Describing people: positive and negative qualities CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED

UNIT 8

Describing people: positive and negative qualities

A	Character and personality Chinese astrology organises years into cycles of 12, and asserts that the year you are born in affects your character. Each year is named after an animal. ANIMAL YEAR CHARACTERISTICS Rat 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008 imaginative, charming, generous, quick-tempered, opportunistic1 Buffalo 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009 conservative, methodical2, conscientious, chauvinistic3, a born leader Tiger 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010 sensitive, emotional, tends to get carried away4, stubborn, rebellious, courageous Rabbit 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 affectionate, obliging5, sentimental, superficial6, oft en insecure7 Dragon 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012 fun-loving, popular, a perfectionist8, gifted, may sometimes be tactless9 Snake 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 charming, intuitive10, stingy Horse 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014 diligent11, independent, placid12, outgoing, can be selfish and cunning Goat 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015 elegant, artistic, always ready to complain, over-anxious Monkey 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016 witty, magnetic personality13, good company, can be distrustful14 Rooster 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017 industrious, shrewd15, supportive16, decisive, extravagant17 Dog 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018 down-to-earth18, altruistic19, morose20, sharp-tongued21 Pig 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019 intellectual, tolerant, naive22, often materialistic 1 using situations for own benefit 2 systematic, careful 3 too patriotic 4 become too excited and lose control 5 ready to help 6 not caring about serious things 7 not confident, uncertain about your own abilities 8 someone who is not satisfied if things are not 100% perfect 9 inclined to say things that upset or off end people 10 understanding instinctively 11 hard-working 12 calm, does not easily become excited or angry 13 personality that attracts people to you 14 not trusting, suspicious of others 15 having good judgement 16 gives help or encouragement 17 spends too much money or uses too much of something 18 practical and sensible 19 thinking of others rather than yourself 20 gloomy 21 inclined to speak in a severe and critical way 22 without enough experience of life, trusting too easily
B	Positive and negative associations Charming, generous – is that how you think of yourself? Selfish, cunning – that can’t be me! Some words in the chart above have positive associations, others negative ones. Here are some words from the chart, together with other words that share some aspects of their meaning. The table shows which have positive and which have negative associations.

EXERCISES

8.1	Read the comments and then answer the questions. 1 I wish Tatyana would calm down and not get so overexcited about things. 2 Alice can always be relied upon to make the right decision. 3 Harry is such a practical and sensible person. 4 Tom thinks his country is better than any other country and doesn’t listen to reason. 5 Sophie is always so calm. 6 Andrey has a tendency to say things that upset people. 1 Who is placid? 2 Who is down-to-earth? 3 Who tends to get carried away? 4 Who is often tactless? 5 Who is shrewd? 6 Who is chauvinistic?
8.2	Which colleagues does the speaker have a positive opinion of and which a negative one? ‘Ellie, my boss, is very astute and she can be very witty, but I find her assistant, David, a bit sullen and obstinate. Julia, who I sit next to, is a bit stingy and extremely work-obsessed. I do a lot of work with Marco, who’s very obliging, supportive and tolerant.’
8.3	Fill the gaps with words from the opposite page. You are given the first letter(s) and clues to the meaning in brackets. 1 He’s rather o___________. He always tries to use situations to his own advantage. (devious) She has an i___________ approach to life rather than a rational one. (instinctive) My father was a somewhat quick-tempered and m___________ sort of person. (gloomy) He was a very altruistic person, almost to the point of being n___________. (too trusting) Aisha has a m___________ personality. Everyone is drawn to her. (attractive) 2 3 4 5 6 Rob is a very conscientious and m___________  worker. (careful, systematic) I find Eva a bit b___________  and rude. (speaks in a quick and rude way) She’s fun-loving but she can be a bit s___________ at times. (doesn’t care about serious things) I think Max is i___________ (doesn’t have much confidence, not really sure of himself) 7 8 9 10 I’m always happy to go out for a meal with Kerstin. She’s such g___________ c___________. (pleasant and entertaining to spend time with) 11 She was very c___________ in speaking out against corruption. (brave, unafraid to speak or act) Owen’s a p___________. He’s never happy if he doesn’t get an A-grade in every test. 12
8.4	Find adjectives on the opposite page related to these abstract nouns. 1 altruism 2 parsimony 3 diligence 4 placidity 5 industriousness 6 rebellion 7 distrust 8 terseness 9 naivety 10 unscrupulousness
8.5	The adjectives you found in the exercise above are more common in formal contexts. Give a synonym for each word that would be more likely to be used in informal situations (e.g. a friendly, informal conversation). Use a dictionary if necessary.
8.6	Over to you Which adjectives from this unit could you use to describe you, your friends and your family members?

ANSWER KEY

8.1 1 Sophie 2 Harry 3 Tatyana 4 Andrey 5 Alice 6 Tom 8.2 Positive: Ellie and Marco Negative: David and Julia 8.3 1 opportunistic 2 intuitive 3 morose 4 naive 5 magnetic 6 methodical 7 brusque 8 superficial 9 insecure 10 good company 11 courageous 12 perfectionist 8.4 1 altruistic 2 parsimonious 3 diligent 4 placid 5 industrious 6 rebellious 7 distrustful 8 terse 9 naive 10 unscrupulous 8.5 Possible answers: 1 altruistic: unselfish 2 parsimonious: thrifty 3 diligent: hard-working 4 placid: calm, easy-going 5 industrious: hard-working, energetic 6 rebellious: disobedient, defiant, unruly 7 distrustful: suspicious, wary 8 terse: abrupt, short 9 naive: green, trusting 10 unscrupulous: dishonest, dodgy