TỪ VỰNG TOEIC unit 17

Unit 17ANIM FIG ANN/ENN EV CORP TANG/TACT CODI/CODE SIGN QUADR/QUART TETR Number Words Quiz 17-1 Quiz 17-2 Quiz 17-3 Quiz 17-4 Quiz 17-5 Review Quizzes 17 ANIM comes from the Latin anima

Unit 17

ANIM FIG ANN/ENN EV CORP TANG/TACT CODI/CODE SIGN

QUADR/QUART TETR Number Words

Quiz 17-1 Quiz 17-2 Quiz 17-3 Quiz 17-4 Quiz 17-5 Review Quizzes 17

ANIM comes from the Latin anima, meaning “breath” or “soul.” So, for

example, an animal is a living, breathing thing—though human animals have

often argued about whether other species actually have souls

animated (1) Full of life; lively, vigorous, active (2)Seeming or appearing to be alive

• Her gestures as she talked were so animated that even people across theroom were watching her

Animated cartoon characters have been “given life” by film techniques,

though the animation of drawings actually goes back to handheld toys in the

1830s A child watching the cartoon may also be animated—squealing,laughing, and jumping around—as can a crowd of hockey fans or a rock-concert audience And the best discussions and arguments are often highlyanimated

magnanimous (1) Showing a lofty and courageousspirit (2) Generous and forgiving

• She was magnanimous in victory, saying she'd been lucky to win andpraising her opponent's effort

The basic meaning of magnanimity is “greatness of spirit.” Thus,

magnanimity is the opposite of pettiness or “smallness.” A trulymagnanimous person can lose without complaining and win without gloating.Angry disputes can sometimes be resolved when one side makes amagnanimous gesture toward the other And it's the mark of magnanimity togive credit to everyone who worked on a project even if you'd rather it allwent to you

animosity Ill will or resentment

• Legend has it that the animosity between the Greeks and the Trojans beganwith the stealing of the beautiful Helen from her husband, Menelaus

The important Latin word animus (very closely related to anima) could mean

a great many things having to do with the soul and the emotions, one of them

being “anger.” As an English word, animus has generally meant “ill will,” so

it isn't mysterious that animosity means basically the same thing Animosity

can exist between two people, two groups or organizations, or two countries,and can sometimes lie hidden for years before reappearing The deepanimosities that exist between certain ethnic and religious groups sometimesseem as if they will last forever

inanimate (1) Not alive; lifeless (2) Not lively; dull

• The sculptures of Rodin are so expressive that, although inanimate, theyseem full of life and emotion

The couch you sit on while you watch TV is an inanimate object, as is yourfootrest, your bag of snacks, and your remote control Spend too much time

on that couch and you risk becoming a couch potato (A potato is aninanimate object.)

FIG comes from a Latin verb meaning “to shape or mold” and a noun

meaning “a form or shape.” So a figure is usually a shape A transfiguration transforms the shape or appearance of something And a disfiguring injury

changes the appearance of part of the body for the worse

figurative (1) Representing form or figure in art (2) Sayingone thing in terms normally meaning or describing another thing

• When the poet says he's been living in the desert, it's a figurative reference

to his emotional life

Words and phrases can have both literal and figurative meanings, and we alluse words with both kinds of meanings every day of our lives We can

literally close the door to a room, or we can figuratively close the door to

further negotiations—that is, refuse to take part in them Figurative language

includes figures of speech, such as similes (“she's been like a sister to me”)

and metaphors (“a storm of protest”) And sometimes it's hard to tell whether

a phrase is literal or figurative: If I say I “picked up” a little Spanish inMexico, is that literal or figurative? You've probably noticed that lots of thedefinitions in this book show both a literal meaning (often somethingphysical) and a figurative meaning (often nonphysical)

configuration An arrangement of parts or elements;shape, design

• We've changed the configuration of the office so that employees will havemore privacy at their desks

The term is very common in computer science and mathematics, and inscientific and technological fields in general Thus, for example, twoscientists won a 1962 Nobel Prize for their description of the configuration ofthe DNA molecule Since then, researchers have studied what differentconfigurations within the DNA strands mean and what they control, and

genetic engineers have tried to configure or reconfigure DNA in new ways to

prevent or treat diseases

effigy An image of a person, especially a crude representation of ahated person

• The night before the big game, an effigy of the rival coach was burned on ahuge bonfire

It was the practice of the ancient Egyptians to bury an effigy of a dead personalong with that person's body The idea was that if anything happened to the

body in the afterlife, the effigy could be used as a spare Effigy now usually

refers to crude stuffed figures of the kind that get abused by angry protestorsand unruly college students But the small dolls that witches have used tobring pain and death on their victims can be called effigies as well Actually,those witches and college kids seem to use their effigies for pretty much thesame thing

figment Something made up or imagined

• His preference for Cindy is a figment of your imagination; believe me, hebarely knows she exists

