AWP2 ch 08

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ADVANCED

WORD POWER

Second Edition

B

ETH

J

OHNSON

J

ANET

M. G

OLDSTEIN

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Unit Two: Chapter 8

•

affable

•

loquacious

•

apocryphal

•

obtuse

•

desultory

•

opaque

•

garbled

•

paucity

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TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT

Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.

–

adjective

• Dobermans and pit bulls are often thought of as unfriendly dogs, while

golden retrievers and Labradors are seen as affable.

• “I wish my new boss were more affable,” Jothi said. “She seems so stern

that I’m afraid to ask her a question when I don’t understand something.”

Affable

means

A.

bad-tempered.

B.

good-natured.

C.

intelligent.

1

affable

Ph oto s: G inn y F ro m U SA (le ft), U .S . A ir F orc e Jo sh P lue ge r (r igh

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–

adjective

• Dobermans and pit bulls are often thought of as unfriendly dogs, while

golden retrievers and Labradors are seen as affable.

• “I wish my new boss were more affable,” Jothi said. “She seems so stern

that I’m afraid to ask her a question when I don’t understand something.”

Affable

means

A.

bad-tempered.

B.

good-natured.

C.

intelligent.

1

affable

Unfriendly dogs are contrasted with

good-natured ones. Jothi wishes his boss were good-natured, rather than stern and intimidating.

Ph oto s: G inn y F ro m U SA (le ft), U .S . A ir F orc e Jo sh P lue ge r (r igh

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2

apocryphal

–

adjective

• A hero of American folklore is the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan, whose

footprints supposedly formed the Great Lakes. Clearly, this story is

apocryphal.

• There is a story in our family that my great-great-grandfather was a train

robber, but I think the story is apocryphal. I’ve never seen any proof.

Apocryphal

means

A.

fictitious.

B.

difficult to understand.

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2

apocryphal

–

adjective

• A hero of American folklore is the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan, whose

footprints supposedly formed the Great Lakes. Clearly, this story is

apocryphal.

• There is a story in our family that my great-great-grandfather was a train

robber, but I think the story is apocryphal. I’ve never seen any proof.

Apocryphal

means

A.

fictitious.

B.

C.

true.

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3

desultory

–

adjective

• When the shoe repair shop lost my boots, the clerk’s search was so

desultory and disorganized that I had to go through the shelves and find them myself.

• Darrin went to the emergency room with a severe stomachache, but the

doctor on duty gave him only a quick, desultory examination and sent him home.

Desultory

means

A.

fake.

B.

random.

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3

desultory

–

adjective

• When the shoe repair shop lost my boots, the clerk’s search was so

desultory and disorganized that I had to go through the shelves and find them myself.

• Darrin went to the emergency room with a severe stomachache, but the

doctor on duty gave him only a quick, desultory examination and sent him home.

Desultory

means

A.

fake.

B.

random.

C.

intensive.

The word disorganized suggests that the clerk searched for the boots in a random way. A doctor doing a more systematic, less

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4

garbled

–

adjective

Garbled

means

A.

lengthy.

B.

shortened.

C.

distorted.

Eevn if wrods are grbaeld,

you mihgt sitll be albe to

udnersnatd tehm if the

frist and lsat ltteers are in

the rghit pclaes.

An example of garbled text

• When Tim printed his essay, a computer error made it come out garbled.

Only meaningless symbols and numbers appeared on the page.

• The children played a game in which each one whispered a message to the

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TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT

4

garbled

–

adjective

• When Tim printed his essay, a computer error made it come out garbled.

Only meaningless symbols and numbers appeared on the page.

• The children played a game in which each one whispered a message to the

next child in line. The first child whispered, “My favorite color is purple,” but the message the last child heard was garbled: “You shouldn’t holler at your uncle.”

Garbled

means

A.

lengthy.

B.

shortened.

C.

distorted.

A computer error distorted the words in the essay into meaningless symbols and numbers. The words became distorted

as each child whispered the sentence to the next child.

Eevn if wrods are grbaeld,

you mihgt sitll be albe to

udnersnatd tehm if the

frist and lsat ltteers are in

the rghit pclaes.

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5

irascible

–

adjective

• “The holidays are supposed to be a happy time,” sighed Martina. “But

with all the extra work and guests, I find myself becoming irascible— I’m a real grouch.”

