august words

1 ostracize

2 tortuous

3 knoll

4. preposterous

5.renege

6 ephemeral

7. lethargic

8.dubious

9. FASTIDIOUS

10. HILLOCK

11. DISCREET

12. EULOGY

13. TRANQUILITY

14. MOLLIFY

15. TRICKERY

16. OESTROSIZE

17. OISPISE

18. SPENT

19. MUSICIAN

20. EXUBERANT

21. DEFTENT

22. TRITE

23. FLAGRANT

24. SUNDER

[august] words 1

1. Inkling - A slight hint or indication; a slight understanding or vague idea or notion; a subtle quality underlying or felt to underlie a situation, action, or person

2. Gleam - A point of shining light, especially in darkness; brightness, sparkle; a sudden quick light; to shine brightly and steadily but without a flame; a brief or dim indication; a trace

3. Glare - To stare fixedly and angrily; to shine intensely and blindingly; to be conspicuous; stand out obtrusively; a focus of public attention; a sheet or surface of glassy and very slippery ice; be sharply reflected

4. Innuendo - An indirect or subtle, usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation; an artful, indirect, often derogatory hint; suggestion

5. Disbelief - Refusal or reluctance to believe; doubt, skepticism; to doubt the truth about something

6. Insinuation - An artful, indirect, often derogatory hint; the act of gaining acceptance or affection for yourself by persuasive and subtle blandishments; an indirect (and usually malicious) implication

7. Cruet - A small glass bottle for holding a condiment, such as vinegar or oil; a small vessel for holy water or for water or wine used in the consecration of the Eucharist

8. Misconstruction - An inaccurate explanation, interpretation, or report; a misunderstanding

9. Evasive - Intentionally vague or ambiguous; equivocal; inclined or intended to evade; deceitful, tricky; trying to avoid; skillful at eluding capture

10. Seldom - Not often; infrequently or rarely

11. Obliterate - To do away with completely so as to leave no trace; to wipe out, rub off, or erase; to remove completely (a body organ or part), as by surgery, disease, or radiation

12. Hillock - A small hill; a small natural hill; a small projection or elevation, as from an organ, tissue, or structure

13. Complement - Something that completes, makes up a whole, or brings to perfection; quantity or number needed to make up a whole; either of two parts that complete the whole or mutually complete each other; complete

14. Flicker - To move waveringly; flutter; to burn unsteadily or fitfully; to shine with intermittent gleams; a sudden quick light; glimmer; brief or slight sensation; any of various large North American woodpeckers of the genus Colaptes, especially C. auratus, the common flicker, having a brown back, spotted breast, and white rump

15. Eulogy - A laudatory speech or written tribute, especially one praising someone who has died; high praise or commendation; praise, acclamation

16. Quiescent - Being quiet, still, or at rest; inactive

17. Exuberant - Full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy; energetic, enthusiastic; profuse; plentiful; extreme in degree, size, or extent

18. Crutch - A means or device that keeps something erect, stable, or secure; a support used under the arm by an injured person to help in walking; a staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking, usually designed to fit under the armpit and often used in pairs

19. Fraternity - A group of people united in a relationship and having some interest, activity, or purpose in common; brotherhood; group united in interest

20. Catalyze - To modify, especially to increase, the rate of (a chemical reaction) by catalysis; to bring about; initiate; to produce fundamental change in; transform

21. Refute - To prove to be false or erroneous; overthrow by argument or proof; to deny the accuracy or truth of; prove false; discredit

22. Reinforcement - The act or process of reinforcing or the state of being reinforced; an event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred; additional personnel or equipment sent to support a military action

23. Renege - To fail to carry out a promise or commitment;
to fail to follow suit in cards when able and required by the rules to do so; to renounce; disown; default on

24. Sunder - To break or wrench apart; sever; a division or separation; to crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, a blow, or strain

25. Remorseful - Feeling or expressing regret for one’s sins or misdeeds; guilty, ashamed

26. Sate - To satisfy (an appetite) fully; to satisfy to excess; fill to satisfaction

27. Devious - Marked by treachery or deceit; not taking a direct or straight line or course; without a fixed or regular course; crooked; indirect; dishonest, crafty

