WEEK 6

GUESSING MEANINGS OF UNKNOWN WORDS

Objectives:
1. to guess the meaning of unknown words from context
2. to find the meaning of a word by using a dictionary

1. Guessing meaning from context / context clues

1a. Guessing meaning from context clues / structural clues

When you read a scientific or technical text in English, you will probably
encounter many words you do not know. Searching for them in a bilingual
dictionary is time consuming and tiring. Sometimes the procedure takes so long
that you become discouraged and close the book. It may be possible to guess the
meaning of a word from the context.

A context is a sentence, paragraph, or longer unit of writing that surrounds

a word. The context sometimes provides structural clues, which include:

3. a definition ( by using verb “be”, that is, etc.)e.g. Graphology isthe study
and analysis of handwriting for the purpose of interpreting character
and personality.

4. punctuations; e.g. commas ( , ), dashes ( – ), brackets, quotation

marks (“…”)
e.g. Natural medicine became hugely popular, especially acupuncture
(an ancient Chinese method of anaesthetizing patients by sticking pins
into points in the nervous system)

5. words showing similarities (e.g. or, in other words, for example, etc)
e.g. Many prominent universities, such as IPB and ITB can produce
qualified human resources.

6. appositives, or more explanation, examples, etc.

e.g. In a remarkable documentary,Wings of Hope, German Director
Werner Herzog recounts the true story of an eighteen year old girl.

7. synonym and antonym

e.g. Everybody knows where the Reynold Building is, but only a few
can have an exhibition in that Grey Building.

8. prefixes / suffixes, etc.

e.g. Alan Macfarlane thinks he could rewrite the story.

57
Sample passage

Two Italian psychologists, Vincenzo Marte and Giovanni

Notarnicola, describe the traditional spontaneous practice of sport by
children – climbing trees, riding a bicycle along quiet roads, racing their
friends across the field – as an activity of freedom, a special activity of
5 discovery and learning. In the case of free sporting activity, the child’s
time is given up entirely to the activity, as can be seen in the endless
games of football young children play, which may then be followed by
bicycle races and/or a swim in the river, for example.
(Source: IELTS on Track, 2003:88)

After reading the above passage, we can make a conclusion that:

a. Vincenzo Marte (line 1) is an Italian psychologists.
b. climbing trees (line 2) is one of the traditional spontaneous practice of sport
by children.
c. an activity of freedom (line 3)means a special activity of discovery and
learning, etc.

Exercise 1
Find the meaning of the underlined words in the following passage

Uncontrolled blazes fueled by weather, wind, and dry underbrush;

wildfires can burn acres of land and consume everything in their paths
in mere minutes. On average, more than 100,000 wildfires, also called
wildland fires or forest fires, clear 4 million to 5 million acres in the U.S.
5 every year.
There are three conditions that need to be present in order for a
wildfire to burn, which firefighters refer to as the fire triangle: fuel, oxygen,
and a heat source. Fuel is any flammable material surrounding fire, and
heat sources help spark the wildfire and bring fuel to temperatures hot
10 enough to ignite.
Although four out of five wildfires are started by people, nature is
more than happy to help fan the flames. Dry weather and drought convert
vegetation into bone-dry, flammable fuel; strong winds spread fire quickly
over land; and warm temperature encourage combustion, the wildfire.

1. The word wildfires in line 2 is _______________________________

2. The words forest fires in line 4 mean ____________________________
3. What is a heat source in line 8? _______________________________
4. The word “fuel” in line 8 means __________________________________
5. The word drought in line 12 probably means _______________________
6. What is wildfire in line 14? _____________________________________

1. b. Guessing meaning from synonyms / antonyms

A synonym means a word having the same or nearly the same meaning as
another in the language, e.g. joyful, elated, glad. The use of synonyms increases
variety and interest by avoiding needless repetition of the same word. An antonym,

58
on the other hand, is a word opposed in meaning to another. For instance, “good”
is the antonym of “bad”. The synonym or/and antonym of specific word with its
specific meaning can be found in the dictionary.

