Essential Words for the TOEFL Lesson 8 Vocabulary Test

Choose the synonym.

flaw

dictate

hasten

crop

fragment

mammoth

manageable

discriminate

reflect

derive

Testing metals for quality assurance can be accomplished by several methods. One common nondestructive technique, used to locate surface cracks and flaws in metals, employs a penetrating liquid. Normally this fluid is brightly dyed or fluorescent. After being spread over the surface of the material, it soaks into any tiny cracks. The liquid is cleaned off, allowing cracks and blemishes to be easily seen.

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

An important task of management is to motivate individual workers to coordinate their collective efforts to achieve an organization’s goals. The concepts and methods used to structure work and to design organizations have changed considerably. An organization’s age can often be predicted by the way work is structured. Work practices tend to reflect the organization’s design theory present at the time the organization was founded.

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

The Mayflower Compact was a document signed by 41 of the male passengers on the Mayflower before their landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The passengers, concerned that some members of the company might leave the group and settle on their own, negotiated laws amongst themselves to create the document. The Mayflower Compact created a political body whose purpose was to form a simple government. Those who signed the compact pledged to abide by any future laws and regulations.

In stating that the settlers negotiated, the author means that_____.

Before the invention of electroacoustic equipment that generates and measures sound, the available hearing tests gave approximate results in the best cases. A person’s hearing could be explained in terms of the ability to distinguish between the ticking of a watch and the clicking of coins or to determine the distance at which conversational speech or a whispered voice could no longer be understood.

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

When DNA is subjected to restriction-enzyme activity, fragments of various sizes are formed. This process reveals a unique pattern of restriction-enzyme DNA. This specific DNA pattern found in each human genetic lineage is unique, because each person, except for identical twins, is formed from different combinations of the genetic material from two family lines. The pattern of sizes of the DNA from an individual is unique and can serve as a “DNA fingerprint” of that person.

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

The invention of the airplane was a crushing blow for proponents of hot air ballooning. Early advocates of ballooning such as Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries thought it would transform international travel. Instead, the cost of launching a balloon, the problem of controlling a balloon in high winds, and the instant attractiveness of more stable airplane travel have kept ballooning from becoming more than a hobby for a limited number of wealthy adventurers.

In stating that the airplane’s invention was a crushing blow for proponents of ballooning, the author means that it_____.

Farming continues to be an important activity on the eastern shore of Maryland. The eastern shore specializes in chickens for urban markets along the East Coast. Although market vegetables are also produced for the same urban markets, corn and soybeans continue to be the two most important crops cultivated on Maryland’s eastern shore.

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

The earliest grain mills were hand-powered devices. Querns, which have been used for centuries to crush grains, are examples of such milling devices. A quern has an upper grinding stone with a handle. This handle rotates inside another stone, which contains the grain.

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

Creating chocolate is an involved process. First, the cacao beans must be meticulously harvested from the cacao tree. The irresistible chocolate candies we are familiar with are derived from these beans. The cacao beans must be crushed and then go through a process known as tempering—a repeating cycle of warming and cooling of the liquefied product.

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

The economic depression that plagued the United States in the 1930s was unique in its size and its consequences. During the worst period of the Depression, in 1933, one in every four American workers was out of a job. The great industrial slump engendered extreme hardship throughout the world that persisted throughout the 1930s.

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