TOEFL Vocabulary Practice Test Set 2 - 40 Questions (41 to 80)


041. The Earth comprises three principal layers: the dense, iron-rich core, the mantle made of silicate rocks that are semimolten at depth, and the thin, solid-surface crust.

The word "comprises" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) adapts to
  • (B) benefits from
  • (C) consists of
  • (D) focuses on

Answer - C

042. These plates move over the semimolten lower mantle to produce all of the major topographical features of the Earth. Active zones where intense deformation occurs are confined to the narrow, interconnecting boundaries of contact of the plates.

The word "intense" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) surface
  • (B) sudden
  • (C) rare
  • (D) extreme

Answer - D

043. New oceanic crust is formed along one or moremargins of each plate by material issuing from deeper layers of the Earth's crust, for example, by volcanic eruptions of lava at midocean ridges.

The word "margins" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) edges
  • (B) peaks
  • (C) interiors
  • (D) distances

Answer - A

044. If at such a spreading contact the two plates support continents, a rift is formed that will gradually widen and become flooded by the sea. The Atlantic Ocean formed like this as the American and Afro-European plates move in opposite directions.

The word "support" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) separate
  • (B) create
  • (C) reduce
  • (D) hold

Answer - D

045. Coincident with concerns about the accelerating loss of species and habitats has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversity, the number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the health of the Earth and human well-being.

The word "appreciation" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) ignorance
  • (B) recognition
  • (C) tolerance
  • (D) forgiveness

Answer - B

046. An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the planet's dominant, mostdistinctive feature-the ocean. Humans have a bias toward land that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues.

The word "bias" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) concern
  • (B) disadvantage
  • (C) attitude
  • (D) prejudice

Answer - D

047. The prevailing winds in the Great Basin are from the west. Warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean is forced upward as it crosses the Sierra Nevada.

The word "prevailing" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) most frequent
  • (B) occasional
  • (C) gentle
  • (D) most dangerous

Answer - A

048. There seem to have been several periods within the last tens of thousands of years when water accumulated in these basins. The rise and fall of the lakes were undoubtedly linked to the advances and retreats of the great ice sheets that covered much of the northern part of the North American continent during those times.

The word "accumulated" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) dried
  • (B) flooded
  • (C) collected
  • (D) evaporated

Answer - C

049. All living creature, especially human beings, have their peculiarities, but everything about the little sea cucumber seems unusual. What else can be said about a bizarre animal that, among other eccentricities, eats mud, feeds almost continuously day and night but can live without eating for long periods, and can be poisonous but is considered supremely edible by gourmets?

The phrase "bizarre" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) odd
  • (B) marine
  • (C) simple
  • (D) rare

Answer - A

050. Its major enemies are fish and crabs, when attacked, it squirts all its internal organs into the water. It also casts off attached structures such as tentacles. The sea cucumber will eviscerate and regenerate itself if it is attacked or even touched; it will do the same if the surrounding water temperature is too high or if the water becomes too polluted.

The phrase "casts off" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) grows again
  • (B) grabs
  • (C) gets rid of
  • (D) uses as a weapon

Answer - C

051. A folk culture is small, isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race, with a strong family or clan structure and highly developed rituals.

The word "homogeneous" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) uniform
  • (B) general
  • (C) primitive
  • (D) traditional

Answer - A

052. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in Anglo-America is the Amish, a German American farming sect that largely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age.

The phrase "largely renounces" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) generally rejects
  • (B) greatly modifies
  • (C) loudly declares
  • (D) often criticizes

Answer - A

053. Secular institutions, of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a moneybased economy prevails. Because of these contrasts, "popular" may be viewed as clearly different from "folk".

The word "prevails" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) dominates
  • (B) provides
  • (C) develops
  • (D) invests

Answer - A

054. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms.

The word "subtle" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) complex
  • (B) regular
  • (C) imagined
  • (D) slight

Answer - D

055. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information.

The word "compile" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) put together
  • (B) look up
  • (C) pile high
  • (D) work over

Answer - A

056. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming rawweather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly.

The word "raw" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) stormy
  • (B) inaccurate
  • (C) uncooked
  • (D) unprocessed

Answer - D

057. People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos.

The word "Prospect" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) regret
  • (B) possibility
  • (C) theory
  • (D) circumstance

Answer - B

058. Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the population roughly doubled every generation during the rest of the nineteenth centuries. As the population grew, its makeup also changed.

The word "roughly" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) harshly
  • (B) surprisingly
  • (C) slowly
  • (D) approximately

Answer - D

059. Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility in the nineteenth century had special implications for women because these changes tended tomagnify social distinctions. As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home.