28. Egregious - Conspicuously bad or offensive; outstandingly bad; outrageous

29. Malady - An unwholesome condition; a disease, a disorder, or an ailment

30. Aggrieve - To distress; afflict; to inflict an injury or injuries on; to cause suffering or painful sorrow to; feeling burdened

31. Dab - To spread with a greasy, sticky, or dirty substance; a tiny amount; a person with a high degree of knowledge or skill in a particular field

32. Irk - To be irritating, wearisome, or vexing to

33. Preclude - To make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent;to exclude or prevent (someone) from a given condition or activity

34. Metaphysical - Having no body, form, or substance; of, coming from, or relating to forces or beings that exist outside the natural world; not physical; without physical presence; ideal

35. Forlorn - Appearing sad or lonely because deserted or abandoned; forsaken or deprived; wretched or pitiful in appearance or condition; nearly hopeless; desperate

36. Bunion - A bunion is an abnormal enlargement of the joint; a painful, inflamed swelling of the bursa at the first joint of the big toe, characterized by enlargement of the joint and lateral displacement of the toe

37. Hospice - A shelter or lodging for travelers, pilgrims, foundlings, or the destitute; a program that provides palliative care and attends to the emotional and spiritual needs of terminally ill patients at an inpatient

facility or at the patient’s home; an institution that provides care and shelter; resort for travelers which includes lodging and entertainment

38. Tardy - Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual time; late; moving slowly; sluggish

39. Lackadaisical - Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid; lacking energy and vitality or showing such a lack; careless, indifferent

40. Jerry - A German, especially a German soldier; offensive terms for a person of German descent

41. Glean - To gather grain left behind by reapers; to collect (something) bit by bit; gather facts in small quantities

42. Inane - One that lacks sense or substance

43. Canvas - A piece of such fabric on which a painting, especially an oil painting, is executed

44. Hamstring - To restrict the activity or free movement of; handicap; to destroy or hinder the efficiency of; frustrate; any of the tendons at the rear hollow of the human knee

analogies of july

ANALOGIES

1. quatrain:stanza
2. bootless:futile
3. fustian:bombastic
4. infinitude:measure
5. cistern:liquid
6. lock:secure
7. vivid:intensity
8. debase:status
9. glacier:ice
10. resonant:sound
11. judge:laws
12. unswering:vacillate
13. cajoling:reluctance
14. slothful:assiduity
15. fence: livestock
16. reliable:fail
17. frill:superfluity
18. obsequious:toady
19. allay:relieve
20. exhaust:energy
21. dissembler:forthright
22. mirror:reflectivity
23. bolster:support
24. book:appendix
25. still:movement
26. stolid:impassive
27. martinet:lenient
28. school:learn
29. overture:introduction
30. futon:bed
31. miscreant:wretched
32. epic:poem
33. saga:anecdote
34. raucous:harsh
35. orchestra:musician
36. bumptious:assertive
37. daguerreotype:photograph:: Ans - E - X is an obsolete type of Y
(A) bust:statue::
(B) pastiche:painting
(C) narrative:novel
(D) hieroglyphic:papyrus
(E) musket:firearm
38. mirror:reflective
39. miscreant:criminal
40. anachronistic:time
41. fervor:zealot
42. tersness:superfluous
43. disinfectent:germ
44. percipent:discernment
45. envelope:enclose
46. obliterate:unnecessary
47. nimble:clumsyness
48. fluial:river
49. soothe:calm
50. enfeeble:strength
51. lock:secure
52. sedulous:diligent
53. allay:relief
54. vault:valaubles
55. stature:tall
56. toady: flatter
57. pique:assuage
58. piquant:insipid
59. dormant:vigor
60. reticent:garrulous
61. bumptious:assertive
62. saga:narrative
63. lucid:understand
64. abate:status
65. firefly:insect
66. brute:urbanity
67. car:chrome
68. indolent:vivify
69. querulous:complain

august rescue words 2

Medical Science

abscess-swollen, inflamed area of body tissues. It is from the Latin abscessus (“to grow from”). In was originally though that the humors (liquids) went from the body into the swelling.

aphasia-loss of the power to use or understand words, usually caused by brain disease or injury.

arteriosclerosis-a thickening and hardening of the walls of the arteries as in old age.

biopsy-the cutting out a piece of tissue for diagnostic examination by microscope.

cadaver-dead body; corpse for dissection. It is from the Latin word cardere, which means “to fall.”

carcinogen-any substance that causes cancer.

comatose-as if in a coma; lethargic. The Greek word coma means “deep sleep.”

etiology-the science of the causes and origins of disease.

malingerer-one who fakes illness and pretends to be suffering.

mastectomy-the surgical removal of a breast.

prosthesis-replacement for a missing part of the body.

simian-of or like a monkey or an ape.

therapeutic-curative; serving to heal.

tumescence-swelling.

vasectomy-the surgical removal of a duct that conveys the male sperm—the vas deferens

Exercises

I. Which Word Comes to Mind?

In each of the following, read the statement, then circle the word that comes to mind.

Eugene O’Neill’s play, The Hairy Play
(vasectomy, biopsy, simian)
The Federal Drug Administration’s report on harmful food addictives
(aphasia, carcinogen, prosthesis)
Breast surgery
(etiology, malingerer, mastectomy)
Days of anxious waiting for the unconscious patient to awaken
(abscess, comatose, therapeutic)
A disease of old age
(tumescence, cadaver, arteriosclerosis)
Malignant or benign
(comatose, biopsy, aphasia)
Visit to the morgue
(cadaver, abscess, simian)
A great pretender
(etiology, malingerer, carcinogen)
Walking with a wooden leg
(prosthesis, comatose, arteriosclerosis)
Vigorous exercise
(therapeutic, tumescence, apasia)
II. True or False?

In the space provided, indicate whether each statement is true or false.

____ 1. Good news can serve as a therapeutic drug for many patients.
____2. Speech therapy is prescribed for many people who suffer from aphasia.
____3. When the government suspects the presence of a carcinogen in a food, it increases sales and distribution
____4. A wooden leg was a common prosthesis years ago.
____5. Most motion picture horror stories have at least one cadaver to boast about.
____6. After the doctor drained my abscess, I immediately felt better.
____7. While awaiting the results of the biopsy, Eleanor fainted.
____8. Snakes have a traditional simian characteristic.
____9. Researchers are at work on the etiology of lung cancer.
____10. In a comatose state, Manute was able to resume his basketball career.

arguments

1. The following appeared in a memo from the new vice president of Sartorian, a company that manufactures men’s clothing.

“Five years ago, at a time when we had difficulties in obtaining reliable supplies of high-quality wool fabric, we discontinued production of our deluxe alpaca overcoats. Now that we have a new fabric supplier, we should resume production. This coat should sell very well: since we have not offered an alpaca overcoat for five years and since our major competitor no longer makes an alpaca overcoat, there will be pent-up customer demand. Also, since the price of most types of clothing has risen in each of the past five years, customers should be willing to pay significantly higher prices for alpaca overcoats than they did five years ago, and our company profits will increase”

2. The following appeared in a memo from a budget planner in Sophia County.

“Census data indicate that the number of retired couples without children who are moving into Sophia County is steadily rising; private schools in our county report substantial increases in enrollment; and a statewide survey of parents shows that over 10 percent now support the idea of home schooling instead of public schooling funded by the county government. Such demographic trends suggest that our county will not have to construct new school buildings and that we can therefore decrease the budget for county-funded public schools.”

ISSUE TOPICS

1. Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them
2. Many people know how to attain success, but few know how to make the best use of it
3. In most professions and academic fields, imagination is more important than knowledge

words

1. FASTIDIOUS
2. HILLOCK
3. DISCREET
4. EULOGY
5. TRANQUILITY
6. MOLLIFY
7. TRICKERY
8. OESTROSIZE
9. OISPISE
10. SPENT
11. MUSICIAN
12. EXUBERANT
13. DEFTENT
14. TRITE
15. FLAGRANT
16. SUNDER

august 1st[quant]

1 A motorcycle stunts man belonging to a fair, rides over the vertical walls of a circular well at an average speed of 54 kph for 5 minutes. If the radius of the well is 5 meters then the distance traveled is:

1. 2.5 kms
2. 3.5 kms
3. 4.5 kms
4. 5.5 kms
5. None of the above

2 If 1 cm on a map corresponds to an actual distance of 40 kms. And the distance on the map between Bombay and Calcutta is 37.5 cms., the actual distance between them is
:

1. 375 kms
2. 3750 kms
3. 1500 kms
4. 1375 kms
5. None of the above

3 A box contains 90 nuts each of 100 gms and 100 bolts each of 150 gms. If the entire box weighs 35.5 kg., then the weight of the empty box is :

1. 10 kg
2. 10.5 kg
3. 11 kg
4. 11.5 kg
5. None of the above

4 If the radius of a circle is increased by 20% then the area is increased by :

1. 44%
2. 120%
3. 144%
4. 40%
5. None of the above

5 If x, y, and z are consecutive negative integers, and if x > y > z, which of the following must be a positive odd integer?

1. xyz
2. (x - y) (y - z)
3. x - yz
4. x(y + z)
5. x + y + z


key:
1c 2c 3d 4a 5b

july 31[reading comprehension]

KEY IN COMMENTS

The principle of selection solved the riddle as to how what
was purposive could conceivably be brought about without the
intervention of a directing power, the riddle which animate
nature presents to our intelligence at every turn, and in
5 face of which the mind of a Kant could find no way out, for
he regarded a solution of it as not to be hoped for. For,
even if we were to assume an evolutionary force that is
continually transforming the most primitive and the simplest
forms of life into ever higher forms, and the homogeneity of
10 primitive times into the infinite variety of the present, we
should still be unable to infer from this alone how each of
the numberless forms adapted to particular conditions of life
should have appeared precisely at the right moment in the
history of the earth to which their adaptations were
15 appropriate, and precisely at the proper place in which all
the conditions of life to which they were adapted occurred:
the humming-birds at the same time as the flowers; the
trichina at the same time as the pig; the bark-coloured moth
at the same time as the oak, and the wasp-like moth at the
20 same time as the wasp which protects it. Without processes
of selection we should be obliged to assume a
“pre-established harmony” after the famous Leibnitzian model,
by means of which the clock of the evolution of organisms
is so regulated as to strike in exact synchronism with that
25 of the history of the earth!
All forms of life are strictly adapted to the conditions
of their life, and can persist under these conditions alone.
There must therefore be an intrinsic connection between the
conditions and the structural adaptations of the organism,
30 and, since the conditions of life cannot be determined by
the animal itself, the adaptations must be called forth by
the conditions. The selection theory teaches us how this
is conceivable, since it enables us to understand that there
is a continual production of what is non-purposive as well
35 as of what is purposive, but the purposive alone survives,
while the non-purposive perishes in the very act of arising.
This is the old wisdom taught long ago by Empedocles.

QUESTIONS

1. It can be inferred that the author believes that the “Leibnitzian model” (line 22) is
A. ingenious and worthy of serious consideration
B. untenable by all rational people
C. an acceptable solution to Kant’s dilemma
D. unworthy of further consideration
E. an alternative that might still be valid


2. The author’s primary purpose in this extract is to
A. suggest that a particular theory explains otherwise puzzling phenomena
B. describe the details of the selection theory for a lay audience
C. justify a particularly controversial model of the origins of life
D. persuade the reader that Empedocles was right
E. prove that selection is the only possible way of looking at evolutionary biology


3. The examples in lines 17 - 19 are intended to
A. reinforce the author’s point that is difficult to explain adaptation
B. show that adaptations must take place only at specific times and in specific places
C. give specific illustration of organisms that are particularly well-adapted to their conditions
D. show organisms that have evolved synchronously in a predestined manner
E. demonstrate that intelligent design is needed for purposive evolution