LESSON 9 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 9

 

1 vicinity (və sin'ə teē) region near a place; neighborhood a Living in the vicinity of New York, Jeremy was near many museums. b The torrent* of rain fell only in our vicinity. c We approached* the Baltimore vicinity by car 2 century (sen' chə rē ) 100 years a George Washington lived in the eighteenth century. b The United States is more than two centuries old. c Many prominent* men have been born in this century. 3 rage (rãj) violent anger; something that arouses intense but brief enthusiasm a Joan’s bad manners sent her mother into a rage b In a fit of rage, Francine broke the valuable glass. c The mayor felt a sense of rage about the exaggerations* in the press.       Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. More About the Guitar The guitar is one of the oldest instruments known to man. It probably originated in the vicinity of China. There were guitars in ancient Egypt and Greece as well, but the written history of the guitar starts in Spain in the 13th century. By 1500 the guitar was popular in Italy, France, and Spain. A French document of that time concludes that many people were playing the guitar. Stradivarius, the undeniable king of violin makers, could not resist creating a variety* of guitars. Also, there was no lack of music written for the instrument. Haydn, Schubert, and others wrote guitar music. When the great Beethoven was asked to compose music for the guitar, he went into a rage and refused, but eventually even Beethoven could not ignore the challenge; legend tells us he finally called the guitar a miniature orchestra. Indeed the guitar does sound like a little orchestra! Perhaps that is why in rural* areas around the world the guitar has been a source of music for millions to enjoy.     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 Ernesto would constantly ________ his father's questions. 2 Historical ________ are kept in a special section of the library. 3 Great scientific progress has been made in this ________ . 4 The massive* wrestler accepted the ________ of the newcomer. 5 Not wearing warm clothing was the ________ of his illness. 6 "When do you expect to ________ your investigation of the case?" 7 It is ________ that this restaurant's food is delicious. 8 Lena showed a ________ of good judgment. 9 Everyone who lived in the ________ of the bomb test was in peril.* 10 Anita's habit of interrupting him sent her husband into a ________ . 11 My nephew was given a set of ________ soldiers for Christmas. 12 When you are tired it is hard to ________ staying in bed all day.   Synonym Search Circle the word that most nearly expresses the meaning of the word printed in orange type. 1 century a countless years b three score years c one hundred years d generation 2 document a official paper b critical review c decree d composition 3 undeniable a essential* b unforeseen* c comprehensive d unquestionable 4 vicinity a region near a place b division of a city or town c residential district d metropolitan area     Spotlight On century—In our slang, a C-note (century) stands for $100. Other slang references to money are fin ($5), sawbuck ($10), and grand ($1,000). Look up the origins of these colorful terms for our dollars.

ANSWER KEY