| Question | Answers |
| To treat or govern people in the manner of a father is to treat them with: | paternalism |
| Another word for explication is: | exegesis |
| A subordinate or dependent might be called a: | vassal |
| Which of the following is the opposite of huge? | minuscule |
| When you apprise (sentence 3) someone of the details of a situation, you: | inform him or her |
| Which of the following words could be used to replace purview (sentence 3)? | scope |
| A claque (sentence 4) is a group of: | admirers |
| Which of the following words could not be used to replace melee (sentence 5)? | discussion |
| In sentence 6, verisimilitude means: | realism |
| If someone is obfuscating (sentence 7) a situation, he or she is: | making it unclear |
It is hardly necessary to say that people who want to learn a language on their own, must have just an incredible desire to win and inhuman diligence. No, we do not want to scare you or discourage you, but self-discipline must be excellent!
So, what are the ways of self-study of English? Let’s try to systematize the information not just about how to learn English by yourself, but how to do it quickly and efficiently.
Let’s take a brief look at the main reasons why all self-taught people fail. There are several of them:
- Low level of motivation (by the way, this very reason is the basis of all unsuccessful attempts, the rest simply arise from it)
- A small number of information sources (or unwillingness to find them, see point 1). If you decided to learn English on your own, you will not get by with just a grammar book, even the most recommended and high quality. You need to listen, see, repeat and write, and for this, you need to watch videos, find interesting audio materials, communicate with foreigners and find interlocutors.
- The training program is ill-conceived. You should agree that you are not a professional teacher. How can you know how best to learn a language, what to pay attention to and what you can miss, how much time to devote to study and how often.
1. From the observatory atop the Empire State Building, the pedestrians on the streets below look as __________ as ants.
Minuscule
Even the public opinion polls, which showed a strong trend toward our candidate, did not make us overly _________ about our chances of winning.
Sanguine
Those later scenes, in the opinion of many critics, had so much self-conscious pathos that they lacked conviction and __________.
Verisimilitude
For many years, Americans and Europeans tended to ignore the highly developed ________ cultures of the peoples of Africa
Indigenous
Their standards are so rigid and so devoid of a sense of proportion that they elevate every minor ________ to the level of a major crime.
Solecism
Falstaff, as conceived by Shakespeare, is not just a ________ old braggart but an archetype of human appetites and joy in living.
Bibulois
Is it any wonder that the young quarterback is getting a swelled head when he seems always to be surrounded by a(n) ________ of fawning admirers?
Claque
It is not enough merely to push aside our prejudices and pretend they don’t exist; we must _______ these evils from our minds and personalities
Deracinate
At rush hour, I always have a hard time fighting my way through the ______ of tired commuters scurrying through the station.
Melee
Morality is not a criterion that can be used to judge whether or not a word belongs in a ______ of the language in which it is used.
Lexicon
Under the American system of personal liberty, there are many aspects of daily life that are not within the _________ of any governmental authority
Purview
A(n) _________ of Virginia Woolf’s work reveals that she is an exceptionally modern writer concerned with the psychology and emotion of her subjects.
Exegesis
I came to resent the company’s ________ because it assumed that employees lacked the self-reliance to take care of themselves.
Paternalism
Please do not try to ___________ your responsibility in this matter by irrelevant criticisms of other people’s behavior.
Obfuscate
A basketball team will be sent to the Far East under the ________ of the State Department to play native teams in various countries.
Aegis
The movie started off well, but the later scenes, with the young heroine slowly dying of a mystery disease, became overwrought and __________.
Lachrymose
If we disregard the emotions and desires of other groups in our area, we are simply going to increase partisanship and __________ the whole community.
Polarize
I think it was very inconsiderate of her to wait until this late date before she _______ us of her intention to quit the class show.
Apprised
In the tragedy that overtakes the pathetic Lennie in Of Mice and Men, we see in _________ the cruelty and injustice that pervade our society.
Microcosm
Compared to today’s free agents, the ball players of yesteryear were practically the ______ of the team owners.
Vassals
Thankfully, the beach towels are extremely _________ and they were able to control the spread of water due to the bucket that tipped over in the back of the van.
Bibulous
When light from the sun hits the surface of the pond, the light is _________ and then we see mysterious relflections on the placid water.
Polarized
The grandmother was impressed by the child’s ________ complexion and generally heathy appearance.
Sanguine
Some call our city a cosmopolitan melting pot of cultures, but my grandparents from Eastern Europe felt ________ and even apprehensive at times.
