Word List 8

roam /ro?m/

【釋】v. 閑逛；漫游 (walk or travel around an area without any definite aim or direction)

【例】She roamed around America for a year, working in bars and restaurants.

【近】wander, drift

apprentice /??prent?s/

【釋】n. 學(xué)徒

【例】I started off as an apprentice and worked my way up.

【近】novice, pupil

【反】veteran

envision /?n?v??n/

【釋】v. 想象 (imagine as a future possibility)

【例】They envision an equal society, free of poverty and disease.

【近】foresee, visualize

shortcoming /????rtk?m??/

【釋】n. 缺點(diǎn)

【近】defect, flaw, deficiency, limitation

【反】strength

withstand /w?e?st?nd/

【釋】v. 承受住 (endure without giving in)

【例】a bridge designed to withstand earth-quakes

【近】resist, weather, survive, endure

ornament /???rn?m?nt/

【釋】n. 裝飾品 (an object used as decoration in a room, garden/yard, etc.)

【例】a glass ornament

【近】adornment, embellishment, ornamentation

【釋】v. 裝飾 (make something look more attractive)

【例】She ornamented her letters with little drawings in the margin.

vibrant /?va?br?nt/

【釋】adj. 充滿生機(jī)的 (full of energy and enthusiasm)

【例】Thailand is at its most vibrant during the New Year celebrations.

【近】rigorous

【反】feeble

inclination /??nkl??ne??n/

【釋】n. 傾向 (a natural tendency or urge to act)

【例】The military government has shown little inclination to restore democracy.

【近】propensity, proclivity, disposition

【反】aversion

【釋】n. 斜度，傾斜度 (degree of sloping)

【例】changes in inclination of the line on the graph

【形】incline

coil /k??l/

【釋】v. 盤起 (wind into a series of circles)

【例】Her hair was coiled on top of her head.

【近】twist, curl

backdrop /?b?kdrɑ?p/

【釋】n. 背景 (the scene or scenery that is in the background)

【例】The mountains provided a perfect backdrop for the wedding photos.

mute /mju?t/

【釋】adj. 緘默的 (silent)

【形】muteness

ripe /ra?p/

【釋】adj. 成熟的，老練的 (mature)

【例】These grapes are ripe.

carbohydrate /?kɑ?rbo??ha?dre?t/

【釋】n. 碳水化合物

hazardous /?h?z?rd?s/

【釋】adj. 有危險(xiǎn)的 (dangerous)

【例】These are hazardous chemicals that can cause death if inhaled.

【近】risky, dangerous, unsafe, precarious

【形】hazard

earnest /???rn?st/

【釋】adj./n. 認(rèn)真(的) (resulting from or showing sincere conviction)

【例】an earnest young man

【近】serious, solemn

elusive /i?lu?s?v/

【釋】adj. 難懂的 (difficult to catch; hard to identify)

【例】The truth may prove elusive.

【近】ambiguous

【釋】adj. 易逃避的 (hard to find or capture)

【例】The giant squid is one of the ocean’s most elusive inhabitants.

frenzy /?frenzi/

【釋】n. 狂暴，狂亂 (a temporary madness)

【例】the buying frenzy just before Christmas

【近】mania, delirium, agitation

superiority /su??p?ri???r?ti/

【釋】n. 優(yōu)越 (the state of being superior)

【例】the superiority of this operating system

【近】supremacy, eminence

visualize /?v??u?la?z/

【釋】v. 使形象化；預(yù)想 (form a mental image of)

【例】Try to visualize how the house will look when it’s finished.

【近】envision, picture, imagine

chore /t???r/

【釋】n. 家庭雜務(wù) (a regular small job)

【例】Milking the cows is one of my chores on the farm.

【釋】n. 討厭的或累人的工作 (a dull, unpleasant, or difficult task)

【例】Washing windows is such a chore.

decease /d??si?s/

【釋】n. (人的)死亡 (the death of a person)

hinder /?h?nd?r/

【釋】v. 阻礙 (prevent)

【例】Bad weather is hindering the search for survivors.

【近】hamper, obstruct, impede, inhibit

【反】facilitate

【用】hinder sb. from doing sth.

vicinity /v??s?n?ti/

【釋】n. 鄰近，附近 (surrounding area)

【例】There isn’t a good school in the immediate vicinity.

【近】locality, proximity

simultaneous /?sa?ml?te?ni?s/

【釋】adj. 同時(shí)發(fā)生的 (occurring, operating, or done at the same time)

【例】There were several simultaneous explosions in different cities.

