Friday, January 11, 2008

Analogy bridges 1 - 25

1. fir:tree -- X is a type of Y
2. truculent:light -- X,Y antonyms
3. insipid:bore -- something that is X has a tendency to Y
4. dank:moisture -- X, Y are synonyms and X ( dank) is a negative word
6. wary:gulled -- X(adjective) person cannot be Y(verb)
7. ruler:length -- X(noun) measures Y(noun)
8. peep:sound -- X(noun) is short, soft, high-pitched, slight Y(noun) or X is a type of Y
9. degree:centigrade -- X(noun) is a unit division of a Y temperature scale
10. hardness:mass -- X, Y are properties....both have units
11. pinch:quantity -- Very small Y is X (noun)
12. heart:organ -- X is circulatory Y or X is a type of Y - both X, Y are nouns
13. irrelevant:pertain --
X, Y are like antonyms where X is an adjective and Y is a verb
14. choreograph:movement --
To plan out Y is X where X is a verb
15. melodious:hear --
X is agreeable/ pleasing to Y where X is an adjective
16. deplore:vile -- Y acts/ moves/ actions deserves to be Xed where Y is an adjective
17. proofread:document -- Y is X for purposes of error detection and correction
18. isthmus:island -- Both X, Yare surrounded by water ...isthmus on sides as it connects two large pieces of mass and island fully surrounded by water
19. impervious:penetrate -- X cannot be Y where X is an adjective and Y is a verb
20. glacial:slow -- X, Y are synonyms...both X, Y are adjective
21. furniture:sofa -- Y is a type of X or Y is a subset of X
22. stench:nose -- X is detected by Y - here Y is a noun
23. engrossed:occupied -- X is being Y excessively- both X, Y are adjective
24. bibliography:publication -- X a list of reference for writing Y. Also Bibliography (noun only)- The description and identification of the editions(i.e form in which a publication is issued), dates of issue, authorship, and typography of books or other written material
25.
senility:consciousness -- X is loss of Y - both X, Y are noun

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

January - High frequency words

JANUARY THREAD - Updated regularly

Make sure to do all words from April/ May/ June/ July/ September/ October/ November/ December threads also...