Sample Passage
A first possible reason for the imbalance in the practice of sport by
children is therefore, linked to the urban society we live in today. We need
not regret the past; it is rather a question of knowing how to recreate this
freedom in our towns and in the country, where sport is increasingly
5 based on organized leisure activities. Doing one sport is now the rule in
clubs. Sports grounds are often on the outskirts of cities, and are
overcrowded and invariably enclosed, while recreational areas, such as
parks or hard-parked surfaces, are very few and far between. How can
we find the balance of a varied and spontaneous relationship to sport
under such conditions?
(Source: IELTS on Track, 2003:88)
The passage above includes a number of words with their synonym or/and
antonym.
Words which have similar meaning to the following are:
a. town : urban
b. hard-parked surfaces : park

While the antonym of the following words are:

c. town : country
d. today : past
e. overcrowded : few
f. balance : imbalance

Exercise 2
Read the following passage and then answer the questions.
Sea has a very important role in controlling Earth’s climate by
transferring heat from the equator toward the poles. Without the role of the
ocean, then almost the entire planet Earth would be too cold for humans to
live. Sea is also a source of food, energy (both renewable an
5 nonrenewable), and drugs. The coastal area is also a very large role in
human life. Nearly 50% of the inhabitants of Earth live in the area around
the beach. As we know, more than 70% of the planet Earth is covered by
water (which is mostly ocean).
Oceans also play capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
10 in very large quantities. About a quarter of the CO2 produced by man from
burning of fossil fuels is absorbed and stored in the oceans. In some parts
of the ocean, CO2 can be stored up to be centuries old and very large role
in reducing global warming. Because the ocean is crucial to human life
meaning, then it is the duty of man to keep guard. Ability of the ocean to
15 absorb CO2 is reduced if there is a damage in marine ecosystems such as
the destruction of coral reefs and mangrove forests.

A. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Find one word in paragraph two which has similar meaning to the word
“important” in line 1.

59
2. Mention the synonym of the word “transferring” in line 2.
3. What is the antonym of the “covered” in line 7?
4. Find one word in paragraph one which can be used as the synonym of “a
half”,

B. Indicate whether the following statement is TRUE (T) or FALSE (F)

5. The word “nearly” in line 6 is the synonym as “more than” in line 7.
6. The word “a quarter” can be best replaced by “one-third”
7. The word “absorbed” and “stored” in line 11 are antonym.
8. The word “damage” in line 15 is the antonym of the word “destruction” in
line16.

Below are some examples of synonym and antonym from a dictionary.

Please fill in the blank provided.
No Words Parts of Synonym Antonym
speech
1. abrupt adjective ------------------------------ gradual
2. bulky adjective massive ------------------------
3. clever adjective quick-witted, skillful ------------------------
4. --------------------- adjective chill, freezing hot, warm
5. colloquial adjective conversational, ------------------------
informal
6. combine verb amalgamate, merger ------------------------
7. come verb arrive ------------------------
8. common adjective universal, popular ------------------------

I. c. Guessing meaning from prefixes, suffixes, word stems

Using context clues is a way to discover the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Another way is word analysis, that is looking at the meanings of parts of words.
Many English words have been formed by combining parts of older English, Greek
and Latin words. If you know the meanings of some of these parts, you can often
guess the meaning of unfamiliar English word.

For example, report is formed from re, which means back, and port which
means carry. Scientist is derived from sci, which means know, and ist, which
means one who. Port and sci are called stems. A stem is the basic part on which
groups of related words are built. Re and ist are called affixes, that is word parts
which are attached to stems. Affixes like re, which are attached to the beginning of
stems are called prefixes. Affixes attached to the end, like ist, are called suffixes.

The following are some other examples of Prefixes, Suffixes and Stem words and
their meanings:

60
I. c. 1. PREFIXES

Prefix Meaning Examples

un- not unfortunate, unattractive
dis- not disuse, distrust, disappear, ________, _________
in- (im-, inactive, immature, injustice, imbalance,
ir-, il- not __________,________, _________, ___________
non- nonalcoholic, nonpolitical, _________ , ________
mis- wrongly misfortune, misconduct, __________ , _________

ante- before, preceding antecedent, antedate, _________, _________,

anti- against antigovernment, _____ , ______, _______, _______
co- together, joint co-author, coeducation, _____ , _______,
________
contra- against contradict, ______, _________, __________
Inter- between, among international, ______, ______, ______,
_________
intra- within intrastate, ______, ______, _______, _________
mal- bad, wrong malfunction, _____ , _______, _________,
_______
multi - many multicolored, ______, _____, _________,
________
post- after, later, postwar, _____, ________, __________,
________
pre- before, earlier prewar, ______, _______, ________,
___________
re- again readmit, refill, _______, _______, ________
sub- under, below subnormal, ________, ________, _________
super- above, over superhuman, ________, ________, ________