A figment is something formed from imaginary elements Daydreams arefigments; nightmares are figments that can seem very real Most figments areeveryday fears and hopes about small things that turn out to be imaginary.But when the radio play “The War of the Worlds” aired in 1938, it caused apanic among thousands of people who didn't realize the Martian invasion wasjust a figment of the author's imagination

1 The _ form of the dog lay stretched in front of the fire for hours.

2 The _ of the new aircraft's wings was one of the Defense Department'smost closely held secrets

3 Inviting her former rival to take part in the conference was a _ gesture

4 Don't tell him, but his popularity is just a _ of his imagination

5 He only meant the remark in a _ sense, but lots of people thought hemeant it literally

6 Another _ discussion about politics was going on when they arrived atthe bar that evening

7 The best negotiators always make a serious study of the basic causes of the _ between feuding partners

8 Every Halloween they would set a crude _ of a farmer on their porch,though they never really knew why

Answers

B Indicate whether the following pairs of terms have the same or different meanings:

ANN/ENN comes from Latin annus, meaning “year.” An annual event

occurs yearly An anniversary is an example of an annual event, although the

older you get the more frequent they seem to be

annuity Money that is payable yearly or on some regular basis,

or a contract providing for such payment

• Throughout her working career she invested regularly in annuities thatwould support her after retirement

Annuities are handy things to have when you retire, since they provide an

income on an annual basis or more frequently Annuities are normally

contracts with life-insurance companies that specify that payments begin atretirement Company pensions are traditionally doled out in the form ofannuities, and sweepstakes jackpots may also come as annuities An annuitycan be a wise idea if you think you're going to live a long time; however,annuities can be tricky and should only be purchased after carefullycomparing the products offered by various companies

superannuated (1) Outworn, old-fashioned, orout-of-date (2) Forced to retire because of old age or infirmity

• He called himself a car collector, but his backyard looked like a cemeteryfor superannuated clunkers

A superannuated style is out-of-date—its time has come and gone And aperson who has passed an age limit and been forced to retire may technically

be called superannuated But more often superannuated describes people

who seem somehow to belong to the past So a 55-year-old surfer might beregarded as superannuated by the young crowd riding the waves in SantaCruz, and a superannuated hippie might still be dressing the way he did in1972

millennium (1) A period of time lasting 1,000 years, or thecelebration of a 1,000-year anniversary (2) A period of great happiness andperfection on earth

• The first millennium B.C saw the rise of important civilizations in Greece,Rome, India, Central America, and China

Since in Latin mille means “thousand” (see MILL), a millennium lasts 1,000

years Thus, we're living today at the beginning of the third millennium sincethe birth of Christ But some religious sects, relying on a prophecy in thebiblical Book of Revelation, speak of a coming millennium when Jesus willreturn to reign on earth for 1,000 years, evil will be banished, and all will live

in peace and happiness Members of these sects who keep themselves in a

constant state of preparedness are called millenarians or millennialists.

perennial (1) Continuing to grow for several years (2)Enduring or continuing without interruption

• “See You in September” is a perennial summertime hit among lovesickteenagers

A perennial garden is full of perennials like delphiniums and asters, flowers that continue to bloom year after year (Annuals, by contrast, grow for only a single season and must be replanted annually, and biennials die after two years.) Evergreens are perennially green; for that reason, they're perennial

favorites for Christmas wreaths and decorations In a similar way, taxes are aperennial political issue; and a perennial political candidate may come backover and over claiming he's the only one who can save us from them

EV comes from the Latin aevum, “age” or “lifetime.” Though the root occurs

in only a few English words, it's related to the Greek aion, “age,” from which

we get the word eon, meaning “a very long period of time.”

coeval Having the same age or lasting the same amount of time;contemporary

• Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, probably written around 700 B.C., are coeval

with portions of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament

Coeval usually describes things that existed together for a very long time or

that originated at the same time in the distant past Thus, astronomers mightspeak of one galaxy as being coeval with another, and a period in the history

of one civilization might be coeval with a similar period in another As a

noun, however, coeval may describe people as well; so, for example, two artists who lived and worked at the same time might be described as coevals.

longevity (1) A long duration of life (2) Length of life; longcontinuance

• Picasso had a career of remarkable longevity, and was producing plentifullyuntil his death at 91