1.
Ignominy - Great personal dishonor or humiliation; shameful or disgraceful action, conduct, or character; loss of or damage to one's reputation; shame
2. Buttress - A means or device that keeps something erect, stable, or secure; present evidence in support of; support, bolster; support built to strengthen a wall
3. Teem - To be full of things; abound or swarm; to be or become pregnant; bear young; give birth to; be abundantly filled or richly supplied
4.
Abate - To lessen; to subside; in metalwork, to cut away or beat down so as to show a pattern or figure in low relief
5. Vitriol -
A highly corrosive acid made from sulfur dioxide; widely used in the chemical industry; abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will; expose to the effects of vitriol or injure with vitriol
6.
Palpable - Capable of being handled, touched, or felt; tangible; obvious; concrete, real
7. Pyroclastic - Composed chiefly of rock fragments of volcanic origin
8. Receptive - Ready and willing to receive favorably, as new ideas; open to new ideas; of a nerve fiber or impulse originating outside and passing toward the central nervous system; ready or willing to receive favorably
9. Alienate - To make distant, hostile, or unsympathetic; change the ownership of (property) by means of a legal document; cause unfriendliness, hostility; cause one to leave or turn away; cause to become withdrawn or unresponsive; isolate or dissociate emotionally
10. Homogeneous - Of uniform quality, composition or structure; made up of similar parts or elements; of the same or similar nature or kind; consisting of terms of the same degree or elements of the same dimension; the same
11. Pertain - Be about; have to do with; be relevant to; refer, pertain, or relate to; be a part or attribute of; have reference; relate; belong as an adjunct, part, holding, or quality; to be fitting or suitable
12. Choreograph - To plan out or oversee the movement, development, or details of; orchestrate; to specialize in choreography; compose a sequence of dance steps to music; plan and oversee the development and details of
13.
Melodious - Of, relating to, or containing a pleasing succession of sounds; tuneful; agreeable to hear; containing or constituting or characterized by pleasing melody
14. Upbraid - To criticize for a fault or an offense; to scold; utter a reproach to
15.
Disinclined - Reluctant; unwilling; unwilling because of mild dislike or disapproval
16. Deplore - To feel or express strong disapproval of; feel or express sorrow for; regret; condemn
17.
Vile - Very evil; unpleasant; so objectionable as to elicit despisal or deserve condemnation; heavily soiled; very dirty or unclean; extremely unpleasant to the senses or feelings; having or proceeding from low moral standards; offensive, horrible; loathsome; disgusting
18.
Proofread - To read (copy or proof) in order to find errors and mark correction; to read copy or proof for purposes of error detection and correction
19.
Isthmus - A narrow strip of land connecting two larger masses of land; a narrow strip of tissue joining two larger organs or parts of an organ; narrow passage connecting two larger cavities; narrow strip of land that connects two larger bodies of land and has water on both sides
20. Impervious - Incapable of being penetrated; incapable of being affected; having the capacity to withstand; not allowing to pass through
21. Glacial - Suggesting the extreme slowness of a glacier; extremely cold; icy; lacking warmth and friendliness
21. Drake -
A male duck; mayfly used as fishing bait
22.
Exponent - One that speaks for, represents, or advocates; one that expounds or interprets; expository; explanatory; advocate
23.
Recess - A pause or interval, as from work or duty; interrupt regular activity for a short period; stop action; break, interval in action; any shallow depression in a surface
24.
Dilettante - A dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge; lover of the fine arts; a connoisseur; superficial; amateurish; lacking professional skill and ease in a particular pursuit
25.
Harangue - A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering; speech or piece of writing characterized by strong feeling or expression; a tirade; long, violent, or blustering speech, usually of censure or denunciation; speak in a loud, pompous, or prolonged manner; lecture; long passionate speech
26. Transient - Temporary, fleeting, or passing phenomenon. A transient condition is of brief duration; lasting or existing only for a short time; an individual awaiting orders, transport, etc., at a post or station to which he or she is not attached or assigned
27.
Quibble - To evade the truth or importance of an issue by raising trivial distinctions and objections; find fault or criticize for petty reasons; cavil; petty distinction or an irrelevant objection; objection, complaint; beat around the bush; engage in a quarrel
28.
Rebuff - A blunt or abrupt repulse or refusal, as to an offer; check or an abrupt setback to progress or action; unkind refusal or rejection; snub; turning away; ignoring
29.
Mulish - Stubborn and intractable; recalcitrant; unreasonably rigid in the face of argument or entreaty or attack
30.
Pervasive - Having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate; spreading throughout; extending; suffusing
31. Duly -
In a proper manner; at the expected time; accordingly, properly
32.
Iconoclast - One who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions; one who destroys sacred religious images; which attacks settled beliefs or institutions; critical
33. Quisling - A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country; someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force
34. Touchy -
Tending to take offense with slight cause; oversensitive; requiring special tact or skill in handling; delicate; easily ignited; flammable; easily offended; irritable and looking for trouble
35. Annual - An event that occurs once a year; occurring on a yearly basis; plant that completes its entire life cycle in a single growing season
36. Trespass - Unlawful entry or possession of property; invasion, offense; infringe, offend; enter forcibly or illegally: break in; violate a moral or divine law
37. Archaic - Belonging to, existing, or occurring in times long past; of a style or method formerly in vogue; very old; old-fashioned, ancient
38.
Belie - To give a false representation to; misrepresent; to show to be false; contradict; deceive
39.
Boorish - Lacking in delicacy or refinement; crude, awkward; ill-mannered and coarse and contemptible in behavior or appearance
40. Exacerbate - To increase the severity, violence, or bitterness of; aggravate; infuriate; make more sharp, severe, or virulent
41.
Zealot - Excessive enthusiasm or u can say excessive zeal; or fanatic
42. Herd -
A group of cattle or other domestic animals of a single kind kept together for a specific purpose; number of wild animals of one species that remain together as a group; large number of people; a crowd; multitude of common people regarded as a mass; gather; shepherd; number of cattle or other large animals feeding or living together; urge to move along
43. Collaborate - To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort; cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy occupation force in one's country; work together; labor or cooperate with another or others, especially in literary or scientific pursuits
44.
Cooperate - To work together toward a common end; aid, assist; work together to get something done; form an association for common, usually economic, benefit
45. Crux - The basic, central, or critical point or feature; puzzling or apparently insoluble problem; most important part; a cross; a difficulty; a stumbling-block; a puzzle
46.
Ostracize - To exclude from a group; to exclude from normal social or professional activities; to force to leave a country or place by official decree; exile, banish; to put into public disfavor
47.
Proscribe - To denounce or condemn; to prohibit; forbid; banish or outlaw (a person); exclude
48. Fault - An imperfection of character; something that mars the appearance or causes inadequacy or failure; responsibility for an error or crime; blame, sin; mistake; physical defect; fracture along which there has been movement or displacement
49.
Din - A jumble of loud, usually discordant sounds; stun with deafening noise; instill by wearying repetition; sounds or a sound, especially when loud, confused, or disagreeable; uproar
50. Porous - Penetrated by pores and open spaces; having holes; absorbent; admitting the passage of gas or liquid through pores or interstices; easily crossed or penetrated