• “I know my patients are improving when they become grumpy,” said Dr.

Imiri. “An irascible patient is on the road to recovery.”

Irascible

means

A.

bad-tempered.

B.

nervous.

C.

depressed.

Rafael Nadal

looking irascible

during a match

Ph

oto

: A

lex

L

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5

irascible

–

adjective

• “The holidays are supposed to be a happy time,” sighed Martina. “But

with all the extra work and guests, I find myself becoming irascible— I’m a real grouch.”

• “I know my patients are improving when they become grumpy,” said Dr.

Imiri. “An irascible patient is on the road to recovery.”

Irascible

means

A.

bad-tempered.

B.

nervous.

C.

depressed.

The word grouch suggests that during the holidays Martina can be

bad-tempered. The word grumpy

suggests that recovering patients can be bad-tempered.

Rafael Nadal looking irascible

during a match

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TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT

6

loquacious

–

adjective

• Kyle, who prefers to sleep or read on a long plane trip, says it never fails:

he always ends up with a loquacious seat companion who wants to chat nonstop.

• The British have an amusing way of describing loquacious people: they

say that such a person can “talk the hind leg off a donkey.”

Loquacious

means

A.

talking too much.

B.

aggressive.

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6

loquacious

–

adjective

• Kyle, who prefers to sleep or read on a long plane trip, says it never fails:

he always ends up with a loquacious seat companion who wants to chat nonstop.

• The British have an amusing way of describing loquacious people: they

say that such a person can “talk the hind leg off a donkey.”

Loquacious

means

A.

talking too much.

B.

aggressive.

C.

irritable.

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7

obtuse

–

adjective

• Children can be remarkably obtuse about understanding school subjects

like math, but their wits sharpen amazingly when they’re learning a new video game.

• Today, in front of Gillian, Harvey mentioned the surprise party we’re

planning for her. I kicked him under the table, hoping to shut him up, but he’s so obtuse he just said, “Ow! Why did you kick me?”

Obtuse

means

A.

angry.

B.

stupid.

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7

obtuse

–

adjective

• Children can be remarkably obtuse about understanding school subjects

like math, but their wits sharpen amazingly when they’re learning a new video game.

• Today, in front of Gillian, Harvey mentioned the surprise party we’re

planning for her. I kicked him under the table, hoping to shut him up, but he’s so obtuse he just said, “Ow! Why did you kick me?”

Obtuse

means

A.

angry.

B.

stupid.

C.

thoughtful.

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8

opaque

–

adjective

• We attempted to follow the movie’s complex plot, but the characters’

motives and reactions remained opaque. We finally gave up trying to understand it.

• Articles on Einstein’s theory of relativity usually start reassuringly,

noting that there is no reason why this theory should be opaque to the ordinary reader. Then they proceed to make it even more confusing.

Opaque

means

A.

fascinating.

B.

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8

opaque

–

adjective

• We attempted to follow the movie’s complex plot, but the characters’

motives and reactions remained opaque. We finally gave up trying to understand it.

• Articles on Einstein’s theory of relativity usually start reassuringly,

noting that there is no reason why this theory should be opaque to the ordinary reader. Then they proceed to make it even more confusing.

Opaque

means

A.

fascinating.

B.

C.

improbable.

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9

paucity

–

noun

• The speaker’s elegant language could not conceal his paucity of ideas.

He had nothing meaningful to say.

• Serena wanted to get away from her small town because of its paucity

of intellectual life. It didn’t even have a library or a bookstore.

Paucity

means

A.

repetition.

B.

conflict.

C.

lack.

Ph

oto

: N

om

ad

z

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9

paucity

–

noun

• The speaker’s elegant language could not conceal his paucity of ideas.

He had nothing meaningful to say.

• Serena wanted to get away from her small town because of its paucity

of intellectual life. It didn’t even have a library or a bookstore.

Paucity

means

A.

repetition.

B.

conflict.

C.

lack.

If the speaker said nothing meaningful, he must have had a lack of ideas to talk about. A lack of opportunities to share books suggests a lack of opportunities to share intellectual interests.

Ph

oto

: N

om

ad

z

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10

recapitulate

–

verb

• “To recapitulate what we told you on the phone,” said Ms. Brown to the

baby sitter, “we’ll be home at eleven o’clock, and you can reach us at the Athens Café.”