As living conditions improve and the science of medicine advances, thelongevity of the average American has increased greatly, from about 45 years

in 1900 to over 75 years today But the most impressive human longevity isnothing compared to the 400-year lifespan of an ocean clam found nearIceland, or the 5,000-year lifespan of the bristlecone pine, a tree found in the

western U.S We may use longevity to talk not only about actual lives but

also of the useful “life” of things: the life of your car's tires or the shingles onyour roof, for example

medieval (1) Relating to the Middle Ages of Europeanhistory, from about A.D 500 to 1500 (2) Extremely out-of-date

• The great cathedral at Chartres in France, finished in 1220, is a masterpiece

primeval (1) Having to do with the earliest ages; primitive orancient (2) Existing from the beginning

• When European settlers first arrived in North America, they found vasttracts of primeval forest, seemingly untouched by human influence

With its prim- prefix, meaning “first,” primeval obviously refers to an

original age So the word often suggests the earliest periods in the earth'shistory Myths are often stories of the creation of the world and of itsprimeval beings The trees in a primeval forest (few of which remain today inmost countries) may be 400 years old—not as old as the world, but maybe asold as they ever live to According to scientists, life on earth began in theprotein-rich waters of the primeval seas and swamps, and the decay of theirtiny organisms and plant matter over millions of years produced ourpetroleum and coal

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

1 ancient a perennial

2 of the same age b longevity

3 yearly payment c primeval

4 era of earthly paradise d coeval

5 of the Middle Ages e millennium

6 worn out f annuity

7 length of life g medieval

8 continuing h superannuated

Answers

CORP comes from corpus, the Latin word for “body.” A corpse is a dead

body A corporation is also a kind of body, since it may act almost like an individual And a corps is a “body” of soldiers.

corporeal Having or relating to a physical body; substantial

• In paintings, angels usually look very much like corporeal beings, oftenwith actual feathered wings

In various religions, including Christianity, corporeal existence is often called the opposite of spiritual existence, and corporeal existence, unlike

spiritual existence, is often said to be contaminated with evil The word isalso often used by philosophers, especially when considering the nature of

reality For lawyers, corporeal describes physical property such as houses or

cars, as opposed to something valuable but nonphysical like a goodreputation

corpulent Having a large, bulky body; obese

• Squire Jenkins had often been described as “stout” or “portly,” but morerecently the word his acquaintances were using was usually “corpulent,” oreven “fat.”

The Duchess of Windsor may have said that you can never be too rich or toothin, but that's a rather modern point of view In earlier times in Europe,being overweight was considered a sign of wealth and well-being, as

demonstrated by the corpulence of many European kings Still today,

corpulence is thought to be superior to thinness in some of the world's

cultures But corpulent and corpulence are less often used than they once

were, and we're now probably more likely to say “obese” and “obesity.”

corporal Relating to or affecting the body

• She was reminded that, in the public-school system, shaking a child wasnow regarded as unacceptable corporal punishment

The adjective corporal today usually appears in the phrase corporal punishment, which means “bodily punishment.” This used to include such

acts as mutilation, branding, imprisonment, and even death But todayexecution comes under the separate heading of “capital punishment,” which

originally involved losing your head (capit- meaning “head”) Milder forms

of corporal punishment are used by American parents, and were once

common in schools as well Corporal is occasionally used in other ways; in

the traditional church, the “corporal works of mercy” include seven helpful

acts such as sheltering the homeless and burying the dead Corporal as a military rank actually comes from caporal—which has the same root as capital.

incorporate (1) To blend or combine into somethingalready existing to form one whole (2) To form or form into a corporation

• The new edition incorporates many suggestions and corrections received bythe author from his readers

From its roots, incorporate means basically “add into a body” or “form into a

body.” So, for example, a chef might decide to incorporate a couple of newingredients into an old recipe, and then might incorporate that new item into

the restaurant's dinner menu The restaurant itself was probably incorporated

at the beginning, and so is now a corporation—that is, a “body” that's legally

allowed to act like a single person in certain ways, even if it may have manyindividual employees As you can see, the two meanings turn out to be fairlydifferent

TANG/TACT comes from the Latin words tangere, “to touch,” and tactus,

“sense of touch.” So, for instance, to make contact is to touch or “get in touch

with.”

tact The ability to deal with others without offending them

• Already at 16 his daughter showed remarkable tact in dealing with adults,which she certainly hadn't gotten from him

This word came to English directly from French (a Latin-based language),where it can also mean simply “sense of touch.” Dealing with difficultsituations involving other people can require the kind of extreme sensitivitythat our fingertips possess As Lincoln once said, “Tact is the ability todescribe others as they see themselves,” which doesn't usually come

naturally Someone tactful can soothe the feelings of the most difficult people; a tactless person will generally make a bad situation worse.