Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 21 - Day 4

Word List
  • bona fide [bō´ nə fīd´]
    genuine
    → “Milosevic, a bona fide villain, will pay for his war crimes—we can be sure of that.” Editorial, Washington Post, 5/28/99
  • salvation [sal vā´ shən]
    deliverance from ruin
    → “Maybe it is connected with some terrible sin, with the loss of eternal salvation, with some bargain with the devil.” Aleksandr Pushkin, “The Queen of Spades”
  • materialism [mə tir´ ē ə liz´ əm]
    attention to worldly things and neglect of spiritual needs
    → “Democracy always makes for materialism, because the only kind of equality that you can guarantee to a whole people is physical.” Katherine F. Gerould, Modes and Morals
  • nurture [nėr´ chər]
    to nourish, support
    → “The Telecommunications Act of 1996 introduced competition that has nurtured demand for communications generally and for Internet service specifically.” Seth Schessel, “A Chance to Become Really Big,” New York Times, 6/15/99
  • nirvana [nir vä´ nə]
    freedom from care and pain, Buddhist heaven
    → “Nirvana is in putting your child to sleep, and in writing the last line of your poem.” Kahlil Gilbran, Sand and Foam

Buddha outlined the three paths that men might travel: worldly pleasure, self-torment, and the middle path. Only through the middle path could man achieve bona fide peace and salvation. One had to repudiate* materialism, keep his self-control, restrict speech, be open-minded, never lie or steal, reject selfish drives, nurture goodness, etc. Buddha continued to preach until the age of eighty, spreading the philosophy that man has the power to shape his own destiny. Through good deeds and pure thoughts man may reach nirvana. Interestingly enough, the man who objected to traditional religious worship was to become idolized by millions throughout the world.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. In order to __________ good will, the management will do anything to accommodate* its guests’ special needs.
  2. When we saw the hundreds of __________ petitions, we realized that the number of people who supported the candidate was legion.*
  3. The megalomaniac* believed that he alone had the answer to mankind’s __________ .
  4. Rosalie found solace* in the conviction that one day mankind would reach Shangri-la, Utopia,* __________ .
  5. Disciples* of __________ may know the price of everything but the value of nothing.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. to nourish, support
  2. b. attention to worldly things and neglect of spiritual needs
  3. c. freedom from care and pain, Buddhist heaven
  4. d. genuine
  5. e. deliverance from ruin
  1. bona fide __________
  2. salvation __________
  3. materialism __________
  4. nurture __________
  5. nirvana __________

Answer Key
like Caesar’s wife—above suspicion
Mrs. Drake would have to be like Caesar’s wife so that no tinge* of scandal would embarrass her husband, our new mayor.

Favorite Books
Table of Contents