TPO60 Flashcards
contamination
the process of making something dirty or poisonous, or the state of containing unwanted or dangerous substances
example: The few reports of organisms being recovered from great depths within Earth were
dismissed as contamination with material from the surface layers
lubricating
to use a substance such as oil to make a machine or device operate more easily, or to prevent something sticking or rubbing
example: . A concentrated tracer material was added to the lubricating fluid so that when a deep sample of rock was removed, any contaminated
material could be identified and cut away to leave a pristine sample of rock from deep within Earth.
pristine
original and pure; not spoiled or worn from use
example: . A concentrated tracer material was added to the lubricating fluid so that when a deep sample of rock was removed, any contaminated
material could be identified and cut away to leave a pristine sample of rock from deep within Earth.
advent
the fact of an event happening, an invention being made, or a person arriving
example: second development was the advent of techniques for identifying microorganisms
sparsely
with only a small number or amount of people or things
example: Although the organisms
are often sparsely distributed
utilize
to use something in an effective way
example: within the sediments can utilize these ancient nutrients and grow
inhabit
to live in a place
example: the organisms that inhabit cracks and fissures within the rocks are carried
excrete
to get rid of material such as solid waste or urine from the body
example: These bacteria excrete organic compounds that are then utilized by other types of bacteria
lowbrow
of, relating to, or suitable for a person with little taste or intellectual interest
example: But the low price did not necessarily mean lowbrow
miscellany
a book containing a collection of pieces of writing either by different writers or by one writer on different subjects:
example: cheap collections of stories, ballads, and other miscellany had circulated among the lower classes.
conceive
to imagine something
example: To conceive of technology as the causal force is to understate the prior importance of politics, culture, and markets in creating the conditions that allowed investments in new technology to pay off
understate
to describe something in a way that makes it seem less important, serious, bad, etc. than it really is:
example: To conceive of technology as the causal force is to understate the prior importance of politics, culture, and markets in
creating the conditions that allowed investments in new technology to pay off
subsidize
paid for partly by the government or another organization:
While European governments taxed newspapers and other
publications, the United States let them go tax tax-free and even subsidized them, to a degree
constituted
to form or make something:
example: because elite readers constituted a smaller proportion of book buyers.
seismic
relating to or caused by an earthquake
example: e various kinds of seismic waves are primary waves (P-waves) and secondary waves (S-waves).
