C1 (Advanced) Vocabulary in 1 Hour - Ultimate C1 Guide (+ 2 FREE C1 ebooks!)

Hello, lovely students, and welcome to the 'Ultimate C1' video.

Today, I'm going to teach you advanced 

C1-level vocabulary and a  little bit of grammar too.

What's the logic behind this video?

Well, when you're at a C1 level, you should be able to express yourself

with precision and talk in  detail about many subjects.

You should also be able to speak fairly fluently, without too many pauses while you search

for the exact words and expressions. You need to communicate your thoughts.

This means that you need to  know a lot of vocabulary. 

Luckily, the C1 level is my  absolute favourite to teach.

There's so much nuance; there's  so much art to the language.

In fact, my most popular course of all time is my Beautiful British English C1 Programme.

Over 5000 students have taken my C1 programme, and they have learnt so much advanced vocabulary

as well as C1 grammatical structures, advanced features of pronunciation,

how to write different texts at an advanced level, and so much more.

Students love the storyline that runs through the entire programme,

and the authentic conversations between me and some of the

special people in my life.

Take a look at some of the lovely things my graduates have had to say.

I would love for you to join them, for you to try this programme. I can guarantee it

will boost your English skills in so many ways. If you want to check out the programme, you

can click on the link in the description of this video, or you can visit that link on

screen or scan the QR code to go to the page. There, you'll be able to learn much more

about my Beautiful British English C1 Programme.

Now, back to the C1 lesson! To make sure you get the most

out of this incredibly useful lesson, I've prepared two special Ebooks

that go hand in hand with this video. You can download both of them for

free for now. I might shut this at some point. The first Ebook contains all of the valuable

information that we cover in this lesson—all of the vocabulary, all of the grammar—so

you can refer back to it whenever you need a refresher.

I've basically made lesson notes and lesson quizzes for you

and compiled them into an Ebook. I'm also including my B1-C1 Ebook.

This Ebook is a 92-page Ebook that contains all of the grammar

and all of the vocabulary that you need to master in order to achieve

the B1, B2, and C1 levels of English.

If you would like to download these 2 Ebooks for free right now, all

you have to do is click on the link in the description box, enter your

name and your email address.

You sign up to my mailing list, and the 2 Ebooks will arrive directly

in your inbox, and then you've joined my free PDF club.

You will automatically receive my free weekly lesson PDFs

alongside all of my news course updates and offers.

It's a free service and you can unsubscribe with one click at any time.

We are going to go through 4 C1 vocabulary videos and then we're

going to end with a special A1 to C1 challenge video to help you test your level.

First up, you're going to learn 20 advanced verbs that will help you express

yourself at C1, or even C2 level. We go from advocate to scrutinise.

All in just 10 minutes. Are you ready? Hello, lovely students, and welcome back

to English with Lucy. Today, we are going to talk about Advanced English. Our focus

today is on advanced C1-C2 level verbs. If you incorporate these verbs into your

daily spoken English, you will impress people, especially if you say them in

a very natural, nonchalant way. Right, let's get started with the

advanced English verbs. Number 1—'to advocate', 'to advocate',

this is to publicly support or recommend a particular policy or action. An example—

'The celebrity uses her social media platform to advocate for a more sustainable

future.' Or—'The politician advocated for greater economic equality for all

citizens.' Number 2—'to amplify', 'to amplify'. This is to make something louder or stronger,

to increase the effect or impact of something.

'The megaphone amplifies the speaker's voice and makes it easier to hear.'

Or—'The digital marketing campaign amplified the reach and impact of the

brand's message.' Number 3—'to articulate', 'to articulate'. This is to express or explain

something in a clear and effective way, or to pronounce words clearly

and distinctly. For example—'The public speaker articulated her vision for the

future with passion and conviction. Or—'The language learner is practising articulating

difficult sounds to improve her pronunciation.' Number 4—'to comprehend', 'to comprehend'.

This is to understand the meaning or significance of something. 'The student

struggles to comprehend the complex theories presented in the lecture. Or—'The

reader will have to re-read the passage multiple times to comprehend the author's

message.' Number 5—'to convey', 'to convey'. And this is to communicate or express

something to others. This is often a message or information.

'The artist uses her paintings to convey her emotions and experiences.'

Or—'The journalist conveyed the breaking news to the public with

accuracy and timeliness'.  Number 6—'to corroborate', 

'to corroborate' a lot of 'r's' in

that one, 'to corroborate'. This is to confirm or support a statement, theory, or finding

with evidence or testimony. 'The witness is able to corroborate the victim's

account of the crime.' Or—'The scientist corroborated

her hypothesis with multiple experiments.' Number 7, 'to decipher'.

'To decipher', this is to discover the meaning of something

written in a bad or hidden way. We can use it to talk about converting

code or symbols or a foreign language into understandable language.

'The traveller struggled to decipher the foreign language on the menu.'

Or—'The detective will have to decipher the hidden meaning behind

the suspect's cryptic message.'

Next, we have 'to differentiate', 'to differentiate'. This is to

distinguish or to recognize the differences between things

or people. 'The sommelier is able to differentiate between the subtle

flavours in the wine.' Or—'The teacher developed lesson plans to help

students differentiate between similar concepts.'

Number 9—'to dissect'. 'To dissect', this is to analyse or examine something

in detail, often by breaking it down into its components or parts.

'The scientists dissects the specimen to study its internal structure.'

Or—'The literary critic dissected the novel to explore its themes

and symbols.' Next, we have  'to efface', 'to efface', 

and this is to remove or erase something

intentionally so it's no longer visible or noticeable. 'The politician

tried to efface the scandal from his public record with a

new campaign.' Or—'The storm

winds are so strong that they are facing the markings

on the road.' Next number 11! We are over halfway there. 'Elaborate', 

'elaborate'. I love this word!

It means to add more detail or explanation to something,

often to expand or to clarify a concept, idea, or thought.

