Challenges and achievements – B2 English Vocabulary

Challenges and achievements

In this Pre-advanced Vocabulary Lesson about Challenges and Achievements, you will learn essential terms and phrases related to setting and achieving goals, overcoming obstacles, and persevering to succeed. Check the pictures, definitions and example sentences below to understand these terms better.

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1 A goal is an objective or result that you wish to achieve in the future.

• My goal is to pay off my mortgage before my 35th birthday.

2 A lifelong or burning ambition is something that you have always wanted to do or achieve or that you have a passionate and uncontrollable desire to accomplish.

• It has been my lifelong ambition to travel around the world alone.
• I’ve always had a burning ambition to climb to the top of Mt Everest.

3 A setback is something that delays or stops you from making progress, while 4 a hurdle is a problem that you must overcome in order to accomplish something.

• We experienced several setbacks, which really slowed us down.
• Mike had to overcome many hurdles before finally achieving his goal.

5 A hardship is a difficult condition or situation that is hard to endure.

• Joe endured many hardships in his youth, such as poverty and poor health.

6 Motivation is the desire to achieve a goal.

• Luke’s teachers complained that he lacks motivation and doesn’t work very hard.

Similar to motivation, 7 determination is the persistent commitment and effort towards achieving a goal, especially in the face of challenges. 8 Resilience is the ability to recover and adapt after encountering difficulties or setbacks.

• I admire Tom’s determination to succeed in everything he does.
• Jane has shown a lot of resilience after the hardships she has endured.

9 A stepping stone is something that helps you make progress towards achieving a goal, and 10 a breakthrough is an important event or discovery that helps you make progress or improve a difficult situation.

• Working for a production company was a stepping stone in my career.
• John called me to report that he had made a breakthrough in his research.

11 An accomplishment is something that you have achieved and are proud of, while 12 a dream come true is when something that you have hoped for for a long time finally happens.

• Lara is very modest and rarely talks about her accomplishments.
• Working with my favourite actor was a dream come true for me.

Verbs and verb phrases

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1 When you pursue a dream, you make efforts towards achieving something you have always wanted.

• Ben is currently pursuing his dream of cycling across North America.

2 If you face something, you confront a difficult reality or situation.

• Max has had to face some difficult problems during the course of his career.

3 If you attempt to do something, you make an effort to do or achieve a particular task, and 4 if you deal with  a problem or difficult situation, you take action towards solving them.

• She attempted to climb the mountain despite the harsh weather conditions.
• She had to deal with an unexpected power outage during her presentation.

5 If you succeed in doing something, you manage to achieve the desired result in a task you’ve been trying to do, and 6 if you pull something off, you succeed in doing something difficult or dangerous.

• Jeff is so determined; I am sure he will succeed in everything he does.
• Although they had planned the robbery carefully, the men were unable to pull it off.

7 If you achieve or fulfil a goal, ambition, or dream, you accomplish something that you have been trying very hard to do, and if you 8 believe in yourself or somebody else, you are confident that you or they can achieve something.

• Lucy has finally achieved her goal and reached her ideal weight.
• If you want to fulfil this ambition, you’re going to have to push yourself harder.
• My parents have always believed in me and told me I was capable of great things.

9 If you overcome a problem or hurdle, you manage to recover from a difficult situation.

• After months of hard work, she finally overcame the financial hurdles and managed to save her business.

10 If you persevere or never give up, you keep trying to do something despite the difficulties you might face, and 11 if you push yourself, you continuously force yourself to do something difficult to achieve a result.

• I realise the course is difficult, but I hope you will persevere and complete the year.
• Jim is unlikely to stop pushing himself until he achieves his goal.

12 When you exceed expectations, you achieve better results than you or other people expected you to.

• Matt exceeded everyone’s expectations and graduated from school with honours.

After completing the exercises in this lesson on Challenges and Achievements, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flashcards to revise and help you memorize the terms.