51. Lubricant - A substance, such as grease or oil, that reduces friction when applied as a surface coating to moving parts; one that helps reduce difficulty or conflict; a substance capable of reducing friction by making surfaces smooth or slippery
52. Transparency - Transparent object, especially a photographic slide that is viewed by light shining through it from behind or by projection; quality of being able to see through a material
53. Bach - A bachelor
54. Impeachable - Capable of being impeached
55. Arboreal - Relating to or resembling a tree; living in trees; pertaining to trees; of or relating to or formed by trees; inhabiting or frequenting trees; resembling a tree in form and branching structure
56.
Voluptuous - Giving, characterized by, or suggesting ample, unrestrained pleasure to the senses; well-developed, erotic; having fullness of beautiful form
57. Tacit - Implied by or inferred from actions or statements; not spoken; not voiced or expressed; conveyed indirectly without words or speech; taken for granted; understood, implied
58. Garrulous - Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative; wordy and rambling; talkative
59. Austere - Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave; strict or severe in discipline; ascetic; having no adornment or ornamentation; bare; grim, barren; refraining; abstinent; severe (in manner)
60. Reconstitute -
Construct or form anew or provide with a new structure; bring (a liquid in concentrated or powder form) to normal strength by adding water
61. Slipshod - Marked by carelessness; sloppy or slovenly; shabby or seedy; careless; not well done; indifferent to correctness, accuracy, or neatness
62. Meticulous - Extremely careful and precise; extremely or excessively concerned with details; detailed, perfectionist; showing or marked by attentiveness to all aspects or details; very difficult to please
63. Perfidy - Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery; act or an instance of treachery; betrayal, especially of a moral obligation; willful betrayal of fidelity, confidence, or trust
64. Immaterial - Of no importance or relevance; inconsequential or irrelevant; having no material body or form; irrelevant; not existing in physical form; of no importance
65.
Insipid - Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty; lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull
66. Alacrity - Cheerful willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness; celerity; liveliness; promptness; liveliness and eagerness
67.
Polemical - Polemic; controversial; disputatious; given to arguing; of or involving dispute or controversy
68.
Emulate - To take as a model or make conform to a model; to strive against (others) for victory; to imitate with intent to learn; strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation; compete with successfully; approach or attain equality with; ambitious; emulous
69.
Reinforcement - The act or process of reinforcing or the state of being reinforced; an event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred; additional personnel or equipment sent to support a military action
70.
Accolade - An expression of approval; praise; special acknowledgment; an award; ceremonial embrace, as of greeting or salutation; ceremonial bestowal of knighthood; recognition; ornamental treatment, used over an arch, a door, or a window, composed of two curves meeting in the middle; often a richly decorated molding; approval
71.
Gullible - Easily deceived or duped; easily imposed on or tricked; naive, trusting
72.
Procrastinate - To put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness; postpone or delay needlessly; delay, put off doing
73.
Exude - To ooze forth; to discharge or emit (a liquid or gas, for example) gradually; to exhibit in abundance; to flow or leak out or emit something slowly; display, emit
74.
Limpid - Admitting light so that objects beyond can be seen; characterized by transparent clearness; calm and untroubled; serene; clear; comprehensible
75.
Penurious - Unwilling to spend money; stingy; yielding little; barren; poverty-stricken; destitute; mean; poor; ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money
76.
Paralyze - To deprive of the power to move or feel in a part of the body; make powerless and unable to function; cause to be paralyzed and immobile; impair the progress or functioning of; make inoperative or powerless
77.
Fretwork - Ornamental work consisting of three-dimensional frets; geometric openwork; design of short bars or lines fitted together
78.
Collude - To act together secretly to achieve a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose; conspire; to work out a secret plan to achieve an evil or illegal end; act in unison or agreement and in secret towards a deceitful or illegal purpose
79.
Wary - On guard; watchful; characterized by caution; vigilantly attentive; trying attentively to avoid danger, risk, or error; careful, cautious; openly distrustful and unwilling to confide
80.
Dire - Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous; urgent; desperate; terrible, ominous; urgent; crucial
81.
Comprehensive - So large in scope or content as to include much; full; including everything; inclusive; covering a wide scope
82.
Qurush - 20 qurush equal 1 riyal in Saudi Arabia
83.
Repudiate - To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; reject; turn one's back on; disown
84.
Complaisance - Agreeableness; disposition or tendency to yield to the will of others
85.
Encomium - Warm, glowing praise; formal expression of praise; a tribute
86.
Embezzle - To take (money, for example) for one's own use in violation of a trust; steal money, often from employer
87. Adamant - Impervious to pleas, appeals, or reason; stubbornly unyielding; stone once believed to be impenetrable in its hardness; extremely hard substance; hard like rock; unyielding; mineral frequently found beneath a corset. soluble in solicitate of gold; unbreakable

