New kid on the bloc – The Hindu (Oct 18, 2017)

New kid on the bloc – The Hindu (Oct 18, 2017)

Austria’s early elections on Sunday paid off for Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who, at 31, is set to become Austria’s Chancellor and the youngest head of government in Europe.  For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

Word List-2 (To Improve English Vocabulary)

1. the new kid on the block (phrase) – a newcomer, novice, starter/learner (to a particular place).
2. pull off (phrasal verb) – achieve, succeed in, accomplish.
3. audacious (adjective) – bold, daring, fearless.
4. pay off (phrasal verb) – succeed, be effective, get results.
5. rein (noun) – the power (to direct and control).
6. whiz (noun) – genius, expert, master.
7. fortune (noun) – luck, fate, destiny.
8. the far right (noun) – the extreme right wing of a political party.
9. reaffirm (verb) – assert, state, assure again strongly.
10. cohort (noun) – group, generation, category/section.
11. counterpart (noun) – a person who serves the same job/function but in a different location; equivalent.
12. alarming (adjective) – worrying, disturbing, troubling.
13. populism (noun) – related to policies that supposedly represent the opinions of ordinary people (Courtesy: VOA Learning English).
14. foothold (noun) – footing, grip/anchorage, secure position.
15. Bundestag (proper noun) – The lower house of Parliament in Germany.
16. capitalise (verb) – take advantage of, exploit, benefit from.
17. wary (adjective) – distrustful, doubtful, sceptical.
18. influx (noun) – an arrival or entry of large numbers of people.
19. forefront (noun) – vanguard, spearhead, leading position.
20. Visegrád Group (noun) – a cultural and political alliance of four Central European states – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – for the purposes of furthering their European integration, as well as for advancing military, economic and energy cooperation with one another (Courtesy: Wikipedia).
21. strain (noun) – pressure, demands, burdens.
22. call for (phrasal verb) – demand, require, need.
23. fan the flames (phrase) – increase feelings/emotions.
24. exclusionist (adjective) – relating to a person who supports exclusion of something (a place, group, or privilege) from others.
25. dividend (noun) – benefit, advantage, gain.

Note:   

1. Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.

2. Definitions (elementary level) & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press. Tentative definitions/meanings are provided for study purpose only and they may vary in different context. Use it with the corresponding article published on the source (website) via the link provided. 

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