a new strain of the disease / a new variant of the coronavirus

a steep progression

Air travel will go back to being a luxury

Be at risk

Be hospitalised

(to) break chains of transmission quickly

(to) bridge the gap between home and school

Care home residents

(to) catch the virus

Chains of transmission

Cleaning crews at medical facilities

Community contagion

Community lockdowns

Confinement

Contacts 

(to undertake) Contact tracing

Curfew 

Death rate / death toll

(the) elbow bump (instead of kissing or shaking hands)

Facemasks

Financial support

Frontline healthcare workers

Furlough / to be furloughed

GPs

Healthcare workers

Herd immunity / to achieve herd immunity

Home working = to work from home

How to stop the spread of the virus

In pre-corona times…

In the worst-hit areas, …

(to) isolate / self-isolate

Isolated outbreaks

Key workers

(to) launch a vaccination programme

(to) live in crowded accommodation

Lockdown

Medical facility

Mild symptoms

Multigenerational households

new daily cases / The situation worsens daily

Nursing home

Outbreak 

Pandemic

Paramedics

Partial lockdowns

People who test positive aren’t followed up

People with mild cases of coronavirus…

Personal protective equipment

(To) plan for the worst-case scenario

Public health

Quarantine

Quarantine programme

(The) R number [the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to] 

Rapid Covid test

Reinfection

Remote learning

Resilience

(a) rise in mental distress

(to) risk one’s life to…

(to) slow down

Social distancing / Social distancing measures

Symptoms

(to) tackle coronavirus

Test and trace / A test -and-trace system

(to) test positive for Covid-19

The new normal

The NHS has urged thousands of clinics across the country to start switching to remote consultations

The speed at which we are embracing technology is unprecedented.

The work of GPs is being transformed by the virus.

There is no going back to normality

Tracer

Tracking and tracing

Transmissibility

Travel restrictions

Vaccination campaign / get the jab / shots : All those who get the shot will be given a second appointment  for the second dose in three weeks’ time. We are prioritising the most vulnerable first and over-80s, care home staff and NHS colleagues will be among the first to receive the vaccines.

Vaccine

Ventilators

We are heading into a new world with Orwellian overtones.

White collar workers

Car fumes/ exhaust pipes

Cars emit carbon dioxide

Carpooling (sharing cars)

Certain animals are becoming extinct  
Many species are endangered
Extinct/endangered/be in danger

We have to raise awareness among young people (not) to …

Teach people how to recycle more

Use wind energy

Solar panels

Use the public means of transport more

The hole in the ozone layer

Fix things instead of throwing them away

Acid rain is very harmful to the environment

Areas are affected by floods

Coastal waters are contaminated

There should be stricter laws to combat air pollution

We need renewable sources to stop deforestation

If the polar ice cap melts, the ocean level will rise

Toxic waste

Recycling is a favourable method

Wind energy and sun energy do not harm our planet

The 3 Rs rule: reduce, reuse and recycle
greenwashing
leftovers

Get the travel bug

to be a culture vulture
Catch some rays/ sunbathe

Sit and watch the world go by

Pack a lot in/Have a full plate

See how the mood takes me

Travel on a shoe string

Live it up

A culture shock

Feel right at home
Travel light

_____ was the number one salesperson in ____

_____ made four and a half sales every working day.

Advertising campaign

Customers

The payoffs came in repeat sales from loyal customers

Marketing strategy

Sales techniques

On a special offer

Retail

Chain stores

The rise of online shopping vs in-store shopping

To make one’s mark (attain recognition or distinction)

To class a product as a luxury

Word of mouth

People are inclined to …

To be at the cutting-edge (at the forefront of technological advancements or developments)

To regain economic stability

Window dressing / window shopping

To draw huge crowds

To be in recession

High street chains

Retail therapy

For a mass market

Waste (time)
Kill (time)
Use (time) 

Time 

Schedule 

Shift/turn 

Track/court/pitch/field/stadium/
sports centre/pool
Faint/pass out
Handle/deal with/cope with 

Hurt/injure/damage/dislocate Healthy/fit 

Sore/hurt/pain

Idioms or useful phrases
I have a burning ambition to …
I am torn between studying … and …
I have always dreamt of …
I haven’t made up my mind yet
In all likelihood, I will
If everything goes according to plan, … 
I have no clue at all what I am going to do tomorrow, let alone in 5 years.
I expect I’ll follow in my mum’s footsteps

The backbone of the family

The black sheep of the family

Siblings
To go through thick and thin together

To hang out

A relationship can turn sour

_________ is such a good laugh

To be on the same wavelength

A close-knit family

To confide in someone
A friend in need is a friend indeed

To have friends in high places

To get on like a house on fire

To have shared interests

To drift apart

Lifelong friends

An everlasting friendship

cast

soundtrack

Review

Premiere

Plot 

Readers / viewers / audience
writer

director

actors
episodes vs chapters

Neighbours vs inhabitants: neighbours in relation to you. inhabitants of an area

Facilities (a place) vs installations (a process)

Public area

The area is well connected

Areas vs zones: zones only in military 

Easy access to all major motorways

Conveniently located on the outskirts of the town

Close to both mountain and sea it offers the best of both worlds

It enjoys year-round moderate weather

The local council

Means of transport

Residential area

Low crime rates

The high street

It’s only a 10-minute walk/ drive from crystal clear waters and sandy beaches

It’s surrounded by picturesque villages

Breath-taking views

The hustle and bustle of city life

Fast city life

To disconnect from the hustle and bustle / daily routine

To get away with it all

It’s quite a cosmopolitan city

Narrow streets with cosy terraces

To stroll through the many shopping streets

It’s home to famous architects such as…

talent shows

to have a bright future ahead of them

to be thrown into the lights of stardom

to become famous almost overnight

to be a household name

he went on to make money

at his peak

hardly a day went by without X happening

newspaper gossip columns

to dry up

as if nothing had ever happened

has-beens

only time will tell

To face the music

To have cold feet

To turn a blind eye.

It’s on the tip of my tongue

A cat got your tongue

To make my blood boil

To lose your cool

To be in seventh heaven

To get out of the wrong side of the bed

To have a long face

To be caught red-handed

To show one’s true colours

To pass with flying colours

A golden opportunity

Grass is always greener on the other side

Every cloud has a silver lining

A ray of hope

Not to have the foggiest idea

Don’t rain on my parade

To steal my thunder

To be cool as a cucumber.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

To be like chalk and cheese

To be one smart cookie

Hunt

Fossils

Museum

Archaeologists

Inhabitants / citizens

The last great mammoth 

Extinction

Excavation

Discover / discovery

Analyse

Lead to

Modernise

Update

Ancient remains

Preserved

Ancestral

Connected to the past

Previously unaware

Historical significance

200 BC

541 AD

Research (-er)

Due to = because of

Battles, wars

Catastrophes

It’s become clear in recent years that…

It’s crystal clear that…

There’s no doubt that…

Cultural heritage

Inventions

Communities, tribes, empires

To make an astonishing find

According to …

To be related to…

Due to the fact that…

As far as ___ was concerned…

Like cracking open a fortune cookie

The importance of cultural heritage

Local dialect

Focus on = aim to

To share memories