TỪ VỰNG TOEIC unit 23

Unit 23 TEXT PLAC AUT/AUTO GRAT CLAM/CLAIM CRAC/CRAT PUNC POT Greek and Latin Borrowings Quiz 23-1 Quiz 23-2 Quiz 23-3 Quiz 23-4 Quiz 23-5 Review Quizzes 23 TEXT comes from a Latin verb that means “to weave.” So a textile is a woven or knitted cloth The material it's made from determines its texture, the smoothness or roughness of its surface And individual words are “woven” into sentences and paragraphs to form a text textual Having to with or based on a text • A textual analysis of 1,700 lipstick names, including Hot Mama and Raisin Hell, suggested to the author that the women buying them lack a healthy sense of self-worth Before the invention of the printing press, books were produced by hand When the text of a book is copied this way, textual errors can creep in, and a text that's been copied again and again can contain many such errors By comparing different copies of a work, textual critics try to figure out where the copyists went wrong and restore the text to its original form so that modern readers can again enjoy the correct versions of ancient texts When a class performs textual analysis of a poem, however, they are looking closely at its individual words and phrases in an effort to determine the poem's meanings context (1) The surrounding spoken or written material in which a word or remark occurs (2) The conditions or circumstances in which an event occurs; environment or setting • The governor claimed that his remarks were taken out of context and that anyone looking at the whole speech would get a different impression Context reveals meaning The context of an unfamiliar word can give us contextual clues to help us determine what the word means Taking a remark out of context can change its meaning entirely Likewise, people's actions sometimes have to be understood as having occurred in a particular context The behavior of historical figures should be seen in the context of their time, when standards may have been very different from our own hypertext A database format in which information related to that on a display screen can be accessed directly from the screen (as by a mouse click) • Three days ago my mother was asking me why some of the words are underlined in blue, but by yesterday she was already an expert in hypertext Since hyper- generally means “above, beyond” (see HYPER), hypertext is something that's gone beyond the limitations of ordinary text Thus, unlike the text in a book, hypertext permits you, by clicking with a mouse, to immediately access text in one of millions of different electronic sources Hypertext is now so familiar that most computer users may not even know the word, which was coined by Ted Nelson back in the early 1960s It took a few more years for hypertext to actually be created, by Douglas Engelbart, and then quite a few more years before the introduction of the World Wide Web in 1991 subtext passage The underlying meaning of a spoken or written • The tough and cynical tone of the story is contradicted by its romantic subtext A literary text often has more than one meaning: the literal meaning of the words on the page, and their hidden meaning, what exists “between the lines”—the subtext Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, for example, is about the Salem witchcraft trials of the 17th century, but its subtext is the comparison of those trials with the “witch hunts” of the 1950s, when many people were unfairly accused of being communists Even a social conversation between a man and a woman may have a subtext, but you may have to listen very closely to figure out what it is Don't confuse subtext with subplot, a less important plot that moves along in parallel with the main plot PLAC comes from the Latin placere, “to please or be agreeable to,” or placare, “to soothe or calm.” Pleasant, pleasurable, and pleasing all derive from this root, even though their spelling makes it hard to see placate To calm the anger or bitterness of someone • The Romans had a number of ways of placating the gods, which occasionally included burying slaves alive Politicians are constantly having to placate angry voters Diplomats frequently need to placate a country's allies or possible enemies Parents are always placating kids who think they've been unfairly denied something And lovers and spouses are some of the champion placaters It's no secret that people with the best social skills are often the best at placating other people— and that they themselves may be the ones who benefit the most by it placebo A harmless substance given to a patient in place of genuine medication, either for experimental purposes or to soothe the patient • The placebo worked miraculously: his skin rash cleared up, his sleep improved, and he even ceased to hear voices Doctors doing research on new treatments for disease often give one group a placebo while a second group takes the new medication Since those in the placebo group usually believe they're getting the real thing, their own hopeful attitude may bring about improvement in their condition Thus, for the real drug to be considered effective, it must produce even better results than the placebo Placebos have another use as well A doctor who suspects that a patient's physical symptoms are psychologically produced may prescribe a placebo in the hope that mentally produced symptoms can also be mentally cured placidity calmness Serene freedom from interruption or disturbance; • Her placidity seemed eerie in view of the destruction she had witnessed and the huge loss she had suffered A placid lake has a smooth surface untouched by wind A placid scene is one in which everything seems calm; it may even include a meadow with a few placid cows grazing on it Someone with a placid personality has an inner peacefulness that isn't easily disturbed As a personality trait, placidity is surely a lot better than some of the alternatives; however, the word sometimes describes people who are also a bit passive, like those contented cows