Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 27 - Day 1
NEW WORDS
- pinnacle [pin´ kəl]
“Their little barber-shop quartet reached the pinnacle of their career with a firstplace finish on Major Bowes’ ‘Amateur Hour.’ ” David and Marge Buchanan, “No Business Like You Know What”
- array [ə rā´]
“She arrayed herself in what seemed unbelievably beautiful clothes.” Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio
- obscure [əb sky ůr´]
“This book has serious purpose even if many will find that purpose obscure.” Decision of Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, 11/62
- ardent [ärd´ nt]
“There is no more ardent performer than Judy Garland as she allows her emotions to shine through.” Penelope Houston, Sight and Sound, 1954
- culminate [kul´ mə nāt]
“The years of physical and mental training culminated in the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.” Vim & Vigor, Summer 1998
TODAY’S IDIOM
to break the ice—to make a beginning, to overcome stiffness between strangers
All after-dinner speakers break the ice by telling a story or joke at the start of their speeches.