I. c. 2. SUFFIXES
Suffix Meaning Examples
-full full of
successful, careful, ________, _________
-less without
useless, careless, _________, _________

61
 -able capable of /able to
usable, understandable, _________, __________
-ous of the nature of /
dangerous, mountainous, ________, __________
full of
-er/or the one who …./
reader, speaker, mixer, _________, __________
something which ..
-ist
expert in / having a scientist, dentist, typist, _________, _________
duty as
-ness state of being
happiness, carelessness, _________, _________
-ize to make
minimize, stabilize, ___________, ___________

I. c. 3. STEMS
Stems Meanings Examples

-audi, audit - Hear

-chron Time
-dic, -dict say, speak
-log, -ology speech, study
-scope instrument for seeing or
observing
-phon- Sound
-spir- Breathe
-tele- Far
-anthro-, Man
anthropo-
-onym- Name

Sample passage
The hemp plant, one of the world’s oldest industrial resources, is
back. The rediscovery of this renewable resource is making the fiber of
choice for future textiles, personal care products, building materials, paper
and fuel.
5 Hemp has been grown for paper, textiles, food and medicine
throughout human history. The earliest known woven fabric, made of
hemp, dates back to the eight millennium (8,000-7,000 BC). Hemp seeds
were regularly used as a source of food and protein.
(Source: IELTS on Track, 2003:76)
After reading the above passage, we can guess the meaning of the following:

a. a hem plant is one of the world’s oldest industrial resources

b. rediscovery means the discovery but NOT for the first time, it was discovered
before
c. renewable means can be made into new again, etc.

62
Exercise 3
Explain the meaning of each italicized word below by analyzing its prefix,
suffix and/or word stem.
Today there is much concern with the earth’s dwindling resources. Most of
our energy sources, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, are
nonrenewable resources. If the consumption of these energy sources continues
at the present rate, we can foresee their being used up. For this reason,
5 scientists are taking a closer look at alternate sources of power: nuclear,
geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar. Scientists are now looking into
photovoltaics as a growing solar technology that will be one of the most
valuable sources power in the future.
A photovoltaic cell is also known as a solar cell. At present, photovoltaic
10 cells are used to power everything from watches and calculators to telephone
and orbiting satellites.
Many believers in photovoltaics are excited about plans for a new solar-
powered satellite. It will be launched in the mid-1980s. The satellite will be placed
in such an orbit that it will remain in total sunlight close to 100 percent of the time
15 (unlike earth-bound solar cells that spend part of their time under clouds).

Words Line Prefixes Word Stem Suffix Meaning

nonrenewable 2
foresee 4
scientist 4
geothermal 5
hydroelectric 5
photovoltaics 5
valuable 6
calculators 10
believers 12
Unlike 15

2. Finding the meaning of a word by using a dictionary

2.1. The part of Speech

Knowing “part of speech” is very important in guessing meaning. Read the

following examples:

1. He tried to answer the question.

(in the above sentence, “answer” is a VERB, it is part of the infinitive “to
answer”.
2. It is difficult to find an answer to the problem.
(“answer” is the object of the sentence; therefore, it is a NOUN.)

Thus, in some cases, different parts of speech can have the same spelling. Some
of these words are:

63
 VERB NOUN
cause cause
change change
dream dream
drink drink
edge edge
glow glow
mark mark
watch watch
water water

Other words are related to one another as word families. Although it is

usually very easy to identify the part of speech, word families can be confusing.
Each word in the family is a different part of speech. For example, agreement is a
noun; agreeable is an adjective; to agree is a verb.

Looking at the endings of a word may help you identify the part of speech
of that particular word. For instance:
Nouns derived from Verbs:
Verb Ending Noun
store -age Storage
accept -ance Acceptance
insist -ence Insistence
agree -ment Agreement
authorize -sion/-tion Authorization

Nouns derived from Adjectives:

Adjective Ending Noun
convenient -ce Convenience
redundant -cy Redundancy
opposite -tion Opposition
soft -ness Softness
durable -ty Durability
Adjectives derived from Nouns:
Noun Ending Adjective
possibility -able/-ible Possible
intention -al Intentional
distance -ant Distant
frequency -ent Frequent
juice -y Juicy

Adverbs derived from Adjectives:

Adjective Ending Adverb
efficient -ly Efficiently

64
Exercise 4.

Identify the part of speech of each underlined word, and then write the related
words.
Plant breeding is the purposeful manipulation of plant species in order to
create desired genotypes for specific purposes. This manipulation
involves either controlled pollination, genetic engineering, or both, followed
by artificial selection of progeny.
5 Plant breeding often, but not always, leads to plant domestication.
Plant breeding has been practiced for thousands of years, since near the
beginning of human civilization. It is now practiced worldwide by
government institutions and commercial enterprises. Classical plant
breeding uses deliberate interbreeding of closely or distantly related
10 individuals to produce new crop varieties.

