shine brightly especially with reflected light	Bright, burnished, glassy, glazed, glistening, lustrous, polished, shining, shiny, sleek, reflecting, slick, smooth, brilliant, silken, silky
21.Warren	A network of interconnecting rabbit burrows
22. Rickety	Poorly made and likely to collapse	broken, decrepit, derelict, dilapidated, flimsy, ramshackle, shaky, wobbly, feeble, fragile, frail, imperfect, infirm, insecure, jerry-built, precarious, rachitic, rattletrap, rocky, tottering, tottery, tumble-down, unsteady, wavering, weak
23.Buzzes	Make a low, continuous humming sound	Hum, murmur, whisper, drone, fizz, fizzle, hiss, purr, ring, ringing,whir
24.Incantation	A series of word said as a magic spell or charm	Enchantment, hymn, abracadabra, bewitchment, chant, charm, conjuration, conjuring, formula, hex, hocus-pocus, hoodoo, invocation, necromancy, rune, sorcery, voodoo, witchcraft, wizardry, ala kazam, black magic, mumbo-jumbo, open sesame
25.Ambrosia	The food of the gods	Delicacy, nectar, heavenly food, immortal food
26.Scribbling	Write or draw carelessly or hurriedly	Cacography, graffiti, graffito, griffon age, hieroglyphics
27.Tweaked	Twist or pull sharply	Tease, twist, jerk, pinch, pluck, pull
28.Trading	The action or activity of buying and selling goods and services	Commerce, deal, dealing, exchange, industry, manufacturing, market, sales, selling, trade, traffic, transaction, affairs, bargaining, barter, commercialization, contracts, game, industrialism, merchandising, racket, undertaking, buying and selling, capital and labor, free enterprise, production and distribution
29.Zeal	Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective	Ardor, determination, devotion, diligence, eagerness, earnestness, fanaticism, fervor, gusto, inclination, intensity, passion, perseverance, sincerity, spirit, urgency, verve, warmth, zest, alacrity, bustle, dispatch, drive, enterprise, fierceness, fire, hustle, initiative, intentness, keenness, mania, push, readiness, vehemence, yen, stick- to-itiveness, what it takes
30. Simmering	Stay just below boiling point while bubbling gently	Boiling, heated, hot

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IELTS Band 7 Dehradun 323, 1st Floor, GMS Road, Above Axis Bank, Near Ballupur Chowk, Dehradun , India – 248001

Village That Inspired Tagore # Improve Vocabulary

July 30, 2016 IELTS Research

Source : National Geographic Traveler

Download the text with meaning for print – The File

The Village That Inspired Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore often holidayed in Mongpu, a quiet Himalayan village about 1.5hr from Darjeeling, during the last three years of his life. So it was only natural that photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee and Bollywood music director Shantanu Moitra visited Mongpu—and their Bengali heritage—when they were on the West Bengal leg of their #100DaysInHimalayas project. Between February and December 2016, the duo will make a series of trips in the Himalayas covering reaches running from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh, and into the neighbouring foothills of Nepal and Bhutan—and they’re taking National Geographic Traveller Indiaalong for the ride.

On a day trip to Mongpu, they visited the bungalow where Tagore stayed at the invitation of his protégée, the author Maitreyi Devi. The house overlooks a cinchona plantation and quinine factory, once managed by Devi’s husband. On his last visit in 1940, Tagore fell very ill and had to be shifted to Kolkata. He passed away the next year, leaving behind several possessions at the Mongpu residence, which was later turned into a museum by the government, and named Rabindra Bhavan.

Among Rabindra Bhavan’s display are artworks, handwritten documents, and most interestingly, furniture designed by Tagore and carved by his son, Rathindranath Tagore. Moitra and Mukherjee saw Tagore’s bed, which has an inclined headrest said to have tackled his respiratory problem. His mahogany writing desk and chair, said to be designed to support his back, faces a window with a tranquil view of the lush, hilly landscape that the nature-loving writer treasured. For Mukherjee, the window by which Tagore wrote provided the biggest emotional connection. “He had a vast view in front, and that landscape is intact,” the photographer said, “It’s very green, there are lots of trees; it’s at the edge of the snow.”