【近】concurrent, concomitant

inhale /?n?he?l/

【釋】v. 吸入 (breathe in)

【例】He inhaled deeply on another cigarette.

tame /te?m/

【釋】adj. 馴服的 (not wild because of training)

【例】After a few months’ contact the monkeys become very tame.

【近】domestic, gentle

【反】wild, fierce, exciting

granite /?ɡr?n?t/

【釋】n. 花崗巖

evaporate /??v?p?re?t/

【釋】v. 蒸發(fā) (turn from liquid into vapor)

【例】Heat until all the water has evaporated.

contamination /k?n?t?m??ne??n/

【釋】n. 污染

【例】It is important to take stringent precautions against contamination in the lab.

trickle /?tr?kl/

【釋】v. 緩緩移動(dòng) (move gradually)

【例】People began trickling into the auditorium.

【反】pour, gush

inclusive /?n?klu?s?v/

【釋】adj. 全包括的

【例】an inclusive travel package

【釋】adj. 首末項(xiàng)包含在內(nèi)的

【例】hose aged 17-24 inclusive

【近】comprehensive, overall

【形】inclusion

cache /k??/

【釋】n. 貯存物；隱藏處 (a place for hiding)

【例】The hole in the wall is my cache.

【近】stock, supply, stash

chaotic /ke??ɑ?t?k/

【釋】adj. 混亂的 (disordered; disorganized)

【例】Traffic in the city is chaotic in the rush hour.

【形】chaos

anatomy /??n?t?mi/

【釋】n. 解剖；解剖學(xué)

【例】We are learning about the anatomies of different types of birds.

【近】composition, constitution

surpass /s?r?p?s/

【釋】v. 超越；勝過 (do better)

【例】The book’s success has surpassed everyone’s expectations.

【近】excel, exceed

metropolitan /?metr??pɑ?l?t?n/

【釋】adj. 大都市的 (of city)

intrinsic /?n?tr?ns?k/

【釋】adj. 本質(zhì)的，必要的 (relating to the essential qualities of something)

【例】Math is an intrinsic part of the school curriculum.

【近】inherent, innate, congenital, integral

famine /?f?m?n/

【釋】n. 饑荒 (extreme scarcity of food)

【近】starvation

【反】plenty

propel /pr??pel/

【釋】n. 推進(jìn) (push)

【例】The Kon-Tiki sailed across the Pacific Ocean propelled by wind power.

communal /k??mju?nl/

【釋】adj. 公共的 (relating to a community)

【例】The tribe lived in communal huts.

【近】joint, collective, cooperative

【反】private, individual

anomaly /??nɑ?m?li/

【釋】n.異常 (something unusual or unexpected)

【例】We couldn’t explain the anomalies in the test results.

【近】peculiarity, incongruity

reclaim /r??kle?m/

【釋】v. 開墾土地，開拓土地 (bring under cultivation)

【例】In Hong Kong many square miles of land have been reclaimed from the sea.

slender /?slend?r/

【釋】adj. 細(xì)長(zhǎng)的；苗條的 (thin and delicate, often in a way that is attractive)

【例】The plant’s leaves are long and slender.

【近】slim, lean

【反】plump, considerable

adjoin /??d???n/

【近】【釋】v. 靠 (be close to one another)

【例】Her office adjoins the library.

【近】adjacent

amplify /??mpl?fa?/

【釋】v. 放大，擴(kuò)大 (increase the strength or sound of)

【例】We must amplify our effort by working a lot harder.

【近】turn up, magnify, intensify, increase

【反】condense

【釋】v. 詳述 (add details to a story)

【例】She refused to amplify further.

【形】amplifier

recreational /?rekri?e???nl/

【釋】adj. 娛樂的

【例】The industrial areas were discreetly apart, concealed from residential and recreational portions of the town.

condense /k?n?dens/

【釋】v.使?jié)饪s (make sth. denser or more concentrated)

【例】The article was condensed into just two pages.

diffuse /d??fju?s/

【釋】v. 擴(kuò)散 (spread out)

【例】The heat from the radiator diffuses throughout the room.

【近】send out, disseminate

capsule /?k?psl/

【釋】n. 膠囊

【例】Take two capsules three times a day.

【近】pill

【釋】n. 航天艙

perennial /p??reni?l/

【釋】adj. 多年生的，四季不斷的 ( (of a plant) living for several years)

【例】Fertilizers formulated for perennial flowers are usually fine.

【釋】adj. 長(zhǎng)期存在的 (lasting a very long time)

【例】We face the perennial problem of not having enough money.

