TỪ VỰNG TOEIC unit 16

Unit 16TOP CENTR/CENTER DOM OMNI HOL/HOLO RETRO TEMPOR CHRON TRI Number Words Quiz 16-1 Quiz 16-2 Quiz 16-3 Quiz 16-4 Quiz 16-5 Review Quizzes 16 TOP comes from topos, the Greek word for

Unit 16

TOP CENTR/CENTER DOM OMNI HOL/HOLO RETRO TEMPOR

CHRON TRI Number Words

Quiz 16-1 Quiz 16-2 Quiz 16-3 Quiz 16-4 Quiz 16-5 Review Quizzes 16

TOP comes from topos, the Greek word for “place.” A topic is a subject

rather than a place; to the Greeks, the original word meant more or less

“about one place or subject (rather than another)”—which just goes to showthat it's not always easy to trace a word's meaning from its roots

topical (1) Designed for local application to or treatment of abodily part (2) Referring to the topics of the day

• If the topical ointment doesn't work on the rash, the doctor will prescribe anantibiotic pill

Like a topical medicine, a topical reference or story applies to something

specific, focusing on a topic that's currently in the news TV comedians often

use topical humor, making jokes about a currently popular movie or the latestpolitical scandal—if possible, one that just broke that same day Topicalhumor has a short lifespan, though, because the news keeps changing and the

new hot topics just keep coming The medical meaning of topical stays closer

to the meaning of the root, since it describes something that's put right on theplace that seems to need it

ectopic Occurring or originating in an abnormal place

• A pacemaker was installed to correct her ectopic heartbeat

Ectopic is a medical word that means basically “out of place.” An ectopic

kidney is located in an abnormal position In patients with an ectopicheartbeat, the electrical signals that trigger the heart muscles originate in an

abnormal area of the heart But ectopic most commonly describes a

pregnancy in which the fertilized egg begins to develop in an area outside theuterus, such as in a fallopian tube; such pregnancies may lead to seriousproblems if not treated

utopian Relating to an imaginary place in which thegovernment, laws, and social conditions are perfect

• Some of the new mayor's supporters had gotten increasingly unrealistic, andseemed to expect that she could turn the city into a utopian community

In 1516 Thomas More published Utopia, a description of a fictional island in

the Atlantic with an ideal society, in order to draw a sharp contrast with the

disorderly political situation of his own time He created the name from topos (“place”) and ou, Greek for “no,” since he was well aware that nowhere so

perfect was likely to exist on earth People have long dreamed of creatingutopian communities; some of them have joined communes, societies whereother idealists like themselves have chosen to live in a cooperative wayaccording to certain principles Not just communes but plans of all kinds havebeen labeled utopian by critics But we can dream, can't we?

topography (1) The art of showing the natural and made features of a region on a map or chart (2) The features of a surface,including both natural and man-made features

man-• Planning the expedition involved careful study of the region's topography

Topography combines top- with graph-, a root meaning “write” or

“describe.” The topography of the Sahara Desert features shifting sand dunes

and dry, rocky mountains A topographic (or topo) map not only shows the

surface features of a region but also indicates the contours and approximatealtitude of every location, by means of numerous curving lines, eachindicating a single elevation In other words, it shows a “three-dimensional”picture on a two-dimensional surface Topo maps are commonly used byhikers, surveyors, government workers, and engineers, among other people

CENTR/CENTER comes from the Greek kentron and the Latin centrum,

meaning “sharp point” or “center point of a circle.” A centrifuge is a spinning machine that throws things outward from the center; the apparent force that pushes them outward is called centrifugal force.

eccentric (1) Not following an established or usual style orconduct (2) Straying from a circular path; off-center

• She keeps a dozen stray cats in her house and is rather eccentric, but herneighbors say she's very pleasant and completely harmless

An eccentric wheel spins unevenly, and an eccentric person is similarly a

little off-center Most eccentricities are inoffensive to others, and some may

even do some good For instance, riding a bicycle to work might beconsidered eccentric by some people, but it's good exercise and it cuts down

on pollution Some eccentrics are just ahead of their time.

epicenter (1) The location on the earth's surface directlyabove the focus of an earthquake (2) The center or focus of activity

