Chapter 4: Everyday and Specific Vocabulary 89 exercises www.petersons.com Across Down 33. Avoid by going around 23. Join together 36. Past of sit 25. _____ I were you. . . 37. Abbreviation for saint 29. Vagabond 38. Indefinite article 32. Suffix indicating someone 39. Property who practices 34. Wander aimlessly 40. Threaten, making someone 35. Very large act through fear 38. Classified _____ 04_TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3889 90 PART III: TOEFL Vocabulary Review www.petersons.com ANSWER KEY Synonyms 1. C 6. A 11. C 2. B 7. C 12. D 3. D 8. B 13. C 4. B 9. B 14. A 5. C 10. D 15. D Putting It Together 04_TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3890 Chapter 4: Everyday and Specific Vocabulary 91 www.petersons.com SUMMING IT UP • Make a list of words that relate to each other. • Words that relate to people and places are usually tested in the short dialogues. • Words that relate to people and places appear in the longer conversations in the Listening Comprehension section. 04_TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3891 04_TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3892 chapter 5 93 All About Roots OVERVIEW • Word roots • Strategies for learning roots • How roots work • Learning words with Greek roots • Learning words with Latin roots • Summing it up WORD ROOTS The root of a word contains the basic meaning. Prefixes and suffixes can be added to a root. For example, the root cred means “believe,” so the English word “credible” means “believable.” Learning the roots of words will help you work out the meaning of words you do not know and will consequenly help you with all parts of the TOEFL test. Since there are a great number of roots from which words stem in English, the most common ones are presented in this chapter. STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING ROOTS • Most word roots are never used alone. They may have prefixes and suffixes attached to them. • At first you may not see how a particular word grew from the word root. But when you begin to analyze the word, you will see the connection. • Once you recognize word roots, you will see connections among many words. This will make it easier for you to understand and remember their meanings. • Try to learn a number of word roots each day. Review the roots you have learned before and try to use them in speech or writing. • Every time you look up a word in the dictionary, look at its word root (most roots in English come from Latin or Greek). 05_TOEFL Vocab,Ch5,93-116 8/9/06, 11:5193 94 PART III: TOEFL Vocabulary Review www.petersons.com HOW ROOTS WORK Prefixes and Suffixes Are Added to Roots to Create Many Words For example, the root vor means “to eat.” If you are a voracious (voh-ray-shus) eater, you eat a lot of food. In the following examples, the root “vor(e)” is combined with prefixes and suffixes to describe types of eaters in the plant and animal kingdoms. Cover the last column of the following chart and see how many of these words you can figure out by just knowing the meaning of the root “vor.” Word Prefix Meaning Root Meaning Word Definition carnivore carni meat vor eat meat eater insectivore insect bug vor eat bug eater herbivore herb plants vor eat plant eater granivore gran grain vor eat grain eater frugivore frug fruit vor eat fruit eater graminivore gram grass vor eat grass eater nectarivore nectar juice vor eat nectar (juice) eater omnivore omni everything vor eat eats everything Knowing how the words were created can help you figure out many words you encounter on standardized tests. In addition, you can use these decoding skills to figure out the meaning of all the new words that are created every day. Here’s the basic drill: Adding a prefix to a root Adding a suffix to a root de + hydrate = dehydrate zoo + ology = zoology hydro + power = hydropower bronch + itis = bronchitis The following chart shows additional examples of how words are put together. Knowing this process can help you take them apart to define them. Remember: words are like people: it’s easy to figure them out . . . once you know their parts. Prefix + Root + Suffix = New Word Meaning re + fer + al = referral connection de + ter + ent = deterrent impediment re + pul + sion = repulsion send back dis + pel + ed = dispelled driven away re + tract + able = retractable draw back im + peril + ed = imperiled put in danger dis + credit + ed = discredited to cause disbelief ab + duct + ed = abducted kidnapped 05_TOEFL Vocab,Ch5,93-116 8/9/06, 11:5194 Chapter 5: All About Roots 95 www.petersons.com Even if you can’t define a word exactly, recognizing the root will give you a general idea of the word’s meaning. For example, if you read the word geocentric, knowing the root geo would help you figure out that geocentric has to do with the center (“centric”) of the Earth or Earth as the center. A Word Can Contain More Than One Root For example, the word matrilineal contains the roots matri (mother) and lineal (line). Putting it together, you can deduce that matrilineal means “determining ancestry through the female line.” Some Roots Are Words Themselves For example, the root term also means “name or length of time.” In a similar way, the root vent also means “an opening that allows air to enter.” Even though these roots are words, they can still function as roots, as the following chart shows: Root Meaning Suffix New Word Meaning term name –ology terminology wording term name –agant termagant shrewish woman term end limit –inal terminal end of a series term end limit –less termless not limited Some Roots Must Be Combined with Other Word Elements to Form Words Take a look at the examples on the following chart: Root Meaning Suffix New Word Meaning Pronunciation aud hear –ible audible able to be heard (aw-di-ble) capit head –al capital most important carn flesh –al carnal of the flesh (car-nal) When It Comes to Building Words from Roots, Placement Matters Some roots can also function as prefixes, depending on their placement in a word. For example, graphy means “writing.” used as a root calligraphy used as a prefix graphology TIP Whenever you come upon an unfamiliar word, first check to see if it has a recog- nizable root. 05_TOEFL Vocab,Ch5,93-116 8/9/06, 11:5195 . _____ 04 _TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3889 90 PART III: TOEFL Vocabulary Review www.petersons.com ANSWER KEY Synonyms 1. C 6. A 11. C 2. B 7. C 12. D 3. D 8. B 13. C 4. B 9. B 14. A 5. C 10. D 15. . its word root (most roots in English come from Latin or Greek). 05 _TOEFL Vocab,Ch5,93-116 8/9/06, 11:5193 94 PART III: TOEFL Vocabulary Review www.petersons.com HOW ROOTS WORK Prefixes and Suffixes. appear in the longer conversations in the Listening Comprehension section. 04 _TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3891 04 _TOEFL Vocab,Ch4,60-92 8/4/06, 12:3892 chapter 5 93 All About Roots OVERVIEW •