Words/Lines Verb Noun Adjective Adverb

purposeful (1)
create (2)
desired (2)
involves (3)
selection (4)
lead (5)
government (8)
commercial (8)
closely (9)
produce (10)

2. 2. Using a Dictionary

You know that you don’t need to look up every new word in a dictionary
because you can often guess the meanings from the context. Sometimes,
however, you may want to use a dictionary for other purposes-for instance, to find
out the part of speech of a word or to learn related words.
A dictionary will tell you the part of speech a word can be, usually with
these abbreviation: n.= noun, v.= verb, adj. = adjective, adv. = adverb, pre. =
preposition, conj. = conjunction. The abbreviation appears before the meanings
of the word with that part of speech.

Some words have only one meaning. You can find the meaning in a dictionary entry
which sometimes includes an example.
A. Read these dictionary entries and answer the questions about them.

sight-see-ing / ‘sait si’ing/ n visiting places of interest

usu. while on a vacation: We often go sightseeing. –see
also SIGHT' -sightseer /sait si'є/ n

65
1. What part of speech is sightseeing? ______________________________
2. What is the dictionary definition of the word? ________________________
3. What word is related to it? ______________________________________

B. Answer the following questions based on the dictionary entry below.

coach /kəutƒ/ n 1 teacher esp one who gives private lessons to

prepare students for a public examination; 2 person who trains
athletes for contests: a baseball ~. vt, vi teach or train: ~ sb for
an exam; ~ the crew for the boat race.

1. How many parts of speech does the word ‘coach’ have?

2. Which definition (noun or verb) of ‘coach’ means ‘a person who trains
athletes’?
3. As a noun how many meanings does the word ‘coach’ have?
4. What is the other definition of the word?
5. The coach was unhealthy when his players won in the biggest game.
What is the part of speech of the word “coach” in the above sentence
6. What is its meaning?

C. Read the following dictionary entries, and answer the following

questions.
continue /k∂ntInju/ v 1. (cause something to) go or move further. How far does
the road continue? 2. stay, remain. He is to continue as manager. 3. start
again after stopping. The story is continued in the next issue. 4. speak or say
(sth) again after stopping. “And what’s more”, he continued, “they wouldn’t let
me in!” 5. (with sth) (cause sth to) go on existing or happening.
continued adj going on without stopping: continued opposition.
paper /╵peip ∂ (r)/ n 1. [U] substance made in thin sheets from wood pulp
used for writing, printing, etc. a piece of paper; writing paper 2. [C] newspaper:
The Sunday Morning paper has arrived. 3. [C, U] wallpaper: a pretty paper for
the bedroom. 4. [C] a set of examination questions on a particular subject. The
French paper was set by our teacher. 5. article or essay, (esp one read to an
audience of academics or specialists). He read a paper at that conference.
paper v 1. put wallpaper on (the walls of a room): We are papering the
bathroom. 2. (phrase verb) paper something over: cover with wallpaper. We
papered over the stains on the wall.
papery / ╵peip∂ri/ adj like paper in texture.

Answer the questions below based on the above dictionary entries. Choose the
best choice.
1. As a verb, how many meanings does the word “continue” have?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
They continued to rehearse after a small break.
2. What is the part of speech of the word continued in the above sentence?
A. verb B. noun C. adjective D. adverb

66
3. Based on the above dictionary, what is its meaning?
A. going on without stopping C. start again after stopping
B. stay, remain D. speak or say something after stopping
Wet weather may continue for a few more months.
4. What is the part of speech of the word continue in the above sentence?
A. verb B. noun C. adjective D. adverb
5. Based on the above dictionary, what is its meaning?
A. going on without stopping C. start again after stopping
B. stay , remain D. go or move further
This will need continued efforts from all the committee.
6. What is the part of speech of the word continued in the above sentence?
A. verb B. noun C. adjective D. adverb
7. How many parts of speech does the word “paper” have?
A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4
8. What is its related word?
A. paper B. papery C. substance D. wallpaper
9. Which of the following is NOT the meaning of paper?
A. a substance B. wallpaper C. test paper D. writing paper
Where is today’s paper?
10. What is the part of speech of the word “paper” in the above sentence?
A. verb B. noun C. adjective D. adverb
11. According to the dictionary entry, what is the meaning of that word?
A. put wallpaper B. article C. newspaper D. substance
You need to paper the kitchen now.
12. According to the dictionary entry, what is the meaning of that word?
A. put wallpaper B. article C. newspaper D. substance

13. Which of the following is both noun and verb?

A. papery B. paper C. continue D. continued

67
 Exercises for Tutorial Classes
(Week 6)
Exercise 1
Use the context to help you choose the best meaning or synonym for each
underlined word.

Example: The snake slithered through the grass. He was hunting.

The word ‘slithered’ most probably means _______________.

(a) stopped moving (c) ate something
(b) slept in the grass (d)moved or traveled

You must discover what slithered means by using logic. Here are the analyses.
(a) is incorrect because the sentence says “through the grass”. “Through” means
there is some movement.
(b) is incorrect because the sentence says “he is hunting”. Snakes don’t sleep
when they hunt.
(c) is incorrect because the sentence says “he is hunting”. Snakes don’t eat
when they are hunting. They eat after they hunt.
(d) is correct because the sentence says “through the grass”. “Through” means
there is movement.

1. The news story was based on a letter that was a fabrication. Now the reporter
who wrote the story is in big trouble. Will anyone believe him again?
A fabrication is _______________.
(a) made of cloth (b) full of long words (c) funny (d) fake
2. The reporter insisted that the letter he used was authentic. He said that he
had shown it to many experts before he used it in his story.
When something is authentic, it is _______________.
(a) real (b) very old (c) very small (d) tasty
3. The tiger’s roar could be heard in villages far away.
The word ‘roar’ probably means _______________.
(a) food (b) dream (c) ear (d) sound
4. The thought of eating a rat is abhorrent to most people.
The word ‘abhorrent’ probably means _______________.
(a) fun (b) horrible (c) delicious (d) sweet
5. You can trust the salesmen at the store because they always conduct
business in an aboveboard manner.
The word ‘aboveboard’ probably means _______________.
(a) honest (b) dishonest (c) horrible (d) strange
6. Petra has so many friends because she is a gregarious person.
The word ‘gregarious’ probably means _______________.
(a) introvert (b) shy (c) friendly (d) rude
7. After the harvest, we had an abundant amount of apples. We made apple
pie, apple sauce, and apple juice because we had so many apples.

68
 The word ‘abundant’ probably means _______________.
(a) shortage (b) inadequate (c) reddish (d) plentiful

8. When Sara was sick, her voice was almost inaudible. We couldn’t hear what
she was trying to say clearly.
The word ‘inaudible’ probably means _______________.
(a) very loud (b) very soft (c) very strange (d) very shy

9. Hurricanes and tornadoes are treacherous. Only a very foolish person would
go out during that kind of weather.
The word ‘treacherous’ probably means _______________.
(a) exciting (b) dangerous (c) delirious (d) safe

10. Many ships have vanished during hurricanes. No survivors from the lost
ships have ever been found.
The word ‘vanished’ probably means _______________.
(a) arrived (b) departed (c) returned (d) disappeared

Exercise 2
Read the sentences and try to guess the meaning of the underlined words from
the context. Match them with their definitions on the right.
1. Food comes in many different kinds of containers, a) for example
such as bottles, bags, cans, and packages. b) to use again
2. The car was out of gas, so he filled up the gas tank. c) to make
Then, the car was full of gas. something full
3. We use many kinds of paper every day, such as d) many different
paper bags, newspapers, and notebook paper. types
4. We put most of our garbage in landfills, which are e) something
big holes in the ground that hold the garbage. used to hold
5. A department store sells miscellaneous items. It something
sells many different types of things, such as f) to find the
clothing, radios and televisions, and furniture. answer to a
6. Plastic is not a natural material because it is made problem
by people. Wood is a natural material because it g) coming from
comes from trees, which are a part of nature. nature or the
7. We can recycle old cans. We can use the metal earth
from the old cans to make new cans. h) to make
8. If you’re too fat, you can eat less and reduce your smaller
weight. i) a place that
9. “Please throw away your garbage. There is a holds a lot of
garbage can over there.” garbage
10. She couldn’t solve the problem in her homework, so j) to put into the
she asked the teacher to help her find the answer garbage can
to the problem.