'The designer elaborated on her original concept

after receiving feedback from the client.'

Or—'I can see you didn't understand, so I'm going to elaborate on my point.'

Next, we have 'to exacerbate', 'to exacerbate'. And this is to make a situation or

problem worse. 'The drought exacerbated the water shortage

in the region. Or—'The medication side effects have exacerbated

my existing health problems. Number 13—'to extrapolate'. 'To extrapolate',

this is to guess or estimate or forecast something using

what you already know.

For example—'The economist extrapolates future trends from current economic

indicators.' Or—'We tend to predict the future by extrapolating from the past.'

Next, we have 'to facilitate'. This means 

to make something possible or easier or more convenient to do.

For example—'The new technology will facilitate communication among

team members.' Or—'The tutor facilitated the development of her students' skills.'

Next, we have 'to galvanise', 'to galvanise'. And this is to shock

or excite someone into taking action. 'The tragic event galvanised the

community to come together and support each other.'

Or—'The recent news has galvanised the public to demand change.'

Number 16 is 'to integrate', 'to integrate'. And this is to combine or blend

things together in a harmonious or really functional way.

'The new employee is integrating well with the team.' Or—'The architect

integrated the old and new elements of the building design

seamlessly.' Number 17 is 'to mitigate', 'to mitigate', and this

is to make something less harmful, less unpleasant or less bad.

You reduce or you alleviate the severity or the impact of something,

something that's often a problem or a negative consequence.

'The safety measures in place mitigate the risk of accidents.'

Or—'The environmental policies have mitigated the damage

to the ecosystem.' Number 18 is 'to perceive', 'to perceive'. This is to

think of something in a particular way, or to become aware or conscious

of something through your senses or intuition. 'She perceives

that her boss is unhappy with her work because of his constant criticism.'

Or—'The artist perceived the beauty of nature and

incorporated it into her work. Number 19 we have 'reconcile',

'reconcile'. Careful with the pronunciation. It's not /ˈrekənsaɪl/. This is normally

used passively, and it's to make people become friends again after a breakup

or an argument. It can also mean to find an acceptable way of dealing

with two ideas or concepts that seem to be opposed to each other, to 

make two conflicting things compatible or consistent with each other.

'The mediator is trying to reconcile the differences between the two parties.'

Or—'The couple reconciled after a period of separation.'

And finally 'to scrutinise', 'to scrutinise'. This is to examine or inspect

something very closely, very thoroughly. You're combing through for mistakes

potentially. 'His apology was carefully scrutinised by his PR team before

it was released to the public.' Or—'She scrutinised his essay but couldn't find

a single error.' 

Right. Those were your 20 incredibly

advanced English verbs. As I mentioned, they are C1

to C2 level. Okay. What did you think of

that? Those advanced verbs really help you to articulate

your ideas precisely. Oh, I used 'articulate'!

Now, in that lesson, you saw 20 advanced verbs, which is quite a lot.

But if you want to achieve a C1 level in English, you need to learn many, many more.

And that is where my Beautiful British English C1 Programme comes in.

In the programme, there are so many verbs, including tons of phrasal verbs. But by

the end, my students have an enormous bank of vocabulary to draw from.

You'll find super-advanced verbs like 'gazump' and 'to shell out'.

If you'd like to learn more about it, or you'd like to sign up for it,

click on the link in the description box.

Okay. Next lesson. This one is going to take your descriptive abilities to the next level!

There are some really beautiful words in this video, and I know you're going

to love them as much as I do. Here we go.

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy. I have a beautiful video

for you today. I have chosen 20 of my favourite adjectives. They are all really

advanced adjectives. I would place them at a C1 to C2 level. You're not going to hear

them every single day on the streets of England, but you will see them in text,

books, and you will hear them used by very well spoken people.

And if you want to become a well-spoken person, then consider learning them

and incorporating them into your speech. 

I am a self-diagnosed  logophile meaning I love words

and I love learning new, beautiful words. And I'm passing on that gift to you.

Let's get started with the lesson Number 1—our first adjective

is 'ambivalent'. 'Ambivalent', and this means having or showing mixed

feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

For example—'I feel ambivalent about accepting the job offer because

it pays well, but the work is not interesting.'

Or—'She has ambivalent feelings towards her ex-husband, both loving

him and hating him.' Number 2 is 'capricious', 'capricious', and I find

this one particularly beautiful.  And if you are 'capricious', 

you are given to sudden and unaccountable

changes of mood or behaviour. 'His capricious behaviour made it difficult for his

friends to keep up with his moods.' Or—'The weather is capricious this 

time of year, with sunny days followed by sudden rain showers.'

Number 3. Great one—'derogatory, 'derogatory'. This means showing a critical or disrespectful

attitude towards someone or something.

'His derogatory comments about women angered many people.' Or—'The newspaper

received complaints about a derogatory article they published about a minority group.'

Number 4—not such a common one.  The very beautiful all the same. 

And it's actually pronounced in two ways.

In British English, the most common 

version is /ˌiːsəˈterɪk/.  You will also hear people

saying /ˌesəˈterɪk/. The meaning of this one is particularly useful. It means intended for or

likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialised interest

or knowledge. So if something is 'esoteric', 

it's likely to exclude people.  'The lecture on quantum

mechanics was esoteric and difficult for most students to understand.'

Or—'The chef's recipes are esoteric and require knowledge of specific techniques

and ingredients.' Number 5, this one is common. 

You will hear this a lot in  the UK—'flippant', 'flippant'.

This means not showing a serious or respectful attitude, and I like to remember 

this one by imagining a teenager 

flipping their hair and not  taking something seriously.

That being flippant—'The politician's flippant comments about the pandemic angered

many people. Or—Your flippant attitude towards your studies led to these poor grades.'

