TỪ VỰNG TOEIC unit 4

Unit 4VOR CARN CRED FID CURR/CURS PED FLECT POST Words fromMythology Quiz 4-1 Quiz 4-2 Quiz 4-3 Quiz 4-4 Quiz 4-5 Review Quizzes 4 VOR comes from the Latin verb vorare, “to eat,” and the

Unit 4

VOR CARN CRED FID CURR/CURS PED FLECT POST Words fromMythology

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

VOR comes from the Latin verb vorare, “to eat,” and the ending -ivorous

shows up in words that refer to eaters of certain kinds of food Frugivorous (for “fruit-eating”), granivorous (for “grain-eating”), and graminivorous (for

“grass-eating”) aren't too rare, but you won't run across phytosuccivorous

(“plant-sap-eating”) every day

carnivorous Meat-eating or flesh-eating

• He'd gotten tired of his vegetarian guinea pigs and decided he preferredcarnivorous pets such as ferrets

The order of mammals that Linnaeus named the Carnivora includes suchfamilies as the dogs, the bears, the raccoons, the weasels, the hyenas, the cats,

and the seals Most carnivores eat only meat in the wild, but some have

varied diets; some bears, for instance, normally eat far more vegetation thanmeat Carnivores have powerful jaws and complex teeth, and most are highly

intelligent Humans, like their ape cousins, are basically omnivores (see

omnivore)

herbivores Rhinoceroses and elephants, for instance, are capable of inflicting

serious damage if threatened, and among dinosaurs, the herbivorousDiplodocus had a thick tail that could be used as a lethal weapon against

attacking carnivores Herbivorous humans are usually called vegetarians.

insectivorous Feeding on insects

• Their rather odd 12-year-old son kept insectivorous plants in his bedroomand fed them live flies

A wide variety of animals could be called insectivores—most of the birds, for

example, as well as the spiders Of the amphibians, frogs and many lizardsare largely insectivorous Even some fish get much of their food from insects.The order of mammals called Insectivora contains the shrews, moles, andhedgehogs, though bats and anteaters are also insectivores Many insects arethemselves insectivores; the dragonfly, for instance, is a swift insectivorousterror that lives up to its name But it's the insectivorous plants that tend tofascinate us; of the over 600 species, the best known are the Venus flytrap(which snaps shut on its prey), the pitcher plants (which drown insects in atiny pool of water), and the sundews (which capture insects with their stickysurfaces)

voracious Having a huge appetite

• One of the hardest parts of dieting is watching skinny people with voraciousappetites consume large amounts of food without gaining weight

Voracious can be applied to people, animals, and even things, and doesn't

always refer to consuming food Thus, teenagers are voracious eaters; youmay become a voracious reader on vacation; and Americans have long beenvoracious consumers The most voracious bats may eat three-quarters of theirweight in insects in a single night Some countries have a voracious appetitefor oil Voracious corporations keep “swallowing” other companies throughmergers

CARN comes from a Latin word meaning “flesh” or “meat.” Carnation

originally meant “the color of flesh,” which was once the only color of theflower we call the carnation In Christian countries, Lent is the period whenthe faithful traditionally give up something they love, often meat The days

leading up to Lent are known as the carnival season, from the Italian carnelevare, later shortened to carnevale, which meant “removal of meat”—

though during carnival, of course, people indulge in just about everything,and the removal of meat only comes later

carnage Great destruction of life (as in a battle); slaughter

• Countries around the world appealed to all sides of the conflict to stop thecarnage of the war in Bosnia

This word was taken over straight from French (a Latin-based language), and

has mostly referred to large-scale killing in wartime But carnage needn't

refer only to slaughter on the battlefield With tens of thousands of peopledying each year in automobile accidents, it's appropriate to speak of carnage

on the nation's highways And those concerned about the effects of theviolence we see constantly on TV and movie screens may refer to that ascarnage as well

carnal Having to do with bodily pleasures

• The news stories about students on Spring Break tend to focus on the carnalpleasures associated with the annual ritual

In Christianity in past centuries, carnal was often used as the opposite of spiritual, describing what are sometimes called “the pleasures of the flesh.”

