Topic Vocabulary & Exercises
10. Hopes & Dreams
VOCABULARY
Audio File
Topic Vocabulary:
appeal (verb):
Definition: Something that makes people like or want something.
Example: The colourful toys had a strong appeal to the kids
aspiration (noun [c]):
Definition: A strong desire or hope to achieve something.
Example: Her aspiration is to become a successful entrepreneur.
bucket list (noun [c]):
Definition: A list of experiences or achievements that a person wishes to have during their lifetime.
Example: Skydiving is on my bucket list of things to do before I die.
chase a dream (verb phrase):
Definition: To try to achieve a very big personal goal.
Example: He decided to chase his dreams and left his job to start up his own business.
dedication (noun [u]):
Definition: Being committed and putting in effort to reach a goal.
Example: The athlete's dedication to daily training paid off with a gold medal.
draw (verb):
Definition: To attract or make someone interested in something or someone.
Example: The beautiful artwork drew people's attention at the gallery.
drive (noun [u]):
Definition: The push that makes you work hard and get things done.
Example: She was driven to become CEO.
ideally (adverb):
Definition: How things would be just right, in a perfect world.
Example: Ideally, we'd have sunny weather for our picnic.
make a dream come true (verb phrase):
Definition: To turn your hopes and wishes into something that you can actually do or have.
Example: With determination and hard work, you can make your dream of becoming a published author come true.
motivation (noun [u]):
Definition: The reason that makes you want to do something.
Example: The thought of winning the game was his motivation to practise every day.
obstacle (noun [c]):
Definition: Something that gets in the way or causes difficulty.
Example: The heavy traffic was a major obstacle on his way to work.
perfect (verb):
Definition: To try to improve your performance to the point where you make no mistakes.
Example: He worked hard to perfect his negotiation skills.
positive mindset (noun phrase):
Definition: Thinking optimistically and focusing on solutions.
Example: Having a positive mindset helps you see opportunities in challenges.
prioritise (verb):
Definition: To choose something as the most important or urgent thing to focus on or achieve.
Example: He prioritised success in his career over everything else in his life.
sacrifice (noun [c]):
Definition: Refers to giving up something valuable or important in order to achieve a greater goal or benefit.
Example: Many athletes sacrifice their personal time and social life in order to train and compete at a high level.
set a goal (verb phrase):
Definition: To decide what you want to achieve.
Example: She set a goal to read ten books this summer.
set your mind on sth. (idiom):
Definition: To really focus on one thing and want it a lot.
Example: He set his mind on becoming a chef and practised cooking every chance he got.
strive (verb):
Definition: Working hard and making an effort to achieve something.
Example: She will strive to improve her grades by studying harder.
struggle (noun [c]):
Definition: A difficult or challenging experience.
Example: It was a struggle to overcome the language barrier while studying abroad.
vision (noun [u]):
Definition: An idea or image of something that you want to achieve in the future.
Example: The company's vision is to create an affordable electric vehicle.
Exercise 1: Gap-fill Exercise
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of a word from the list provided below.
1. Achieving your goals requires ___________ and hard work.
2. Despite facing many ___________, he remained determined to pursue his dream.
3. She has a clear ___________ of what she wants to achieve in the next 10 years.
4. It's essential to ___________ your most important goals to ensure you're working towards what truly matters to you.
5. With dedication and a ___________ mindset, she was able to overcome every obstacle in her path.
6. To make a dream come true, one must be willing to ___________ certain short term pleasures.
7. He ___________ his mind on becoming a programmer and after 3 years he was one.
8. Despite the fact that she ___________ to finish school, she became one of the richest people in the
country.
prioritise
struggle
dedication
positive
vision
sacrifice
obstacle
set
Exercise 2: Matching Exercise
Match the vocabulary word on the left with its corresponding definition or description on the right.
1. appeal
2. aspiration
3. bucket list
4. chase a dream
5. drive
6. ideally
7. make a dream come true
8. perfect
a. A list of things a person wants to do or achieve before they die.
b. The quality of being attractive or interesting.
c. A big goal that you would like to achieve in the distant future.
d. To go after or work towards a big goal.
e. A strong feeling of enthusiasm or motivation.
f. To remove any mistakes from your performance.
g. In the best possible situation or circumstances
h. Achieving a big goal.
Exercise 3: Multiple-Choice Exercise
Choose the best word to complete each sentence.
1. Despite facing numerous ___________, she persevered and achieved her goal.
a) aspirations
b) struggles
c) visions
2. He decided to ___________ a dream he had since childhood and work towards becoming a professional musician.
a) chase
b) set
c) sacrifice
3. The ___________ of being her own boss kept her motivated while she was starting up her business.
a) dedication
b) perfect
c) appeal
4. It's important to have a ___________ mindset and stay focused on your long-term objectives.
a) positive
b) perfect
c) drive
5. The company's ___________ to be more sustainable and socially responsible attracted environmentally conscious consumers.
a) drive
b) draw
c) obstacle
6. To achieve success, one must be willing to ___________ certain comforts and work hard.
a) chase
b) prioritise
c) sacrifice
7. After many years during which she ___________ to build her business, it became very successful.
a) strive
b) perfect
c) aspiration
8. Once she ___________ a goal for herself, she would always achieve it.
a) struggle
b) set
c) strive
Vocabulary Answer Key:
Exercise 1: 1. dedication, 2. obstacles, 3. vision, 4. prioritise, 5. positive, 6. sacrifice, 7. set, 8. struggled
Exercise 2: 1b, 2c, 3a, 4d, 5e, 6g, 7h, 8f
Exercise 3: 1b, 2a, 3c, 4a, 5a, 6c, 7a, 8b