Lexis

Subject-Specific Vocabulary

Activity 1

Substitute a synonym from the vocabulary list for each word or group of words in parentheses.

1.When a hurricane is about to (hit) a seacoast, people who (live in] the area are warned to (leave) or to prepare for the storm.

2.To prepare their houses/ people cover the windows with boards to (stop) them from being broken by the (force) of the high-(speed) winds.

3.People store enough drinking water and food to (support) them for a few days.

4.They also need to (furnish) emergency lighting and cooking equipment because the storm may (interfere with) electric and gas service for a/an (lengthy) period after the storm passes.

5.People are warned to remain indoors for as long as the (great) winds (last).

6.Anyone outdoors in a hurricane is (exposed) to injury from flying (trash).

7.The giant sea waves and heavy rainfall that hurricanes (produce) can cause buildings to (fall down).

8.A powerful hurricane can (totally destroy) an area before it (decreases) and moves

Jaway.

Activity 2

To generate and to originate are similar in meaning. To generate something means "to produce something" and is a transitive verb. To originate means "to begin" and is most commonly used in the intransitive form.

Tornadoes generate high winds. Hurricanes originate over warm seas.

Complete each sentence with generate or originate.

Activity 5

Debris (pronounced deb-re') is worthless remains left over after something has been used up or destroyed.

CareJess hikers Jitter the traiJ with debris such as candy wrappers, soft-drink cans, and paper cups.

What kind of debris is likely to remain after the following events?

Activity 6

To prevent something means "to keep it from occurring." What do people do to prevent the following?

Activity 7

To be responsible /or something means "to cause" something.

CareJess campers are responsible for Jittering nationaJ forests with debris.

Look up the words below in a dictionary. Tell what damage each might be respon-

Activity 8

To be responsible for something also refers to being assigned a job or task. Usually this meaning applies to humans or human activities.

Forest rangers are responsible for preventing forest fires.

What is each of these workers responsible for preventing?

Smokey Bear, a large, friendly-looking brown bear dressed in trousers and a hat, symbolizes fire prevention in the United States. His motto is "Only you can prevent forest fires."

Activity 9

Each of the materials below is resistant to one or more of the forces listed on the right. What is each material resistant to? More than one answer may be possible.

Activity 10

The following instruments measure either pressure or velocity. Look the words up in a dictionary and find what each instrument measures.

Activity 11

An object may burst if the pressure inside becomes so great that the object suddenly breaks apart to release the pressure. What could cause the following to burst?

To burst is used figuratively to indicate an extreme amount.

The house was bursting with people.

The children were bursting with excitement.

To burst out means "to react emotionally or to say something suddenly and spontaneously."

She burst out, "I hate you!"

Activity 12

To explode means about the same as to burst, but expJode suggests greater violence and a loud noise. Which of the items listed in Activity 11 could explode? To erupt is also similar to burst but usually suggests an outpouring of liquid or other material. Which of the items in Activity 11 could erupt?

170 Lexis

What do you think is meant by the following expressions?

Activity 13

A catastrophe is an event that causes extensive damage and large loss of life or an event that will have serious effects on future lives.

Which of the following fictitious headlines might refer to a catastrophe?

1.OIL TANKERS COLLIDE; 800 MILES OF COAST COVERED WITH OIL

2.HURRICANE STRIKES UNINHABITED ISLANDS

3. 1500 HOMES DEVASTATED WHEN DAM BURSTS

4.NUCLEAR PLANT RADIATION LEAK CONTAMINATES CITY

5.UNDERSEA VOLCANIC ERUPTION CREATES NEW ISLANDS IN PACIFIC

People often exaggerate by using catastrophe conversationally to describe an unsuccessful effort or one filled with many problems.

I had my first job interview yesterday. It was a catastrophe.

Activity 14

When two objects collide, at least one of them is moving. It is named first. The race car coJJided with a fence.

When both objects are moving at about the same speed and both are responsible for the collision, they can be named together.

A truck and a bus coJJided as they left the parking area.

When two objects collide and both are moving, the one moving faster or the one responsible for the collision is named first.

The jogger collided with the elderly woman walking her do£.

Match one object from the left column with one from the right column and tell what collided.

Activity 15

To strike, when used as an intransitive verb, means "to happen or occur" and usually refers to unfortunate events that happen suddenly and unexpectedly.

If an earthquake strikes, hide under a table.

Which of these phenomena might strike?

If the verb strike is used in a sentence with a human subject and object, it suggests hitting in anger with the hands.

The argument ended when Fred struck Sam.

Activity 16

In a scientific sense, a wave is cyclical energy. A sequence of waves has a general form like ллх*»\лллл . in a nonscientific sense, a wave is a period of extreme amounts.

Match each type of wave with its description or example.

Activity 17

Erratic and fickJe are similar in meaning and are sometimes interchangeable. Erratic means "having no fixed pattern," while fickle means "likely to change loyalties" and is often considered an undesirable personality trait.

2. Fred loved every girl he met and wasn't true to any of them. His friends considered

when a market offers a bargain on a generic product, they buy it.

172 Lexis

it's cold. We just can't predict it.

Activity 18

Complete each sentence with vocabulary words that are opposite in meaning.

Activity 19

In pairs or in small groups, discuss the following questions.

1.The wheels of a car rotate as the car moves. What other machines or equipment have rotating parts?

2.Identify the country, continent, or area on earth that the following animals inhabit.

Activity 15

To strike, when used as an intransitive verb, means "to happen or occur" and usually refers to unfortunate events that happen suddenly and unexpectedly.

Jj an earthquake strikes, hide under a table.

Which of these phenomena might strike?

If the verb strike is used in a sentence with a human subject and object, it suggests hitting in anger with the hands.

The argument ended when Fred struck Sam.

Activity 16

In a scientific sense, a wave is cyclical energy. A sequence of waves has a general form like ллл<>лллл . In a nonscientific sense, a wave is a period of extreme amounts.

Match each type of wave with its description or example.

Activity 17

Erratic and fickle are similar in meaning and are sometimes interchangeable. Erratic means "having no fixed pattern," while fickle means "likely to change loyalties" and is often considered an undesirable personality trait.

Use erratic or fickle in each sentence.

1.The patient's rhythmic heartbeat suddently became

2.Fred loved every girl he met and wasn't true to any of them. His friends considered him

when a market offers a bargain on a generic product, they buy it.

172 Lexis

3. The Mississippi River is located in the United States. Where is each of these geographical features located? Give the country, continent, or ocean.

4. Under what conditions would the following flourish?

5.How are the following expressions related to the article in this chapter? Time and tide wait for no man.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

6.Explain the title of this chapter.

7.Explain the diagram below.

174 Lexis

PUTTING WORDS INTO SENTENCES

Ten words have been selected from the original vocabulary list for closer study. These words and their related forms are listed below.

Activity 1

Read the paragraph below, then restate the sentences, using the word forms given. You may need to add words or change the word order to make the sentences logical.

tors in forests during extremely dry seasons is an effective technique to prevent forest fires.