< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (162)

Power plant (noun) 

a building or complex in which electricity is produced Atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides from coal  and oil burning

power plants, cars, and other fossil fuel burning sources have climbed along with the

world population, with as yet unknown effects on the climate system.

Prairie (noun) 

a large area of level or rolling land in the Mississippi River valley that has deep fertile soil, 

a cover of tall coarse grasses, and few trees

The Midwestern part of the United States is characterized by vast prairies, rich

agricultural farmland, and intense thunderstorms.

Precipitate (verb) 

something brought about by a cause

In 1861_1862, Federal forces pushing southward from St. Louis captured Forts Henry

and Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, which precipitated the Battle

of Shiloh.

Precise (adjective) 

clearly, fully, and sometimes emphatically expressed

To maintain flexibility, stretching must be performed at least everyday (every 36 hours

to be precise).

Preconceived (adjective) 

to form an opinion prior to actual knowledge or experience    

The Battle of Shiloh would change all preconceived notions that the Civil War would be

short lived.

Precursor (noun) 

a forerunner; one that proceeds and indicates the approach of another

If language evolved by gradual Darwinian natural selection, we must be able to find

some precursor of it in our closest relatives, the chimpanzees.

Predator (noun) 

one that preys, destroys, or devours 

Sea lions, seals, and sharks are natural predators of the salmon.

Predecessor (noun)

one that precedes; especially : a person who has previously occupied a position or office to  which another has succeeded 

Scientists have unearthed three 160,000_year_old human skulls in Ethiopia that are the 

oldest known and best preserved fossils of modern humans' immediate predecessors. 

Preface (noun) 

a short section of preliminary remarks

Renaissance books established the convention of the preface that is found in most books

of today.  

Preliminary (adjective)    

Avian (bird) mortality is being studied currently to determine if industrial wind turbine

farms contribute to the demise of large birds of prey such as golden and bald eagles. 

Preliminary results indicate that avian mortality is specific to the site (if it's on a

flyway), not the turbines in general.