How to Use This Book

Build Your Vocabulary

People haves three vocabularies in each language that they speak:

■A speaking vocabulary—words and expressions we use every day to communicate

■A listening vocabulary—words and expressions we have heard but may have never used

■A reading vocabulary—words and expressions we have encountered in print but have neither heard nor used

One of the best ways to increase your vocabulary is to make a conscious effort to move words from your listening or reading vocabularies to your speaking vocabulary—the words you not only understand, but also use. This book is especially helpful because the exercises you complete help you use your new vocabulary words so you know them cold. Suddenly, you’ll find yourself speaking and writing with these new words, and you will also find that reading will become much easier as you begin to recognize more and more words.

Test makers try to assess how well you have absorbed your language and how well you can use and identify the words you know to express yourself and understand others. Each lesson in this book will help you show test makers and prospective employers that you know how to communicate clearly and effectively, and that you understand what others are communicating to you. Once you have learned the vocabulary words and completed the exercises in this book, you’ll have what you need to ace any exam or job interview.

Write It Down

If this book is yours, write in it as much as you like. Write your answers in the blanks indicated and write notes to yourself in the margins. It is meant for you to consume. Pull out important details from the surrounding text to make them more visible and accessible to you. Underline or highlight information that

seems important to you. Make notes in the margins that will help you follow what’s important as you practice and learn your new words.

Make Flash Cards

If you are having trouble remembering words, even after the drills and practice exercises in the book, buy some index cards and make flash cards for yourself. Write a vocabulary word on one side of the card, and then write its definition, synonyms, antonyms, or other essential information on the other side of the card. You can carry the cards with you to review when you have a free moment.

Ask for Help

Enlist a friend or relative to help drill you on any word with which you are having trouble. You’ll be surprised at how much more you will remember if you share what you know with someone else, and if they help you come up with clues to help jog your memory.

Keep a List

In addition to the words you learn in this book, make a list of flash cards of new, useful words that you encounter at work, at school, on TV, in your reading, or even at home. They will more than double the benefit you will get from using this book.

How the Book Is Set Up

Each chapter of this book that contains a word list starts with a crossword puzzle to help you get acquainted with your new words. Do your best to fill it in; if there are some words you don’t recognize, you can flip to the next page, where you will find the full definition, pronunciation and part of speech of each word in the word list. Take a good look at how each word is pronounced, especially the accented syllables. You should pronounce each word aloud several times. The sentence below each definition illustrates the word’s meaning. You should fill in the blank inside each sen-

tence with the correct word from the list. It is a good idea to say the entire sentence aloud.

Second, you will encounter several words from the Vocabulary List in context. If you do not remember the meaning of the words, you should circle any clues in the text that might help you figure out the meaning of these unfamiliar words.

Then, you will read and fill in the blank to complete the sentence by selecting the best choice from the Vocabulary List on which you are working. Read each sentence slowly and carefully. There are usually clues within each sentence that tell you which word from the list is the best choice.

Next, you will encounter exercises that revolve around synonyms and antonyms. You will read a group of words and decide which one is not a synonym. Then, you will read a group of words and select the word from the Vocabulary List that is most nearly opposite in meaning from the entire group of words.

You will also complete matching, true/false, and choosing the right word exercises that will help you reinforce the meanings of each new word you have learned. Then, at the end of the book, you will take a 75-question posttest so that you can see how much you’ve learned as you’ve worked through this book.

The pretest that follows this Introduction will help you see how good you are at identifying unfamiliar words. Then, Chapters 3 and 4 will teach you about the basics of vocabulary. In Chapter 3, you’ll learn important vocabulary terms and about language origins, and then in Chapter 4, you’ll learn important spelling rules to help you become a better speller, even on those tricky or foreign words. Then, you’ll get to the word lists. The 15 Vocabulary List chapters consist of helpful exercises to drill you on new words, so that by the end of each lesson, you’ll know them inside out. Finally, completing the posttest will show you how far you’ve come, and how well you know your new words.

You can also refer to Appendices A and B to learn important studying strategies and find out about other valuable resources.

Self-Analysis

Find out how you feel about your own vocabulary with the following self-assessment. Put a check next to the sentences that best describe your own vocabulary habits.

1.I feel confident that I express myself clearly in speaking.

2.I sometimes feel uncomfortable when I know what I want to say but just can’t think of the right word.

3.I notice unfamiliar words in print and wonder about their meanings.

4.Sometimes I come across unfamiliar words in print and feel that I should know them.

5.I remember words that I had on vocabulary quizzes and tests at school.

6.If I write down new words, I can learn them.

7.If I come across an unfamiliar word in print, I will look it up in the dictionary.

8.If I come across an unfamiliar word in print, I will ask someone to tell me the meaning.

9.If I hear an unfamiliar word in conversation or on TV, I will ask someone to tell me its meaning.

10.If I hear or see an unfamiliar word, I am usually embarrassed to ask for or to look up its meaning.

Your answers to these questions should give you a good sense of how you feel about and use your vocabulary.