69
Exercise 3
Read the following passage and try to guess the meanings of the underlined words.
Make your own guesses based on the context. Then, check the guided questions
and answer them.
When we hear the word shark, we probably 1. ‘Shark’ is a _________.
think of a big dangerous fish that kills and eats people,
2. We can say that an
like the shark in the movie Jaws. This is a very popular
animal is dangerous
movie about a dangerous shark that attacked and
when it _____________
killed many people. The shark in the movie was a
people.
Great White shark. This species of sharks is the most
dangerous to people. Great White sharks can 3. Jaws is a __________.
sometimes grow to be 40 feet long. 4. When a shark grows, it
Most people are afraid of sharks because they gets __________.
sometimes attack swimmers and surfers, but in reality, 5. Surfers do their
only some species of sharks are dangerous to people. activities at _________.
There are about 350 species of sharks that live in 6. When sharks are huge,
oceans all over the world, but most of these species they are very ________.
don’t attack people. For example, some sharks are
very small – the smallest shark is only about 6 inches 7. When we weigh
long and they only eat small fish. The largest species something, the unit is
of sharks are huge – they may be 60 feet long and measured in ________.
weigh 15 tons, but these large sharks do not eat 8. The opposite of ‘large’
people, either. They eat small animals and sea plants is __________.
that live in the ocean. Most other species of sharks eat 9. Seals live in ________.
fish, seals, and sometimes even garbage in the ocean.

Exercise 4
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
1)
Scientists are reporting for the first time that the use of weed killers
in farmers' fields boosts the nutritional value of an important food crop.
Application of two common herbicides to several varieties of sweet corn
significantly increased the amount of key nutrients termed carotenoids
5 in the corn kernels, according to a new study.
2)
In the new study, Dean Kopsell and colleagues note that farmers
grow about 240,000 acres of sweet corn in the United States each year,
making it an important food crop. Corn is among only a few vegetable
crops that are good sources of zeaxanthin carotenoids. Consuming
10 carotenoid-rich vegetables may reduce the risk of age-related macular
degeneration (a leading cause of vision loss among older people), heart
disease, and cancer, the study notes.
3)
The scientists exposed several varieties of sweet corn plants to
the herbicide mesotrione or a combination of mesotrione and atrazine,
15 another commonly used weed killer, and harvested mature corn 45 days
later. Herbicide applications made the corn an even-better source of
carotenoids, boosting levels in the mature kernels of some varieties by up
to 15 percent. It specifically increased levels of lutein and zeaxanthin,
the major carotenoids in sweet corn kernels, which studies have linked to
20 a reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration.

70
Answer the following questions
1. Read Paragraph 1 & 3 and find the synonyms of the following words in the
same paragraphs
a. herbicides (line 3) d. atrazine (line 14)
b. increased (line 4) e. lutein and zeaxanthin (line 18)
c. carotenoids (line 4)
2. The following words are taken from the passage. Can you fill in the other
parts of speech of the same root? You may consult your dictionary.

Line Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

4 significantly
10 related
13 scientist
14 combination
16 application

3. Find the following pairs of words in the passage. Can you identify their
parts of speech as they appear in the passage? Give your reason for your
decision.
a. use (line 1) vs. used (line 15)
b. increased (line 4) vs. increased (line 18)
c. study (line 6) vs. studies (line 19)
d. note (line 6) vs. notes (line 12)
e. reduce (line 10) vs. reduced (line 20)

4. Find the following words in the passage and identify what they refer to.
a. it (line 8) c. It (line 18)
b. that (line 9) d. which (line 19)
5. What is the topic of the passage above?
6. In which paragraph does the writer state the names of two common
herbicides stated in line 3? What are they?
7. The writer mentions several diseases whose risk can be reduced with the
consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables. What diseases are they?
8. How soon after the exposure of herbicide can you harvest the corn?
9. By reading Paragraph 3 we can conclude that kernels are parts of ____
10. Why does the writer think that ‘corn’ is an important food crop?
11. There are four different tenses used in the passage above. What are they?
Write down one example of each tense that you can find in the passage.
12. Find examples of the following forms of noun phrases in the passage.
a. Noun of Noun c. Quantity + Noun
b. Adjective + Noun d. Noun Modifier + Noun
13. Find two examples of noun clauses in the passage.

