UNIT 7 VOCABULARY
Pg. 1
Word
Meaning
1. barrier (n.)
anything that bars passage; bar; obstacle;
barricade; obstruction
2. chore (n.)
1. routine task around a household or farm
(plural – chores; housework)
2. unpleasant or difficult task
3. domestic (adj.)
1. having to do with the home or housekeeping
2. of, relating to, or produced within one’s own
country; native
(ant. foreign)
3. tame; domesticated
4. function (n.)
professional position or duties; roles;
occupation; purpose for which a person or thing
is especially fitted
5. illuminate (v.)
1. supply with light; light up; brighten
2. throw light on; make clear or lucid; elucidate
6. mystique (n.)
set of beliefs and attitudes developing around an
object or associated with a particular group,
institution, or activity endowing them with
mythical or superhuman status; cult
7. phenomenon (n.)
1. observable fact, event or circumstance
(plural – phenomena)
2. exceptional person, thing, or event; prodigy
(plural – phenomenons)
8. self-reliant (adj.)
depending upon one’s own efforts, abilities, and
resources; independent
9. trivia (n.)
unimportant matters; trifles
10. untidy (adj.)
not neat or tidy; slovenly; disordered
(ant. neat)
APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
Pg 2
Exercise 1. Which of the two choices makes the sentence correct? Write the
letter of your answer in the space provided.
1. Our conversation dealt with trivia; we talked about the __________..
A. drop in sales and the hiring of
a new director
B. change in the weather and the
best place to have lunch
2. The watchdog did not perform its function; it ___________ strangers.
A. was affectionate with
B. barked ferociously at
3. Your talk was illuminating; _____________________.
A. it left me in the dark
B. I learned a great deal
4. As we approached the barrier, a sign in large letters proclaimed “______.”
A. Road Closed
B. Maintain Speed
5. The apartment would not be so untidy if it had _________________.
A. wall-to-wall carpeting
B. more closets and storage space
6. This is a domestic cheese. We also have some ________ cheese.
A. Wisconsin
B. Norwegian
7. According to the yogurt mystique, __________________.
A. yogurt is one of nature’s miracle
foods
B. whether or not yogurt is beneficial
remains a mystery
8. Once our petroleum exceeds our ____ of petroleum, we shall be self-reliant, as far
as petroleum is concerned.
A. imports
B. consumption
9. __________ is a chore.
A. Taking out the garbage
B. Meeting an old friend
10. When the instructor asked what phenomena of the Japenese beetle you had
observed on your field trip, you should not have said that it ____________.
A. feeds on the leaves of trees
B. was introduced into the United
States from Japan
SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
Pg 3
Exercise 2. Fill the blanks in column A with the required synonyms and
antonyms, selecting them from column B.
Column A
Column B
_____________________ 1. antonym for foreign
function
_____________________ 2. synonym for role
trivia
_____________________ 3. synonym for housework
illuminate
_____________________ 4. synonym for trifles
self-reliant
_____________________ 5. antonym for neat
domestic
_____________________ 6. synonym for prodigy
barrier
_____________________ 7. synonym for obstacle
untidy
_____________________ 8. antonym for obscure
chores
_____________________ 9. synonym for independent
mystique
____________________ 10. synonym for cult
phenomenon
USING FEWER WORDS
Pg 4
Exercise 3. Replace the italicized words with a single word from the vocabulary list.
Vocabulary List
self-reliant
phenomenon
untidy
trivia
mystique
function
domestic
barrier
chore
illuminate
1. What will your professional duties be as deputy director? 1. ________________
2. When guests unexpectedly arrived, I was reluctant to
show them my room because it was not neat.
2. ________________
3. Removing paint stain from window panes is a difficult
task.
3. ________________
4. Do you know anything about the set of beliefs and
attitudes associated with the subject of astrology?
4. ________________
5. Drive right through; there is no delay or anything that
bars passage.
5. ________________
6. One observable fact that shocked us was the rudeness
of some of the spectators.
6. ________________
7. The pioneers did not send out appeals for help; they
were dependent on their own efforts, abilities, and
resources.
7. ________________
8. Two small bulbs light up the instrument panel.
8. ________________
9. Concentrate on significant phenomena. Leave out
the unimportant matters.
9. ________________
10. Are these units imported, or produced within our
own country?
10. ________________
IDENTIFICATION
Pg 5
Exercise 4. Read the following statements. Then complete each sentence by
inserting the most appropriate proper name from these statements.
With clues from the Rosetta Stone, which Napoleon’s troops had found in
Egypt in 1799, Champollion laid the groundwork for deciphering the
hieroglyphics.
Prior to 1954, when Marian Anderson
performed with the Metropolitan
Opera Company, no black singer had
every appeared with that organization.
George was not around when the
porch was to be swept, or the
grass cut, or the hedge trimmed,
or the leaves raked and bagged.
When she was only nineteen, Edna, one of the three Millay sisters, wrote
“Renascence” a remarkable contribution to twentieth-century American
poetry.
So that she would know what to do in
the event of a flat tire, Andrea
practiced removing a wheel and
replacing it with her spare.
Sandy, who used to work here,
never put things back in the right
place; we had trouble finding tools
when we needed them.
After fourteen years with the club as its star third baseman, Alfredo was
named player-manager, but he turned down the post.
Norbert enlarged the living room,
added a bathroom, and replaced the
kitchen cabinets, stove, refrigerator,
washer and dryer.
A year ago, Janice knew little and
cared less about pars, birdies, and
bogies; now she golfs twice a
week.
When I paid Marie 35 cents for one of the erasers that cost her three for a
dollar, she gave me a penny change - and even a receipt.
Pg 6
1. ____________________ was untidy.
2. ____________________ was a literary phenomenon.
3. ____________________ became a convert to a mystique.
4. ____________________ broke through a racial barrier.
5. ____________________ was attentive to trivia.
6. ____________________ invested in domestic improvements.
7. ____________________ avoided chores.
8. ____________________ illuminated a baffling mystery.
9. ____________________ sought no larger function.
10. ____________________ wanted to be self-reliant.