【近】everlasting, eternal

【釋】n. 多年生植物

indispensable /??nd??spens?bl/

【釋】adj. 必不可少的 (absolutely necessary)

【例】A good dictionary is indispensable for learning a foreign language.

【近】essential

flake /fle?k/

【釋】n. 小薄片 (a thin flattened piece or layer)

【例】flakes of snow

【近】chip, fragment, scrap

【釋】v. 使…成薄片 (break apart into small, thin pieces)

【例】Bake the fish until it flakes easily when tested with a fork.

geometric /?d?i???metr?k/

【釋】adj. 幾何學(xué)的

【例】Using simple geometric forms such as circles and squares in design and decoration.

credential /kr??den?l/

【釋】n. 證書；憑據(jù) (something that gives a title to credit or confidence)

【例】My experience as a manager is my strongest credential.

occupant /?ɑ?kj?p?nt/

【釋】n. 居住者 (a person who resides)

【近】resident, inhabitant

certification /?s??rt?f??ke??n/

【釋】n. 證明

【形】certify

deception /d??sep?n/

【釋】n.欺騙 (the act of making someone believe untrue things)

【例】She accuses the company of willful deception in its advertising.

【近】deceit, bluff, pretense

eclipse /??kl?ps/

【釋】v. 使黯然失色 (make (something) less important or popular)

【例】Train travel was eclipsed by the growth of commercial airlines.

【近】decline, decay

【釋】n. 日蝕；月蝕

commend /k??mend/

【釋】v. 稱贊，表揚(yáng) (praise)

【例】His poetry is highly commended by other writers.

【近】compliment, congratulate, applaud

【反】criticize

【形】commendable

crater /?kre?t?r/

【釋】n. 坑；火山口

【例】We flew over the crater of the volcano in a helicopter.

【近】hollow

greed /ɡri?d/

【釋】n. 貪婪 (intense and selfish desire for sth.)

【例】an insatiable greed for personal power

【近】avarice, avidity

【形】greedy

deterioration /d??t?ri??re??n/

【釋】n. 惡化 (the process of becoming worse)

【例】the gradual deterioration of the weather

【近】decline, collapse, failure, drop

【形】deteriorate

mitigate /?m?t?ɡe?t/

【釋】v. 緩解，減輕 (make something bad less harmful)

【例】Only international cooperation can mitigate environmental damage.

【近】reduce, diminish, lessen, weaken

【反】aggravate

comet /?kɑ?m?t/

【釋】n. 彗星

catalyst /?k?t?l?st/

【釋】n. 催化劑

compass /?k?mp?s/

【釋】n. 指南針

gigantic /d?a??ɡ?nt?k/

【釋】adj. 巨大的，龐大的 (extremely large)

【例】Gigantic waves crashed on the beach.

【近】huge, enormous, vast, extensive

【反】tiny

attic /??t?k/

【釋】n. 閣樓

ruthless /?ru?θl?s/

【釋】adj. 無情的，殘忍的 (having no compassion or pity)

【例】Some people believe that to succeed in this world you have to be ruthless.

【近】cruel, cold-blooded, indurate, merciless, obdurate

【反】merciful

commonplace /?kɑ?m?nple?s/

【釋】n. 普通的東西 (an event, etc. that happens very often and is not unusual)

【例】It is a commonplace that we only use a small part of our brain’s capacity.

【釋】adj. 平凡的 (very common or ordinary)

【例】Inter-racial marriages have become commonplace.

【近】pedestrian

brood /bru?d/

【釋】n. 一窩 (all the young birds or creatures that a mother produces at one time)

【例】a hen and her brood of chicks

【近】offspring, incubate

【釋】v. 沉思 (think long and anxiously about something)

【例】After the argument, she sat in her bedroom, brooding.

bleach /bli?t?/

【釋】v. 使漂白 (grow white or lose color)

【例】She bleached her blonde hair.

【釋】n. 漂白劑

eradicate /??r?d?ke?t/

【釋】v. 根除，根絕 (remove completely)

【例】The disease has now been completely eradicated.

【近】eliminate, exterminate

lava /?lɑ?v?/

【釋】n. 熔巖 (hot molten or semi fluid rock)

coarse /k??rs/

【釋】adj. 粗糙的 (of ordinary or inferior quality: common)

【例】The fabric varies in texture from coarse to fine.

【近】rough, rude

【反】soft, delicate, sophisticated

【釋】adj. 粗俗的；下等的 (crude or unrefined)

【例】The women laughed coarsely at some vulgar joke.

pinpoint /?p?np??nt/

【釋】adj. 精確的 (absolutely precise)

【釋】v. 精確定位，準(zhǔn)確描述

【例】pinpoint the problem

imprint /?m?pr?nt/

【釋】n./v. 銘刻 (impress or stamp (a mark or out-line) on a surface or body)

【例】Both King and Gandhi were tremendously brave men whose unique form of courage left a lasting imprint on their nations’ histories.