• Before an exam, Ms. Chiu always has a review session in which she

recapitulates some of the most important material the class has studied.

Recapitulate

means

A.

to sum up.

B.

to ignore.

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10

recapitulate

–

verb

• “To recapitulate what we told you on the phone,” said Ms. Brown to the

baby sitter, “we’ll be home at eleven o’clock, and you can reach us at the Athens Café.”

• Before an exam, Ms. Chiu always has a review session in which she

recapitulates some of the most important material the class has studied.

Recapitulate

means

A.

to sum up.

B.

to ignore.

C.

to contradict.

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

2.

After a stroke, some people partially lose their ability to speak. Until they recover, their words come out __________ and

unclear.

1.

Many Spanish explorers in the 1700s lost their lives searching for the __________ “fountain of youth.”

Complete each item with the correct word from the box.

A. affable B. apocryphal C. desultory D. garbled E. irascible

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

2.

After a stroke, some people partially lose their ability to speak. Until they recover, their words come out __________ and

unclear.

1.

Many Spanish explorers in the 1700s lost their lives searching for the __________ “fountain of youth.”

F. loquacious G. obtuse H. opaque I. paucity J. recapitulate

Because the fountain was of doubtful authenticity, they died in vain.

The word unclear suggests that their speech can be incomprehensible.

apocryphal

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

4.

The words of the poem sounded lovely, but their meaning was __________. Even the teacher found it difficult to explain.

5.

Although Ms. Henderson is a(n) _________ instructor, don’t let her good nature make you think that she’s a pushover. She’s nice and friendly, but she’s also a demanding teacher.

3.

People often become __________ when they’re nervous.

Unfortunately, not only do they talk too much, but what they say isn’t very interesting.

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

4.

The words of the poem sounded lovely, but their meaning was __________. Even the teacher found it difficult to explain.

5.

Although Ms. Henderson is an __________ instructor, don’t let her good nature make you think that she’s a pushover. She’s nice and friendly, but she’s also a demanding teacher.

3.

People often become __________ when they’re nervous.

Unfortunately, not only do they talk too much, but what they say isn’t very interesting.

If nervous people talk too much, they must be very talkative.

If the teacher couldn’t explain the poem, it was difficult to understand.

The words good nature, nice, and friendly suggest the instructor is

easy to get along with.

loquacious

opaque

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

7.

Jon’s paper was a(n) ________ effort. He started late and then just threw some disconnected notes together. No wonder he got a D.

6.

Deepak always seems to have a chip on his shoulder, and he gets angry over the slightest thing. I don’t know what makes him so __________.

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

7.

Jon’s paper was a __________ effort. He started late and then just threw some disconnected notes together. No wonder he got a D.

6.

Deepak always seems to have a chip on his shoulder, and he gets angry over the slightest thing. I don’t know what makes him so __________.

The chip on his shoulder and his quickness to anger show he is irritable.

The late start and disconnected, thrown-together notes suggest the paper moved from one thing to another in an unplanned way.

irascible

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

9.

Before I left the office, my doctor _________(e)d her advice to me: “Get extra rest, drink plenty of fluids, and don’t worry.”

10.

“I’ve been hinting that my birthday would be a good time for Jeff to give me an engagement ring,” Jan said, “but he seems completely __________. I don’t think he gets the point.”

8.

“We seem to have a(n) ________ of singers this year,” said the

chorus director. Only three students had shown up for the auditions, possibly indicating a dearth° of interest in joining the group.

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SENTENCE CHECK 1

9.

Before I left the office, my doctor ____________ her advice to me: “Get extra rest, drink plenty of fluids, and don’t worry.”

10.

“I’ve been hinting that my birthday would be a good time for Jeff to give me an engagement ring,” Jan said, “but he seems completely __________. I don’t think he gets the point.”

8.

“We seem to have a __________ of singers this year,” said the

chorus director. Only three students had shown up for the auditions, possibly indicating a dearth° of interest in joining the group.

Three students would be an insufficient number of singers for a chorus.

The doctor repeated her advice briefly, using only ten words.

If he doesn’t get the point, he is too dull or slow to understand her hints.

paucity

recapitulated