Thus, gluttony—the consumption of excessive food and drink—was a deadlycarnal sin, whereas the holiest monks and hermits might eat hardly anything

and never touch wine Today carnal has a somewhat old-fashioned sound;

when we use it, we generally mean simply “sexual.”

incarnate Given bodily or actual form; especially, havinghuman body

• For the rest of his life, he would regard his childhood nanny as goodnessincarnate

Incarnate often has a religious ring to it, since for centuries it has been used

in the Christian church, which regards Jesus as the incarnation of God—that

is, as God made human Surprisingly, neither word appears in Bible

translations; instead, the Latin word incarnatus appears in the Christian

creeds (basic statements of belief) and the Catholic Mass Regardless,

incarnate soon began to be used with various nouns: “the devil incarnate,”

“evil incarnate,” etc Notice that incarnate is one of the rare adjectives that usually, but not always, follows its noun Incarnate is also a verb, though

with a slightly different pronunciation: “This report simply incarnates theprejudices of its authors,” “For her followers, she incarnates the virtue ofselflessness,” etc

reincarnation (1) Rebirth in new bodies or forms oflife (2) Someone who has been born again with a new body after death

• Even as a child he struck everyone as a reincarnation of his grandfather, not

in his features but in his manner and personality

It's easy to make fun of people who claim to be the reincarnation of Cleopatra

or Napoleon, but they don't come from a culture that takes reincarnationseriously In Hindu belief, a person must pass through a series ofreincarnations—some of which may be as insects or fish—before fullyrealizing that the bodily pleasures are shallow and that only spiritual life istruly valuable; only then do the reincarnations cease For Hindus, an “oldsoul” is a person who seems unusually wise from early in life, and whosewisdom must have come from passing through many reincarnations

B Fill in each blank with the correct letter:

2 The school tried to shield students from _ temptations

3 The smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat, an _ creature about the size

6 Even the ambulance drivers were horrified by the _ of the accident

7 As a child she loved to watch them throw meat to the _ ones, especiallythe lions and tigers

8 The current Dalai Lama is said to be the 13th _ of the first one, wholived in the 15th century

Answers

CRED comes from credere, the Latin verb meaning “to believe” or “to

entrust.” We have a good credit rating when institutions trust in our ability to repay a loan, and we carry credentials so that others will believe that we are

who we say we are

credence Mental acceptance of something as true or real; belief.

• He scoffed and said no one still gives any credence to the story of the LochNess monster

Credence is close in meaning to belief, but there are differences Unlike belief, credence is seldom used in connection with faith in a religion or philosophy Instead credence is often used in reference to reports, rumors, and opinions And, unlike belief, it tends to be used with the words give, lack, lend,and gain So a new piece of evidence may lend credence to the alibi of a

criminal suspect Claims that a political candidate can become the nextPresident gain credence only after the candidate wins a few primaries Andalthough stories about Elvis sightings persist, they lack credence for mostpeople

credible (1) Able to be believed; reasonable to trust or believe.(2) Good enough to be effective

• Because of her past criminal record, the defense lawyers knew she wouldn't

kind of credibility among tough young people that you can only get byproving yourself on the mean streets of the inner city

credulity Readiness and willingness to believe on the basis oflittle evidence

• Thrillers and action movies only succeed if they don't strain our credulitytoo much

A particularly far-fetched story may be said to strain credulity, stretchcredulity, put demands on our credulity, or make claims on our credulity.Credulity is a quality of innocent children (of all ages) and isn't always a badthing; it must have been pure credulity that enabled Chicago White Sox andPhiladelphia Phillies fans to wait so long for a World Series victory (“This isthe year they're going to take it!”), which probably made life bearable for

them The related adjective is credulous F Scott Fitzgerald once defined

advertising as “making dubious promises to a credulous public.”

credo (1) A statement of the basic beliefs of a religious faith (2)

A set of guiding principles or beliefs

• She claims she made her money on Wall Street just by following the oldcredo “Buy low, sell high.”

Credo comes straight from the Latin word meaning “I believe,” and is the first word of many religious credos, or creeds, such as the Apostles' Creed

and the Nicene Creed But the word can be applied to any guiding principle

or set of principles Of course, you may choose a different credo when you're

52 than when you're 19 But here is the credo of the writer H L Mencken,written after he had lived quite a few years: “I believe that it is better to tellthe truth than to lie I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave And

I believe that it is better to know than to be ignorant.”

