TOEFL wordlist 37

1. vanish /'vænɪʃ/

(1). v.If someone or something vanishes, they disappear suddenly or in a way that cannot be explained.

(2). v. If something such as a species of animal or a tradition vanishes, it stops existing.

Some oyster beds have vanished entirely.

2. sequoia /sɪ'kwɔɪə/

n. either of two huge coniferous California trees that reach a height of 300 feet; sometimes placed in the Taxodiaceae

Most visitors come to the National Park only to see some sequoias, but these trees are found in a relatively small area.

3. prairie /'preri/

n. A prairie is a large area of flat, grassy land in North America. Prairies have very few trees.

The tallgrass prairie has been converted into one of the most intensive crop producing areas in North America.

4. tug /tʌɡ/

(1). v. If you tug something or tug at it, you give it a quick and usually strong pull.

(2). n. A tug or a tug boat is a small powerful boat which pulls large ships, usually when they come into a port.

A little girl tugged at my sleeve to get my attention.

5. negate /nɪ'ɡeɪt/

(1). v. If one thing negates another, it causes that other thing to lose the effect or value that it had.

(2). v. If someone negates something, they say that it does not exist.

The new law negated the possibility of a reduction in taxes.

6. clumsy /'klʌmzi/

(1). adj. A clumsy person moves or handles things in a careless, awkward way, often so that things are knocked over or broken.

(2). adj. A clumsy action or statement is not skilful or is likely to upset people.

(3). adj. An object that is clumsy is not neat in design or appearance, and is often awkward to use.

Her clumsy fingers couldn't untie the knot.

7. recession /rɪ'seʃn/

n. A recession is a period when the economy of a country is doing badly, for example because industry is producing less and more people are becoming unemployed.

What they are hoping to do is to come up with a coordinated plan to ease the recession, get their economies back on track and put in place regulatory measures to try to prevent similar crises in the future.

8. reptile /'reptaɪl/

n. Reptiles are a group of cold-blooded animals which have skins covered with small hard plates called scales and lay eggs. Snakes, lizards, and crocodiles are reptiles.

Not until the beginning of the 19th century did it become clear that reptiles and amphibians are in fact quite different animals.

9. swamp /swɑːmp/

(1). n. A swamp is an area of very wet land with wild plants growing in it. 

(2). v. If something swamps a place or object, it fills it with water.

(3). v. If you are swamped by things or people, you have more of them than you can deal with.

Slogging through a swamp in the rain is not funny.

I have been swamped with other things.

10. germinate /'dʒɜːrmɪneɪt/

(1). v. If a seed germinates or if it is germinated, it starts to grow.

(2). v. If an idea, plan, or feeling germinates, it comes into existence and begins to develop.

The idea of establishing her own enterprise started to germinate in her when she was just a college student.

整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。