TỪ VỰNG TOEIC unit 17

Unit 17
ANIM FIG ANN/ENN EV CORP TANG/TACT CODI/CODE SIGN
QUADR/QUART TETR Number Words
Quiz 17-1 Quiz 17-2 Quiz 17-3 Quiz 17-4 Quiz 17-5 Review Quizzes 17
ANIM comes from the Latin anima, meaning “breath” or “soul.” So, for
example, an animal is a living, breathing thing—though human animals have
often argued about whether other species actually have souls.


animated
(1) Full of life; lively, vigorous, active. (2)
Seeming or appearing to be alive.
• Her gestures as she talked were so animated that even people across the
room were watching her.
Animated cartoon characters have been “given life” by film techniques,
though the animation of drawings actually goes back to handheld toys in the
1830s. A child watching the cartoon may also be animated—squealing,
laughing, and jumping around—as can a crowd of hockey fans or a rockconcert audience. And the best discussions and arguments are often highly
animated.


magnanimous
spirit. (2) Generous and forgiving.

(1) Showing a lofty and courageous

• She was magnanimous in victory, saying she'd been lucky to win and
praising her opponent's effort.
The basic meaning of magnanimity is “greatness of spirit.” Thus,
magnanimity is the opposite of pettiness or “smallness.” A truly
magnanimous person can lose without complaining and win without gloating.

Angry disputes can sometimes be resolved when one side makes a
magnanimous gesture toward the other. And it's the mark of magnanimity to
give credit to everyone who worked on a project even if you'd rather it all
went to you.


animosity

Ill will or resentment.

• Legend has it that the animosity between the Greeks and the Trojans began
with the stealing of the beautiful Helen from her husband, Menelaus.
The important Latin word animus (very closely related to anima) could mean
a great many things having to do with the soul and the emotions, one of them
being “anger.” As an English word, animus has generally meant “ill will,” so
it isn't mysterious that animosity means basically the same thing. Animosity
can exist between two people, two groups or organizations, or two countries,
and can sometimes lie hidden for years before reappearing. The deep
animosities that exist between certain ethnic and religious groups sometimes
seem as if they will last forever.


inanimate

(1) Not alive; lifeless. (2) Not lively; dull.

• The sculptures of Rodin are so expressive that, although inanimate, they
seem full of life and emotion.
The couch you sit on while you watch TV is an inanimate object, as is your
footrest, your bag of snacks, and your remote control. Spend too much time

on that couch and you risk becoming a couch potato. (A potato is an
inanimate object.)


FIG comes from a Latin verb meaning “to shape or mold” and a noun
meaning “a form or shape.” So a figure is usually a shape. A transfiguration
transforms the shape or appearance of something. And a disfiguring injury
changes the appearance of part of the body for the worse.


figurative
(1) Representing form or figure in art. (2) Saying
one thing in terms normally meaning or describing another thing.
• When the poet says he's been living in the desert, it's a figurative reference
to his emotional life.
Words and phrases can have both literal and figurative meanings, and we all
use words with both kinds of meanings every day of our lives. We can
literally close the door to a room, or we can figuratively close the door to
further negotiations—that is, refuse to take part in them. Figurative language
includes figures of speech, such as similes (“she's been like a sister to me”)
and metaphors (“a storm of protest”). And sometimes it's hard to tell whether
a phrase is literal or figurative: If I say I “picked up” a little Spanish in
Mexico, is that literal or figurative? You've probably noticed that lots of the
definitions in this book show both a literal meaning (often something
physical) and a figurative meaning (often nonphysical).


configuration
shape, design.

An arrangement of parts or elements;

• We've changed the configuration of the office so that employees will have
more privacy at their desks.
The term is very common in computer science and mathematics, and in
scientific and technological fields in general. Thus, for example, two
scientists won a 1962 Nobel Prize for their description of the configuration of
the DNA molecule. Since then, researchers have studied what different
configurations within the DNA strands mean and what they control, and
genetic engineers have tried to configure or reconfigure DNA in new ways to
prevent or treat diseases.


effigy
hated person.