implacable changed Not capable of being pleased, satisfied, or • Attempts to negotiate a peace settlement between such implacable enemies seem doomed to failure Implacable, with its negative prefix im-, describes something or someone that can't be calmed or soothed or altered A person who carries a grudge feels an implacable resentment—a resentment that can't be soothed An implacable foe is one you can't negotiate with, perhaps one who's fueled by implacable hatred And implacable sometimes describes things that only seem to be alive: an implacable storm is one that seems as if it will never let up, and an implacable fate is one that you can't outrun or hide from Quiz 23-4 A Choose the closest definition: impotent a antique b weak c broken d skimpy punctual a deflated b cranky c prompt d careful potentate a ruler b bully c warrior d prime minister acupuncture a massage technique b arrow hole c pinprick d needle therapy punctilious a pointed b careful c prompt d unusual plenipotentiary a monarch b ambassador c fullness d likely possibility compunction a desire b bravery c qualm d conviction potential a privilege b prestige c power d possibility Answers B Indicate whether the following pairs of words have the same or different meanings: acupuncture / precision same _ / different _ plenipotentiary / emperor same _ / different _ punctual / on time same _ / different _ potentate / monarch same _ / different _ compunction / threat same _ / different _ impotent / powerless same _ / different _ punctilious / speedy same _ / different _ potential / influence same _ / different _ Answers Greek and Latin Borrowings ambrosia (1) The food of the Greek and Roman gods (2) Something extremely pleasant to taste or smell • After two days lost in the woods, the simple stew tasted like ambrosia to them Ambrosia literally means “immortality” in Greek, and in Greek and Roman mythology only the immortals—the gods and goddesses—could eat ambrosia or drink nectar Both may have been divine forms of honey The gods also used nectar and ambrosia like oils for ceremonial anointing, and a mixture of water, oil, and fruits called ambrosia came to be used in human ceremonies as well Since we can't know what the mythical ambrosia tasted or smelled like, we mere mortals are free to give the name to our favorite ambrosial dessert— perhaps one involving oranges, coconut, and heavy cream dogma (1) Something treated as established and accepted opinion (2) A principle or set of principles taught by a religious organization • New findings about how animals communicate are challenging the current dogma in the field Religious dogma and scientific dogma are sometimes at odds, as in arguments between those who believe in the biblical story of creation and those who believe in evolution Since all dogma resists change, arguments of any kind are harder to resolve when both sides are dogmatic in their beliefs Dogma and dogmatic are generally used disapprovingly; it's always other people who believe unquestioningly in dogma and who take a dogmatic approach to important issues gratis Without charge; free • The service is gratis, since it comes as part of a package deal Gratis comes from the Latin word for “favor”; so in English a party favor is a small item given gratis to everyone attending a party Gratis is used as both an adjective (“The drinks were gratis”) and an adverb (“Drinks were served gratis”) But however it's used, it means “free.” eureka discovery An exclamation used to express triumph and delight on a • The mountain town of Eureka, California, was named for the cries of delight by prospectors when they discovered gold in them thar hills Eureka means “I have found” in Greek The story goes that the Greek inventor Archimedes, given the task of determining the purity of gold in a crown, shouted “Eureka!” one day after stepping into a bath and making water slop over the side, when he suddenly realized that the weight of water displaced indicated the bulk of his body, but that a larger body made of lighter matter might weigh the same but would displace more water Thus, a crown in which lighter metal had secretly been mixed with the gold would reveal itself in the same way The story may not be true, but we still shout “Eureka!” when we make a sudden, welcome discovery per se By, of, or in itself; as such • He claims that the reason for the invasion wasn't oil per se, but rather the country's dangerous military power, which had been made possible by its oil We generally use per se to distinguish between something in its narrow sense and some larger thing that it represents Thus, you may have no objection to educational testing per se, but rather to the way testing is done An opposition party may attack a president's policy not because they dislike the policy per se but because they want to weaken the president And when New York's police chief decided to crack down on small crimes, it wasn't the small crimes per se that were his target, but instead the larger crimes which he believed would be reduced because of this new approach opus A creative work, especially a musical composition or set of compositions numbered in order of publication • Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is also known as Opus (Op.) 125 A literary opus is often a single novel, though the word may sometimes refer to all of a writer's works But opus normally is used for musical works Mendelssohn's Opus 90 is his Italian Symphony, for example, and Brahms's Op 77 is his Violin Concerto Since many composers' works were never given opus numbers in an orderly way, they now often have catalog numbers assigned by later scholars So Haydn's Symphony No 104 is Hob.104 (Hob is short for Anthony van Hoboken, the cataloger), and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is K.492 (K stands for Ludwig Köchel) impetus (1) A driving force or impulse; something that makes a person try or work hard; incentive (2) Momentum • The promise of a nice bonus gave us all an added impetus