400道托福词汇练习题(6)

051. A folk culture is small, isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race, with a strong family or clan structure and highly developed rituals.

The word "homogeneous" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) uniform

(B) general

(C) primitive

(D) traditional

052. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in Anglo-America is the Amish, a German American farming sect that largely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age.

The phrase "largely renounces" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) generally rejects

(B) greatly modifies

(C) loudly declares

(D) often criticizes

053. Secular institutions, of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a money- based economy prevails. Because of these contrasts, "popular" may be viewed as clearly different from "folk".

The word "prevails" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) dominates

(B) provides

(C) develops

(D) invests

054. Conventional computer models of the atmosphere have limited value in predicting short-lived local storms like the Edmonton tornado, because the available weather data are generally not detailed enough to allow computers to discern the subtle atmospheric changes that precede these storms.

The word "subtle" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) complex

(B) regular

(C) imagined

(D) slight

055. Communications satellites can transmit data around the world cheaply and instantaneously, and modern computers can quickly compile and analyzing this large volume of weather information.

The word "compile" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) put together

(B) look up

(C) pile high

(D) work over

056. Meteorologists and computer scientists now work together to design computer programs and video equipment capable of transforming raw weather data into words, symbols, and vivid graphic displays that forecasters can interpret easily and quickly.

The word "raw" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) stormy

(B) inaccurate

(C) uncooked

(D) unprocessed

057. People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in the nation's economy would bring social chaos.

The word "Prospect" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) regret

(B) possibility

(C) theory

(D) circumstance

058. Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the population roughly doubled every generation during the rest of the nineteenth centuries. As the population grew, its makeup also changed.

The word "roughly" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) harshly

(B) surprisingly

(C) slowly

(D) approximately

059. Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility in the nineteenth century had special implications for women because these changes tended to magnify social distinctions. As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home.

The word "magnify" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) solve

(B) explain

(C) analyze

(D) increase

The word "distinctions" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) differences

(B) classes

(C) accomplishments

(D) characteristics

060. In science, a theory is a reasonable explanation of observed events that are related. A theory often involves an imaginary model that helps scientists picture the way an observed event could be produced.

The word "related" is closest in meaning to which of following?

(A) connected

(B) described

(C) completed

(D) identified