400 Must Have Words for the TOEFL » LESSON 19 - History

Word List
  • chronologically [ˌkrɒnəˈlɒdʒɪkəlɪ] adv.
    In order according to time
    → Allen’s book is arranged chronologically, from the First Crusade in 1095 to the fall of Granada in 1492.
    Usage tips     Chronologically is often used with arranged, organized, listed, or some other word for order.
    Parts of speech     chronology n., chronological adj.
  • coincide [ˌkəʊɪnˈsaɪd] v.
    Happen or exist at the same time
    → The Viking attacks on western Europe coincided with an abnormally warm period in the Earth’s climate.
    Usage tips     Coincide is often followed by a with phrase.
    Parts of speech     coincidence n., coincidental adj., coincidentally adv.
  • consequence [ˈkɒnsɪkwəns] n.
    A result, often one much later in time than the cause
    → One consequence of global warming may be the flooding of lowlying islands.
    Usage tips     Consequence usually implies something negative or serious about the result.
    Parts of speech     consequent adj., consequently adv.
  • core [kɔːr] n.
    an area or object at the center
    → The core of India’s film industry is in Bombay,where all but a few film studios are located.
    Usage tips     Core is often followed by another noun (e.g., core principle) or by an of phrase.
  • deny [diˈnai] v.
    Say that something is not true
    → Movie star Allen Butcher denied that he and the Princess of Denmark were getting married.
    Usage tips     Deny is often followed by the -ing form of a verb or by a that clause.
    Parts of speech     denial n., deniably adv.
  • diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] v.
    Make something smaller or weaker; become smaller or weaker
    → The Protestant Reformation diminished the power of the Roman Catholic Pope.
  • longitude [ˈlɒŋgɪtjuːd] n.
    A system of imaginary lines running from north to south along the Earth’s surface, where each line is numbered from 0º to 180° west or east
    → The prime meridian, a line running through Greenwich, England, is marked as 0° longitude.
    Parts of speech     longitudinal adj., longitudinally adv.
  • milieu [ˈmiːljɜː] n.
    General environment or surroundings
    → Many Vietnam veterans did not feel comfortable in the antiwar social milieu of the 1970s.
  • Orwellian [ɔrˈwɛliən] adj.
    Frightening and overcontrolled by a government that interferes in nearly every aspect of personal life
    → Biometric devices like eye-scanners allow an Orwellian level of government knowledge about everyone’s location.
  • reconciliation [ˌrekənsɪlɪˈeɪʃən] n.
    Coming back together peacefully after having been enemies
    → South Africa avoided a bloodbath after apartheid by setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
    Parts of speech     reconcile v., reconciliatory adj.

TOEFL Prep I Find the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to each word in the left-hand column. Write the letter in the blank.

______ 1. deny(a) say something isn’t true
______ 2. chronologically(b) an end to being enemies
______ 3. consequence(c) middle
______ 4. reconciliation(d) in the order in which events happened
______ 5. core(e) result

TOEFL Prep II Circle the word that best completes each sentence.

  1. When a nation becomes unwilling to listen to its allies,its international influence will (deny / diminish).
  2. The release of many new movies (coincides / consequences) with the start of the holiday period.
  3. The (core / milieu) of Roman power shifted to Constantinople after Rome was attacked repeatedly by armies from the north.
  4. As our government becomes better at monitoring us, an (Orwellian / coincidental) future awaits us.
  5. As you move directly east from one point on the Earth to another, your (longitude / chronology) changes.
Answer Key
TOEFL Prep I
  1. a
  2. d
  3. e
  4. b
  5. c
TOEFL Prep II
  1. diminish
  2. coincides
  3. core
  4. Orwellian
  5. longitude
Answer Key

TOEFL Success Read the passage to review the vocabulary you have learned. Answer the questions that follow.

Revisionist history promotes a new view of chronological events, usually for political purposes. Radical revisionists diminish the credibility of a previous view and may even deny that certain events happened at all. Some revisionist Asian historians have ignored long-standing conflicts among native peoples and have explained Asia’s conflicts as a consequence of colonialism and its class-oriented cultural milieu. Good motives among the revisionists—to promote reconciliation among traditional rivals—don’t excuse bad history. History is valuable only if its stories coincide with verifiable facts. From far away, an observer may see clearly that a given conflict had nothing to do with colonialism and a lot to do with 1,000-year-old rivalries. But this is not likely to matter much to a confirmed revisionist historian. At its core, revisionism—by the government in particular—is an Orwellian exercise in thought control, not honest science.

Bonus Structure— Good motives don’t excuse bad history. Even though revisionists are trying to achieve a good social goal, they shouldn’t distort history to do so.

  1. Which sentence best expresses the essential information of this passage?
    • a. Historians constantly revise history in the light of new facts.
    • b. Revisionist history is less concerned with accuracy than with promoting a point of view.
    • c. A new way of studying history, revisionism, has been very successful in Asia.
    • d. Revisionist history is the only way to accurately relate events.
  2. Why does the author of this reading mention Asia?
    • a. because it offers an example of attempts at revisionist history
    • b. because a civil war occurred between revisionists and others
    • c. because it is the birthplace of revisionist history
    • d. because it was colonized by Europeans and needs a revisionist history
Answer Key
Answer Key
  1. b
  2. a
Favorite Books
Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know

The study of the English language has spread all over the world, and high school and college students everywhere have come to realize that language mastery depends on the possession of a comprehensive vocabulary. This is just what 1100 Words You Need to Know has been offering through the five earlier editions and continuing on this sixth one.

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