Chapter 5 Vocabulary

Homework: Define these words based on the example sentences. DO NOT USE A DICTIONARY.

Ambiguity:

· It was a very ambiguous request. I didn’t know what she wanted.

· There is a lot of ambiguity in your plans. I’m not sure what you really want to do and it doesn’t sound like you know, either.

Come to grips with:

• I have to come to grips with the fact that it’s going to take a long time to learn well.
• You need to come to grip with the fact that your relationship is over. Your girlfriend likes another guy.

Thorny:

• The situation with Iraq is very thorny. There are dangers no matter what we do.
• That is a thorny question. There really isn’t any good way to answer it.

Pose:

• The teacher posed a challenging question. No one was ready to answer it.
• The traffic poses a big problem for us. I don’t think we will be able to make it to the airport on time.

Overcome:

• She was able to overcome many obstacles in her life. From a poor, uneducated girl, she became the president of a large corporation.

Optical illusions:

• The water that you see on the road in the distance doesn’t really exist. It’s an optical illusion.
• If you walk in a desert for many days, your mind might start playing tricks on you, and you might see optical illusions.

Major concern:

• Because of its effects on water supplies and global warming, pollution is a major concern of modern life.
• What do you think are the voters’ major concerns when deciding how to vote?

Grasp:

• I tried to grasp what he was saying, but in the end, I had no idea what he was talking about.

Acquire:

• Acquiring a second language is an important part of an education.

To be said for

• There’s a lot to be said for traveling. You can learn about new cultures, see beautiful sites, as well as relax and eat good food.
• There’s a lot to be said about the way he plays the game. He works hard at improving his skills, and when he is playing, he is one of the most honest people on the court. If he does something wrong, he will say so.

Valid:

• His research is not valid because he didn’t take the age of the subjects into account.
• I’m sorry, but your driver’s license is no longer valid. It expired last year.

Drawback:

• The main drawback of living in Seattle is the bad traffic.
• While being independent has its benefits, it also has several drawbacks.

Administer:

• The teacher is sick today, so someone else will administer the test.

Version:

• The two drivers gave different versions of the traffic accident. It’s difficult to tell which is accurate.
• Each time you tell me what you did, you give a different version of your story. Which one is truthful?

Overlap:

• When you paint the wall, make sure that your brush strokes overlap so that there are no visible lines.
• We are both going to be traveling in California over break. Do you think any part of our trip will overlap?

To be made up of:

• This building is made up of parts from three other buildings.
• The test is made up of 2 parts. The first is a reading exam. The second is writing.

Achievement:

• It is a great achievement to graduate from college.
• You are an intelligent and dedicated student. I know you will achieve great things.

Aptitude:

• I have no aptitude for math. I’m just not good at it.
• She has an incredible aptitude for chemistry. She is at the top of her class.

Agility:

• Agility is essential for gymnastics.
• Cats have great agility in jumping and climbing. They are able to quickly go anywhere.

Whiz:

· She’s a whiz at math. She can solve most problems without a calculator.

To fly in the face of:

· His ideas fly in the face of logic. They just don’t make sense.

· What you say flies in the face of everything you used to stand for. Now I don’t know what you believe.

To draw a conclusion:

• From his research, the scientist was able to draw a few conclusions about how ducks behave.
• I’m not going to draw a conclusion until I have all the facts.