NEO 57 Flashcards
exploit
to use something in a way that helps you:
example: The Harappans exploited the seasonal overflow from their rivers by
capturing the water with dams and distributing it to crop-growing farms
salinization
to treat or to be saturated with salt
example: where they slowly poison plant life through a process called salinization
permeate
to spread through something and be present in every part of it:
example: Moreover, salt-permeated topsoil is easily blown away by
passing winds, causing desertification
exacerbate
to make something that is already bad even worse:
example: These conditions are further exacerbated where a hard layer of bedrock impervious to water lies not far beneath the surface
impervious
not allowing liquid to go through:
example: These conditions are further exacerbated where a hard layer of bedrock impervious to water lies not far beneath the surface
strip
to remove, pull, or tear the covering or outer layer from something:
example: Harappan woodsmen may have stripped much of the Indus Valley of its local forests
eradicated
to get rid of something completely or destroy something bad:
example: Dramatic earth movements have often altered the course of human history: earthquake-related tsunamis (large ocean waves) alone have eradicated cities from ancient Mycenae (Crete) to Port Royal (Jamaica) in
the early modern period
dissolution
the ending of esp. an official organization or a legal arrangement:
example: Cities show signs of a slow dissolution of civic cohesion, including the rise of slums
civic
of or relating to a citizen, a city, citizenship, or community affairs
example: Cities show signs of a slow dissolution of civic cohesion, including the rise of slums
cohesion
the situation when the members of a group or society are united:
example: Cities show signs of a slow dissolution of civic cohesion, including the rise of slums
slums
a very poor and crowded area, especially of a city:
example: Cities show signs of a slow dissolution of civic cohesion, including the rise of slums
perish
to die, especially in an accident or by being killed, or to be destroyed:
vs flourish
example: Harappan cities along the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers may have been the first to perish
annihilation
complete destruction, so that nothing or no one is left:
example: In an effort to avoid annihilation, Harappans may have moved farther east and south in search of
fertile land and reliable rainfall.
subside
If a condition subsides, it becomes less strong or extreme:
example: when bombardment by
asteroids had subsided substantially.
substantially
to a large degree:
example: when bombardment by
asteroids had subsided substantially.
precursor
one that precedes and indicates the approach of another
example: Some researchers have concluded that precursor compounds, and ultimately life itself, arose in small bodies of water
preponderance
the largest part or greatest amount:
example: Knowing that photosynthesis produces the preponderance of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere today
liberate
to free from combination
example: light breaks down water vapor in Earth’s upper
atmosphere, slowly liberating oxygen
vicinity
the quality or state of being near
example: The most likely setting was a warm area beneath the seafloor in the vicinity of a mid-ocean ridge (submarine mountain range).
percolate
If a liquid percolates, it moves slowly through a substance with very small holes in it:
example: mid-ocean ridges warms seawater that has percolated into the crust through pores and cracks
lukewarm
(especially of a liquid) only slightly warm:
example: Others live in
lukewarm water farther from ridge axes.
primitive
of or relating to the earliest age or period
example: the most primitive living bacteria.