【近】stamp, impress

conquest /?kɑ??kwest/

【釋】n. 征服 (the assumption of control; the overcoming of a problem)

【例】the Norman Conquest

【近】defeat

glacier /?ɡle???r/

【釋】n. 冰川 (a slowly moving mass or river of ice)

gland /ɡl?nd/

【釋】n. 腺

dwindle /?dw?ndl/

【釋】v. 減少；變小 (become steadily less: shrink)

【例】The town’s population is dwindling away.

【近】diminish, decrease, lessen

【反】increase, flourish

excavate /?eksk?ve?t/

【釋】v. 挖掘；開鑿 (expose by digging away a covering)

【例】They excavated an ancient city.

【近】dig, bore, hollow out

【形】excavation

abrupt /??br?pt/

【釋】adj. 突然的 (sudden and unexpected)

【例】The accident brought his career to an abrupt end.

sprout /spra?t/

【釋】v. 發(fā)芽 (begin to grow)

【例】It takes about three days for the seeds to sprout.

【近】bud, grow, develop, spring up

auxiliary /??ɡ?z?li?ri/

【釋】adj. 輔助的 (offering or providing help)

【例】a sailboat with an auxiliary engine

【近】supplementary

recede /r??si?d/

【釋】v. 后退，撤回 (move back)

【例】As the boat picked up speed, the coastline receded into the distance until finally it became invisible.

【近】retreat, back

【反】advance, approach, intensify, grow

canyon /?k?nj?n/

【釋】n. 峽谷

【例】the Grand Canyon

【近】ravine, gulf

immerse /??m??rs/

【釋】v. 浸泡 (put something under a liquid)

【例】The shells should be immersed in boiling water for two minutes.

【近】submerge, dip, duck, sink

【釋】v. 陷入 (become completely involved in something)

【例】She got some books out of the library and immersed herself in Jewish history and culture.

【用】immerse oneself in sth.

discredit /d?s?kred?t/

【釋】v. 使不可信 (cause to seem false)

unravel /?n?r?vl/

【釋】v. 解開(織物、繩子等) (separate)

【例】You’d better mend that hole before the whole sweater starts to unravel.

【反】complicate, entangle, snarl, tangle

【釋】v. 揭開 (make something known)

【例】We’ve got a long way to go before we unravel the secrets of genetics.

showcase /??o?ke?s/

【釋】v. 展示 (exhibit; display)

【例】Jack found a film role that showcased all his talents.

impetus /??mp?t?s/

【釋】n. 動(dòng)力 (sth. that encourages a process or activity to develop more quickly)

【例】The committee’s report may provide further impetus for reform.

【近】incentive, motivation, stimulus, propulsion

【形】impetuous

heed /hi?d/

【釋】n./v. 注意，留意 (careful attention)

【例】The danger signs were there, but we didn’t heed the warning.

【近】pay attention to, notice

【反】disregard

ubiquitous /ju??b?kw?t?s/

【釋】adj. 普遍存在的 (seem to be everywhere, very common)

【例】The revolution to most people is that computers today are ubiquitous.

【近】prevalent, universal

【反】rare

【形】ubiquity

attest /??test/

【釋】v. 證明 (provide evidence; confirm)

【例】Contemporary accounts attest to his courage and determination.

【近】verify, substantiate, authenticate

allude /??lu?d/

【釋】v. 暗指 (suggest)

【例】Mrs. Simons alluded to some health problems, without being specific.

【形】allusion

entice /?n?ta?s/

【釋】v. 誘使；慫恿 (tempt)

【例】Every commercial seemed to be for some tempting snack specifically designed to entice me from my diet.

【近】tempt, lure

【形】enticement, enticing

renewable /r??nu??bl/

【釋】adj. 可再生的 (reusable)

【例】renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar power

authoritative /??θ??r?te?t?v/

【釋】adj. 專斷的；權(quán)威性的 (able to be trusted as being accurate or true)

【例】an authoritative source

【近】reliable, dependable, trustworthy

flop /flɑ?p/

【釋】v. 失敗 (fail completely)

【例】All of their attempts have flopped miserably.

【近】collapse, crumple

【反】succeed

【釋】v. 撲通放下，重重地坐下 (fall or move in a heavy way)

【例】She flopped into the chair with a sigh.