ARCANE WORDS (WORDS # 22)

HULLO!

BEAUTIFUL CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN SPRING!

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ABERRATION

Noun (countable or uncountable, formal) – Something that is not normal or what you would usually expect

A genetic aberration is usually to be feared

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ACCLIMATE

Verb (Intransitive – transitive) – To gradually become more adapted in a new place, especially where physical conditions are very different

The team must get acclimated to this high altitude before they start to play the game.              

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ADAMANT

Adjective – determined not to change a belief or decision about something

We tried to persuade her but she was adamant

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ADVERSITY

Noun (Uncountable) – A difficult period in your life in which you have many problems

We struggled on in the face of adversity

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

Hey, these words seem easier! They are certainly not “arcane”, that title is just for fun!

I would say that of the four in this set, two are more common and two are not used very often.

I don’t find “Aberration” very useful; it’s not for everyday language. It’s a rather strong word, so if your opinion of something leads you to define that something as an “aberration” you would be expressing a very strong rejection. Biologists also refer to “aberrations” that appear in nature and in this case they are describing something that is not normal.

The word “Acclimate” is obviously related to “Climate”, but it has a wider meaning. Plant producers and gardeners speak of getting plants “acclimated”, so this is relatively common.

“Adamant” is not commonly used, and again it is a rather forceful expression! Young teenagers usually complain that their parents are “adamant” about something, but they would probably not use that particular word.

“Adversity” is relatively common, we have all faced difficult moments during our lives, and then we would talk about facing “adversity”.

There is good news for Spanish speakers because aberración, aclimatar and adversidad all exist, sound similar and mean the same! This would be a big help during a difficult test!

So study these words and practice using them, and I’ll see you on my next post!

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© 2013  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)

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UNKNOWN WORDS (WORDS # 21)

HULLO! 

FABULOUS DAHLIAS!

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ULTERIOR

Noun (Countable) – An ulterior motive for doing something means that you think you will get some advantage from doing it

Politicians very often have ulterior motives when they make their followers an offer about some issue.

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UNASSAILABLE

Adjective (Formal) – Impossible to defeat, criticize or argue with

The army very quickly established an unassailable lead

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UNDULATE

Verb (Intransitive) – To move gently up and down in the shape of waves on the ocean

The colored streamers were undulating in the wind

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UNILATERAL

Adjective – Done or decided by one country, group or person without considering others

Such unilateral action violates international trade rules.

There was a unilateral cease fire.

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

Another interesting set of words taken from the lists that are suggested for the various graduate entry tests.

It seems to me that the only one that would have a more frequent use is “Unilateral”. The other three do not appear very often in written English and they are certainly not common in spoken English.

“Ulterior” presents a difficulty, it does not seem to exist on its own, and the dictionaries tend to add the word “motive”, forming the expression “ulterior motive”.

My personal interpretation would be that to act with an “ulterior motive” would simply mean that the actions are rather sneaky. This does not make me very happy! What do you think?

“Unassailable” is not very common either. I think this word could have both a positive value and a negative one. To my mind, any argument in favor of maintaining the ecological balance on our planet is definitely “unassailable”!

On the other hand, any group that is acting from a position of absolute power would probably consider that their orders were “unassailable”, and I’m sure I would not agree! I’m all for reaching a consensus!

Now “Undulate” is certainly simple, you just need to think of waves. Yes, but then a lethal snake will also “undulate” as it creeps near its victim. No thank you!

“Unilateral” is by far the easiest of these words! After some thought, I would say the resulting action could sometimes be of value, but then it could also be very negative. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland and set off World War 2, this was definitely unilateral, and just look at the results, right up to the atom bombs!

The news for Spanish speakers isn’t very good on this occasion.

The words ondular and unilateral do exist, sound the same and mean the same, but only unilateral is really clear.

These words could probably pull down your score on any graduate entry test, so study them up and you will surely avoid making mistakes!

See you on the next post!

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 2013  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.

PRIVATE WORDS (WORDS # 20)

HULLO!

BEAUTIFUL RED TIGER LILY!

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Source: Pixabay, Public Domsain

 

PANEGYRIC

Noun (Countable, formal) – a speech, article or poem that gives someone or something a lot of praise

The professor composed a panegyric to the famous leaders

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PEREMPTORY

Adjective (formal) – Speaking or behaving rather rudely, as if you expected other people to obey you immediately

The inhabitants did not like the peremptory treatment they received from the authorities.

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PERPLEXITY

Noun (Uncountable when singular) – A confused feeling you have because you cannot understand something

They stared in perplexity at the map

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PINNACLE

Noun (Countable) – The most successful or exciting part of someone’s life

                            The top of a very high mountain

This film marked the pinnacle of her acting career

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MY COMMENTSON THESE WORDS.

A rather complex set of words, which are not used very frequently.

A “Panegyric” makes me think of funerals, or of something that has ended. It would be reasonable to expect a “panegyric” about a well known person, during that person’s funeral. The same could be true when somebody retires, it is usual to make a speech full of praise. 

“Peremptory” reminds me of some of the bosses I have had during my long working life. These experiences have nor been pleasant!

“Perplexity” is rather more frequently used, both in speaking and in writing. I think that politicians in general are my main source of “perplexity”. At times their saying and actions leave me very confused!

“Pinnacle” can relate to the physical world, but to my mind it relates better to a person’s career, or to a position of power. It seems to be more frequently used in reports on a person’s achievements.

The good news for Spanish speakers is that panegírico, perentorio, perplejidad and pináculo all exist, sound similar and mean the same!