Next, I think this one speaks for itself. It kind of shows its definition in the

word 'grandiose'. This means impressive or magnificent in appearance or style,

but often lacking in substance. Something can look amazing but be impractical or

not fit for purpose. 'This building is grandiose, but impractical for all current needs.' Or—'Your

brother is always making these grandiose promises that he never follows through on.'

Next, I love this one. It rolls  off the tongue, 'histrionic', 

'histrionic'. This means overly theatrical

or melodramatic in character or style that comes off as insincere. 'Her histrionic reaction

to the news made her friends doubt her sincerity.' Or—'Their histrionic

speech around clean energy failed to persuade the audience at the climate

change rally.' Next, 'incongruous', 'incongruous'. This means strange and not suitable

in a particular situation, and it doesn't 

keep with the surroundings or other aspects of something.

'The modern art sculpture looked incongruous in the historic town square.'

Or—'The professor's joke seemed incongruous with the seriousness

of his lecture.' Another beautiful one. I know they're all beautiful, but I really

like this one—'juxtaposed', 'juxtaposed'. This means put together or put near each

other for contrast and comparison.

'The juxtaposed paintings showed the contrast between the bright

colours of one and the dark shades of the other.'

'The gallery featured a series of juxtaposed images, creating a

thought-provoking and dynamic

composition.' Next, 'laudable', 'laudable', and this means deserving praise

and commendation. 'One of his less laudable characteristics, not worthy of praise,

was his dark sense of humour.' Or—'Her decisions may be open

to debate but her manner of speaking is laudable.' Next, 'mercurial',

'mercurial'. This means often changing in a way that is unexpected.

'The new series we're watching is entertaining, but the constant, mercurial

changes in tone are an emotional roller coaster.'

Or—'The stock market is often described as mercurial with rapid

fluctuations in value.' Next, one I love, and I must point out the difference between

British and American pronunciation.

'Nonchalant', /ˈnɒnʃələnt/, or in American English /ˌnɑnʃəˈlɑnt/.

This means behaving in a calm or relaxed way and not giving the

impression that you're worried.

It's similar to 'flippant', but it's not as disrespectful unless used in the right context.

'Taylor's mother was nonchalant about her daughter's recent rise to fame.'

Or—'The students' nonchalant response to her failing grade showed a lack of

concern for her future.'  Next, we have 'pernicious', 

'pernicious'. This means having a harmful effect,

especially in a very gradual or subtle way.

'The company's pernicious practices harmed the local environment.'

Or—'The pernicious effect of advertising to children is a problem that we can no

longer ignore.' Next, 'quixotic', 'quixotic'. It's like a mixture of 'quick' and 'exotic'.

This means exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic and impractical.

'His quixotic dream of travelling the world with no money seemed impossible

to achieve.' Or—'She ran a quixotic campaign against her rival.'

But came out ahead. Next, we have 'resplendent', 'resplendent'. This is often used with

'with' or 'in'. It means  attractive and impressive.

through being richly colourful.

'The sunset over the ocean was resplendent with colours of orange and pink.'

Or—'Resplendent in white and gold. She walked down the aisle on

the arm of her father.' Do you see how we used it With both 'with' and 'in'.

Next, love this one. I know I say that for everyone, but I just genuinely

love these words—'subservient', 'subservient'. This means prepared to obey others

without question. Unquestioningly. It's often used in a negative way, 

because if someone is subservient,

they are often easily exploited. For example—'The assistant subservient

attitude towards her boss led to exploitation.'

Or—'Gloria refused to give up her career and accept a traditional, subservient role.'

Next, we have 'supercilious', 'supercilious'. That one is so fun to say!

If you're supercilious, you behave or look as though you think you are superior

to others. 'His supercilious demeanour towards his audience was met with

disapproval.' Or—'Her writing often has a supercilious tone, which makes

it hard to connect with.' 'Tenacious.' Do you remember the band 'Tenacious D'?

They recognised it as a great word, and a great word it is—'tenacious'.

This means keeping or tending to keep a firm hold of something, or not

giving up easily, or being really determined. 'Her tenacious grip on the rope allowed

her to climb the steep cliff. Or—'Although he experienced many setbacks, he remained

tenacious in his pursuit of becoming an MP.'

Next, don't be fooled by the first letter 'u'. We pronounce it with the /j/ sound

'ubiquitous', /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/. This means very common or found everywhere.

'Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society, or the company's logo

was ubiquitous on billboards throughout the city.' Very common. Now we have 'vicarious',

/vɪˈkeərɪəs/, although in American English they're more inclined to say /vaɪˈkeərɪəs/.

British English /vɪˈkeərɪəs/.

This one we use in front of a noun, it means experienced in the imagination

through the feelings or actions of another person. You'll often hear us saying—'I'm living

vicariously through you.'—I'm living through your experiences. 'He experienced a sense of

vicarious nostalgia when he listened to his parents' stories about their youth.'

He couldn't actually experience it. He had to experience it by imagining

what it would be like.

'Or watching action films allows people to experience vicarious

thrills and excitement'—thrills

and excitement through other people. Right? That's it for today's lesson. 

I hope you enjoyed it. I  hope you learnt something.

Well, did you like the sound of one of my favourite words in that video?

'Capricious', 'capricious'.  It's such an exquisite word!

some of those adjectives were really advanced and they're guaranteed to

help set you on the path towards achieving an advanced level in English.

A huge part of being at C1 is having the 

ability to produce clear  and detailed descriptions.

So adjectives are crucial, but 20 adjectives aren't enough.

You will need many more, and you can find them in my

Beautiful British English C1 Programme.

A lot of the words in there really are stunning

like 'whimsical' and 'palpable'.

They sound so nice.

If you're ready to take on the challenge of reaching a C1 level.

Come on over. Click the link or scan that QR code.

But if you're thinking, I love those adjectives.

But what about describing people? 

Stay right there. Next, we're going to learn how to describe physical appearance

in advanced English.

Say goodbye to—'He is tall.'

And say hello to—'He's a bit lanky.' Are you ready? Let's go.

