Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 8 - Day 5

Shortly before his death, Dr. Dooley was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as one of America’s ten most outstanding young men. There may be no connection between success of that type and an expanded vocabulary—but one never knows.

Review Words

Match the twenty words with their meanings. *Reminder: Record answers on a sheet of paper.

DEFINITIONS

  1. a. lack of necessities
  2. b. inadequate diet
  3. c. being everywhere at once
  4. d. to trouble greatly
  5. e. agonizing
  6. f. wasted away
  7. g. distant
  8. h. evil
  9. i. to rush suddenly
  10. j. place of protection
  11. k. forerunner
  12. l. to rise
  13. m. to hinder
  14. n. yield
  15. o. postponement
  16. p. to surround
  17. q. becoming progressively worse
  18. r. reechoing
  19. s. worrisome
  20. t. peaceful
  21. u. a diversion
  22. v. to be kept waiting
  23. w. to change one’s mind
  24. x. claiming to despise what you cannot have

REVIEW WORDS

  1. afflict __________
  2. ascend __________
  3. besiege __________
  4. emaciated __________
  5. excruciating __________
  6. fretful __________
  7. harbinger __________
  8. malignant __________
  9. malnutrition __________
  10. privation __________
  11. remote __________
  12. respite __________
  13. reverberating __________
  14. sanctuary __________
  15. sinister __________
  16. succumb __________
  17. surge __________
  18. thwart __________
  19. tranquil __________
  20. ubiquitous __________

Idioms

IDIOMS

  1. sour grapes __________
  2. swap horses in midstream __________
  3. to cool one’s heels __________
  4. a red herring __________

Make a record of those words you missed.

SENSIBLE SENTENCES? (From Week 8)

Choose the word that makes sense in each of the sentences below.

  1. Eric was (afflicted, besieged) with an inoperable ailment.
    • afflicted
    • besieged
  2. The octogenarian refused to (succumb, surge) to pneumonia.
    • succumb
    • surge
  3. The (remote, ubiquitous) mayor was photographed in four different parts of the city yesterday.
    • remote
    • ubiquitous
  4. We were worried lest the hostages be suffering from (sanctuary, malnutrition).
    • sanctuary
    • malnutrition
  5. The (tranquil, sinister) tone of the spring morning was suddenly broken by the loud explosion.
    • tranquil
    • sinister
  6. I heard his voice (excruciating, reverberating) through the corridors.
    • excruciating
    • reverberating
  7. The senator’s bid for a second term was (thwarted, respited) by the electorate.
    • thwarted
    • respited
  8. After the king’s death, his son (ascended, succumbed) to the throne in the normal order of succession.
    • ascended
    • succumbed
  9. The (privations, harbingers) that the poor people endured in their ghetto apartments were reprehensible.
    • privations
    • harbingers
  10. The children were (emaciated, fretful) when awakened from their nap.
    • emaciated
    • fretful
  11. We were asked to (swap horses in midstream, cool our heels) while waiting for the bus.
    • swap horses in midstream
    • cool our heels

PARTS OF SPEECH (From Weeks 2–8)

Choose the noun, verb, or adjective that answers each of the questions.

  • a. affluent
  • b. arbitrary
  • c. avid
  • d. cajole
  • e. elicit
  • f. euphemism
  • g. fray
  • h. harbinger
  • i. indigent
  • j. precocious
  • k. pugnacious
  • l. reprimand
  • m. skirmish
  • n. sour grapes
  • o. wrest
  1. Which noun tells you that something is on the way? __________
  2. Which verb means to extract, to get something out of? __________
  3. Which adjective describes an action that is based on a whim? __________
  4. Which adjective tells you about children who are very bright for their age? __________
  5. If a wealthy family moved into your neighborhood, which adjective would be suitable for them? __________
  6. Which adjective can be substituted for enthusiastic? __________
  7. If you had to coax someone into doing something, which verb would be appropriate? __________
  8. When we call a garbage collector a sanitary engineer, which noun comes to mind? __________
  9. In seizing control, which verb is appropriate? __________
  10. Which adjective describes a combative, quarrelsome person? __________
  11. Which verb is a good synonym for scold? __________
  12. What do you indulge in when you belittle that which you cannot possess? __________
  13. Which adjective describes a poverty-stricken person? __________

WORDSEARCH 8

Using the clues listed below, record separately using one of the new words you learned this week for each blank in the following story.

Clues
  1. 4th Day
  2. 1st Day
  3. 3rd Day
  4. 1st Day
  5. 2nd Day

Aftermath of an Earthquake

The Egyptian earthquake in October 1992 killed 600 residents of Cairo and hospitalized thousands of others, many of whom were expected to (1)__________ as a result of their injuries. Especially hard hit were the people who inhabited the city’s slums, who had to seek (2)__________ in those government buildings, schools, and factories that remained standing.

Muslim fundamentalists were active in providing relief to the survivors in the form of food, water, blankets, and tents to house the more than 300 families made homeless by the disaster. In the midst of a rubble-strewn street, a large tent was set up, bearing the banner, “Islam is the Solution.” Believers took the opportunity to spread the message that the earthquake was a (3)__________ of worse things to come, and that a wayward population must follow God’s laws if they expected to (4)__________ to heaven.

Throughout history, following volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tidal waves, and other calamities that periodically (5)__________ mankind, religious leaders have used such occurrences to bring the people back to their faith.

“Unless we return to Allah,” said a priest, “we can expect more divine punishment.”

Since many Egyptians had expressed unhappiness about their government prior to the earthquake, there was a good chance for Muslim fundamentalists to seize the opportunity to win new converts by showing that the answer to recovery was not through man’s efforts but through God’s.

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