Essential Words for the TOEFL Lesson 14 Vocabulary Test

Choose the synonym.

sufficient

survive

defy

arduous

arid

avert

selective

diligent

spacious

pinpoint

Naturally formed caves evolve mainly as a result of the solvent action of water and the chemical compounds it contains. Known as caves of solution, they are most common in regions that have ample rainfall.

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

In the early days of gliding, gliders were towed by cars. Today, gliders are towed in the sky by airplanes to a height between 600 and 900 meters above the ground. Flight duration depends on finding updrafts of air along mountain slopes, near cumulus clouds, or over arid terrain where rising thermal currents occur.

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

The Conestoga Indians were a powerful people, defying the invading Iroquois, until the Iroquois defeated them in about 1675. Part of the tribe fled to the Roanoke River. Others subsequently settled at Conestoga, near what is now Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

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

Fasting has been practiced for centuries for many diverse purposes. Some fasts were to induce fertility. Others were intended to avert catastrophe or to serve as penance for sin. American Indians held tribal fasts to escape threatening disasters. The Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru observed penitential fasts to pacify their gods.

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

Monte Albán, near Oaxaca, Mexico, was the center of the Zapotec culture that flourished around the year 100 A.D. Its gigantic stone structures were set around a spacious plaza created by leveling the top of a mountain.

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

Space exploration has had its share of problems throughout the years. A flaw in the Challenger’s design led to a fatal accident in 1986, the Mir station was often in trouble, and the Columbia shuttle crashed on reentry in 2003. Despite these tragedies, the program has profited from its mistakes, and from new engineering and new materials. Today, NASA is confident that spacecraft are fundamentally sound and perfectly safe.

In saying that spacecraft are fundamentally sound, the author means that they are_____.

Food serves three functions in most living organisms. First, it provides material that is used to sustain the activities of the organism. Second, food supplies the electron donors required for the formative processes that occur within the cell. Third, food provides the materials from which all of the structural components of the living cell can be assembled.

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

Harvested wood is dried and preserved as a treatment against insect infestation and rot. These processes ensure that it will last. Some wood products, such as posts and poles, are freshly cut. Most other wood products are made up of intermediate materials, which require further processing before they are manufactured into final products.

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

Loess is topsoil left by glaciers. Vast deposits of loess make the Midwestern plain of the United States extremely fertile and one of the most important farming areas in the world. In addition, the soils in the land along the many rivers and streams of the region also add to its farming potential.

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

Since opossums are largely arboreal, their homes are often found in hollow trees or under stumps and roots. Feigning death is one of the opossum’s principal defense mechanisms. This confuses its predators, protecting the opossum from danger.

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