Like many visitors at this memorial to a literary giant, Moitra was dismayed by the broken windowpanes, cracked walls, dented doors and inadequate security. “We could have walked out with any of Tagore’s belongings,” he said. And yet, much of it remains. The place may be unkempt but the legacy of Tagore’s visits is still strong in the village.

WORD	MEANING	SYNONYM
1. Photographer	A person who takes photographs, especially as a job.	Paparazzo, photojournalist, shutterbug
2. Heritage	Property that is or may be inherited; and inheritance; A special or individual possession; an allotted portion	Ancestry, culture, custom, legacy, right, tradition, bequest, birthright, convention, dowry, endowment, estate, fashion, inheritance, lot, patrimony, portion, share
3. Cinchona	An evergreen South American tree or shrub with fragrant flowers, cultivated for its bark
4. Plantation	An estate on which crops such as coffee, sugar, and tobacco are grown; Colonization or settlement of emigrants, especially of English and then Scottish families in Ireland in 16^th -17^th centuries under government sponsorship.	Estate, homestead, orchard, ranch, farmstead, hacienda, vineyard
5. Protegee	A person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person	Applicant, buyer, consumer, patient, patron, shopper, believer, chump, dependent, disciple, follower, front, head, mark, purchaser, walk-in, ward
6. Quinine	A bitter crystalline compound present in cinchona bark, used as a tonic formerly as an antimalarial drug.	Blame, castigation, censure, curse, defamation, derision, hosing, insults, invective, knifing, libel, obloquy, opprobrium, put-down, reproach, revilement, scolding, signifying, slander, swearing, tirade, upbraiding, vilification, vituperation
7. Possessions	The state of having, owning, or controlling something. Something that is owned or possessed.	Custody, dominion, hold, occupancy, occupation, proprietary, retention, tenancy, tenure, title
8. Residence	A person’s home, especially a large and impressive one.	Apartment, condo, dwelling, hall, headquarters, home, house, mansion, palace, abode, address, co-op, domicile, habitation, hole, household, inhabitancy, inhabitation, lodging, manor, occupancy, occupation, rack, roof, roost, seat, settlement, villa
9. Artworks	Illustrations, photographs, or other non-textual material prepared for inclusion in a publication.	Art, artwork, picture, piece, portrait, watercolor, oil
10. Carved	Cut in order to produce and object, design or inscription.	Chiseled, engraved, sculpted, carven, chased, cut, etched, furrowed, graved, graven, grooved, hewed, hewn, modeled, scissored, slashed, sliced, whittled
11. Tackled	Make determined efforts to deal with ( a problem or difficult task)	Accept, begin, deal with, engage in, take up, try, undertake, work on, attack, attempt, essay, launch
12. Mahogany	Hard reddish-brown timber from a tropical tree, used for quality furniture. A tropical tree which produces mahogany.	Amber, bay, beige, bister, brick, bronze, buff, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cooca, coffee, copper, drab, dust, ecru, fawn, ginger, hazel, henna, khaki, nut, ochre, puce, russet, rust, sepia, sorrel, tan, toast, umber
13. Tranquil	Free from disturbance; calm	Amicable, balmy, calm, easygoing, gentle, mild, pastoral, placid, restful, sedate, serene, sober, stable, tame, temperate
14. Intact	Not damaged or impaired in any way; complete	Flawless, perfect, unblemished, unbroken, unharmed, unhurt, unscathed, untouched
15. Memorial	A statue or structure established to remind people of a person or event; a statement of facts, especially as the basis of a petition.	Remembering, canonizing, celebrative, commemoratory, consecrating, consecrative, dedicatory, deifying, enshrining, in tribute, memorializing, monumental
16. Inadequate	Lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose	Deficient, faulty, incompetent, incomplete, incomplete, lacking, meager, poor, scarce, sketchy, skimpy, unequal, weak
17. Unkempt	Having an untidy or disheveled appearance.	Bedraggled, dilapidated, disheveled, grubby, grungy, messy, neglected, rumpled, scruffy, shaggy.

IELTSBAND7

France Vs Portugal # Improve Vocabulary

July 10, 2016 IELTS Research

FRANCE VS PORTUGAL

With the showpiece event now decided as France take on Portugal, most are leaning towards the hosts to secure glory on home turf for the third time in their history. The Portuguese, meanwhile, are aiming for their first major international trophy anywhere having narrowly missed out as hosts themselves back in 2004, and will be aiming to avenge defeat to Greece by replicating what would be another success for the underdog.

