Sunday, August 12, 2012

< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (64)


Amid (preposition) 
in or into the middle of
Fertile lands exist in the Midwest amid the rolling hills and low-lying valleys.

Amass (verb) 
to collect for oneself; to gather or pile up especially little by little 
Aubrey Huff had two hits and four RBI's, Marlon Anderson hit a three run homer, and
Travis Lee and Ben Grieve had consecutive homers in a five run fifth for the Devil Rays,
which amassed 18 hits. Every starter had at least one.

Amnesia (noun) 
having partial or total loss of memory 
Lance suffered from temporary amnesia after his brain surgery.

Analogous (adjective) 
possessing the same or almost the same characteristics
Bats' wings are modifications of the hands of the common mammalian ancestor, whereas
flying squirrels' wings are modifications of its rib cage, hence making the two structures 
merely analogous: similar in function.

Anatomical (adjective) 
resembling the bodily structure of animals and plants
It's clear that these structures are not homologous to the wings of bats because they have
a fundamentally different anatomical plan, reflecting a different evolutionary history.

Ancestor (noun) 
a person from whom one is descended  
The scientific question is whether the chimps' abilities are homologous to human
language; that is, whether the two systems show the same basic organization owing to
descent from a single system in their common ancestor.

Animator (noun) 
one that contributes to the animation of a cartoon 
Disney employed many animators during the production of the movie,  The Little
Mermaid.  

Anomaly (noun) 
something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified
Science-fiction writers may claim to have created warped space and light bending
celestial anomalies, but these are, in fact, actual physical phenomena. 

Antagonize (verb) 
to act in opposition to; to incur or provoke the hostility of
The summit was further complicated by France and Germany, which had spoken out
against the U.S.-led attack on Iraq, choosing to concentrate on rebuilding relations with
Washington rather than antagonizing it further. 

Antic (noun) 
an attention drawing often wildly playful or funny act or action 
The contestants on the African reality-television program may be divided, but their
antics have united viewers across the continent and in the process created an unlikely
cultural force. 

Antiquity (noun) 
ancient times, especially before the middle ages
New York, Tokyo, Paris, and Hong Kong are similar to city states of antiquity (e.g.
Athens, Rome, Carthage) or medieval times (e.g. the Hanseatic League), except that these
modern city-states engage in instant electronic communication and capital transfer, and
are the chief recipients of world population growth. 

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