So study your words for the graduate entry tests and I’ll see you on my next post!

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© 2013  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.

OCCULT WORDS (WORDS # 19)

HULLO!

SUCH FANTASTIC FLOWERS!

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OBESE

Adjective – Too fat, in a way that is dangerous for a person’s health

That woman is so obese she doesn’t fit in the chair

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OBLITERATE

Verb (Transitive) – To destroy something completely, to eliminate

The bombing completely obliterated the village

The memory was obliterated from his mind

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OBSEQUIOUS

Adjective – Very intent on pleasing someone, in a way that does not seem sincere

The employee was too obsequious towards his boss.

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OMINOUS

Adjective – Making you think hat something bad will happen

The explosion was followed by an ominous silence

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MY COMMENTS ON THESE WORDS

What a profound group of words, they are certainly anything but occult!

“Obese” has becomes quite common, we’ve all heard and read about the large number of obese people that are a threat to themselves and to the health services throughout the economically developed nations due to their excess weight. Many campaigns for healthy eating habits have started up. Let’s hope they are successful.

“Obliterate” comes to mind as a word connected with disasters, or to something unpleasant.

Trees and plants are obliterated by severe storms; towns get obliterated through some catastrophe. My imagination brings up many tragic scenes, so I will leave this particular comment at this point.

“Obsequious”, a strange looking word, maybe it originally came from the Latin, does anyone know? I haven’t seen it much in use, and the images it brings to mind are not too pleasant, I hate situations that feel insincere.

“Ominous” could well be connected up with “Obliterate”. “Ominous” would come before the disaster strikes, and “Obliterate could describe the results. Not a very pleasant word!

The good news for Spanish speakers is that obeso, obliterar, obsequioso and ominoso all exist, sound similar and have the same meaning. This would be very helpful on a test.

So study up your words for the graduate entry tests and I’ll see you on the next post!

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© 2013  joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.

REFERENTS, AN IMPORTANT QUESTION TYPE IN THE TOEFL READING SECTION

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A LOVELY RURAL SCENE!

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TOEFL READING SECTION COMMENTS # 3

In the Reading Section of the TOEFL IBT you will often find various questions that require you to identify the “referent” of a particular pronoun, or adjective, or quantifier.

This makes it necessary for the test takers to know about pronouns, possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives and quantifiers.

WHAT ARE PRONOUNS?

A pronoun can be defined as a word that is used to replace a noun, or as a substitute for a noun.

Different Kinds of Pronouns.

Subject pronouns: I, you (singular), he, she, it, we, you (plural), they. These pronouns go BEFORE the verb. Example: She likes homework.

Object pronouns: me, you (singular), him, her, it us, you (plural), them. These pronouns go AFTER the verb. Example: The teacher gave me some homework

Possessive pronouns: mine, yours (singular), his, hers, its, ours, yours (plural), theirs. Example: This homework is theirs

Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. Example: John did the homework himself

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

These words do NOT replace a noun, they accompany a noun. The list is: my, your (singular), his, her, its, our, your (plural), their. Example: The teacher corrected our homework.

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

They are called “demonstrative” because they “point” to the noun they accompany. These adjectives are the only ones that have singular and plural forms.

Singular: This, that. Examples: This hat (near). That hat (not so near, over there).

Plural: These, those. Examples: These books, those books.

QUANTIFIERS

There are several of these, so just to name a few: one, some, a few, many.  

Examples:

There were many apples on the table.

I took a few photos of the flowers

SO HOW DO THE REFERENT QUESTIONS ON THE TOEFL WORK?

A referent generally comes before the pronoun or other expression that is replacing it, so it is necessary to search what comes in front of the word that has been selected for that particular question.

Here are various examples!

-In a country in Asia, people have different ways of nodding or shaking their heads to indicate “yes” or “no”. You have to know where they come from to understand which they are indicating.

They – the referent is “people”

Which – the referent is “yes or no”

-Living in another country can be exciting, but it can also be confusing.

It - the referent is “living”. Here “living” is acting as a noun.

-After a million-dollar lottery winner in Brasilia told reporters that his luck had come from a particular fish in a park pond, more than 200 Brazilians spoke up with similar stories. They had rubbed it and soon after had won a prize! Also many have won money simply by rubbing its picture

His (luck) – referent – lottery winner

They  - referent – other Brazilians

It – referent – a particular fish

Many – referent – Brazilians

Its (picture) – referent – the fish

-If you keep telling yourself that your memory is bad, your mind will start to believe it

It – referent – your memory is bad

-The term global village is used to describe the world and its people. So how can the world be a village? Changes in the past century have made it possible.

Its – referent – the world

It – referent – a village

-The greatest contributor to the global village is the microchip. Modern satellites and supercomputers work thanks to it.

It – referent –  the microchip

-The development of the global village will continue into the future. The various challenges the world faces will make it necessary

It – referent – development of the global village

-There were many apples on the table, so we ate some

Some – referent – many apples

FINAL WORDS

The questions about referents that are generally included in the Reading Section of the TOEFL are always rather complex, and the sentences provided are normally quite long and involved.

Therefore it will be necessary to analyze the sentences with care and to identify the more important words, especially the verbs.

Limiting your efforts to a superficial reading will not be enough, you have to really comprehend the ideas that the paragraph contains!

Try and find examples on the Internet, and above all, practice the use of pronouns and the other kinds of words I have commented on in this post.

See you on the next post!

©2013 joanveronica  (Joan Robertson)

I will be very happy to receive your comments! Just click the word “comments” lower down.