• The destruction caused by Mexico City's earthquake was extensive becausethe city was at the quake's epicenter

The meaning of epi- in epicenter is “over,” so the epicenter of an earthquake lies over the center or “focus” of the quake Epicenter can also refer to the

centers of things that may seem in their own way as powerful—though not asdestructive—as earthquakes Wall Street, for example, might be said to lie atthe epicenter of the financial world

egocentric Overly concerned with oneself; self-centered

• He's brilliant but completely egocentric, and the only things he'll talk aboutare his own life and work

Ego means “I” in Latin To an egocentric person, I is the most important word in the language Great artists and writers are often egocentrics; such people can be hard to live with, though their egocentricity, an unfortunate

side effect of their talent, is often forgiven But ordinary egocentricity, whichshows up as selfishness, lack of sympathy, and lack of interest in otherpeople, usually has little to do with any personal talent or success

ethnocentric Marked by or based on the attitude thatone's own group is superior to others

• Some reviewers criticized the ethnocentric bias that came through in theway the film portrayed immigrants

The Greek word ethnos means “nation” or “people.” So ethnocentricity

shows itself in a lack of respect for other ways of life, and an ethnocentricperson feels that his or her own nation or group is the cultural center of the

world Ethnocentric describes the kind of person who behaves badly when

traveling in foreign countries, often called an “Ugly American” (from a bookand movie of the same name) Whenever you hear someone making fun ofthe way a foreigner speaks English, just remember that it's the foreigner, notthe person laughing at him, who actually can speak a foreign language

1 She claims that his remarks show an _ bias against foreign cultures.

2 The _ of a river valley often includes a wide, fertile floodplain

3 The earth's orbit around the sun is _ rather than perfectly circular

4 An _ pregnancy is an unusual event that poses serious medicalproblems

5 Since he hates needles, he asks his dentist to use only a _ anestheticinside his mouth

6 There's nothing wrong with liking yourself so long as you don't become _

7 In 1970 they founded a _ community on a 400-acre farm, where allproperty was to be owned in common

8 Luckily, the quake's _ was far away from any human settlement

Answers

B Match the word on the left to the correct definition on the right:

1 topical a central point

2 egocentric b centered on one's own group

3 utopian c away from its usual place

4 ethnocentric d self-centered

5 topography e of current interest

6 eccentric f ideal

7 ectopic g placed off-center

8 epicenter h landscape features

Answers

DOM comes from the Latin domus, “house,” and dominus, “master,” and the

two are indeed related In the Bible, King Ahasuerus, angered by his queen'sdisobedience, proclaims that “every man is to be master of his own house,”and in the Roman empire no one doubted that this was how it was meant to

be A domain is the area where a person has authority or is dominant—but we

no longer think of a house as the domain of a single dominant member of afamily

dominion (1) An area over which one rules; domain (2)Supreme authority

• The Roman empire had dominion over the entire Mediterranean, which the

Romans called mare nostrum, “our sea.”

The ruler of a region has dominion over it, and the area itself may be calledthe ruler's dominion In the days of the British Empire, England haddominion over many countries throughout the world Though Canada hasbeen quite independent of Great Britain since the 19th century, it wasgenerally referred to as the Dominion of Canada in official documents until atleast the 1950s The word has an old-fashioned sound today, and probablyshows up in history books, historical novels, and fantasy video games moreoften than in discussions of modern nations

predominant Greater in importance, strength,influence, or authority

• The predominant color of the desert landscape was a rusty brown

Something predominant stands out above all the rest The predominant theme

in an essay is the one that predominates—the main idea that the writer wants

to express (Notice the difference between the adjective and the verb; be sure

not to spell the adjective with an -ate ending.) The word is widely used in

many fields For example, the predominant language of Switzerland isGerman; the predominant cause of obesity in children is a bad diet; and yourpredominant reason for wanting a larger vocabulary may be to simply be abetter-educated person—though the positive effects of a large vocabulary onone's romantic life are well known

domineering Tending to control the behavior of others in abossy manner

• His mother was a domineering type, and not even his stepfather dared doanything without her permission