While Fernando Santos’ side haven’t exactly thrilled en route to the final, to put it mildly, they’ve proven defensively resolute to answer some doubters in that regard ahead of the tournament. That said they’ve yet to face a side of les Bleus’ quality thus far, so whether Portugal can stop France in their tracks just as they have seemingly hit their stride will be dependent on some key battle across the pitch, and we take a look at four crucial match ups.

Pepe vs Olivier Giroud

He may have missed out on the win over Wales last time out through injury but Pepe will be determined to prove his fitness ahead of Sunday’s final and that much may prove decisive. The Real Madrid centre-back is not a popular figure but when he does let his football do the talking few would question his ability and commitment at the back. The 33-year old not only distributes with accuracy from defence but reads the game exceptionally well, which will be key to cutting the supply line to Olivier Giroud having averaged the second most interceptions per game of players to make more than three appearances this summer.

Giroud, meanwhile, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but his ability to bring others into play – most notably Griezmann – has been pivotal to France’s improvements as the tournament has progressed. A threat when balls are delivered into feet or in the air, his battle with Pepe, assuming the latter is fit, will be key. Both players have won the most aerial duels for their respective sides this summer (Pepe – 4 per game, Giroud – 4.6) but who will come out on top at the Stade de France?

William Carvalho vs Antoine Griezmann

There’s no question as to the man of the moment right now, and little doubt as to the favourite for the Player of the Tournament gong regardless of Sunday’s outcome, with Antoine Griezmann hitting top form just when it has mattered most. After a disappointing start to his Euro 2016 campaign, somewhat wasted out on the right of a 4-3-3 formation and consequently dropped in France’s second group game against Albania, the Atletico forward has found his feet since a switch to a 4-2-3-1 system in support of Olivier Giroud.

Following a move infield after the interval as the hosts trailed to Ireland in the round of 16, Griezmann has fired off 14 shots (8 on target), created 7 chances and completed 6 dribbles in 225 minutes of action. That’s opposed to tallies of 10 shots (4 on target), 4 key passes and one dribble in 209 minutes from a right-sided berth. He’s profiting from Giroud’s hold up play in the middle, and the link between the two will need to be restricted.

That will likely be the job of William Carvalho, who should return to the side having missed the semi-final with Wales through suspension. There’s a sense that the Sporting midfielder has never quite come good on his potential but this summer he has been key to Portugal’s success. After sitting out of the opener with Iceland the 24-year old has claimed his place at the base of the midfield, making more tackles (11) than any teammate this summer and completing the most passes (235) for Santos’ side.

Renato Sanches vs Paul Pogba

While Paul Pogba is yet to convince a worldwide audience of the hype that has built around him for some time and culminated ahead of this tournament, he is a model midfielder when it comes to youngsters who are unfazed by those around them. Now 23, the Juventus powerhouse is an experienced pro by contrast to Renato Sanches, though the latter perhaps looks more likely than any young player since Pogba’s emergence to emulate the success of the former Manchester United man.

At 18 he has already earned a huge transfer to Bayern Munich and proven in his brief outings this summer just why so many people are excited to watch his progression. Both players are comfortable under pressure and willing to prove themselves in a physical contest should an opponent attempt to dispossess them. Sanches has completed a dribble marginally more often than Pogba (every 32.8 minutes to 37.1) so it will be interesting to watch these two go head-to-head this weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Samuel Umtiti

There’s no avoiding Cristiano Ronaldo, he just won’t let you, so when it comes to a key battle in Saint Denis this Sunday his clash with Samuel Umtiti may well be pivotal. The two are set to be rivals beyond this weekend given the latter’s impending switch to Barcelona, so this may not be the last time Umtiti has to try and limit Ronaldo’s influence. The young defender has equipped himself excellently for les Bleus thus far, only making his international debut a week ahead of the final. In the two matches he has played the 22-year old has complemented Koscielny well, putting his body on the line to make a number of crucial interventions against Germany. Moreover, having misplaced just 2 of 94 pass attempts thus far it’s little surprise a switch to Camp Nou has materialized.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo will no doubt be confident of exploiting any understandable anxiety or nervousness from the young defender. Now extremely well-versed in such high profile matches, despite flattering to deceive in a number of those, the Portugal captain may well view this as the biggest achievement of his career should he fire his nation to their first ever major international trophy. The incentive of potentially becoming the top scoring player in European Championship history having equalled Michel Platini’s record of 9 last time out should mean that the 31-year old is pumped up for this one.

