Unit3

Question 1

ambiguous

Answer 1

(1) Doubtful or uncertain especially from being obscure or indistinct. (2) Unclear in meaning because of being understandable in more than one way.

eg. Successful politicians are good at giving ambiguous answers to questions on difficult issues.

Question 2

ambient

Answer 2

Existing or present on all sides.

eg. The ambient lighting in the restaurant was low, and there was a bright candle at each table.

Question 3

ambivalent

Answer 3

(1) Holding opposite feelings and attitudes at the same time toward someone or something. (2) Continually wavering between opposites or alternative courses of action.

eg. He was ambivalent about the trip: he badly wanted to travel but hated to miss the summer activities at home.

Question 4

ambit

Answer 4

The range or limit covered by something (such as a law).

eg. The treatment of farm animals generally falls outside the ambit of animal-cruelty laws in the U.S.

Question 5

epilogue

Answer 5

The final section after the main part of a book or play.

eg. Her editor told her the book really needed an epilogue, to tell where each member of the family is today.

Question 6

epiphyte

Answer 6

A plant that obtains its nutrients from the air and the rain and usually grows on another plant for support.

eg. The strangler fig begins life as an epiphyte on a tree branch, drops its tendrils to take root in the ground around the trunk, and slowly covers and strangles the tree to death.

Question 7

epitaph

Answer 7

An inscription on a grave or tomb in memory of the one buried there.

eg. The great architect Christopher Wren designed London’s majestic St. Paul’s Cathedral, the site of his tomb and epitaph: “Si monumentum requiris, circumspice” (“If you seek my monument, look around you”).

Question 8

epithet

Answer 8

(1) A descriptive word or phrase occurring with or in place of the name of a person or thing. (2) An insulting or demeaning word or phrase.

eg. King Richard I of England earned the epithet “Lionhearted,” while his brother, King John, was given the epithet “Lackland.”

Question 9

hypochondriac

Answer 9

A person overly concerned with his or her own health who often suffers from delusions of physical disease.

eg. Hercule Poirot, the detective hero of the Agatha Christie mysteries, is a notorious hypochondriac, always trying to protect himself from drafts.

Question 10

hypoglycemia

Answer 10

Abnormal decrease of sugar in the blood.

eg. She had been controlling her hypoglycemia through diet and vitamins, but she now realized she needed to add daily exercise as well.

Question 11

hypothermia

Answer 11

Subnormal temperature of the body.

eg. By the time rescuers were able to pull the boy from the pond’s icy waters, hypothermia had reached a life-threatening stage.

Question 12

hypothetical

Answer 12

(1) Involving an assumption made for the sake of argument or for further study or investigation. (2) Imagined for purposes of example.

eg. The candidate refused to say what she would do if faced with a hypothetical military crisis.

Question 13

thermal

Answer 13

(1) Of, relating to, or caused by heat. (2) Designed to insulate in order to retain body heat.

eg. A special weave called thermal weave traps insulating air in little pockets to increase the warmth of long underwear and blankets.

Question 14

thermodynamics

Answer 14

Physics that deals with the mechanical actions or relations of heat.

eg. With his college major in electrical engineering, he assumed it would be an easy step to a graduate-school concentration in thermodynamics.

Question 15

thermonuclear

Answer 15

Of or relating to the changes in the nucleus of atoms with low atomic weight, such as hydrogen, that require a very high temperature to begin.

eg. In the 1950s and ’60s, anxious American families built thousands of underground “fallout shelters” to protect themselves from the radiation of a thermonuclear blast.

Question 16

British thermal unit

Answer 16

The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at a specified temperature.

eg. Wood-stove manufacturers compete with each other in their claims of how many British thermal units of heat output their stoves can produce.

Question 17

polyp

Answer 17

(1) A sea invertebrate that has a mouth opening at one end surrounded by stinging tentacles. (2) A growth projecting from a mucous membrane, as on the colon or vocal cords.

eg. She had had a polyp removed from her throat, and for two weeks afterward she could only whisper.

Question 18

polyglot

Answer 18

(1) One who can speak or write several languages. (2) Having or using several languages.

eg. As trade between countries increases, there is more need for polyglots who can act as negotiators.

Question 19

polymer

Answer 19

A chemical compound formed by a reaction in which two or more molecules combine to form larger molecules with repeating structural units.

eg. Nylon, a polymer commercially introduced in 1938, can be spun and woven into fabrics or cast as tough, elastic blocks.