Deracinated
As a _______ state, its citizens had few rights and were subject to others’ whims.
Vassal
1. The ALCOHOLIC patron of the local saloon
Bibulous
2. Within the JURISDICTION of the sheriff
Purview
3. Neglected to NOTIFY the townspeople
Apprise
4. The HANGERS-ON waiting by the stage door
Claque
5. Using the programmers’ SPECIAL VOCABULARY
Lexicon
6. a MENIAL in the royal family’s service
Vassal
7. To DIVIDE voters’ sympathies
Polarize
8. Commits a FAUX PAS at every turn
Solecism
9. An INTERPRETATION of Joyce’s Ulysses
Exegesis
10. A MODEL of the entire park
Microcosm
1. The UNIVERSE of the nursing profession
Microcosm
2. CORRECT USAGE essential in a cover letter
Solecism
3. Invited all their TEETOTALING relatives
Bibulous
4. Always had to obey the MASTER
Vassal
5. OBFUSCATION of the leaders ideas
Exegesis
1. Surprisingly, the white potato, which I have always associated with Ireland, is _________ to the Americas.
Indigenous
2. Is the expression “it is me” to be regarded as a(n) ________ or as an acceptable idiomatic form?
Solecism
3. A hard-line speech may gain the congressperson the applause of her followers, but overall it will ________ sentiments throughout the country and impair national unity.
Polarize
4. The goal of this course in world history is _________; therefore, we will carefully examine primary texts from the time periods we study.
Exegesis
5. The issue is basically a simple one, and your efforts to _________ it by raising endless technical objections will have no effect on us.
Obfuscate
6. My classics professor was compiling a complete ________ of the Latin language
Lexicon
7. Both sides let on that the negotiators were still miles apart, when in fact the distance that separated their opinions was ______.
Minuscule
8. ___________ from their Old World environments, European immigrants had difficult adjustments to make.
Deracinated
When South Korea was invaded, the United States organized a collective defense effort under the _______ of the United Nations.
Aegis
10. If you are ever to get out of this tangled mess, now is the time for action, not indulgence in __________ self-pity.
Lachrymose
11. A case of that type, which does not involve a federal law or constitutional issue, does not come within the ______ of the Supreme Court.
Purview
12. The third period was marred by a bench-clearing _______ that left the hockey rink littered with discarded gloves and sticks.
Melee
13. She defended her policy of hiring a(n) __________ by noting that even with a supportive audience, someone is needed to get the applause started.
Claque
14. He came to realize that the inner city in which he had been raised was a(n) _________ of the sufferings of impoverished people all over the world.
Microcosm
15. I am not given to undue optimism, but the preliminary results of the polls make me ______ about the outcome of the election.
Sanguine
16. “The rash and ______ behavior of that young hothead almost cost us the battle, to say nothing of the war,” the general remarked sourly.
Bibulous
17. Without expressing opinions, simply ________ us as pro fly as possible of the results of the conference.
Apprise
18. No matter how fantastic and far-fetched the themes of Ray Bradbury’s stories may be, he seems able to achieve an extraordinary effect of ____________.
Verisimilitude
19. At the outset of World War II, Lithuania lost its sovereignty and became an unwilling ______ of the Soviet Union.
Vassal
20. The people of this underserved area need a program that will “help them to help themselves”– not a form of _________ that will make them completely dependent on outside aid.
Paternalism
1. To APPRISE means to:
A. Make aware
2. Something is INDIGENOUS if it is:
C. Native
3. A MELEE is:
D. Confused mass
4. POLARIZED rays are those that are:
B. Divided
5. A SANGUINE temperament is one that is NOT:
D. Depressed
aegis
protection, patronage, sponsorship
apprise
to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice
bibulous
found of or inclined to drink; absorbent
claque
a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; opera hat
deracinate
to pull up by the roots
eleemosynary
charitable; dependent upon charity
indigenous
native
lachrymose
given to tears or weeping; lugubrious
lexicon
dictionary of a language; a compendium
melee
confused struggled; violent free-for-all; a tumultuous mingling
microcosm
a mini world or universe
minuscule
small, tiny; lower case letter
obfuscate
darken or obscure; to confuse or bewilder
paternalism
policy of treating people in the manner of a father dealing with his children
polarize
to cause to concentrate around tow conflicting or contrasting positions
purview
range of something; in law, the scope of what is provided in a statute
sanguine
having a ruddy complexion; of a naturally cheerful outlook
solecism
a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake
vassal
a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he/she owes allegiance; a subordinate; subservient
verisimilitude
the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable