Unit 2.

Thinking and Learning

Phrases, patterns and collocations
account  account for
to be the explanation or cause of something SYNONYM EXPLAIN
The poor weather may have accounted for the small crowd.
Oh well, that accounts for it  (= I understand now why it happened).
 to be a particular amount or part of something
The Japanese market accounts for 35% of the company's revenue.
 (give) anccount of a written or spoken report about something that
has happened
He was too shocked to give a clearaccount of events.
 take into account to consider particular facts, circumstances, etc. when
making a decision about something
Coursework is taken into account as well as exam results.
The defendant asked for a number of other offences to be taken into account.
 take account of
The company takes account of environmental issues wherever possible.
 on account of because of somebody/something
She retired early on account of ill health.
 by all accounts according to what other people say
I've never been there, but it's a lovely place, by all accounts.
 on sb’s account because of what you think somebody wants
Please don't change your plans on my account.
associate  associate sth with to make a connection between people or things in
your mind
I always associate the smell of baking with my childhood.
He is closely associated in the public mind with horror movies.
Most people immediately associate addictions with drugs, alcohol and
cigarettes.
You wouldn’t normally associate these two writers—their styles are
completely different.
balance  (hang) in the balance if the future of something/somebody, or the result
of something is/hangs in the balance, it is uncertain
The long-term future of the space programme hangs in the balance.
Tom’s life hung in the balance for two weeks as he lay in a coma.
 strike a balance (between A and B) to manage to find a way of being
fair to two opposing things; to find an acceptable position which is
between two things
We’re trying to strike a balance between fun and learning.
 upset/alter/redress the balance to make a situation equal or fair again
  balance between/of
 on balance after considering all the information
On balance, the company has had a successful year.
 (catch/throw somebody) off balance to make somebody/something
unsteady and in danger of falling
I was thrown off balance by the sudden gust of wind.
basis  basis for
 on a daily/temporary/etc basis singular] the way things are organized or
arranged
on a  regular/permanent/part-time/temporary basis
on a  daily/day-to-day/weekly basis
 on the basis of/that [singular] the reason why people take a particular
action
She was chosen for the job on the basis of her qualifications.
Some movies have been banned  on the basis that  they are too violent.
consideration  take into consideration to think about and include a particular thing or
fact when you are forming an opinion or making a decision
The candidates' experience and qualifications will be taken into
consideration when the decision is made.
Taking everything into consideration, the event was a great success.
 give consideration to
 show consideration for
They showed no consideration whatsoever for my feelings.
 under consideration
The proposals are currently under consideration (= being discussed).
 for sb’s consideration
 out of consideration for the quality of being sensitive towards others
and thinking about their wishes and feelings
Journalists stayed away from the funeral out of consideration for the
bereaved family.
doubt  doubt that
 have your doubts about to have reasons why you are not certain about
whether something is good or whether something good will happen
I've had my doubts about his work since he joined the firm.
It may be all right. Personally, I have my doubts.
 cast doubt on
New evidence has cast doubt on the guilt of the man jailed for the
crime.
 raise doubts
The article raised doubts about how effective the new drug really was.