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

In today's video, we're going to talk about appearance but we are going to go

way beyond the phrases that you learn when you first start studying English.

You know—'I have blonde hair and blue eyes.'

Instead we're going to learn how to talk

about appearance at a super-advanced level using C1 and even C2 level words

and phrases.

Basically, we're going to talk about

appearance on steroids, not literally.

All right.

So let's talk about appearance.

I'm going to talk to you about my journey with my appearance, starting from

childhood and then moving on to how I might look in the future.

Yikes! Let's start with childhood. 

'I have nearly always had long hair, and my cascade of blonde hair made me look quite

angelic when I was little.

But a quick chat with my parents would

soon dispel that misconception.

My brother was adorable.

(all children are cute).

He had these gorgeous dimples that people

teased him about sometimes, but I always adored them.'

Okay.

There are two words I want to pick out here.

Firstly, we have 'angelic', 'angelic', which means like an angel, 'angelic', angel-like.

We can use it to describe appearance, but also personality, if you're beautiful or

if you're good or if you're kind.

'Ali had an angelic smile and no one could

stay angry with her for long.'

The second word is 'dimple', 'dimple'.

And this is such a cute word.

A 'dimple' is a small crease or indentation

next to your mouth, normally here or on your chin.

Whenever she smiled, her dimples would appear making her look even more charming.

Now let's move on to the teenage years.

'Like most people, my appearance was quite

important to me back then.

One of the first things I did when I

turned 13 was grab a pair of tweezers and pluck my eyebrows into submission.

I regret it so much!

I also used to compare myself to my

friends a lot,

and one of the sticking points was my complexion.

As you can see, I'm pretty pale—ghostly, more like—and I used to be so jealous

of my friends who would come back after the summer

holidays, totally sunkissed.

I've always been a bit, shall we say,

vertically challenged, which never really bothered me.

On the other hand, my husband, Will, was very lanky when he was a teenager, but

he's filled out now.'

Okay, a little bit more vocabulary then.

This first one, 'tweezers'.

'Tweezers'.

These are tiny tongs, the tool you use for grasping and removing small objects

such as splinters or hairs.

'Alex used tweezers to remove a thorn from

his finger.'

Next, the verb that goes with tweezers.

'To pluck'.

You can say 'to tweeze', but 'to pluck',

that's the verb I used.

This means to pull out hairs with

'tweezers' or your fingers.

We also 'pluck' a string when we play the violin.

We strum a guitar, but we 'pluck' a single string on a harp too.

An example—'Jules plucked her eyebrows every week to maintain a neat appearance.'

Number 5.

I really like the way this word sounds.

'Complexion'.

'Complexion'.

And this is the natural colour, texture, and appearance of your skin, especially

your face.

An example—'Lots of English people have

quite a pale complexion and burn badly in the sun.'

Next—we have the fairly slang adjective, 'sun-kissed'.

'Sun-kissed'.

This basically means tanned.

I mean, kissed by the sun.

When you're tanned, you have a browner

skin colour because of the damage from the sun, from spending time in the sun.

If you look sun-kissed, you might be more tanned.

You might have lighter hair.

You might have a little bit of red going on.

It's generally seen as a positive adjective to describe someone with.

'Jane looked like a vision with her summer dress and sun-kissed skin.'

Never in my wildest dreams will I ever be sun-kissed.

However, you can get a similar look from a bottle.

I do end up looking a bit tangoed though.

There's a popular orange drink in the UK

called 'Tango'.

And there was an ad campaign where people

would turn orange and there was the slogan—'you've been tangoed.'

It became normal to say—'you've been tangoed'—to anyone whose fake tan went a

bit too orange.

Sometimes if I apply fake tan and it's a

bit too dark, I say—oh no, I look like I've been tangoed.

Number 7, this is a lovely phrase.

It's quite a jokey one.

You have to be careful who you use it with.

They could be sensitive.

I'm fine with it.

'Vertically challenged.'

This is a funny way to refer to someone who is short and challenged in the

vertical sense.

'Ruth was only five foot tall and often

joked about being vertically challenged.'

Notice how I said five foot tall.

You can also say five feet tall, but it's very common to say—'I'm six foot six.'

'I'm five foot five.'

The final word from that section is 'lanky'.

'Lanky', which means tall and thin in a slightly awkward way.

We often use it for teenagers.

It's not necessarily a compliment to call

someone 'lanky'.

'As a teenager, Benji was lanky and had to

grow into his long limbs.'

Okay, let's move forward to the present day.

'I'm 29 now, and my worries about my appearance have nearly faded.

I very much believe it's what's on the inside that counts.

If you saw me walking my dog on a wet January morning, I don't think you'd

recognise me.

I usually look fairly unkempt with

windswept hair and scruffy clothes.

Don't get me wrong,

I try to take care of myself, and I think I scrub up fairly well.

I like putting on make-up for filming—as you might see—I

love makeup—and

for special occasions. 

One of the things I'm trying to work on appearance-wise is my posture.

I believe it can change how you feel and how other people perceive you—shoulders

back, Lucy. Okay, lots of good vocabulary in there.'

Let's look at number 9.

'It's what's on the inside that counts.'

'It's what's on the inside that counts.'

You can probably guess that this means

character and values are more important than looks.

An example—'She believes that true beauty comes from kindness and compassion.'

It's what's on the inside that counts.

Next, number 10.

And this word is interesting.

Lots native speakers actually get this

confused with something else.

It's the word 'unkempt', 'unkempt', not 'unkept'.

And I'll talk about that in a second.

We have a nice consonant cluster at the

end there—'mpt'.

'Unkempt', 'unkempt'.

This means untidy or not properly cared for relating to appearance.

We also have 'unkept', which means not tidy or not cared for.

We can use it to talk about appearance, but we normally use it for buildings,

cities, places.

'Unkempt' with ‘mpt’ is normally about a

person's appearance.

'Tom's unkempt hair and wrinkled clothes

made it look like he had just rolled out of bed.'