88. Demoralized - To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten; put into disorder; confuse; debase the morals of; corrupt; ruin utterly in character or quality; depress, unnerve; pervert
89.
Natatorium - An indoor swimming pool; pool that provides a facility for swimming; building containing a swimming pool; a swimming pool
90.
Imbue - To inspire or influence thoroughly; pervade; to permeate or saturate; to stain or dye deeply; to cause to be filled, as with a particular mood or tone; infuse, saturate
91.
Vapid - Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull; lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat; uninteresting
92.
Succulent - Full of juice or sap; juicy; having thick, fleshy, water-storing leaves or stems; highly interesting or enjoyable; delectable; juicy, delicious
93.
Hone - A fine-grained whetstone for giving a keen edge to a cutting tool; tool with a rotating abrasive tip for enlarging holes to precise dimensions; to perfect or make more intense or effective; whine or moan; hanker; yearn
94.
Rococo - A style of art, especially architecture and decorative art, that originated in France in the early 18th century and is marked by elaborate ornamentation, as with a profusion of scrolls, foliage, and animal forms; very ornate style of speech or writing; ornate; immoderately elaborate or complicated
95.
Clairvoyant - Having the supposed power to see objects or events that cannot be perceived by the senses; person, such as a medium, possessing the supposed power of clairvoyance; person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron, namely, that he is a blockhead; person who has the power to see or know things that are not present to the senses; perceiving things beyond the natural range of the senses; foreseeing the future
96.
Rickety - Not physically steady or firm; unsound, broken-down; shaky; likely to fall apart
97. Leg -
A stage of a journey or course, especially:nautical. the distance traveled by a sailing vessel on a single tack; the part of an air route or a flight pattern that is between two successive stops, positions, or changes in direction; one of several contests that must be successfully completed in order to determine the winner of a competition; sports. one stretch of a relay race
98. Impeccable - Having no flaws; perfect; incapable of sin or wrongdoing; above suspicion; flawless; supremely excellent in quality or nature
99.
Reticent - Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself; restrained or reserved in style; reluctant; unwilling; secretive, quiet; reserved; quiet; not saying much, especially about one's thoughts
100.
Stoical - Indifference to pleasure or pain; impassiveness
101.
Luculent - Easily understood; clear or lucid; (of language) transparently clear; easily understandable
102.
Taciturn - Disinclined to speak. or inclined to silence; untalkative
103.
Peremptory - Urgent; imperative; overbearing, authoritative; tending to dictate; offensively self-assured; dictatorial; having the nature of or expressing a command; urgent; not allowing contradiction or refusal; imperative; putting an end to all debate or action
104. Founder - To sink below the surface of the water; fail utterly; collapse; stumble, especially to stumble and go lame; become ill from overeating; be afflicted with laminitis; go under, fail
105. Gruff - Brusque or stern in manner or appearance; hoarse; harsh; bad-tempered, rude; rasping in sound; low and grating in sound

106. Rivet - A metal bolt or pin having a head on one end, inserted through aligned holes in the pieces to be joined and then hammered on the plain end so as to form a second head; fasten or secure with or as if with a rivet; hammer the headless end of so as to form a head and fasten something; fasten or secure firmly; fix; engross or hold (the attention, for example); compel, as the attention, interest, or imagination



ANALOGIES:

