Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 25 - Day 1

Word List
  • awesome [ô´ səm]
    inspiring terror, weird
    → “Africa has some of the most awesome jungles in the world.” John Hersey, Into the Valley
  • eruption [i rup´ shən]
    ruins, fragments
    → “We have learned about this ancient city, frozen in time by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D.” Grand Circle Travel Booklet, 1999
  • puny [pyü´ nē]
    scattered, spread, broken up
    → “I have said that I am a weak and puny man, and you will have proof of that directly.” Max Beerbohm, “A. V. Laidler”
  • debris [də brē´]
    bursting out
    → “They continued their support for earthquake victims in the debris of collapsed houses.” New York Daily News, 8/7/99
  • dispersed [dis pėrsd´]
    weak, unimportant
    → “The police waded in and dispersed the protesting crowd.” New York Post, 10/23/99

There are few sights that are more impressive and awesome than the eruption of an active volcano. There are few natural events that so singularly* dwarf man’s puny attempts to control his environment. Perhaps the greatest volcanic eruption of modern times took place in 1883 when the island of Krakatoa in Indonesia blew up as the result of a volcanic explosion. An enormous tidal wave resulted that proved catastrophic* to the nearby coasts of Java and Sumatra. New islands were formed by the lava that poured out, and debris was scattered across the Indian Ocean for hundreds of miles. Volcanic material, dispersed seventeen miles into the atmosphere, created startlingly beautiful sunsets for years afterwards.

Sample Sentences Relying on the contextual clues in the paragraph above, use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. Fred had been known for his gentle ways, so his friends were stunned by the __________ of angry words that issued from him.
  2. We were surprised by the __________ resistance put up by the voracious* tiger to its capture.
  3. After her house had burned to the ground, Mrs. Wiley searched through the __________ for her valuable jewelry.
  4. Many of those who witnessed the first atomic explosion reported that it was an __________ sight.
  5. The fluffy seeds of the milkweed are __________ by the wind.

Definitions Now take the final step in learning the new words.

  1. a. scattered, spread, broken up
  2. b. weak, unimportant
  3. c. inspiring terror, weird
  4. d. ruins, fragments
  5. e. bursting out
  1. awesome __________
  2. debris __________
  3. dispersed __________
  4. eruption __________
  5. puny __________

Answer Key
as broad as it is long—it makes very little difference
Since both jobs pay $7.25 an hour and are equally boring, it is about as broad as it is long whether I take one or the other.

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