FID comes from fides, the Latin word for “faith” or “trust.” Fidelity is

another word for “faithfulness.” Confidence is having faith in someone or something An infidel is someone who lacks a particular kind of religious faith And the once-popular dog's name Fido is Latin for “I trust.”

affidavit A sworn statement made in writing

• The whole family had signed affidavits stating that they believed the will to

be valid

In Latin, affidavit means “he (she) has sworn an oath,” and an affidavit is

always a sworn written document If it contains a lie, the person making itmay be prosecuted Affidavits are often used in court when it isn't possiblefor someone to appear in person Police officers must usually file an affidavitwith a judge to get a search warrant Affidavits (unlike similar signed

statements called depositions) are usually made without an opposing lawyer

being present and able to ask questions

diffident Lacking confidence; timid, cautious

• He always found it a struggle to get his most diffident students to speak infront of the class

Diffident means lacking faith in oneself—in other words, the opposite of confident Distrust in your abilities or opinions usually makes you hesitate to

speak or act Patients who feel diffident around their doctors, for example,don't dare ask them many questions A helpful friend tries to instill

confidence in place of diffidence.

fiduciary (1) Having to do with a confidence or trust (2)Held in trust for another

• Pension-fund managers have a fiduciary responsibility to invest thepension's funds for the sole benefit of those who will receive the pensions

A fiduciary relationship is one in which one person places faith in another.Stockbrokers and real-estate agents have fiduciary duties to their clients,which means they must act in their clients' best financial interests Members

of a company's board of directors have a fiduciary responsibility to protectthe financial interests of the company's shareholders There are legalrequirements for those with fiduciary responsibility, and they can be sued forbreach of fiduciary duty if they fail

perfidy Faithlessness, disloyalty, or treachery

• While working for the CIA he was lured into becoming a double agent, and

it seems he paid a high price for his perfidy

The perfidious Benedict Arnold plotted with the British to surrender West

Point to them during the American Revolution—an act that made his name a

synonym for traitor In recent years, the perfidy of the double agents Aldrich

Ames (of the CIA) and Robert Hanssen (of the FBI) has become notorious

6 The company's odd but charming _ was “Don't be evil.”

7 The _ stated that no oral agreement had ever been made

8 Her _ is enormous; no story in the supermarket tabloids is too fetched for her

far-Answers

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

1 bad faith a perfidy

CURR/CURS comes from currere, the Latin verb meaning “to run.”

Although words based on this root don't tend to suggest speed, the sense of

movement remains Current, for instance, refers to running water in a stream

or river, or electrons running through a wire, and an excursion is a trip from

one place to another

concurrent Happening or operating at the same time

• The killer was sentenced to serve three concurrent life terms in prison

Things that are concurrent usually not only happen at the same time but alsoare similar to each other So, for example, multitasking computers are capable

of performing concurrent tasks When we take more than one medication at atime, we run the risks involved with concurrent drug use And at any

multiplex theater several movies are running concurrently.

cursory Hastily and often carelessly done

• Having spent the weekend going to parties, she had only given the chapter acursory reading before class on Monday

Unlike the other words in this section, cursory always implies speed But it

also stresses a lack of attention to detail Cursory observations are generallyshallow or superficial because of their speed And when citizens complainabout a cursory police investigation of a crime, they're distressed by its lack

of thoroughness, not its speed

discursive Passing from one topic to another

• Some days he allowed himself to write long discursive essays in his diaryinstead of his usual simple reporting of the day's events

The Latin verb discurrere meant “to run about,” and from this word we get our word discursive, which often means rambling about over a wide range of

topics A discursive writing style generally isn't encouraged by writingteachers But some of the great 19th-century writers, such as Charles Lamband Thomas de Quincey, show that the discursive essay, especially whengracefully written and somewhat personal in tone, can be a pleasure to read.And the man often called the inventor of the essay, the great Michel deMontaigne, might touch on dozens of different topics in the course of a longdiscursive essay

precursor One that goes before and indicates the coming ofanother

• Scientists are trying to identify special geological activity that may be aprecursor to an earthquake, which will help them predict the quake's size,time, and location

With its prefix pre-, meaning “before,” a precursor is literally a “forerunner,” and in fact forerunner first appeared as the translation of the Latin praecursor But the two words function a little differently today A

forerunner may simply come before another thing, but a precursor generallypaves the way for something So, for example, the Office of StrategicServices in World War II was the immediate precursor of today's CentralIntelligence Agency, while the blues music of the 1930s and 1940s was onlyone of the precursors of the rock and roll of today

PED comes from the Latin word for “foot.” A pedal is pushed by the foot; a

pedicure is a treatment of the feet, toes, and toenails; and a pedestal is what a

statue stands on—in a sense, its foot