Essential Words for the TOEFL Lesson 29 Vocabulary Test

Choose the synonym.

caliber

ignore

acknowledged

assortment

obtain

steady

condensed

assimilate

renown

contradictory

By the end of 1998, the Internet’s World Wide Web had become so commonplace in the public consciousness that even nontechnical adults were likely to acknowledge having heard of the “Net” and the “Web.” Companies large and small began including a website address in their advertising. Furthermore, large telecommunications firms began offering their customers Internet access services.

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

Traditionally, the South Pacific Melanesians completed the requisite destruction of their art objects once their ceremonial purposes were achieved. Part of the artistic tradition included the need to destroy and then recreate art objects as ritualistic or social needs arose. As a result of this behavior, the Melanesian artistic tradition existed solely as an artistic concept in the mind of the artist who often worked without models of previous works.

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

Nuclear families of the preindustrial era were bound to a set of social obligations that made the nuclear family subordinate to the wishes of the larger family. This extended family system began to unravel with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Aspirations for greater personal freedom and changing economic conditions produced a slow movement toward more independent nuclear families.

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

In 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt drafted The Four Freedoms. It was a list of basic human rights: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Later in the same year, these were incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, a British and American statement of goals for a peaceful world. Some leaders criticized The Four Freedoms for being too vague to serve as a guide for prudent statesmanship.

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

The earliest-known handcrafted carpet, about 2,500 years old, was discovered in ice in a tomb at Pazyryk, Siberia. Rugs were also made in Persia approximately 200 years later during the reign of Cyrus, whose tomb was covered with precious carpets. By the sixteenth century, rug making was a highly developed craft in Persia and Turkey.

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

A bar code is a tiny cluster of vertical lines and horizontal numbers against a white field found on many products today. This electronic code is not prominently displayed; rather, it is usually tucked away somewhere on the backside of the packaging. The digits in the code indicate the name and price of the product; more importantly, they help merchants maintain their stock by subtracting each purchase from the store’s inventory.

In saying that bar codes are not prominently displayed, the author means that they_____.

Scientists believe that the volume of water in the oceans has not changed dramatically during the last few hundred million years. This conclusion is drawn from evidence indicating that the interiors of the continents have never been covered by the oceans. However, in recent decades, the oceans have noticeably increased in volume due to global warming, although some scientists disregard this evidence and maintain that global warming is not a real phenomenon.

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

The dynamic growth of communications networks after 1995, especially in the scholarly world, has accelerated the establishment of the “virtual library.” At the core of this development is public-domain information. Residing in databases distributed worldwide, a growing portion of this vast resource is now accessible almost immediately through the Internet.

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

Discount stores sell products at prices lower than those found in conventional retail outlets. Some, such as department stores, offer wide assortments of goods. Other discount chains specialize, offering special types of merchandise such as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Discount stores have become international phenomena. They have spread to Western Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Japan.

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

The major reasons for establishing a wildlife refuge are to acquire protection for a group of animals that have become significantly reduced in number and to suitably improve the habitat so that animals will breed and flourish. Often, restrictions or prohibitions are placed on development, hunting, trapping, trespassing, or fishing.

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