To be domineering is to behave like a lord (The word lordly doesn't express

quite the same thing.) Someone who tells you what you can wear or whatfriends you can spend time with could be called domineering; so couldsomeone who always decides what you're going to do with your free time.Those of us who grow up with a domineering parent usually flee as soon aswe're old enough

domination (1) Supremacy or power over another (2)The exercise of governing or controlling influence

• The region was under the domination of a single nation, even though ithadn't yet invaded its neighbors

Domination may sound like something that's achieved by military force The

total domination of Europe, for example, has never been achieved: The

Roman empire could never fully dominate the northern Germanic tribes;

Napoleon couldn't conquer Spain; and although Adolf Hitler was briefly

dominant over most of the continent, he never managed to overpower

England But the word's earliest appearances don't necessarily involvephysical force; Chaucer, for instance, speaks of a mind's domination bystrong drink So we may observe that a great tennis player has continued hisdomination of the world's courts this season, or that the domination ofpopular music by rock and roll was obvious by the end of the 1950s

OMNI comes from the Latin word omnis, meaning “all.” So in English

words, omni- can mean “in all ways,” “in all places,” or “without limits.” An omnidirectional antenna, for example, is one that receives or sends radio waves equally well in all directions And Omni by itself has been used

repeatedly as a brand name for things as different as a hotel chain and ascience magazine

omnivore An animal that eats both plants and other animals

• If we're all natural omnivores, she kept asking herself, then why wouldn'ther toddler eat anything but cashews and peanut butter until the age of four?

Human beings seem to be classic omnivores Originally living as gatherers,” we hunted and fished when possible but also gathered nuts,berries, fruits, seeds, and roots for much of our diet We're physically wellsuited for both tasks; our hands are perfect for picking things, and our build isideal for running down even the fastest game animals because of our greatstamina Some 10,000 years ago humans began practicing agriculture

“hunter-involving both animals and plants The other omnivorous mammals include

chimpanzees, pigs, opossums, porcupines, bears, raccoons, skunks,chipmunks, mice and rats, and skunks But even many mammals classed as

carnivorous (see VOR) turn out to be capable of shifting to plant foods when

necessary

omnipotent Having complete or unlimited power; powerful

all-• What really scares these men is the nightmare of an omnipotent state, andthey think that with their guns they'll be able to keep the government's forces

at bay when the time comes

If you know that potens means “power” in Latin (see POT), it's not hard to

guess the meaning of omnipotent In Christian services and prayers, the Latin omnipotens is translated as “almighty” and always applied to God But omnipotence in a government or ruler is naturally a bit scary; as a British lord

observed a century ago, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corruptsabsolutely.” So democracies do their best to make omnipotence impossible

omnibus Of or including many things

• Eager to go home for vacation, Senate leaders assembled an omnibus bill totie up the loose ends on dozens of unrelated projects

In Latin, omnibus means “for all.” So an omnibus bill in Congress packages

several measures together, an omnibus survey may poll the public on a widerange of issues, and an omnibus edition of a writer's stories may bring

together just about all of them As a noun, omnibus used to mean a large

vehicle for public transportation—that is, “for all” who could pay the fare—

but around 1900 the word began to be shortened to simply bus.

omniscient Knowing everything; having unlimitedunderstanding or knowledge

• Brought up in a strict Christian family, he knew that an omniscient God waswatching him every second of his life

Omniscience is something that a totalitarian state may try to achieve by

means of informers, cameras, and monitoring of electronic communication Ifyour English teacher tells you that a novel has an “omniscient narrator,'' shemeans that the voice telling the story isn't one of the characters but insteadknows what each of them is doing and thinking, with the point of viewconstantly shifting from one to another

B Complete the analogy:

1 educated : unschooled :: omniscient : _

a commanding b lazy c ignorant d know-it-all

2 selective : limited :: omnibus : _

a everyday b all-time c oversized d comprehensive

3 persuasion : influence :: domination : _

a household b country c command d outlaw

4 weak : feeble :: omnipotent : _

a timid b all-powerful c global d huge

5 obedient : tame :: domineering : _

a sweet b easygoing c obnoxious d controlling

6 human : deer :: omnivore : _

a plant-eater b elk c ape d dieter

7 property : estate :: dominion : _

a attitude b difference c realm d country

8 larger : smaller :: predominant : _

a secondary b necessary c primary d demandingAnswers

HOL/HOLO, meaning “whole,” comes from the Greek word holos, with the

same meaning The root can be found in catholic When capitalized, Catholic

refers to the worldwide Christian church based in Rome, which was once the

“whole”—that is, the only—Christian church Without the capital letter,

catholic means simply “universal” or, when describing a person, “broad in

one's interests or tastes.”

holistic Relating to or concerned with wholes or with completesystems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts.