71
Exercise 5
Use the dictionary entries below to answer the questions that follow.

agriculture /æg.rɪ.kʌl.tʃə r / US /-tʃɚ/ noun[U]farming: Agriculture is still largely based

on traditional methods in some countries. The area depends on agriculture for
most of its income. Seventy percent of the country's population practices
subsistence agriculture. Compare horticulture.
agricultural /æg.rɪkʌl.tʃ ə r. ə l/ US /-tʃɚ. ə l/ adjective The world's supply of agricultural
land is shrinking fast. She's studying agricultural science. The country's
economy is mainly agricultural (= based on farming) and depends on crops like
coffee.
agrochemical /æg.rə ʊ kem.ɪ.k ə l/ US /-roʊ-/ noun[C] a chemical that is used in farming
to help grow crops or kill insects
ecology /ɪkɒl.ə.dʒi/ US /-kɑ.lə-/ noun[U]the relationships between the air, land, water,
animals, plants, etc., usually of a particular area, or the scientific study of this:
The oil spill caused terrible damage to the fragile ecology of the coast. She
hopes to study ecology at college.
ecological /i.kəlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ US /-lɑ.dʒɪ-/ adjective relating to ecology or the environment:
The destruction of the rain forests is an ecological disaster that threatens the
future of life on Earth.
ecologically /i.kəlɒdʒ.ɪ.kli/ US /-lɑ.dʒɪ-/ adverb It's an ecologically friendly/sound
(=not harmful) means of transportation.
ecologist /ɪkɒl.ə.dʒɪst/ US /-kɑ.lə-/ noun[C] a person who studies the natural
relationships between the air, land, water, animals, plants, etc.

1. What is the part of speech of ‘agriculture’?

2. Are both ‘agricultural’ and ‘agrochemical’ adjectives?
3. Can we have the word ‘ecology’ in a plural form? Why?
4. What do you call someone who studies ecology?
5. Complete the following sentences with the suitable word from the dictionary
entries above.
a. Not all students in this university are studying __________ sciences.
b. People are now turning to use ‘bio-fuel’ because it is __________
friendly.
c. Some farmers in this country are still practicing traditional ways in
__________.
d. If we do not take care of our environment well, we will disturb the
balance of our __________.
e. The researchers used __________ in their research to help them
grow crops better.

72
Exercise 6
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
1)
Finding renewable and economic sources of energy is one of the
most important concerns for the continuation of the human species. New
research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal
Biotechnology for Biofuels, has produced a novelstrain of yeast with
5 improved xylose tolerance and metabolism, and consequently improved
ethanol production.
2)
Bioethanol is considered one of cleanest renewable
replacements for fossil fuel. However, using glucose from crops, such as
sugar cane or starch crops, uses up resources which could otherwise be
10 used to produce food. Xylose is the second most abundant sugar in plants
(after glucose) and is plentiful in agricultural and wood waste. However,
the yeast which is most efficient at producing ethanol cannot ferment
pentose sugars, such as xylose, and yeast which can ferment xylose is
not very good at producing ethanol.
3)
15 Researchers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore, used the
process of gene shuffling to integrate the genomes of xylose tolerant P.
Stipitis and the glucose loving, ethanol tolerant (but xylose intolerant) S.
Cerevisiae. In the first round of shuffling the P. Stipitis genome was
transferred into S. Cerevisiae. Recombinant strains were selected for
20 their ability to grow on xylose and then for their ability to produce ethanol.
In the second round of gene shuffling the S. Cerevisiae genome was
transferred into the best of these strains and the resulting strains were
tested for ethanol tolerance. Anli Geng, who led this study, explained that
they produced hybrid yeast, capable of producing bioethanol from xylose,
25 which was also able to survive in high concentrations of ethanol. The main
by-product of xylose fermentation was xylitol and by measuring this, along
with ethanol production, they found that their hybrid was more efficient at
using xylose and in producing ethanol than either of the parent strains.
This yeast is only a prototype and further improvement is possible.
30 However, their results show that there is a future in recycling waste
vegetation into bioethanol.

A. Write T if the following statement is TRUE, and F if it is FALSE based

on the passage above.

1. The passage above mainly talks about the importance of finding alternative
sources of energy.
2. The word ‘concerns’ in line 2 is a verb.
3. Paragraph One implies that xylose can be used to produce ethanol.
4. According to the passage bioethanol is the cleanest source of energy.
5. From Paragraph Two we know that both glucose and xylose are sugars.
6. The word ‘plentiful’ is line 11 is opposite to ‘abundant’ (line 10).
7. Both agricultural waste and wood waste contain a lot of sugar.
8. The word ‘ferment’ in line 12 is an adjective.
9. Xylose is one example of pentose sugars.