WORD	MEANING	SYNONYM
1. Showpiece	Something that is displayed or exhibited	Display, masterpiece, model, work of art
2. Turf	A layer of matted Earth formed by grass and plant roots	Grass, lawn, sod, soil, peat, sward
3. Avenge	To take vengeance or exact satisfaction for.	Vindicate, chasten, chastise, punish, redress, repay, requite, revenge
4. Replicating	Folded, bent back on itself	Clone, depict, duplicate, imitate, mirror, reflect, repeat, reproduce, simulate
5. underdog	A person who is expected to lose in a contest or conflict	Dark horse, longshot, bottom dog, out-of-towner
6. Thrilled	To affect with a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement, as to produce a tremor or tingling sensation through the body	Elated, atingle
7. En route	On the way	Advancing, along the way, bound, driving, en voyage, entrained, flying, heading toward, in passage, in transit, making headway
8. resolute	Firmly resolved or determined; set in purpose or opinion	Adamant, bold, courageous, obstinate, persistent, relentless, serious, staunch, steadfast, strong, stubborn, tenacious, uncompromising, unflinching, unshakable, unwavering, unyielding
9. stride	To walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience or arrogance	Stalk, stomp, traipse, tramp, clump, drill, march, pace, parade, pound, stamp, stump
10. decisive	Having the power or quality of deciding	Conclusive, critical, crucial, definitive, determined, fateful, forceful, influential, momentous, positive, resolute, significant
11. commitment	The act of committing	Engagement, guaranteed, need, pledge, promise, responsibility, charge, committal, devoir, duty, liability, must, undertaking, vow, word
12. exceptionally	Forming an exception or rare instance; unusual; extraordinary	Abnormally, especially, particularly
13. interceptions	To take possession of (a ball or puck) during an attempted pass by an opponent team	Interference, stopping, interfering with, interposing
14. pivotal	A vital or critical importance	Central, climatic, critical, crucial, decisive, essential, momentous, vital
15. aerial	Reaching far into the air; high; lofty	Flying, aeriform, aeronautical, airy, atmospheric, birdlike, ethereal, lofty, pneumatic, up above vapours
16. of the moment	Of importance at this time
17. trailed	To tread down or make a path through	Chase, fall behind, falter, lag, pull, dally, dangle, dawdle, delay, dog, drag, draggle, draw, droop, extend, flag, halt, hang, haul, hunt, linger, loiter, plod, poke, procrastinate, pursue, shadow, shag, spook, spoor, stalk, straggle, stream, tail, tarry, tow, trace, track, traipse, trudge
18. dribbled	To move (the ball or puck) along by rapid succession of short kicks or pushes	Drizzle, ooze, squirt, distill, drip, drivel, drool, drop, leak, run, salivate, seep, slaver, slobber, spout, trill, weep, fall in drops
19. tallies	An account or reckoning; a record or debit and credit, of the score of a game, or the like	Poll, total, account, mark, reckoning, score, summation, tab, running total
20. suspension	Something on or by which something else is suspended or hung	Break, freeze, halt, interruption, layoff, moratorium, period, postponement, stoppage, termination, abeyance, adjournment, breather, cessation, conclusion, cutoff, deferment, disbarment, discontinuation, doldrums, dormancy, downtime, end, ending, finish, five, intermission, latency, letup, pause, quiescence, remission, respite, stay, suspense, ten, time-out
21. unfazed	Not dismayed or disconcerted; undaunted	Undaunted, unperturbed, calm, collected, composed, cool, nonchalant, casual, detached, placid, serene, tranquil, unvexed, unworried
22. emulate	To try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass	Follow suit, imitate, mimic, mirror, challenge, compete, contend, ditto, do, follow, outvie, rival, do like, follow in footsteps, follow the example of, rivalize
23. dispossess	To put( a person) out of possession, especially of real property	Evict, appropriate, eject, expel, expropriate, ousts, put of, throw into the street
24. marginally	At the outer or lower limits; minimal requirements; almost insufficient	Kind of, lightly, somewhat, hardly, insignificantly, more or less, on a small scale, to some extent, scarcely any
25. impending	About to happen; imminent	Approaching, brewing, imminent, looming, coming, gathering, hovering, menacing, near, nearing, overhanging, portending, threatening
