Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 1 - Day 2

Word List
  • abound [ə bound´]
    to exist in great numbers
    → "A smart thriller that abounds with suspense and excitement!" Newspaper ad for film The General's Daughter
  • technology [tek nol´ ə jē]
    branch of knowledge dealing with engineering, applied science, etc.
    → "Mr. Greenspan noted that 'history is strewn' with miscalculations about technology developments." Richard Stevenson, "Fed Chief on New-Age Economy," New York Times, 6/15/99
  • prognosticate [prog nos´ tə kāt]
    to predict or foretell a future event
    → “Nay, if an oily palm be not a fruitful prognostication I cannot scratch my ear.” William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
  • automaton [ô tom´ ə ton]
    a robot; a mechanical “person”
    → “She’s an automaton; she has every quality in the world, and I’ve often wondered why it is with all that I’m so completely indifferent to her.” W. Somerset Maugham, The Treasure
  • matron [mā´ trən]
    an older married woman
    → “For ladies they had the family of the American consul and a nice bevy of English girls and matrons, perhaps Lady Hamilton herself.” Edward Everett Hale, The Man Without a Country

The worlds of science-fiction abound with wonders. Yet modern technology progresses so rapidly that what may be today’s wild dream may be next year’s kitchen appliance. A British scientist has prognosticated that within ten years every suburban matron will have her own robot servant. One task this domesticated automaton will not have to contend with will be scouring the oven because even today the newest ranges can be “programmed” to reduce their own baked-on grime to easily disposed of ashes.

Sample Sentences Now that you’ve seen the words used in context, and—hopefully—have an idea of their meanings, try to use them in the following sentences. Remember that a wordending may have to be changed.

  1. The mayor refused to __________ as to his margin of victory in the election.
  2. The time is approaching when human workers may be replaced by __________.
  3. A clever salesman will always ask a __________ if her mother is at home.
  4. The western plains used to __________ with bison before those animals were slaughtered by settlers.
  5. Man may be freed from backbreaking labor by the products of scientific __________.

Definitions Test yourself now by matching the new words with the definitions. If you are not sure of yourself, cover the top half of this page before you begin.

  1. a. an older married woman
  2. b. branch of knowledge dealing with engineering, applied science, etc.
  3. c. a robot; a mechanical “person”
  4. d. to exist in great numbers
  5. e. to predict or foretell a future event
  1. abound __________
  2. technology __________
  3. prognosticate __________
  4. automaton __________
  5. matron __________

Answer Key
a pig in a poke—an item you purchase without having seen; a disappointment
The mail order bicycle that my nephew bought turned out to be a pig in a poke, and he is now trying to get his money back.

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