  in doubt to be uncertain
The success of the system is not in doubt.
 doubt as to/ about
If you are in any doubt as to whether you should be doing these
exercises, consult your doctor.
 beyond (any) doubt in a way that shows that something is completely
certain
The research showed beyond doubt that smoking contributes to heart
disease.
(law) The prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable
doubt that the woman had been lying.
 (a) reasonable doubt
 without a doubt
She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was lying to her.
 open to doubt
Whether he will continue to be successful in future is open to doubt.
dream  dream of/about/that
 have a dream
 a dream to
 beyond your wildest dreams far more, better, etc. than you could ever
have imagined or hoped for
 a dream come true
If I win, it will be a dream come true.
 in your dreams (informal) used to tell somebody that something they are
hoping for is not likely to happen
‘I'll be a manager before I'm 30.’ ‘In your dreams.’
 like a dream
very well or very successfully
very strange, like the things that happen in dreams
focus  focus on
 the focus of/for [uncountable, countable, usually singular] the thing or
person that people are most interested in; the act of paying special
attention to something and making people interested in it
It was the main focus of attention at the meeting.
 in focus
The binoculars were not in focus (= were not showing things clearly).
 out of focus [uncountable] a point or distance at which the outline of an
object is clearly seen by the eye or through a lens
The children's faces are badly out of focus (= not clearly shown) in the
 photograph.
 focus group
 main/primary/major focus
impression  have/give the (false) impression that
She gives the impression of being very busy.
 do an impression (of) an amusing copy of the way a person acts or
speaks SYNONYM IMPERSONATION
He did an impression of Tom Hanks.
 create/make an impression (on sb)
His trip to India made a strong impression on him.
 under the impression that believing, usually wrongly, that something is
true or is happening
I was under the impression that the work had already been completed.
The soldiers scattered, under the impression that it was an enemy
attack.
 first impressions
mental  make a mental note (of/about) to make a particular effort to pay attention to
something so that you will remember it later
I made a mental note to ask Liz about the meeting later.
 mental arithmetic adding, multiplying, etc. numbers in your mind without
writing anything down or using a calculator
 mental illness
 mental age the level of somebody’s ability to think, understand, etc. that
is judged by comparison with the average ability for children of a
particular age
She is sixteen but has a mental age of five.
 mental health
mind  make up your mind
 cross/slip your mind occur to sb
 have/bear in mind
 have a one-track mind if somebody has a one-track mind, they can
only think about one subject (often used to refer to somebody thinking
about sex)
All he ever talks about is football. He’s got a one-track mind.
 take your mind off to make you forget about something unpleasant for a
short time SYNONYM DISTRACT
Painting helped take her mind off her troubles.
 bring to mind (formal)
 to remember somebody/something SYNONYM RECALL
 She couldn't call to mind where she had seen him before.
to remind you of somebody/something SYNONYM RECALL
The painting brings to mind some of Picasso's early works.
 in two minds about
 on your mind if somebody/something is on your mind, you are thinking
and worrying about them/it a lot
You've been on my mind all day.
Don't bother your father tonight—he's got a lot on his mind.
 state of mind
She was in a disturbed state of mind.
 narrow/broad/open/absent-minded
not willing to listen to new ideas or to the opinions of others
SYNONYM BIGOTED, INTOLERANT

