2162

Question 1

sumptuous

Answer 1

D. lavish; very expensive and looking very impressive

E. We dined in sumptuous surroundings. / The book is sumptuously illustrated in full colour.

Question 2

sunder

Answer 2

D. to split apart

E. during the cold war East and West Berlin were sundered by an impenetrable wall

Question 3

sundry

Answer 3

D. various; not important enough to be named separately

E. a watch, a diary and sundry other items / The club is open to all and sundry(=everyone, not just a few special people).

Question 4

superannuated

Answer 4

D. too old for work or to be used for their original purpose

E. superannuated rock stars

Question 5

supercilious

Answer 5

D. haughty

Question 6

superfluous

Answer 6

D. more than the amount needed

Question 7

superlative

\sü-‘pe’r-le’-tif\

Answer 7

D. of the best kind; supreme

E. a superlative performance

Question 8

supersede

\sü-pe’r-sēd\

Answer 8

D. to take the place of something/somebody that is considered to be old-fashioned or no longer the best available

E. he theory has been superseded by more recent research.

Question 9

supine

'sü-pīn\

Answer 9

D. lying flat on your back; not willing to act or disagree with somebody because you are lazy or morally weak

E. Clare remained supine, her eyes closed. / the supine attitude of some of our politicians

Question 10

superficial

Answer 10

D. pertaining to the surface of sth

Question 11

supple

'sä-pol\

Answer 11

D. flexible

E. hese exercises will help to keep you supple. / Moisturizing cream helps to keep your skin soft and supple.

Question 12

supplicant

Answer 12

D. a person who asks for something in a humble way, especially from God or a powerful person

E. the new governor soon had to deal with a long line of supplicants asking for jobs and other political favors

Question 13

surcease

(ˌ)sər-ˈsēs\

Answer 13

D. an end

E. hoping the new medicine would bring surcease to his pain / to borrow from my books surcease of sorrow

Question 14

surfeit

Answer 14

D. to satiate

Question 15

surly

Answer 15

D. rude and ill-tempered

Question 16

surmise

Answer 16

D. the guise made on the basis of little evidence

E. From the looks on their faces, I surmised that they had had an argument.

Question 17

surreptitious

Answer 17

D. done secretly or quickly, in the hope that other people will not notice

E. She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch.

Question 18

surrogate

'se’r-ro-gāt\

Answer 18

D. a substitute

E. She saw him as a sort of surrogate father.

Question 19

surveillance

Answer 19

D. a watch over sb (to survey)

E. he police are keeping the suspects under constant surveillance.

Question 20

sustenance

Answer 20

D. maintenance

Question 21

sybaritic

\si-be’r-‘ri-tik\

Answer 21

D. connected with a desire for pleasure; loving luxury

E. his sybaritic lifestyle

Question 22

sycophant

'si-ke’-fānt\

Answer 22

D. a person who praises important or powerful people too much and in a way that is not sincere, especially in order to get something from them

E. a sycophantic review

Question 23

sylvan

\ˈsil-vən\

Answer 23

D. connected with forests and trees

E. sylvan surroundings

Question 24

symmetry

'si-me’-trē\

Answer 24

D. the quality of being very similar or equal

E. the increasing symmetry between men’s and women’s jobs

Question 25

symposium

Answer 25

D. a meeting at which experts have discussions about a particular subject; a small conference

E. recently attended a daylong symposium on new methods of chromatography

Question 26

synchronize

Answer 26

D. to happen at the same time or to move at the same speed as something; to make something do this

E. Let’s synchronize our watches / The sound track did not synchronize with the action.

Question 27

synopsis

\sin-näp-sis\

Answer 27

D. a summary of a piece of writing, a play, etc

E. The programme gives a brief synopsis of the plot.

Question 28

synthesis

Answer 28

D. a putting together

Question 29

synthetic

Answer 29

D. not natural; artificial

E. shoes with synthetic soles (鞋底）

Question 30

tacit

Answer 30

D. that is suggested indirectly or understood, rather than said in words

E. By tacit agreement, the subject was never mentioned again.

Question 31

taciturn

Answer 31

D. tending not to say very much, in a way that seems unfriendly

E. a taciturn and serious young man

Question 32

tactful

Answer 32

D. careful not to say or do anything that will annoy or upset other people

E. I tried to find a tactful way of telling her the truth.

Question 33

tactile

Answer 33

D. connected with the sense of touch

E. tactile fabric (= pleasant to touch) / tactile maps (= that you can touch and feel)

Question 34

taint

Answer 34

D. to infect or spoil

Question 35

talisman

'ta-le’s-me’m\

Answer 35

D. an object that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck

E. a pendant of white nephrite jade is often worn by Indians as a talisman to ward off heart disease

Question 36

tangible

Answer 36

D. that can be clearly seen to exist; that you can touch and feel

E. We cannot accept his findings without tangible evidence. / he tension between them was almost tangible. / Laura was almost tangibly aware of his hard grey eyes focused on her.

Question 37

tantamount

'tān-te’-maunt\

Answer 37

D. equal (to)

E. If he resigned it would be tantamount to admitting that he was guilty.

Question 38

tantalize

Answer 38

D. to tempt (sb) with sth he cannot have

E. The tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee wafted towards them. / a tantalizing glimpse of the future

Question 39

tawdry

'tä-drē\

Answer 39

D. intended to be bright and attractive but cheap and of low quality; involving low moral standards; extremely unpleasant or offensive

E. tawdry jewellery / a tawdry affair

Question 40

tawny

'tä-nē\

Answer 40

D. brownish-yellow in colour

E. the lion’s tawny mane

Question 41

tautological

\ˌtȯ-tə-ˈlä-ji-kəl\

Answer 41

D. a statement in which you say the same thing twice in different words, when this is unnecessary

Question 42

temerity

Answer 42

d. foolish boldness

Question 43

temperate

Answer 43

D. moderate

Question 44

template

Answer 44

D. a pattern

E. If you need to write a lot of similar letters, set up a template on your computer.

Question 45

temporal

Answer 45

D. temporary; worldly

E. a universe which has spatial and temporal dimensions / Although spiritual leader of millions of people, the Pope has no temporal power.

Question 46

tedious

Answer 46

D. tiresome