An image of a person, especially a crude representation of a

• The night before the big game, an effigy of the rival coach was burned on a
huge bonfire.
It was the practice of the ancient Egyptians to bury an effigy of a dead person
along with that person's body. The idea was that if anything happened to the
body in the afterlife, the effigy could be used as a spare. Effigy now usually
refers to crude stuffed figures of the kind that get abused by angry protestors
and unruly college students. But the small dolls that witches have used to
bring pain and death on their victims can be called effigies as well. Actually,
those witches and college kids seem to use their effigies for pretty much the
same thing.

figment

Something made up or imagined.

• His preference for Cindy is a figment of your imagination; believe me, he
barely knows she exists.
A figment is something formed from imaginary elements. Daydreams are
figments; nightmares are figments that can seem very real. Most figments are
everyday fears and hopes about small things that turn out to be imaginary.
But when the radio play “The War of the Worlds” aired in 1938, it caused a
panic among thousands of people who didn't realize the Martian invasion was
just a figment of the author's imagination.


Quiz 17-1
A. Fill in each blank with the correct letter:
a. inanimate
b. figurative
c. animated
d. effigy
e. figment
f. magnanimous
g. configuration
h. animosity
1. The ___ form of the dog lay stretched in front of the fire for hours.
2. The ___ of the new aircraft's wings was one of the Defense Department's
most closely held secrets.
3. Inviting her former rival to take part in the conference was a ___ gesture.
4. Don't tell him, but his popularity is just a ___ of his imagination.
5. He only meant the remark in a ___ sense, but lots of people thought he

meant it literally.
6. Another ___ discussion about politics was going on when they arrived at
the bar that evening.
7. The best negotiators always make a serious study of the basic causes of the
___ between feuding partners.
8. Every Halloween they would set a crude ___ of a farmer on their porch,
though they never really knew why.
Answers


B. Indicate whether the following pairs of terms have the same or
different meanings:
1. figment / fruitcake
same ___ / different ___
2. animosity / hatred
same ___ / different ___
3. figurative / mathematical
same ___ / different ___
4. magnanimous / petty
same ___ / different ___
5. effigy / bonfire
same ___ / different ___
6. animated / lively
same ___ / different ___
7. configuration / list of parts
same ___ / different ___
8. inanimate / not alive
same ___ / different ___
Answers

ANN/ENN comes from Latin annus, meaning “year.” An annual event
occurs yearly. An anniversary is an example of an annual event, although the
older you get the more frequent they seem to be.


annuity
Money that is payable yearly or on some regular basis,
or a contract providing for such payment.
• Throughout her working career she invested regularly in annuities that
would support her after retirement.
Annuities are handy things to have when you retire, since they provide an
income on an annual basis or more frequently. Annuities are normally
contracts with life-insurance companies that specify that payments begin at
retirement. Company pensions are traditionally doled out in the form of
annuities, and sweepstakes jackpots may also come as annuities. An annuity
can be a wise idea if you think you're going to live a long time; however,
annuities can be tricky and should only be purchased after carefully
comparing the products offered by various companies.


superannuated
(1) Outworn, old-fashioned, or
out-of-date. (2) Forced to retire because of old age or infirmity.
• He called himself a car collector, but his backyard looked like a cemetery
for superannuated clunkers.
A superannuated style is out-of-date—its time has come and gone. And a
person who has passed an age limit and been forced to retire may technically
be called superannuated. But more often superannuated describes people
who seem somehow to belong to the past. So a 55-year-old surfer might be

regarded as superannuated by the young crowd riding the waves in Santa
Cruz, and a superannuated hippie might still be dressing the way he did in
1972.


millennium
(1) A period of time lasting 1,000 years, or the
celebration of a 1,000-year anniversary. (2) A period of great happiness and
perfection on earth.
• The first millennium B.C. saw the rise of important civilizations in Greece,
Rome, India, Central America, and China.
Since in Latin mille means “thousand” (see MILL), a millennium lasts 1,000
years. Thus, we're living today at the beginning of the third millennium since
the birth of Christ. But some religious sects, relying on a prophecy in the
biblical Book of Revelation, speak of a coming millennium when Jesus will
return to reign on earth for 1,000 years, evil will be banished, and all will live
in peace and happiness. Members of these sects who keep themselves in a
constant state of preparedness are called millenarians or millennialists.


perennial
(1) Continuing to grow for several years. (2)
Enduring or continuing without interruption.
• “See You in September” is a perennial summertime hit among lovesick
teenagers.
A perennial garden is full of perennials like delphiniums and asters, flowers
that continue to bloom year after year. (Annuals, by contrast, grow for only a
single season and must be replanted annually, and biennials die after two
years.) Evergreens are perennially green; for that reason, they're perennial
favorites for Christmas wreaths and decorations. In a similar way, taxes are a

perennial political issue; and a perennial political candidate may come back
over and over claiming he's the only one who can save us from them.


