Useful expressions

1. Due to political inertia, extremists are insidiously widening their influence.

2. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar has vindicated those who oppose the Sharifs.

inertia: unwillingness to move or act; apathy

insidiously: subtly; craftily

vindicate: justify

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the following words:

inertia; insidiously; vindicated

1.      I have every confidence that this decision will be fully ….  

2.      I can't seem to throw off this feeling of ….

3.      This kind of advertising acts … on young minds.

Answers

vindicated 2. inertia 3. insidiously

Useful expressions

1. India wants to offset China’s increasingly assertive role in Asia.

2. Modi plans to build India into an economic powerhouse.

3. Allah repays the guilty.

offset: counteract; balance

powerhouse: something that is productive

repay: requite; reward

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the following words:

powerhouse; offset; repaid

1. The extra cost of travelling to work is … by the lower price of houses here.

2. I felt that I had been amply … for my exertions.

3. China has been described as an ‘emerging economic …’.

Answers

1. offset 2. repaid 3. powerhouse

1. The 16 December school massacre sent shock waves through the country and beyond.

2. The military should take on Islamist militants of all shades.

3. The government was forced to backpedal on some of its earlier announcements.

shock wave: a very strong reaction

take on: fight against

backpedal: retreat or move backward; recant

Useful expressions

1. The treason trial of Pervez Musharraf is a travesty of justice.

2. Cutting clandestine deals with militant groups may unravel the state.

3. The government’s policy of dialogue with militants is riddled with holes.

travesty: mockery; farce

clandestine: secret

riddled with: full of sth, especially sth bad or unpleasant

Useful expressions

1. Tradition and custom often take precedence over legislation.

2. While the group (ie the ISIS) oppresses many women, many also flock to its ranks.

3. Women have long been involved in terror of all stripes.

precedence: priority

flock: go in large numbers

stripe: type

Useful Expressions

1. The Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar sparked global condemnation.

2. Temperatures plummeted below zero.

3. The jihadist group Islamic State controls large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

4. The fight against extremism must be multipronged.

5. We want Pakistan to emerge as a dynamic Islamic welfare state.

spark: cause 

plummet: fall or plunge rapidly

swathe: a long strip of land

multipronged: having several distinct aspects

dynamic: always changing and making progress