Verbal Analogies

A Vocabulary lesson for mid - high Intermediate 

It's funny to hear children talk naively about age. "He's a nice guy," one will say, "but he's old." "Oh, how old is he?" "I don't know. Forty, I guess. Your age."
In the year 1200, forty may have been old, but it isn't any longer. For well-understood reasons, life expectancy has increased significantly in the last century. People are eating healthier, smoking less, and better understand the benefits of exercise. Thanks to advances in medicine and public health, are well on their way to addressing chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
The result is mind-blowing. In 1900, an American could anticipate a life span of 48 years, whereas in 2000, the average life span climbed to 75!
Naturally, this leads us to speculate, "What is the limit? How old is old?" According to records believed to be authentic, a man in Japan lived to the age of 120.
Scientists agree that the answer lies in these three factors: genetics, environment and lifestle. It may not be easy, but people can change their environments and their lifestyles. However, for a long time, most experts felt that little could be done about the first, genetics. Now, with recent scientific advances, there's reason to wonder whether that is true. For example, Helen Brau of Stanford University was able to modify the genetic make-up of muscle mass, where they would produce human growth hormone. (Human growth hormone, a synthetic version of the hormone produced by the pituitary gland, has been shown to reverse the effects of aging.)
Skeptics say that it's silly to want to add more and more years to one's life. What matters, they assert, is the quality of that life. Enjoy yourself, they say, and let the end come when it will.
Either way, we now have reason to wonder whether Ponce de Leon's "Fountain of Youth" is more than just a myth. We seem to be closer than ever to shattering our previous conceptions of the average human life span.

Read each sentence to decide if the underlined word is used correctly in context.

1. Sandra had a naive view of the world: she was suspicious of everyone.
2. In trying to determine which patients to treat first, the doctors had to figure out which injuries were significant and which were slight.
3. Whether Matt earns on A on the science exam is a matter of great public interest, as he discusses his test scores only with his best friend.
4. Terri's rash had all the makings of a chronic condition: it appeared that one time...and never again.
5. The three-game series was completely sold out, and the announcers correctly concluded that the fans eagerly anticipated these important games.

Use the correct forms of the following words to complete this paragraph:
speculate, authentic, modify, altered, mass

No one can deny how beautiful diamonds can be, but an untrained observer might not be able to tell whether a stone is even ______________. Have you ever seen a brilliantly shinin diamond on a woman's finger? It's hard to realize that once it was simply a _____________. Tons and tons of pressure have so dramatically ______________its appearance. A non-expert can only _______________ about the steps a gem cutter must take in order to _______________ the stone to its final shape.

Select the word closest in meaning to the given form of the list of word.

1. __________ synthetic
a. unbelievable     b. lengthy     c. nearby     d. manmade

2. __________ skeptic
a. disbeliever     b. infant     c. student     d. expert

3. __________ assert
a. manage     b. create     c. claim     d. obliterate

4. __________ myth
a. legend     b. athlete     c. wizard     d. hero

5. __________ conception
a. attempt     b. victory     c. idea     d. simplicity

Verbal Analogies
One way to test your knowledge of words is a task known as a verbal analogy.
example:

temperature: thermometer:: weight : scale

An analogy consists of two pairs of words, with each pair domonstrating the same relationship. In this case, you realized that temperature is measured by a thermometer, just as weight is measured by a scale.

 

Try these:

 

1. wizardry : magician :: diagnosis : _____

a. realtor   b. doctor  c. printer  d. athlete

2. cliche : overused :: miser : _____
a. generous  b. skimpy  c. old  d. cheap

3. agile : awkward :: immune : _____
a. vulnerable  b. treated  c. sticky  d. painful

4. naive : sophisticated :: public : ____
a. assertive  b. authentic  c. private  d. significant

 

At first glance, the thought of living a long life is a very attractive one. If we look at the amazing difference in life spans from 1900 to 2000, it's hard to find any negatives at all!

What if life could be extended even more? By a lot! A significant number of problems would result. Write at paragraph using as many words from this lesson describing some possible negative outcomes of longer life spans.