Time to plan

Vocabulary

In this material you’ll find vocabulary that may not seem familiar to you. That's why it’s important to take a look at the following chart and study the words and phrases below. In any case, if you find vocabulary you don’t understand, having a good handy dictionary helps a lot.

These are some online dictionaries that may be useful:

Cambridge Dictionary

Merriam-Webster
Words and phrases Meanings
in a year’s time To happen in a year from now.
finish a major To end your university studies.
tuition The money you pay for the education you receive in a school.
enroll To register or enter in a list to join a school or course. Synonym: inscribe, register.
take a gap year To take a year off school to travel, work or learn something on your own.
wonder (verb) To be curious about something. (noun) surprise. Synonym: marvel.
go scuba diving To swim underwater using special equipment.
local crafts An activity in which you make something representative of a place using a lot of hand skills.
afford to pay To have enough money to buy something or to pay for a service.
expenses The money you spend on something. A financial compromise.
real estate agent A person who sells buildings or lands.
break into a house To enter a house without permission, using force.
come up with To think and express an idea.
auction A sale in which things are sold to the person who offers the most money.
insurance money The money you receive from an insurance company when you have an accident or are hurt.

Did you see the information in bold in two definitions? Nope? Check them again!

 wonder (verb) To be curious about something. (noun) surprise. Synonym: marvel.
enroll To register or enter in a list to join a school or course. Synonym: inscribe, register.

In bold, you have synonyms of the words. First, the word enroll has synonyms, for instance: inscribe or register. Then, the word wonder as a noun has a synonym: marvel.

What does that mean?

According to McMillan dictionary, a synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word. For example, “scared” is a synonym for “afraid”. Or “fantastic” is a synonym for “fabulous".

Synonyms help you avoid repetition, enrich a text, and obviously show the mastery of a language, in other words, the more synonyms in English you know, the better learner you become. So, when you look up the meaning of words in a dictionary, check the synonyms as well.

Select exercise

Read the article about plans, choose the correct word to complete the text.

Time to plan
Time to plan

Being young is awesome, living a day at a time is part of this idea that we shouldn’t worry about what the future may bring. However, it’s important to know that time passes by and we are definitely going to get older. For this reason, it’s essential to find some time to plan how we would like our life to be. In fact, making plans is not as bad as we think, the other way around, a plan allows you to set goals and take action towards them. Some of the plans you need to consider are the following:

Are you going to study a major?

If so, you need to save money to pay for your . Not all are public schools, some are private and very expensive. Therefore, start saving money to pay for your education or to help your parents with the !

I’m going to travel before I start college.

Oh, if you think you are going to a gap year, then you need to plan how much time you’re going to be off school and how you’re going to pay for that trip. Taking a gap year to go on a trip means you can to pay for everything you need. You won’t ask your parents to pay for this, will you?

Do you want to have a car?

Well, if your answer is “yes, I do”; then you need to think about safety. When accidents happen, help a lot. You can use it to repair the car, or a hospital in case you need to be checked.

Are you going to live with your parents until you get old?

That is not something many young people want. Quite the opposite, most young adults want to be independent, find their own space. To do so, you’re going to look for a to find you the perfect house or apartment.

I know, I know it seems that everything has to do with money, and sometimes it does. Life is beautiful, but it comes with responsibilities and planning can help a lot. If you really want to live a good life, you have to work hard to get what you want. Being honest, we are planning all the time even without noticing; just think about your next vacation: scuba diving? or Are you staying home? Think about it, and if you don’t know yet, after a while you will an idea and start planning.