Essential Words for the TOEFL Lesson 25 Vocabulary Test

Choose the synonym.

consistently

capriciously

moral

circulated

briefly

exhibited

overtly

inappropriately

secluded

indisputably

The colossal Statue of Liberty is situated in New York harbor on a small island park near Ellis Island. Standing 302 feet high including its base, it shows a woman holding a torch in her raised right hand. In her left, there is a tablet proclaiming liberty, bearing the date July 4, 1776. An elevator rises to the balcony level, and a spiral staircase leads to an observation platform in the statue’s crown.

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

In its earliest forms, astrology consisted of simple omens that astrologers interpreted from the celestial bodies in the sky. In its developed form, astrology analyzes the presumed effects of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars on the Earth for a specific time and place. Astrologists also contend that the position of constellations at the moment of your birth profoundly influences your future.

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

When a language is devised as a means of communication between persons having no language in common, it is called a lingua franca. This lingua franca is native to none of those using it. A lingua franca with a sharply reduced grammar and vocabulary is called a pidgin. When a whole speech community gives up its former language or languages and takes a pidgin as its native tongue, the pidgin becomes a creole.

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

Cedarwood is a light, soft, resinous, and durable wood, even when it makes contact with soil or moisture. It is an important timber used in construction in regions where it is found, but is infrequently used elsewhere. Many varieties of the Atlas cedar are popular ornamental trees in North America, especially along the Pacific and Gulf coasts.

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

In 1876 the Johns Hopkins University was founded in Baltimore as the first U.S. institution to incorporate the German ideal of university education. Since that time, graduate education has become an important aspect of many institutions. Older universities, such as Harvard and Yale, and newer ones, such as Stanford and Chicago, have embraced the aims of advanced learning conducted in a spirit of freedom and autonomy.

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

Recent studies in psychology have explored the reasons why some purchases are made on impulse while others are given a significant amount of forethought. One finding is that shoppers are more likely to impulsively buy clothes than garden tools. It suggests that buying on impulse is strongly related to shoppers’ attitudes about themselves and to their “self-images.” Useful objects such as garden tools engage shoppers less personally than items that enhance their appearance.

In discussing purchases made on impulse, the author is referring to purchases that shoppers make_____.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain can be interpreted on several levels. On the surface, it is a picturesque novel in which young Huck Finn relates his adventures as he travels down the Mississippi River with a runaway slave named Jim. On another level, it is a societal satire on the constraints of civilization. Huckleberry Finn becomes a study of nature’s indifference; the river, like society, is sometimes benevolent, sometimes malicious, and always impulsive.

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

Because of New Zealand’s location, there was no higher animal life in the country when the Maori arrived. There were two species of lizard: the gecko, and the tuatara, a reptile that was extinct everywhere else for 100,000,000 years. There were also a few primitive species of frogs and two species of bats. These are all living today, but are confined to outlying islands and isolated parts of the country.

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

The American painter Frank Duveneck was an important influence on other American artists of his generation. In 1870, he went to Munich to study at the Royal Academy, where he had a brief acquaintance with William Merritt Chase. Duveneck was an admirer of the realism of Gustave Courbet, but his Munich work also shows how well he had assimilated the masterful brushwork and the skill in capturing expressions of the Dutch portraitist Frans Hals.

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

A dramatic monologue is a speech of long duration made by a character to a second person. In fiction, an interior monologue is a type of monologue that exhibits the thoughts, feelings, and associations passing through a character’s mind.

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