for finishing the project on time An impetus can be something positive and pleasant, or something negative and unpleasant, but in either case it stimulates action The need to earn a living provides many people with the impetus to drag themselves out of bed five mornings a week On the other two days, the impetus might be the smell of bacon cooking, or the idea of an early-morning round of golf Impetus can be used either with an or the in front of it (“The accident provided an impetus for changing the safety regulations”) or without them (“His discoveries have given impetus to further research”) thesis (1) An opinion or proposition that a person presents and tries to prove by argument (2) An extended paper that contains the results of original research, especially one written by a candidate for an academic degree • She's done all the coursework needed for her master's degree but hasn't yet completed her thesis In high school, college, or graduate school, students often have to write a thesis on a topic in their major field of study In many fields, a final thesis is the biggest challenge involved in getting a master's degree, and the same is true for students studying for a Ph.D (a Ph.D thesis is often called a dissertation) But a thesis may also be an idea; so in the course of the paper the student may put forth several theses (notice the plural form) and attempt to prove them Quiz 23-5 Fill in each blank with the correct letter: a gratis b ambrosia c per se d impetus e thesis f opus g eureka h dogma His latest _ is a set of songs on poetry by Pablo Neruda This sauce tastes like _! Treating epilepsy and depression by stimulating the muscles with electrical current was medical _ for years, but today no one is doing it anymore The article isn't really about surgery _, but it talks about several issues that are closely related to it She wrote her _ on the portrayal of women in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne _! I knew I'd find that file sooner or later! The souvenirs were distributed _ to anyone who stopped to see the display The _ for this latest big research effort is a prize that's being offered by a foundation Answers Review Quizzes 23 A Complete the analogy: shout : whisper :: clamor : _ a noise b din c murmur d confusion barrier : stop :: impetus : _ a force b drive c trip d work approval : permission :: autonomy : _ a satisfaction b independence c slavery d poverty helpful : servant :: autocratic : _ a friend b enemy c teacher d tyrant turmoil : conflict :: placidity : _ a peace b dullness c trouble d smoothness alas : disappointment :: eureka : _ a distress b woe c distance d discovery gladden : delight :: gratify : _ a please b depress c amaze d surprise strong : vigorous :: impotent : _ a healthy b fragile c powerful d weak Answers B Fill in each blank with the correct letter: a acclamation i plutocracy b ingratiate j thesis c potentate k autonomy d context l placate e declaim m punctilious f ambrosia n subtext g automaton o autocratic h dogma She can work like an _ for eight hours a day, in constant motion, never pausing to speak to a fellow worker Her boss had flown into a rage that morning, and it had taken her two hours to _ him By taking his remarks out of _, the papers made him look like a crook The _ that controls the government also controls all the country's news media Her attempts to _ herself with the new management were resented by the other workers She was so _ about the smallest office policies that everyone went to her when they had forgotten one of them He had to revise his _ twice before being granted his master's degree He holds court in his vast 15th-floor office like an oriental _, signing documents and issuing commands Huge cheering crowds in the streets greeted him on his return from exile, and he was swept into office almost by _ 10 The dinner was nothing special, but the dessert was pure _ 11 Replacing an _ government with a democracy is never easy if the country is unfamiliar with democratic procedures 12 She stood before the crowd and began to _ in the tones of a practiced politician 13 Several remote tribes have been granted limited _, including selfpolicing rights and freedom from taxation 14 Her theory was hotly debated, since it disagreed with the established _ 15 She claims that the novel has a _ that no one has ever noticed, and pointed out the clues that the author had provided Answers C Choose the closest definition: aristocrat a noble b power c ruler d office worker gratuitous a pleasant b unnecessary c happy d satisfying gratuity a fee b service c obligation d tip opus a achievement b composition c burden d talent per se a if not b of course c free of charge d as such compunction a confidence b misgiving c condition d surprise autism a self-absorption b self-governance c authenticity d authority gratis a irritating b grateful c inexpensive d free gratify a unify b donate c satisfy d modify 10 factotum a computer printout b carved pole c plumber d assistant 11 implacable a impossible to place b impossible to change c impossible to say d impossible to like 12 textual a of an idea b of a manuscript c on an assumption d on a hunch 13 placebo a one-celled animal b medical instrument c harmless substance d peaceful mood 14 potential a regulation b influence c impact d possibility 15 bureaucrat a furniture maker b politician c official d servant Answers ... if it will never let up, and an implacable fate is one that you can't outrun or hide from Quiz 23- 1 A Fill in each blank with the correct letter: a placebo b textual c placate d context e subtext... independent-minded regions of Russia, have become major issues The autonomy of individual states in the United States has posed serious constitutional questions for two centuries The autonomy of children... brownnosing But some people are able to win favor just by relying on their ingratiating smiles Quiz 23- 2 A Complete the analogy: favor : prefer :: gratify : _ a use b please c thank d repay liberty