Number 11 is 'windswept', 'windswept', which means looking like you've been in strong wind.

And we often use it to talk about hair.

An example—'You look a bit windswept.

Have you been outside in the storm?'

Number 12.

I love this word 'scruffy', 'scruffy'.

And this means untidy or dirty in appearance.

'When I walk my dog, I put on my scruffiest clothes as I know they're

going to get muddy.'

Next, we have a lovely phrase 'to scrub up

well', 'to scrub up well'.

And this means to look nice when you make

an effort.

I grew up in a really rural area in

England and most of my friends were farmers.

So, 99% of the time they were in dirty

jeans, t-shirts and with 'windswept' hair.

However, we loved a party.

And when we had a party, we would dress up to the nines.

We would dress up in our most elegant clothes.

The most common phrase I would hear when

we'd all see each other in our nice clothes is—'Wow, you scrub up well, don't you?'

'You scrub up well.'

It means you look nice when you make an

effort, when you actually wear nice things.

An example of this use—'Pete is usually

in shorts and a t-shirt, but he scrubs up well on special occasions.'

And the final word from that section, 'posture', 'posture'.

And this means the position you hold your body in, particularly your neck,

shoulders and back when standing or sitting.

'Grace used to be a dancer, so she has

wonderful posture.'

Notice how I pronounce it—'posture', 'posture'.

That's because a /t/ and a /j/ sound together, we make /tʃ/, posture.

Same as 'Tuesday', 'tuna'.

Okay.

The scariest part of this lesson, the future!

'Looking far into the future, I can

clearly visualise myself and Will.

Will's salt-and-pepper will be popping

and my hair will be all white!

We'll have a lot more wrinkles, and there

will be crow's feet around our eyes, but I plan to embrace them.

They'll tell the story of a lifetime of smiles and laughter

and, yes, there will be frown lines from when our (future!) children do something naughty

and stress us out.'

Finally, three words and phrases to pick

out from that text.

Firstly, 'salt-and-pepper', and I'm not

talking about seasoning.

We often use it to talk about hair that

has two colours mixed together, one dark and one light, often white and black.

You will sometimes hear people say it as 'pepper-and-salt' hair, but 'salt-and-pepper'

is that common order for us.

An example—'Bill's salt-and-pepper beard

gave him a distinguished appearance.'

Next, slightly lower level, but just in

case you need it, 'wrinkle', 'wrinkle'.

This is a small line on the skin, often

caused by ageing.

'There were fine wrinkles across his

forehead that showed the passing years.'

And finally, we have 'crow's feet', 'crow's feet'.

You know what a 'crow's foot', the bird's foot actually looks like?

Like, you know, a little triangle, like little prongs.

We almost imagine that a crow has kicked us in the face and we have 'crow's feet' here.

They're the small lines around the corners of your eyes caused by ageing,

but mostly caused by laughter and smiling.

Lots of people call them laughter lines.

For example—'Lucy's crow's feet were evidence of a life filled with laughter

and joy.'

That's what I hope anyway.

All right, that is everything I have for this video about describing appearance at

a more or less C1 level.

When you get to the higher levels, it's

hard to say exactly which word is at what level, but in general, that was fairly advanced.

Now I have some homework for you.

I would like you to describe your

appearance, or if you don't want to describe yourself, the appearance of a

celebrity or person you adore.

Try to use some of this vocabulary if you

can, and bring in other more advanced words and phrases.

I'll be looking at as many as I can.

I'd also love to know if you've

experienced a similar  journey with your appearance.

How was that?

How many of you out there can relate to looking a bit 'unkempt'

in the mornings or evenings or any time of day?

So there were a lot of words to describe 

appearance in that video. But what about personality? 

Because after all, it's what's  on the inside that counts.

We go into great detail on the  topic of describing character. 

In my C1 programme, you'll learn

when to describe someone as a 'wallflower' or whether 'inquisitive' is a positive

or negative characteristic.

You know the drill by now. The links—in the description box.

If you do want to join.

Okay. Next vocabulary lesson. In this lesson you're going to

learn 21 advanced phrases that you can use to talk

about lifestyle and wellbeing, people and work. Are you ready?

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy. Today we are focusing

on an advanced level of English.

This is an advanced

C1 level vocabulary lesson!

We are going to deep dive into 21 advanced English words and

phrases that will signify. Elevate your level of proficiency in English.

The words and phrases are divided into three topics.

We have lifestyle and wellbeing, people and work. And I'm going

to give you a short quiz after each section to check if

you can remember what you've learned. Let's start with

lifestyle and wellbeing. Firstly, we have 'at face value'. 'At face value' means accepting

something as it appears to be without questioning its true nature or its authenticity.

For example—'You shouldn't take everything you read about nutrition at face value.'

Always verify the information is from reliable sources. Next,

we have 'to have a crack at' something to have a crack at something.

This means to attempt or try something, often for the first time or with great

enthusiasm. For example—'Even though, she had never tried rock climbing before,

Tara decided to have a crack at it during the team-building event.'

We also have a lovely

one—'to burn the midnight oil', 'to burn the midnight oil'. This means 

to study or work late into the night, often to complete

a task or to prepare for something or meet a deadline, for example.

'With exams approaching, Sarah found herself burning the midnight oil

to cover all the required material. We also have 'to strike a balance',

'to strike a balance'.

This means to find a compromise or a middle ground. Another nice phrase

between two competing factors.

For example—'It's essential to strike a balance between work

and leisure for a healthy lifestyle.'

Next, we have 'to let off steam', 'to let off steam'. This means to

do or say something that helps you to release some

anger or frustration that you feel.

'I was so furious that I had to go for a walk around the

block to let off steam'—to release my anger.

We also have to count one's blessings. This one's lovely. This means to make

an effort to be grateful for the good things in your life.

'To count your blessings'. For example—'When I'm feeling down, 

I try to remember to count my blessings

and be grateful for what I have.'

