Costa Rica vocabulary (ESL)

"How did Costa Rica escape the corruption, instability, and violent political struggles that have plagued many Latin American countries?"

a "struggle" means ...

• a fight for control

• a difficult effort

• a weakness

• an election

• a strange position

"How did Costa Rica escape the corruption, instability, and violent political struggles that have plagued many Latin American countries?"

to "plague" means ...

• to worry too much about something

• to spread a disease widely

• to cause constant or repeated trouble

• to cause something to be dirty

• to resolve difficulties

"strength" is the opposite of ...

• strong

• width

• weight

• shortness

• weakness

Carlos Alvarado was elected in 2018 and is still the leader of the republic. He is the ... president of Costa Rica.

• former

• current

• actual

• pretend

• acting

"The book looks at how Costa Rica achieved its surprisingly strong happiness score."

to "achieve" means ...

• to arrive, to get to a location

• to almost - but not quite - reach a goal

• to surprise the expectations of most people

• to save valuable papers in a special location

• to accomplish; to reach a status through effort

"In 1948, a civil war broke out in Costa Rica."

to "break out" means ...

• for a difficult situation to cause a skin condition

• for a difficult situation to begin (often suddenly)

• for a difficult situation to end suddenly

• for a difficult situation to cause a lot of damage

• for a difficult situation to be surprisingly good

Costa Rica's defense minister had proposed abolishing the military to free up government funds that could be spent on education and healthcare."

to "abolish" means ...

• to officially give something a name

• to officially end or stop something

• to give special status to a group

• to allow in special circumstances

• to destroy by violence

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."

to "avoid" means ...

• to prevent the occurrence of something

• to encourage to happen

• to make something bad better

• to maintain a condition

• to allow many people to do something

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."

to "ban" means ...

• to encourage the development of something

• to not allow something to exist

• to create a special group

• to violently destroy something

• to make something official

"By banning Communism, Costa Rica avoided uprisings at home and becoming a direct target of the U.S. for the rest of the Cold War."

a "target" means ...

• a place, thing, or person at which an attack is aimed (directed)

• an attempted difficult goal

• something that is not allowed

• a popular location for illegal business

• a place for practicing the use of weapons