NEO 59

Question 1

conifer

Answer 1

one of various types of evergreen tree (= one that never loses its leaves) that produce hard oval-shaped fruit called cones
example: As in many
conifer trees, the branches nearer the ground tend to die off as the tree grows taller

Question 2

counterintuitive

Answer 2

Something that is counterintuitive does not happen in the way you would expect it to:
example: The physics of fire is, in many ways, counterintuitive.

Question 3

stringy

Answer 3

having the appearance of strings, or (of food) hard to chew:
example: The stringy bark of eucalyptus trees in Australia,

Question 4

accumulate

Answer 4

to gradually increase in amount:
example: On the other hand, when jack pine bark accumulates on the ground

Question 5

inhibit

Answer 5

to prevent something from developing in the way or at the rate that is possible:
example: Jack pines germinate well in such soil and, indeed, are inhibited by leaf litter

Question 6

precocious

Answer 6

showing unusually early mental development or achievement:
example: Why are they so precocious?

Question 7

spruce

Answer 7

an evergreen tree (= one that never loses its leaves) with leaves like needles, or the pale-colored wood from this tree
example: the red squirrel much prefers the easier, fleshier meat of spruce cones

Question 8

prodigious

Answer 8

extremely great in ability, amount, or strength:
example: The output is prodigious.

Question 9

crude

Answer 9

simple and not skillfully done or made:
example: he presence of fire, like some crude unmonitored mechanical device

Question 10

ooze

Answer 10

o flow slowly out of something through a small opening, or to slowly produce a thick sticky liquid:
example: releases resin from within, which oozes to the surface and creates a gentle, lamp-like flame around the cone

Question 11

ravages

Answer 11

the damage caused by disease, time, war, etc.:
example: could have withstood the ravages of time,

Question 12

spare

Answer 12

to give time, money, or space to someone, especially when it is difficult for you:
example: straw fuel available was used for cooking fires in private homes and could not be spared for brick-making.

Question 13

demise

Answer 13

the end of the operation or existence of something:
example: Another factor that contributed to the demise of ziggurats was the size of the bricks used to make them

Question 14

celestial

Answer 14

of or from the sky above us:
example: it was claimed that ziggurats were built as celestial observatories where astronomers could have studied the stars