a narrow-minded attitude
a narrow-minded nationalist
OPPOSITE BROAD-MINDED, OPEN-MINDED

tending to forget things, perhaps because you are not thinking about
what is around you, but about something else SYNONYM FORGETFUL

Grandpa’s becoming quite absent-minded.an absent-minded

professor/scientist
misapprehension  under the misapprehension that a wrong idea about something, or
something you believe to be true that is not true
I was under the misapprehension that the course was for complete
beginners.
belief  express belief(s)
 belief in/that
 contrary to popular belief in spite of what people may think
Contrary to popular belief, he was not responsible for the tragedy.
 beyond belief in a way that is) too great, difficult, etc. to be believed
Dissatisfaction with the government has grown beyond belief
Icy air that was cold beyond belief
It is beyond belief that anyone could commit such a crime.
 in the belief that an opinion about something; something that you think is
true
She acted in the belief that she was doing good.
 popular/widely held/ widespread/ firm/ strong/ growing belief
brain  pick sb’s brain(s) (informal) to ask somebody a lot of questions about
something because they know more about the subject than you do
  rack your brain(s) to think very hard or for a long time about something
She racked her brains, trying to remember exactly what she had said.

 the brains behind  the most intelligent person in a particular group; the
person who is responsible for thinking of and organizing something
He's always been the brains of the family.
The band's drummer is the brains behind their latest venture.
 brainless
 brainchild (of) an idea or invention of one person or a small group of
people
The TV programme was the brainchild of the producer.
 brainstorm
 brainwash
 brainwave
conclusion  bring sth to a conslusion
 come to/arrive at/reach conclusion
 jump/leap to conclusions to make a decision about
somebody/something too quickly, before you know or have thought
about all the facts
There I go again—jumping to conclusions.
 in conclusion
 conslusion of
 logical conclusion
 foregone conslusion if you say that something is a foregone
conclusion, you mean that it is a result that is certain to happen
The outcome of the vote is a foregone conclusion.
perspective  put into perspective  consider something in a sensible way by comparing it
with something else, or to help you do this
Talking to others can often help to put your own problems into
perspective.
 from another/ a different/ sb’s / etc perspective
 from the perspective of
 in perspective
We learnt how to draw buildings in perspective.
 out of perspective the art of creating an effect of depth and distance in a
picture by representing people and things that are far away as being
smaller than those that are nearer the front
The tree on the left is out of perspective.
 a sense of perspective
 I felt I needed a break from the relationship in order to keep a sense of
perspective.
principle  have principles
 stand by/ stick to your principles
 principle of sth
 principle that
 in principle
if something can be done in principle, there is no good reason why it
should not be done although it has not yet been done and there may
be some difficulties
In principle there is nothing that a human can do that a machine
might not be able to do one day.
in general but not in detail
They have agreed to the proposal in principle but we still have to
negotiate the terms
 a matter/ an issue of principle
in general but not in detailThey have agreed to the proposal in principle
but we still have to negotiate the terms
 against sb’s principles
I refuse to lie about it; it's against my principles.
 set of principles
question  beg the question
to make somebody want to ask a question that has not yet been
answered
All of which begs the question as to who will fund the project.
to talk about something as if it were definitely true, even though it might
not be
These assumptions beg the question that children learn languages
more easily than adults.
 raise the question (of)
 a/no question of there is/was no possibility of something
There was no question of his/him cancelling the trip so near the
departure date.
 in question
that is being discussed
On the day in question we were in Cardiff.
in doubt; uncertain
The future of public transport is not in question.
 out of the question impossible or not allowed and therefore not worth
 discussing
Another trip abroad this year is out of the question.
 without question [uncountable] doubt or confusion about something
Her version of events was accepted without question.
 beyond the question [uncountable] doubt or confusion about something
Her honesty is beyond question.
 some question over/as/to/about
 awkward question
I hope the police don't ask any awkward questions.
sense  sense that
I had the sense that he was worried about something.
 see sense to start to be sensible or reasonable
 make sense (of) to understand something that is difficult or has no clear
meaning
I can’t make sense of that painting.
 have the sense to
 come to your senses [plural] a normal state of mind; the ability to think
clearly
He waited for Dora to come to her senses and return.
 a sense of
 in a /one sense in one way
In a sense it doesn't matter any more.
 common sense
side  side with sb
 take sides to express support for somebody in a disagreement
She didn't think it was wise to take sides in their argument.
 see both sides (of an argument)
 look on the bright side
 on the plus/minus side
 by sb’s side
 on sb’s side to support and agree with somebody
I'm definitely on your side in this.
 on either side (of) a position or an area to the left or right of something
There is a large window on either side of the front door.
straight  set/put sb straight about to correct somebody’s mistake; to make sure
that somebody knows the correct facts when they have had the wrong
idea or impression
 set/put the record straight to give people the correct information about
something in order to make it clear that what they previously believed
 was in fact wrong
To put the record straight, I do not support that idea and never have
done.
 get/come straight to the point immediately
I'll come straight to the point—your work isn't good enough.
 get sth straight
 think/see straight to think in a clear or logical way
 straight talking honest and direct
t's time for some straight talking.
 straight answer
view  view as th
 take the view that
 take a dim/poor view of to disapprove of somebody/something; to not
have a good opinion of somebody/something
She took a dim view of my suggestion.
 come into view if something comes into view, you begin to see it 
The mountains were just coming into view.
 in view of (formal) considering something
In view of the weather, the event will now be held indoors.
 with a view to (formal) with the intention or hope of doing something
He's painting the house with a view to selling it.
 view on/about/that
 in sb’s view
 viewpoint
 point of view
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations
Unit 2. Thinking and Learning
Phrases, patterns and collocations