• Environmental scientists tend to be holistic in their views, even whenthey're only studying a tiny patch of ground

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” expresses the essence of

holism, a term coined by the great South African general and statesman Jan

Smuts in 1926 Holism generally opposes the Western tendency towardanalysis, the breaking down of wholes into parts sometimes to the point that

“you can't see the forest for the trees.” Holism is an important concept in thesciences and social sciences, and especially in medicine Holistic medicinetries to treat the “whole person” rather than focusing too narrowly on singlesymptoms It emphasizes the connections between the mind and the body,avoids the overuse of drugs, and has borrowed such practices from Easterntraditions as acupuncture and yoga

hologram A three-dimensional image reproduced from apattern of interference produced by a beam of radiation such as a laser

• When holograms are used for data storage, the entire bulk of the storagematerial can be used rather than just its surface

A hologram is a picture of a “whole” object, showing it in three dimensions

We've all seen cheap holographic images on credit cards and ID cards (where

they help prevent copying) Far more impressive are large holograms thattake the form of a ghostly 3-D moving figure that you can walk around to seefrom all angles Holograms were invented in 1947 but only perfected after theinvention of the laser in 1960 Today they're used in such technologies ascompact-disc players and checkout scanners, and holograms can be created ofthe inside of live internal organs to permit doctors to examine the organs ingreat detail And soon televisions with hologram technology may enable us towatch in “3-D.”

Holocene Of, relating to, or being the present geologic epoch

• As the Holocene epoch began, the glaciers were swiftly retreating, forestswere taking over the bare land, and human beings were moving northwardagain in large numbers

To geologists, we live today in the Holocene epoch, the period that beganabout 10,000 years ago, at the end of the last ice age, when humans firstbegan practicing agriculture But what does Holocene have to do with

“whole”? Well, in geological language, the Holocene epoch follows the

Paleocene (“remotely recent”), the Eocene (“early recent”), the Oligocene (“scarcely recent”), the Miocene (“less recent”), the Pliocene (“more recent”), and the Pleistocene (“most recent”) epochs—so the Holocene is the “wholly

recent” period of geological time

holocaust (1) (usually capitalized) The mass slaughter ofEuropean civilians and especially Jews by the Nazis during World War II (2)

A thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life, especially throughfire

• Her parents had escaped the Holocaust in Poland by fleeing into the forestand surviving there with hundreds of others for two years

The Greek word holokaustos means “burnt whole.” For the early Jews who

followed the laws given in the first books of the Bible, a holocaust was asacrifice to God, the burning on an altar of a lamb, goat, or young bull Theword is used about 200 times in the traditional Greek version of the OldTestament, though it rarely appears in English translations In the 1700s

holocaust began to be used to refer to the mass destruction of life But no

mass murder in Western history ever approached the scale achieved by theNazis As many as 6 million Jews may have died at their hands; when theslaughter of non-Jews is included, the number of murdered victims may haveamounted to over 15 million

RETRO means “back,” “backward,” or “behind” in Latin Retro in English

is generally a prefix, but has also become a word in its own right, usuallyused to describe old styles or fashions

retroactive Intended to apply or take effect at a date in thepast

• The fact that the tax hike was retroactive annoyed the public the most

We normally think of time as constantly moving forward Since retroactive

seems to defy time's forward movement, retroactive taxes, laws, andregulations are often seen as particularly obnoxious and unfair (See also ex post facto.) But nobody ever objects to receiving a retroactive raise at work.When we judge historical people and events in terms of present-day moralityand attitudes, our retroactive judgments may indicate that we're too impressedwith ourselves and ignorant of history