Practice 6: Giving Definitions

Complete the following definitions by inserting a suitable category word or phrase from the box:

A barometer is a scientific instrument designed to measure atmospheric pressure.
Kidneys are organs that separate waste fluid from the blood.
A multi-national company is a business organisation that operates in many countries.
Reinforced concrete is a building material consisting of cement, sand and steel rods.
Bullying is an anti-social behaviour found in many schools.
Recycling is a process in which materials are used again.
A recession is a period of reduced economic activity.
Cereals are grains widely grown for food production.

Write definitions for the following:

A lecture is an educational talk, usually given to students in university.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that affects the lungs.
The Red Cross is an international organization that helps people who are wounded or sick.
An idiom is a group of words whose meaning you can't deduce directly, there are characteristic idioms in each language.

Study the following examples and underline the term being defined:

The definition for a failed project ranges from abandoned projects to projects that do not meet their full potential or simply have schedule overrun problems.
Development is a socio-economic-technological process having the main objective of raising the standards of living of the people.
Bowlby (1982) suggested that attachment is an organised system whose goal is to make individuals feel safe and secure.
. . . the non-linear effect called ‘self-brightening’ in which large- amplitude waves decay more slowly than small-amplitude ones . . .
Globalisation, in an economic sense, describes the opening up of national economies to global markets and global capital, the freer movement and diffusion of goods, services, finance, people, knowledge and technology around the world.

Which of the above:

Study the following titles, underline the terms that are worth defining, and write definitions for three of them:

Capital punishment: the act of putting someone to death for their crimes.
Entrepreneurial culture: the values and attitude of people working in a organization.
E-Books: electronic version of a written book, read with specific technology, such as an ebook reader.