The word "magnify" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) solve
  • (B) explain
  • (C) analyze
  • (D) increase

Answer - D

The word "distinctions" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) differences
  • (B) classes
  • (C) accomplishments
  • (D) characteristics

Answer - A

060. In science, a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be produced.

The word "related" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) connected
  • (B) described
  • (C) completed
  • (D) identified

Answer - A

061. If observations confirm the scientists' predictions, the theory is supported.

The word "supported" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) finished
  • (B) adjusted
  • (C) investigated
  • (D) upheld

Answer - D

062. The ice trade grew with the growth of cities. Ice was used in hotels, taverns, and hospitals, and by some forward-looking city dealers in fresh meat, fresh fish, and butter.

The phrase "forward-looking" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) progressive
  • (B) popular
  • (C) thrifty
  • (D) well-established

Answer - A

063. Making an efficient icebox was not as easy as we might now suppose. In the early nineteenth century, the knowledge of the physics of heat, which was essential to a science of refrigeration, was rudimentary.

The word "rudimentary" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) growing
  • (B) undeveloped
  • (C) necessary
  • (D) uninteresting

Answer - B

064. Aside from perpetuating itself, the sole purpose of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters is to "foster, assist and sustain an interest" in literature, music, and art.

The word "sole" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) only
  • (B) honorable
  • (C) common
  • (D) official

Answer - A

065. One award subsidizes a promising American writer's visit to Rome. There is even an award for a very good work of fiction that failed commercially-once won by the young John Updike for The Poorhouse Fair and, more recently, by Alice Walker for In Love and Trouble.

The word "subsidizes" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) assures
  • (B) finances
  • (C) schedules
  • (D) publishes

Answer - B

066. Committee membership rotates every year, so that new voices and opinions are constantly heard.

The word "rotates" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) alternates
  • (B) participates
  • (C) decides
  • (D) meets

Answer - A

067. One important line of evidence comes from flaking patterns of stone cores used in tool making: implements flaked with a clockwise motion (indicating a right-handed toolmaker) can be distinguished from hose flaked with a counter-clockwise rotation (indicating a left-handed toolmaker).

The word "implements" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) tools
  • (B) designs
  • (C) examples
  • (D) pieces

Answer - A

068. Even scratches found on fossil human teeth offer clues. Ancient humans are thought to have cut meat into strips by holding it between their teeth and slicing it with stone knives, as do the present-day Inuit.

The word "clues" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) solutions
  • (B) details
  • (C) damage
  • (D) information

Answer - D

069. The variation between the hemispheres corresponds to which side of the body is used to perform specific activities. Such studies, as well as studies of tool use, indicate that right-or left-sided dominance is not exclusive to modern Homo sapiens.

The word "hemispheres" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) differences
  • (B) sides
  • (C) activities
  • (D) studies

Answer - B

070. Plants are subject to attack and infection by a remarkable variety of symbiotic species and have evolved a diverse array of mechanisms designed to frustrate the potential colonists.

The phrase "subject to" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) susceptible to
  • (B) classified by
  • (C) attractive to
  • (D) strengthened by

Answer - A

071. The external surfaces of plants, in addition to being covered by an epidermis and a waxy cuticle, often carry spiky hairs known as trichomes, which either prevent feeding by insects or may even puncture and kill insect larvae.

The word "puncture" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) pierce
  • (B) pinch
  • (C) surround
  • (D) cover

Answer - A

072. Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive organs are fused in a single structure called the column.

The word "fused" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) combined
  • (B) hidden
  • (C) fertilized
  • (D) produced

Answer - A

073. To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family, each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of insects or birds.

The word "lure" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) attract
  • (B) recognize
  • (C) follow
  • (D) help

Answer - A

074. Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed.

The word "placed" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) estimated
  • (B) measured
  • (C) deposited
  • (D) identified

Answer - C

075. By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators, orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities. At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.

The word "discrete" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) complicated
  • (B) separate
  • (C) inoffensive
  • (D) functional

Answer - B

076. The public school system suddenly found itself overtaxed.While the number of schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood.

The word "overtaxed" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) well prepared
  • (B) plentifully supplied
  • (C) heavily burdened
  • (D) charged too much

Answer - C

077. Therefore, in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric" of the 1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense; that is, keeping youths aged sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could no longer be a high priority for an institution unable to find space and staff to teach younger children aged five to sixteen.

The word "inadequate" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) deficient
  • (B) expanded
  • (C) innovative
  • (D) specialized

Answer - A

078. With the baby boom, the focus of educators and of laymen interested in education inevitably turned toward the lower grades and back to basic academic skills and discipline.

The word "inevitably" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) unwillingly
  • (B) impartially
  • (C) irrationally
  • (D) unavoidably

Answer - D

079. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth.

The word "lamented" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) complained about
  • (B) analyzed
  • (C) explained
  • (D) reflected on

Answer - A

080. One thinks of melodramas, boys' books, thrillers, romances, and the like rather than novels of the first rank.

The phrase "first rank" is closest in meaning to which of following?

  • (A) largest category
  • (B) highest quality
  • (C) earliest writers
  • (D) most difficult language

Answer - B


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