< V > TOEFL Vocabulary (80)

Cocoon (noun) 

a shell-like container

We'd all be a lot kinder and gentler if the driver's seat were lashed to the front bumper

instead of encased in a padded steel cocoon.

Cognition (noun) 

the process of knowing in the broadest sense

Welcome to today’s seminar about the Cognition and Perception Program offered

through the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.

Coherent (adjective) 

logically connected, consistent

The planning stage of writing requires one to put his ideas into a coherent, purposeful

order appropriate to his readers.

Cold-shoulder (verb) 

to give intentionally cold or unsympathetic treatment

Asked if he would repeat his anti-Bush message in person, Mandela replied: "You assume

that he is going to meet me. I wouldn't make that assumption. I have said what I wanted

to say and I don't have to repeat it." It was unclear who would cold-shoulder whom. 

Collaborate (verb) 

to work together toward a common end

Quincy Jones' first major success as a pop music producer came in the early 1960's when

he collaborated with Lesley Gore to create a dozen pop hits including It's My Party and

Judy's Turn to Cry. 

  

Collapse (noun) 

an abrupt, disastrous failure

The balance of fusion reactions versus gravitational collapse which occurred in this

little cloud is fondly referred to as a star, and this story is about the birth and life of the

closest star to Earth, the Sun. 

Collectively (adverb) 

the manner of gathering something into a whole; characteristic of a group acting together

Collectively, these frozen archives give scientists unprecedented views of global climate

over the eons.

Collide (verb) 

to come together or come up against with force

Particles within the cloud's center (core) became so densely packed that they often

collided and stuck (fused) together. 

Colossal (adjective) 

vast, enormous, gigantic, mammoth 

A colossal earthquake registering 8.4 on the Richter scale occurred in Alaska in the

1960's. 

Colonize (verb) 

to found or establish an area which is subject to rule by an outside power

Portugal, France, Holland, and England colonizing the continents now called the

Americas decided to stay and the rest is history.

Comeback (noun) 

a return to a former position or condition as of success or prosperity

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has changed the wolf's status from "endangered" to

"threatened" in the lower 48 states. This lack of federal protection is allowing many

western states to wage a war on wolves -- just as they were beginning to make a

comeback.