EV comes from the Latin aevum, “age” or “lifetime.” Though the root occurs
in only a few English words, it's related to the Greek aion, “age,” from which
we get the word eon, meaning “a very long period of time.”


coeval
contemporary.

Having the same age or lasting the same amount of time;

• Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, probably written around 700 B.C., are coeval
with portions of the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament.
Coeval usually describes things that existed together for a very long time or
that originated at the same time in the distant past. Thus, astronomers might
speak of one galaxy as being coeval with another, and a period in the history
of one civilization might be coeval with a similar period in another. As a
noun, however, coeval may describe people as well; so, for example, two
artists who lived and worked at the same time might be described as coevals.


longevity
continuance.

(1) A long duration of life. (2) Length of life; long

• Picasso had a career of remarkable longevity, and was producing plentifully

until his death at 91.
As living conditions improve and the science of medicine advances, the
longevity of the average American has increased greatly, from about 45 years
in 1900 to over 75 years today. But the most impressive human longevity is
nothing compared to the 400-year lifespan of an ocean clam found near
Iceland, or the 5,000-year lifespan of the bristlecone pine, a tree found in the
western U.S. We may use longevity to talk not only about actual lives but
also of the useful “life” of things: the life of your car's tires or the shingles on
your roof, for example.


medieval
(1) Relating to the Middle Ages of European
history, from about A.D. 500 to 1500. (2) Extremely out-of-date.
• The great cathedral at Chartres in France, finished in 1220, is a masterpiece
of medieval architecture.
With its roots medi-, meaning “middle,” and ev-, meaning “age,” medieval
literally means “of the Middle Ages.” In this case, middle means “between
the Roman empire and the Renaissance”—that is, after the fall of the great
Roman state and before the “rebirth” of culture that we call the Renaissance.
This same period used to be called the “Dark Ages,” since it was believed
that in these years civilization all but vanished. And indeed, for most
Europeans in these centuries, it was a time of poverty, famine, plague, and
superstition, rather than the age of magic, dazzling swordplay, towering
castles, and knights in splendid armor displayed in today's graphic novels and
video games.


primeval
(1) Having to do with the earliest ages; primitive or

ancient. (2) Existing from the beginning.
• When European settlers first arrived in North America, they found vast
tracts of primeval forest, seemingly untouched by human influence.
With its prim- prefix, meaning “first,” primeval obviously refers to an
original age. So the word often suggests the earliest periods in the earth's
history. Myths are often stories of the creation of the world and of its
primeval beings. The trees in a primeval forest (few of which remain today in
most countries) may be 400 years old—not as old as the world, but maybe as
old as they ever live to. According to scientists, life on earth began in the
protein-rich waters of the primeval seas and swamps, and the decay of their
tiny organisms and plant matter over millions of years produced our
petroleum and coal.


Quiz 17-2
A. Choose the closest definition:
1. perennial
a. flowerlike b. excellent c. everlasting d. thorough
2. longevity
a. extent b. life length c. longitude d. longing
3. superannuated
a. amazing b. huge c. aged d. perennial
4. coeval
a. ancient b. simultaneous c. same-sized d. continuing
5. millennium
a. thousand b. century c. era d. a thousand years
6. annuity
a. annual event b. annual payment c. annual income d. annual
garden
7. medieval

a. antiquated b. middle-aged c. romantic d. knightly
8. primeval
a. wicked b. elderly c. primitive d.muddy
Answers


B. Match the definition on the left to the correct word on the right:
1. ancient
a. perennial
2. of the same age
b. longevity
3. yearly payment
c. primeval
4. era of earthly paradise d. coeval
5. of the Middle Ages e. millennium
6. worn out
f. annuity
7. length of life
g. medieval
8. continuing
h. superannuated
Answers


CORP comes from corpus, the Latin word for “body.” A corpse is a dead
body. A corporation is also a kind of body, since it may act almost like an
individual. And a corps is a “body” of soldiers.