Question 19

polygraph

Answer 19

An instrument for recording changes in several bodily functions (such as blood pressure and rate of breathing) at the same time; lie detector.

eg. My brother-in-law is completely law-abiding, but he’s such a nervous type that he’s failed two polygraph tests at job interviews.

Question 20

primal

Answer 20

Basic or primitive.

eg.There was always a primal pleasure in listening to the rain beat on the roof at night and dropping off to sleep in front of the fire.

Question 21

primer

Answer 21

(1) A small book for teaching children to read. (2) A small introductory book on a subject.

eg. She announced that she’d be passing out a primer on mutual funds at the end of the talk.

Question 22

primate

Answer 22

Any member of the group of animals that includes human beings, apes, and monkeys.

eg. Dr. Leakey sent three young women to work with individual primates: Jane Goodall with the chimpanzees, Dian Fossey with the gorillas, and Birute Galdakis with the orangutans.

Question 23

primordial

Answer 23

(1) First created or developed. (2) Existing in or from the very beginning.

eg. Many astronomers think the universe is continuing to evolve from a primordial cloud of gas.

Question 24

homonym

Answer 24

One of two or more words pronounced and/or spelled alike but different in meaning.

eg. The pool of “a pool of water” and the pool of “a game of pool” are homonyms.

Question 25

homogeneous

Answer 25

(1) Of the same or a similar kind. (2) Of uniform structure or composition throughout.

eg. Though she was raised in a small town, she found the city more interesting because its population was less homogeneous.

Question 26

homologous

Answer 26

Developing from the same or a similar part of a remote ancestor.

eg. Arms and wings are homologous structures that reveal the ancient relationship between birds and four-legged animals.

Question 27

homogenize

Answer 27

(1) To treat (milk) so that the fat is mixed throughout instead of floating on top. (2) To change (something) so that its parts are the same or similar.

eg. By now the suburb had gotten so homogenized that he couldn’t tell the families on his street apart.

Question 28

dissuade

Answer 28

To convince (someone) not to do something.

eg. The thought of the danger he might be facing on the journey makes her uneasy, and she’s trying to dissuade him from going.

Question 29

disorient

Answer 29

To cause to be confused or lost.

eg. By now the hikers were completely disoriented, and darkness was falling
fast.

Question 30

discredit

Answer 30

(1) To cause (someone or something) to seem dishonest or untrue. (2) To damage the reputation of (someone).

eg. His book had been thoroughly discredited by scholars, and his reputation was badly damaged.

Question 31

dislodge

Answer 31

To force out of a place, especially a place of rest, hiding, or defense.

eg. Senators are attempting to dislodge the bill from the committee, where the chairman has failed to act on it for five months.

Question 32

ad hoc

Answer 32

Formed or used for a particular purpose or for immediate needs.

eg. The faculty formed an ad hoc committee to deal with the question of First Amendment rights on campus.

Question 33

ad hominem

Answer 33

Marked by an attack on an opponent’s character rather than by an answer to the arguments made or the issues raised.

eg. Presidential campaigns have often relied on ad hominem attacks rather than serious discussion of important issues.

Question 34

alter ego

Answer 34

(1) A trusted friend or personal representative. (2) The opposite side of a personality.

The White House chief of staff is a political alter ego, who knows, or should know, who and what the President considers most important.

Question 35

de facto

Answer 35

Being such in practice or effect, although not formally recognized; actual.

eg. Although there was never a general declaration of war, the two countries were at war in a de facto sense for almost a decade.

Question 36

quid pro quo

Answer 36

Something given or received for something else.

eg. He did something very nice for me years ago, so getting him that job was really a quid pro quo.

Question 37

ex post facto

Answer 37

Done, made, or formulated after the fact.

eg. When Carl tells us his “reasons” for why he behaved badly, they’re nothing but ex post facto excuses for impulsive behavior.

Question 38

modus operandi

Answer 38

A usual way of doing something.

eg. A criminal who commits repeated crimes can often be identified by his modus operandi.

Question 39

modus vivendi

Answer 39

(1) A practical compromise or arrangement that is acceptable to all concerned. (2) A way of life.

eg. During the budget crisis, the Democratic governor and the Republican legislature established a good working modus vivendi.