LESSON 4 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 4

 

1 vapor (vậ' pər) moisture in the air that can be seen; fog; mist a Scientists have devised* methods for trapping vapor in bottles so they can study its makeup. b He has gathered data* on the amount of vapor rising from the swamp c A vapor trail is the visible* stream of moisture left by the engines of a jet flying at high altitudes. 2 eliminate (i lim'ə nật) get rid of; remove; omit a When the railroad tracks are raised, the danger of crossing will be eliminated. b When figuring the cost of a car, don’t eliminate such extras as air conditioning. c If we were to eliminate all reclining* chairs, no one would fall asleep while watching television. 3 villain (vil'ən) a very wicked person a A typical* moving picture villain gets killed at the end. b The villain concealed* the corpse* in the cellar. c When the villain fell down the well, everyone lived happily ever after.     Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. A Fan in the Air Fog, tiny droplets of water vapor, is the villain of the airports. In an effort to eliminate dense fog from airports, weathermen utilize giant fans, nylon strings, and chemicals dropped from planes or shot upwards from strange machines on the ground. Nothing works as well, though, as a new weapon in the fight against fog: the helicopter. Researchers believe that if warm dry air above the fog could somehow be driven down into the humid blanket of fog, the droplets would evaporate, thus clearing the air. In a recent experiment to test their theory the researchers had a helicopter descend into the fog above barely visible* Smith Mountain Airport near Roanoke, Virginia. The blades of the helicopter caused the air to circulate downwards and an enormous hole in the clouds opened above the airport. Weathermen predict that with larger, more expensive* helicopters they will be able to make the thickest fog vanish.   Picture It Which of the words studied in this lesson is suggested by the picture?   Fill in the Blanks Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below. 1 If we have one more hot, ________ day, you will be able to persuade* me to move to Alaska. 2 In the show the magician waved his wand to make a lady ________ . 3 The hair on his head was so ________, a special pair of scissors was used to thin it. 4 Since he has passed all his subjects, I'll ________ that he will graduate. 5 The ________ in the movie was played by an actor who was able to look mean. 6 ________ rose out of the valve on top of the steam engine. 7 The basketball player was ________ ; he could practically drop the ball through the hoop. 8 What ________ can you suggest to explain the frequent changes in women’s clothing? 9 Why don’t you ________ all the space on that page? 10 Sooner or later the elevator will ________ and we’ll be able to go up. 11 I heard a doctor on a television show say that if we ________ one slice of bread each day, we’ll lose weight. 12 Copies of some magazines are so scarce,* the librarian won’t allow them to ________ .   Synonym Search Circle the word that most nearly expresses the meaning of the word printed in orange type. 1 circulate the news a report b spread c interpret d watch 2 eliminate a problem a perceive b wipe out c aggravate d create 3 an enormous ocean line a incredible b extravagant c unforgettable d huge 4 dense fog a misty b thick c invisible d dismal     Spotlight On villain—We see from this how social attitudes can affect the meanings of words. In Latin a villa was a small farm and its buildings; a connection of such buildings became a village, and a person who lived on such a farm was a villain. Some who lived in the cities looked down on the country folk, regarding them as stupid, low-minded, and evil. In that way, country people earned a reputation (villains) they did not deserve.

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