PET 1: DICTIONARY SKILLS

Pensioner Praised For Runaway Bus Rescue

A pensioner grabbed the wheel of a bus and steered it to safety after the vehicle's driver passed out.
Alfred Throop took control of the vehicle from the unconscious driver. The 67-year-old, who has not driven
for 12 years, managed to manoeuvre the bus around cars and pedestrians and turn it to the side of the
road, where it hit metal railings and stopped.
Mr Throop was preparing to get off the bus at his stop in Leicester, when it began to swerve and hit a van.
The retired hospital porter said: "I was looking for the brake but I couldn't find a way to get to it so I grabbed
the wheel and steered it away from the cars and the people and turned it to the kerb."
Leicestershire police have praised his bravery. A spokeswoman said: "Mr Throop managed to prevent
further damage and any serious injury to members of the public."
DICTIONARY
brake /brek/ noun [countable] *
1 [usually plural] the equipment in a car, bicycle, or other vehicle that you use for slowing down or
stopping
We heard a screech of brakes as Jills car pulled up.
slam on/hit the brakes stop suddenly
I saw the child run out, so I slammed on the brakes.
2 [usually singular] an action or a situation that prevents something from developing or making
progress
put a brake / the brakes on something The high level of debt put a brake on economic
recovery.
control /kntrl/ noun ***
1 [uncountable] the power to make decisions about something and decide what should happen
have control of/over something
Dr Davies believes that children should have control
over their own lives.
take control of something
When we took control of the company, it was losing money.
gain/lose control of something
Democrats are hoping to gain control of the House of Representatives at the next election.
2 [uncountable] the power to make something such as a vehicle, machine, or animal do what you want
lose control of something
The driver lost control of the vehicle on an icy road.
regain control of something
He failed to regain control of the aircraft, and it
crashed moments later.
kerb /k(r)b/noun [countable]
the edge of a pavement (=path built beside a road) that is nearest to the road
railing /rel/ noun [countable]
a fence made of narrow posts supporting an upper bar
serious /sris/ adjective ***
1 bad or dangerous enough to make you worried
a serious problem/mistake
Its not a serious problem we should be able to fix it
without too much trouble.
a serious illness/accident/injury
a serious head injury
2 important and deserving attention
This is an extremely serious matter.
3 meaning what you say or do, and not making a joke
Im sorry, I didnt realize you were
being serious.
4 careful and detailed
serious consideration/thought/discussion
Well have to give the situation some serious
thought.
5 someone who is serious thinks carefully about things and does not laugh much
Peter seems serious but he actually has a good sense of humour.
6 [usually before noun] dealing with important, complicated, or difficult ideas or subjects
serious
books/music

7 if you are in a serious romantic relationship with someone, you intend to stay together for a long
time
Is it getting serious with you and June, then?
a serious boyfriend/girlfriend/relationship
Hes never had a serious relationship with
anyone.
8 involved in an activity in a way that shows you like it a lot and think it is important
My father
is a serious runner.
9 INFORMAL extreme, or large in amount
Its time you made some serious money.
steer /st(r)/ verb *
1 [intransitive/transitive] to control the direction in which a vehicle moves
Jack steered while Ken
gave directions.
steer something away /from /towards / into /to/ through etc something
We steered the boat into the harbour.
2 [transitive] to influence the way that something happens or the way that people behave
steer someone to victory help someone win
The single goal was enough to steer the club
to victory.
swerve /sw(r)v/ verb [intransitive/transitive]
if something such as a vehicle swerves, or if you swerve it, it changes direction suddenly in order to
avoid someone or something
He swerved suddenly, narrowly missing a cyclist.
swerve noun [countable]
unconscious /nkns/ adjective *
1 in a condition similar to sleep in which you do not see, feel, or think, usually because you are injured
She was unconscious but still breathing when the ambulance arrived.
2 an unconscious feeling or thought is one that you do not realize that you have
an unconscious fear of change
be unconscious of something
to not realize something
She seemed totally unconscious of the
embarrassment she had caused.
unconsciously adverb
unconsciousness noun [uncountable]

QUESTIONS
1. Which meaning of brake is realized in the text? Meaning number ___ .
2. Write the word from the dictionary that can be two different word classes. ___________, ___________
3. Which words from the dictionary have only one meaning each? _________ , _________
4. Is it grammatically correct to say They want to have control on everything? _____ Why?
____________________
5. Can we use the adjective serious to describe books? Why?
____________________
6. Which dictionary entry contains a label, and in which meaning? The entry for ________________ ,
meaning number _____.
7. Which dictionary entry contains an idiom? The entry for ________________ . Copy the idiom
here._______________________________________.
8. Which dictionary entry contains two related words and a related phrase? The entry for
________________ . Copy the related phrase here. ______________________________________ Copy the
related words here. ________________________, ________________________
END OF TEST