Sometimes we use it in a sarcastic or patronising way. If someone

is being ungrateful for what they have, we might

say—'Count your blessings.' There are people that are way

worse off than you are. The final one for our lifestyle and wellbeing

section is 'to bloom'. 'To bloom',

and you might know this word in connection with flowers. The flower opens,

it 'blooms'. Such a nice word! 'Bloom', 'bloom'. When a person 'blooms',

they become healthy, happy and confident. We sometimes use it when talking about

maturity or they will use blossom as well, but it's a really positive phrase.

'Karl bloomed during his six-week holiday in the countryside thanks to the fresh

air and healthy food.' Okay,  first break, first quiz.

What can you remember from what I just taught you? Firstly, which

word is missing from this sentence?

'I'm going to have _ a kayaking today. 

I'm nervous, but I'm sure  it will be a lot of fun.'

I'll give you five seconds.

It's 'crack'. Well done. Okay.

Next—If I'm really angry and I decide to go for a run to calm down,

what am I doing? Am I a) 'letting off steam' or b) 'letting out a scream'?

It was a) 'letting off steam'.

If you said letting out a scream, I think people would understand

you were releasing anger. Okay.

And lastly, which of the words that I just taught you means to develop healthily and happily?

Can you remember it?

It was 'bloom'. Well done if you got it right.

Okay, let's move on to talking about people.

First one—'to stick one's neck out'. 'To stick one's neck out'.

This means to take a risk or to expose yourself to possible

criticism or danger by doing or saying something.

For example—'Despite the controversy surrounding the issue, Jane decided

to stick her neck out and support the new policy.'

Next, we have 'a knee jerk reaction', and 'a knee jerk reaction'.

Have you ever been to the doctor and they hit your knee

with a hammer and you just can't help but react?

It's your reflex, isn't it? Well, 'a knee jerk reaction' is an immediate

automatic response to a situation, often without careful consideration

or thought. For example—'When we heard about the increase in crime rates,

our knee jerk reaction was to insist on more police patrols in the area.'

That was just the immediate gut reaction. We also have 'to split hairs', and I do have

a few split hairs. Oh, I just love doing my hair. That's the problem. But if you 'split hairs',

it doesn't mean you're styling your hair too much. It means you have a

very annoying character trait. It means to argue or worry about 

very small details or differences

that are unimportant. For example—'Sometimes I feel like my

husband split hairs over insignificant matters and it leads

to unnecessary arguments.' Another phrase with a relevant backstory is 'pecking order'.

'pecking order'. This is social hierarchy in a group in which all individuals in that

group are aware of how important everyone is, the different levels of

important. And I presume that this comes from chickens or birds.

An example—'There's a clear pecking order in their group of friends, with

Sally being top of the pile.' I was never

top of the 'pecking order' at school. I just didn't have it in me.

Now the next three words are adjectives used to describe

people, and the first one is 'shrewd'. 'Shrewd'. And this describes someone

who is good at understanding and making judgments about situations.

They're often quite good at taking the emotion out. 

A 'shrewd' person is able to make decisions that will give

them an advantage. For example—'Claire was a shrewd

business person and she made several wise investment

decisions when she was still young.'

Next, number 13, we have 'obstinate', 'obstinate'. And notice how I pronounce

it with a schwa at the end.

/ˈɒbstɪnət/. Not 'obstinate'. This means refusing to change

your opinion or actions despite people trying to make you do so.

We could also say stubborn in a way. It's often used for children.

'Henry was a very obstinate teenager, and he consistently refused to admit

that he might be wrong about something.

An extra little Lucy's note. Here.

I've seen some students mixed up, 'obstinate' with another advanced adjective 'abstinent'.

'Abstinent'. It might be the combination of 't's' and 'n's', but 'abstinent'

has an entirely different meaning. It means to refrain from indulging

in a particular behaviour. This is often related 

to vices or bad habits. You  abstain from doing something.

Our final word in this topic is 

'placid'. 'Placid' with the  's' sound, the soft sea.

We used 'placid' to describe someone who is very calm and isn't easily excited

or annoyed. 'Despite the hullabaloo around her,

Allie remained placid and continued with her work.'

It's quiz time! It's quiz time. Can you answer these three questions?

I'm going to give you five seconds to answer each one. Firstly,

which word is missing?

'My knee-_ reaction to hearing my son had been arrested was 

to be utterly livid.' 'Jar', 'jam', 'jet', or 'jerk'?

It's 'jerk'. Excellent job if you got that right. Number 2.

'Sometimes it's best to keep your

opinions to yourself and not _ your _ out.' Is it? 'Stick your head',

'stack your neck', 'stick your neck', or 'stuck your nose'? Have a think.

'Stick your neck out'. 'Don't stick your neck out' or they'll chop your head off. And the third one.

Which words that I just taught you 

are synonyms for these  words. 'Calm' and 'stubborn'.

Which two words are synonyms?

'Placid'. 'Obstinate'. Bonus points if you've got the pronunciation right

of 'obstinate'. Okay, let's move on to our last section. It is work, and our first

phrase is 'to pull some  strings'. 'To pull some strings'. 

This means to use your influence or

connections often secretly or unofficially, to achieve a desired outcome

'By pulling some strings, Tom was able to get his sister a prestigious position

at a London-based accounting firm.'

The next one is 'to have a field day', 'to have a field day', which means

to take advantage of a situation, typically for personal benefit,

and often at the expense of others. For example— 'When the news of the scandal broke,

tabloid journalists had a field day writing sensational stories'. Next,

we have 'to be privy to', 'to be privy'.

Note that pronunciation, not 'privy', /ˈprɪvi/. This means to have access to or

knowledge of secret or confidential information. 'The CEO's assistant is privy

to all the important decisions in the company.'

Another one, one I use quite a lot, is 'on the back burner', 'on the back burner'.

If something is 'on the back  burner', it's low priority 

and it's not being dealt with

at the present moment.