73
10. S. Cerevisiae is as tolerant to xylose as P. Stipitis.
11. The word ‘round’ line 18 means ‘circular’.
12. The word ‘their’ in line 20 refers to ‘xylose’.
13. ‘These strains’ in line 22 refers to ‘recombinant strains’.
14. The word ‘they’ in line 23 refers to ‘the resulting strains’.
15. The yeast that the researchers produced is used to produce bioethanol.
16. The word ‘this’ in line 26 refers to xylitol.
17. “The parent strains’ in lines 28-29 refers to ‘both recombinant strains and
the resulting strains’.
18. ‘This yeast’ in line 29 refers to ‘hybrid yeast’.

B. Find the meanings of the following words taken from the passage by
referring to the dictionary entries below.
1. concerns (line 2)
2. novel (line 4)
3. strain (line 4)
4. shuffling (line 16)

concern(INVOLVE)USverb1 [T] to be important to someone or to involve

someone directly: Matters of pollution and the environment concern us all. What I have
to say to Amy doesn't concern you.2 [T] FORMAL If a story, film or article concerns a
particular subject, person, etc., it is about that person or subject: The film concerns a
woman who goes to China as a missionary.3 [R] to become involved with something, or
worried about something: There's no need for you to concern yourself with what
happened. Don't concern yourself. She'll be home soon. To whom it may concern
something you write at the start of a formal letter or notice when you do not know
exactly who it should be addressed to
concernUSnoun [C or U] something that involves or affects you or is
important to you: What were the major concerns of the writers from this period? I don't
want to hear about it - it's no concern of mine!"What's happening?" "That's none of/not
any of your concern ."be of concern to be important: The results of the election are of
concern to us all.
concernedUSadjective [after verb] involved in something or affected by
it: I'd like to thank everyone concerned for making the occasion run so smoothly. It was
quite a shock for all/everyone concerned. Her job is something concerned with
computers. I'm not very good where money is concerned (= when dealing with
money).be concerned with sth/sb to be about a particular thing or person: Today's
lesson is concerned with punctuation. as far as sb is concerned in a particular person's
opinion: As far as I'm concerned, feng shui is a load of rubbish. as far as sth is
concerned if we are discussing or thinking about a particular thing: As far as
unemployment's concerned, a change of government would be a good idea.
concerningUSpreposition SLIGHTLY FORMAL about: I've had a letter
from the tax authorities concerning my tax payments.
novel(BOOK)USnoun [C] a long printed story about imaginary characters
and events: a paperback novel historical/romantic novels. Have you read any of Jane
Austen's novels? His latest novel is selling really well
.novelistUSnoun [C] a person who writes novels

74
 novel(NEW)USadjective new and original, not like anything seen before:
a novel idea/suggestion Keeping a sheep in the garden is a novel way of keeping the
grass short!
shuffle(MOVE AROUND)verb [T] to move similar things from one position or place
to another, often to give an appearance of activity when nothing useful is being done:
She shuffled her papers nervously on her desk. Many prisoners have to be shuffled
around police stations because of prison overcrowding.
shufflenoun [C] 1 when things are moved around from one position to another: She
gave her papers a quick shuffle.2 MAINLY US a reshuffle
strain(TYPE)noun [C] 1 a particular type or quality: A strain of puritanism runs
through all her work.2 an animal or plant from a particular group whose characteristics
are different in some way from others of the same group: Scientists have discovered a
new strain of the virus which is much more dangerous.

C. Many words in different languages are formed by adding affixes to base

words. Write down the root of the following words taken from the passage
and fill in the prefix or suffix when there is one.

Line Word Prefix Base (Root) Suffix

1 renewable re~ new ~able
7 replacements
15 researchers
19 recombinant

D. Some affixes add meanings to the base words, and some others signal a
change in parts of speech. Identify the prefix/suffix of the following words
taken from the passage and write down the meanings or the parts of
speech.

Line Word Prefix/Suffix Meaning Part of Speech

1 renewable re~ again
~able can be Adjective
1 economic
5 tolerance
5 consequently
6 production
11 plentiful
11 agricultural
12 efficient
15 researchers
17 tolerant
20 ability
29 improvement

75