26. complemented	Something that completes or make perfect	Accompaniment, addition, aggregate, augmentation, balance, capacity, completion, consummation, correlate, correlative, counterpart, enhancement, enrichment, entirety, filler, makeweight, pendant, quota, remainder, rest, supplement, total, totality
27. crucial	Involving an extremely important decision or result; decisive; critical	Central, compelling, deciding, decisive, essential, imperative, momentous, necessary, pivotal, pressing, touchy, urgent, vital, acute, clamorous, climacteric, desperate, dire, hanging by thread, high-priority, insistent, on thin ice, searching, showdown touch and go
28. interventions	Interposition or interference of one state in the affairs of other	Interference, meditation, arbitration, intercession, interposition, interruption
29. misplaced	To put it in a wrong place	Gone, lost, mislaid
30. materialized	To come into perceptible existence; appear; become actual or real; be realized or carried out	Appear, emerge, happen, occur, realize, take place, turn up, unfold, actualize, coalesce, develop, embody, evolve, exteriorize, externalize, hypostatize, manifest, metamorphose, objectify, personalize, personify, reify, substantiate, symbolize, typify, visualize
31. exploiting	To utilize, especially for profit; turn to a practical account	Abuse, apply, capitalize on, employ, handle, manipulate, mine, profit from, use, utilize, bleed, exercise, finesse, fleece, jockey, maneuver, milk, play, skin, soak, stick, work, avail oneself of, cash in on, get mileage out of
32. anxiety	Distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune	Angst, apprehension, concern, disquiet, doubt, dread, jitters, misery, misgiving, mistrust, nervousness, panic, restlessness, suffering, suspense, trouble, uncertainty, unease, botheration, butterflies, care, creeps, disquietude, distress, downer, drag, fidgets, flap, foreboding, fretfulness, fuss, heebie-jeebies, jumps, needles, shakes, shivers, solicitude, watchfulness, willies, worriment
33. flattering	To try to please by complimentary remarks or attention	Complimentary, favorable
34. deceive	To mislead by false appearance or statement	Betray, cheat, circumvent, defraud, delude, disappoint, dupe, entrap, falsify, fool, hoodwink, swindle, trick, victimize, bamboozle, beat, beguile, bilk, buffalo, burn, clip, con, cozen, ensnare, fake, fleece, gouge, gull, hoax, humbug, outwit, rob, scam, screw, sell, skin
35. achievement	Something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort or great courage	Accomplishment, attainment, creation, deed, effort, feat, performance, realization, success, triumph, victory, acquirement, acquisition, act, actualization, completion, conquest, consummation, contrivance, effectuation, enactment, encompassment, execution, exploit, fulfillment, hit, masterpiece, production, stroke, tour de force
36. incentive	Something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort as a reward offered for increased productivity	Encouragement, enticement, impetus, motivation, reason, stimulus, allurement, bait, carrot, catalyst, come-on, consideration, determinant, drive, excuse, exhortation, goad, ground, impulse, incitement, influence, insistence, inspiration, instigation, motive, persuasion, provocation, purpose, rationale, spring, spur, stimulant, stimulation, temptation, urge, whip, reason why

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Learning punctuation

June 30, 2016 IELTS Research

punctuations are the most important component of English. They allow the reader to better understand what the writer is trying to say. For example, consider the following sentence-
She is a really nice girl said Avinash

When reading the sentence one cannot make out when does the reader need to give pauses or are there any.
One has correctly said that punctuations bring out the real emotions of the writer.

While giving the IELTS exam it is very important that you are able to tell clearly with words what you want to express!

There are different kinds of punctuations that are available and can be used in English. They are –

Period
Question mark
Exclamation point
Comma
Semi colon
Colon
Parentheses
Brackets
Quotation marks
Dash
Hyphen
Italics
Ellipses
Apostrophe

The better you know how to use then, more are the chances of getting a high band in IELTS. So, in the “Learn punctuation” series to come you will learn how to use the different punctuation mmarks to make sure you write effectively.

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