'Let's put this project on the back burner and focus on more pressing matters.'

However, I'm really busy. I put lots of things 'on the back burner'.

Next, we have an adjective 'cushy', 'cushy'. I wonder if you can guess what it means.

It's very similar to another word 'cushion'. If something is 'cushy', it means it's very easy,

requiring little effort.

Comfortable. Sometimes people say 'cushdy' as well. This is slang,

but we use it in professional situations. 'Ellen got a cushy job that pays well

but allows her lots of free time.'

Number 20 is a fantastic idiom! It is to 'get your foot in the door', 

'to get your foot in the door'. This means to enter a company

or organisation at a low level,

with a chance of being promoted, or being more successful in the future.

'Lena got her foot in the door as an intern, but she worked he

way up to department head in just a few years.' And my final

phrase for you is 'to go belly up', 'to go belly up'. And we use this

to talk about companies, and it means to fail completely and to have to close.

'The business went belly up after just a year of trading.'

'Okay. Oh, it's that time again. Quiz time. Which word is missing?

I managed to get my _ in the door at an amazing company

earlier in my career, and I've worked my way up to management level.'

'Head', 'foot', 'leg' or 'hand'?

'Foot', you 'get' your 'foot in the door'. Number 2, you know the Prime Minister,

right? Can you pull some _ and get me an interview with her?

Is it 'strikes', 'strides',  'streams' or 'strings'?

That's right. We 'pull some strings'. And finally, if a job is very easy

and doesn't require much effort, how can we describe it?

'Cushy'. Or if you said 'cushdy', I'll let you have that one, too.

Okay, that's everything for me today. I really hope you

enjoyed learning these 21 advanced words

and phrases in English.

That was some amazing phrases in there that you can use in so many contexts.

But as you know, 21 phrases aren't enough to get you

to an advanced level.

What can help you achieve that?

You guessed it. The C1 Programme! It is jam packed with advanced

phrases like 'a glutton for punishment' and 'to scare the living

daylights out of' someone.

all of the information is in the link down below. 

Right. We've finished the vocabulary section of this video. Now I've created a

challenge with 20 questions ranging from A1 to C1 level so you can check

whereabouts you are in terms of your English level.

This is not a dedicated level test. It's a fun challenge for you to see

how far you can get through the CFR levels.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

Today, I have a challenge for you.

I'm going to ask you 12 questions—4

at A1 or A2 beginner level, 4 at B1, B2 intermediate level, and 4 at C1, C2

advanced level.

Answer as many questions as you can and

see how far you can go.

After each question, I will explain the

answer meaning this video contains 12 mini-lessons.

I'm going to give you five seconds to

answer each question, but you will probably need more time, so use the pause button.

Please keep count of your score and share it with me in the comments section when

you're finished.

Let's start with beginner-level questions.

Number 1, choose the correct option to fill in this gap.

'There aren't _ books on the table.'

Is it A 'some' or B 'any'?

I'll give you five seconds.

The answer is 'any'.

'There aren't any books on the table.'

We usually use 'any' in negative sentences

with plural or uncountable nouns.

Okay, let's do question 2.

Fill in the gaps to create a question in the present simple tense.

I want you to use the verb  to like '_ he _ olives?'

5 seconds.

Okay, here's the answer.

'Does he like olives?'

Did you get that?

To make yes/no questions in the present

simple, we often use 'do' or 'does'.

We used 'does' here because the subject is

he and the verb is in the base form 'like', not 'likes'.

All right, question number 3.

Fill in the gap using the correct form of

the word easy to compare English to German.

Ready?

'I think English is _ than German.'

5 seconds.

Are you ready for the answer?

I'm also checking your spelling.

'Easier.'

Did you spell that right?

When a one or two-syllable adjective ends in a consonant plus 'y', we usually make

the comparative by removing the y and adding ier (I -E -R), easy, easier,

pretty, prettier, for example.

Let's look at sentence four, and this is

your last one at A1, A2 level.

Ready?

Choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

'Oh, no! He _ that mirror _. Watch out!'

Is it A 'will break', B 'is going to break' or C 'is breaking'?

5 seconds.

Okay, ready for the answer?

B 'is going to break'.

'Oh, no! He is going to break that mirror.'

Watch out!

We use 'to be going to' to make

predictions based on evidence we have now, often evidence that we can see.

So how did you do on that section?

Are you ready to move on to  B1 and B2 level questions?

Let's start with question five.

Find the mistake and correct it.

'Have you ever been to Tokyo?

Yes, I've been in 2019.'

I'll give you 5 seconds.

Are you ready for me to reveal the answer?

The mistake was using 'I've been', which

is the present perfect simple tense with a specific time reference, in 2019.

If you want to use a specific time reference, you should use the past simple.

I went in 2019.

You could also remove the time reference

from the sentence.

'Have you ever been to Tokyo?

Yes, I've been.'

It would be more natural to say, 'Yes, I

have,' but 'Yes, I've been' is okay.

Let's look at question 6.

Choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

'I finally got round to _  that film you recommended.'

Is it A 'watch', B 'watched' or C 'watching'?

5 seconds.

The answer is C 'watching'.

'To get round to' or 'to get around to' is

a phrasal verb meaning to find the time to do something.

It can be followed by a gerund (an -ing verb), or a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.

I've explained more about each of those things in the PDF.

Let's move on to question 7.

Which word forms the best collocation

with 'a reputation for something'?

'Colin has _ a reputation for being very

stubborn in negotiations.'

Is it A 'constructed', B 'gained' or C 'achieved'?

I'll give you 6 seconds this time.

Just kidding, 5.

The answer is 'gained'—B.

'Colin has gained a reputation for being

very stubborn in negotiations.'

'To gain a reputation for' something is a

strong collocation.

We wouldn't usually say—'constructed' or

'achieved' a reputation.

Okay, are you ready for the final

question in our B1, B2 section?

