Essential Words for the TOEFL Lesson 18 Vocabulary Test

Choose the synonym.

demeanor

intuition

robust

fast

balanced

distribution

fallacious

apply

feasible

comeacross

Early analog televisions used carrier waves that were picked up by a receiving antenna and then carried to the television receiver. Inside the receiver, the video and audio signals were separated and amplified. They then passed into the picture tube, which used a narrow beam of electrons that bombarded, in a scanning motion, the back of a screen coated with a fluorescent compound. This process culminated in the projection of images on the screen.

The word culminated in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

A simple example of a means by which energy is converted from one form to another is demonstrated in the tossing of a ball into the air. When the ball is thrown vertically from the ground, its speed and its kinetic energy decreases steadily until it comes to rest momentarily at its highest point.

The word means in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

The First Continental Congress was formed to protest the British Parliament’s intrusion into certain colony affairs. This congress urged the colonies to arm themselves for defense of their rights. It believed that it would be absurd not to give a forceful response to England’s closing of the port of Boston. By the time the Second Continental Congress convened, the American Revolution had begun.

The word absurd in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

The modern sport of gymnastics was essentially the result of the work of the German Friedrich Jahn, in the early nineteenth century. He invented many of the exercises and some of the apparatus of later gymnastics, such as the parallel bars, the rings, and the horizontal bar. Jahn’s work was aimed mainly at strengthening the body. The result of gymnastics training is a well-toned, limber body.

The word limber in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

Many experts believe that in the early years of the twenty-first century the lack of water, rather than the availability of fertile land, will be the major obstacle to increased worldwide food production. As with land, the amount of water available for agricultural use cannot easily be increased. Research is now being conducted to improve water availability and thereby increase the amount of land available for farming.

The word lack in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

The aim of TV advertising is to motivate viewers to spend money on products; the aim of TV news is to give a balanced view of people, products, and events. These aims sometimes conflict with each other. While advertisers stress product features that contribute to a feeling of well-being or enhanced status, reporters have an obligation to describe products more objectively. Reporters have a responsibility to describe both positive and negative product features.

In referring to a balanced view, the author is referring to_____.

A typical cellar may be located beneath a house. It may also be located outdoors, partly underground, with the upper part mounded over with earth. This would protect items from freezing and maintain a fairly uniform temperature and humidity level. Unheated basements or heated and insulated ground-level buildings make it feasible to store fruits and vegetables for short periods.

The word feasible in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

The operating system of a computer network protects computers from access by illegal users. It also prevents data corruption introduced by unintentional mistakes made by legitimate users. A robust security scheme is particularly important for computers that are connected to a communications network, since it has many potential users.

The word robust in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

Knowledge of how early wheels were constructed is derived from “chariot burials” found in the city-states of Kish and Ur. Wheels were formed from three planks of wood that were clamped by wooden struts and bound with leather tires that were held in place by copper nails. The simplicity of their design allowed for swift repairs.

The word swift in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.

The law of large numbers, popularly known as “the law of averages,” is often thought to require that future outcomes balance past outcomes. This is a fallacy. A three-digit lottery number has the same probability of being selected every day. The fact that it has not been selected for a given number of days does not increase this probability.

The word fallacy in the passage is closest in meaning to_____.