1. heart:organ
2. irrelevant:pertain
3. choreograph:movement
4. melodious:hear
5. deplore:vile
6. proofread:document
7. isthmus:island
8. impervious:penetrate
9. glacial:slow
10. duck:drake
11. exponent:advocate
12. recess:halt
13. harangue:mollify
14. mulish:pervasive
15. he:she
16. rock:hill
17. cow:herd
18. c
ollaborate:cooperate
19. soil:mud
20. inane:significance
21. lubricant:friction
22. din:ear
23. porous:liquid
24. transparency:light
25. figure:statue
26. impeachable:blame
27. arboreal:trees
28. friction:oil
29. collude:cooperate
30. brake:speed
31. embezzling:stealing
32. stadium:game
33. journey:leg
34. literature:grammar
35. furniture:rickety
36. disinfectant:germ
37. vivid:inspiration
38. founder:sink
39. unstable:volatile
40. factory:product



ISSUE TOPICS:

1.
Study of history is not important unless it’s relevant to daily lives
2. Only through mistakes, progress or discovery is achieved
3.
High-speed electronic communications media, such as electronic mail and television, tend to prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication
4. A school or college should pay its teachers at the same rate in all disciplines, regardless of differences in salaries for related fields in the world outside of school. For example, entry-level teachers in mathematics and in the arts should receive the same pay, even if outside of school, math specialists earn a much higher salary on average than do specialists in the arts
5.
To be an effective leader, a public official must maintain the highest ethical and moral standards
6.
High-speed electronic communications media, such as electronic mail and television, tend to prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication
7. Laws should not be rigid or fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places
8.
When research priorities are being set for science, education, or any other area, the most important question to consider is: How many people's lives will be improved if the results are successful?
9.
Money spent on research is almost always a good investment, even when the results of that research are controversial
10.
Facts are stubborn things, we cannot mold them
11.
To learn the characteristics of the society, is it enough to study about major cities



ARGUMENT TOPICS:

1.
The following appeared in a memo from a vice president of Alta Manufacturing.

"During the past year, Alta Manufacturing had thirty percent more on-the-job accidents than nearby Panoply Industries, where the work shifts are one hour shorter than ours. Experts believe that a significant contributing factor in many on-the-job accidents is fatigue and sleep deprivation among workers. Therefore, to reduce the number of on-the-job accidents at Alta and thereby increase productivity, we should shorten each of our three work shifts by one hour so that our employees will get adequate amounts of sleep."

2.
The following appeared in a business magazine.

"As a result of numerous consumer complaints of dizziness and nausea, Promofoods requested that eight million cans of tuna be returned for testing last year. Promofoods concluded that the cans did not, after all, contain chemicals that posed a health risk. This conclusion is based on the fact that the chemists from Promofoods tested samples of the recalled cans and found that, of the eight chemicals most commonly blamed for causing symptoms of dizziness and nausea, five were not found in any of the tested cans. The chemists did find that the three remaining suspected chemicals are naturally found in all other kinds of canned foods."

3. The following appeared in a medical newsletter.

“Doctors have long suspected that secondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain. This hypothesis has now been proved by preliminary results of a study of two groups of patients. The first group of patients, all being treated for muscle injuries by Dr. Newland, a doctor who specializes in sports medicine, took antibiotics regularly throughout their treatment. Their recuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected. Patients in the second group, all being treated by Dr. Alton, a general physician, were given sugar pills, although the patients believed they were taking antibiotics. Their average recuperation time was not significantly reduced. Therefore, all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would be well advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment.”

4. From a letter to the editor of a city newspaper.

"Butter has now been replaced by margarine in Happy Pancake House restaurants throughout the southwestern United States. Only about 2 percent of customers have complained, indicating that 98 people out of 100 are happy with the change. Furthermore, many servers have reported that a number of customers who still ask for butter do not complain when they are given margarine instead. Clearly, either these customers cannot distinguish margarine from butter, or they use the term 'butter' to refer to either butter or margarine. Thus, to avoid the expense of purchasing butter, the Happy Pancake House should extend this cost-saving change to its restaurants in the southeast and northeast as well."

5. The following appeared in a memo from the owner of Green Thumb Gardening Center, a small business serving a suburban town.

"There is evidence that consumers are becoming more and more interested in growing their own vegetables. A national survey conducted last month indicated that many consumers were dissatisfied with the quality of fresh vegetables available in supermarkets. And locally, the gardening magazine GreatGardens has sold out at the Village News stand three months in a row. Thus, we at Green Thumb Gardening Center can increase our profits by greatly expanding the variety of vegetable seeds we stock for gardeners this coming spring."