Number 8, fill in the gaps to

complete the sentence and use the verbs in brackets.

'If the weather _ (be) better yesterday, we _ (eat) outdoors.

However, it was pouring, so we ate inside.'

5 seconds for that one.

Are you ready for the answer?

'If the weather had been better yesterday,

we would have eaten outdoors.'

This is a third conditional sentence.

The structure is if plus past perfect comma would have plus past participle.

We use the third conditional to imagine a different past.

It's a hypothetical conditional because we can't change the past.

Okay, that's the end of our B1, B2 intermediate section, and remember that

the PDF and interactive exercise pack will really help you to understand and

remember what you're learning.

Okay, now we're moving on to C1 and C2

level questions, and these questions are really challenging.

Please don't worry if you can't answer them, but do have a go because I'm going

to explain the answers, and there are more detailed explanations in the PDF.

Even if you're not at this level yet, it's interesting to see what to aim for.

Remember to pause the video if you need longer to think about your answer.

Let's start with number 9.

Think of one word to fill in the blank in

all three sentences and the word must be exactly the same.

Sentence one—'I was at a _ as to how to help'.

Two 'The _ of his mother hit Erik hard', and

three 'We made a _ during our first year in business'.

5 seconds, but you may need longer.

Ready for the answer?

The word for all three sentences is loss.

'I was at a loss as to how to help', 'The

loss of his mother hit Erik hard', and 'We made a loss during our first year in business'.

Explanation time.

If you are 'at a loss', you don't know what

to do or say, that's the first sentence.

In the second sentence, 'loss' means the

death of a person.

In the third sentence, 'loss' means the

money a business lost, and it's the opposite of profit.

All right, let's move on to the next one.

This is a high level vocabulary question.

Number 10, choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

'The singer had a wonderfully _ voice that was perfect for jazz.'

Is it A 'gruff', B 'husky' or C 'hoarse'?

5 seconds for you.

The answer is B 'husky'.

'The singer had a wonderfully husky voice

that was perfect for jazz.'

Now, 'gruff', 'husky', and  'hoarse' have similar meanings.

We can use them all to describe the sound of someone's voice.

However, 'gruff' usually  has a negative connotation.

A 'gruff' voice is low, deep  and sometimes unfriendly.

'Hoarse' also has a negative connotation.

If someone's voice is 'hoarse', it's rough

and unpleasant, often because someone has a sore throat.

A 'husky' voice is also low and rough, but it's often in an attractive way.

It's essential to know these nuances in meaning when you get to an advanced level

in English.

Nuance is something we really focus on in

my Beautiful British English C1 Programme.

If you'd like to learn more about that,

visit englishwithlucy.com.

Okay, let's move on to question 11.

You might recognise this question type from English exams.

Ready?

Use the word 'brink' to fill in the gap and

make the second sentence mean the same as the first.

Do not change the word brink.

You can use between three and six words

in the gap.

Ready?

First sentence 'Medical advances should soon produce a breakthrough in gene therapy'.

Second sentence, this one's for you, 'The medical community is thought _ a

breakthrough in gene therapy'.

5 seconds, but I honestly think you'll

need longer.

Ready for the answer?

'The medical community is thought to be on the brink of a breakthrough in gene therapy.'

Did you get that?

If you did, well done, that's amazing!

If you are 'on the brink of something' - a new or different situation is about to begin.

It implies that something is going to happen or someone is going to do

something in the very near future.

There was also an impersonal passive

structure in that sentence 'The medical community is thought to be'.

Again, there is more about that in the PDF if you want to learn about it.

Now, the final question, number 12, and then you can share your score with me.

Number 12, change the form of the highlighted word so that it fits in the gap.

Ready?

'The city was _ by large stone walls.'

The highlighted word is 'circle'.

I'll give you 5 seconds to think this through.

Okay, the answer is 'encircled'.

'The city was encircled by large stone walls.'

Did anyone get that?

That question was all about word

formation, something that, again, we cover in great detail in my Beautiful British

English C1 Programme.

In this case, we took the word 'circle' and

made it into a past participle by adding 'd' and we added the prefix -E -N.

'To encircle' means to surround completely.

We wouldn't say 'circled' because that

means moving in a circle or drawing a circle around something.

And that was the last question, wasn't that a challenge?

I really want to know how you did so please do share your score or let me know

which questions were easy or difficult for you in the comments.

Sometimes, I find with my higher level students that they get the C1 and C2

questions, but then they make a mistake in an A2 question.

Okay. How did you do?

Did you manage to answer the C1 level questions? They were pretty

challenging, so don't worry. If you didn't if you were able to answer quite a few

of the B1 and B2 questions correctly, you might actually be ready for my

Beautiful British English C1 Programme. That programme is designed to take

you from a B2 or upper-intermediate level of English to a C1 advanced level.

If you're already at C1, don't dismiss this programme because

we actually overshoot C1 and cover quite a few C2-level words,

phrases and structures in the course.

We actually have a lot of English teachers participating in this

course, which makes the course community even more interesting

when we hear their opinions  and thoughts on things.

It's a fantastic way to consolidate what you've learnt in the past,

especially if you're feeling a little bit rusty. I'm feeling rusty with my Spanish

at the moment. I could really use something like this with Spanish.

My programme also focuses on teaching natural English, so you learn

lots of expressions that proficient speakers really use, not just textbook English.

We don't like textbook English.

I'm sure you can tell how proud I am of this course, how much I love this course.

It is my favourite. I'm not meant to have favourites, but this is

my favourite programme.

It really teaches the art of English. If you want to sign up for it,

click on the link in the description box.

Scan the QR code. If you have any questions,

please email us on [email protected].

We'll be right there with you!

Okay, we're at the end of the video.

If you're still here, you are one of my most 'tenacious' students.

In fact, I want to know who stuck it out. Leave me a comment that includes

the word 'tenacious' if you made it to the end.

I will see you in the next video. Bye!