400 Must Have Words for the TOEFL » LESSON 24 - International Trade

Word List
  • distill [diˈstil] v.
    to remove one liquid from a mixture of liquids by boiling; to get something valuable from a confusing mix of ideas
    → The forest peoples of Southeast Asia distill an alcoholic drink called arak from a paste of palm berries.
    Parts of speech     distillation n., distillery n.
  • entrepreneurial [ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːrɪəl] adj.
    Able to create business opportunities from a wide variety of circumstances
    → Many engineers of the 1970s made great computers, but only a few were entrepreneurial enough to see the business possibilities in the new machines.
    Parts of speech     entrepreneur n.
  • extract [ˈekstrækt] v.
    To take out
    → International mining companies came to the Malay Peninsula to extract the region’s massive tin deposits.
    Parts of speech     extraction n., extractor n.
  • haggle [ˈhægl] v.
    To argue back and forth about a price
    → The customer and the shopkeeper haggled over the silver plate for more than an hour.
    Usage tips     Haggle is often followed by a phrase with over or about.
    Parts of speech     haggler n.
  • intrepid [ɪnˈtrepɪd] adj.
    Fearless
    → For nearly 200 years, only the most intrepid colonists would cross the Appalachian Mountains.
  • merchant [ˈməːtʃənt] n.
    A person who makes a living by selling things
    → The spice merchants of the eastern markets charged top prices to the Dutch and British sailors, who had come too far to sail away without buying.
    Usage tips     The word merchant might be preceded by another noun telling what the merchant sells (e.g., spice merchant or wine merchant).
    Parts of speech     merchandise v., merchandise n., mercantile adj.
  • proportionately [prəˈpɔːʃnɪtlɪ] adv.
    In an amount appropriate to each of several recipients
    → The food aid was distributed proportionately per family, with larger families receiving more.
    Parts of speech     proportion n., proportionate adj., proportionally adv.
  • prototype [ˈprəʊtəʊtaɪp] n.
    The first one made of a machine or system
    → The airplane manufacturer uses robots to test every prototype, just in case there is a problem with the design.
  • reward [rɪˈwɔːd] n.
    Something one gets for having done well
    → The greatest reward of being a parent is to see your child make a wise decision.
    Usage tips     Reward might be followed by an of or for phrase naming what one has done well.
    Parts of speech     reward v.
  • shuttle [ˈʃʌtl] v.
    To move back and forth often between two places
    → The small jet shuttles between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore nearly every two hours.
    Parts of speech     shuttle n.

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. haggle(a) brave
______ 2. intrepid(b) in appropriate amounts
______ 3. extract(c) argue about price
______ 4. entrepreneurial(d) take out
______ 5. proportionately(e) business-oriented

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

  1. To avoid disease, many people drink only (distilled / extracted) water, which has been boiled to evaporation and then recondensed on a cold surface.
  2. Most business travelers do not find it exciting to (haggle / shuttle) between one location and another.
  3. According to the laws in this state, tobacco can be sold only by certain licensed (merchants / entrepreneurs) at special tobacco stores.
  4. One early (reward / prototype) of the computer was called ENIAC and was as big as an average-sized laboratory.
  5. The children were punished (intrepidly / proportionately), with the leader getting a longer sentence than the followers.
Answer Key
TOEFL Prep I
  1. c
  2. a
  3. d
  4. e
  5. b
TOEFL Prep II
  1. distilled
  2. shuttle
  3. merchants
  4. prototype
  5. proportionately
Answer Key

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

Tomatoes, potatoes, and hot peppers, all originally from South or Central America, are among several plants that have disproportionately influenced cooking around the world. This happened only after a few intrepid eaters got beyond common fears about potatoes, tomatoes, and other products. Entrepreneurial hunters for new food products hardly knew what they were haggling for when they tried to extract from foreign markets goods that would sell well at home. Shuttling between Europe and exotic lands, Italians, Spaniards, and Britons in particular brought back food prototypes that were not obviously good things to eat—cinnamon bark, cousins of the dreaded nightshade (tomatoes), and even the pollen from a crocus flower (saffron). As a glance at international cookbooks will show, many creative merchants were well rewarded not just with financial success, but with culture-changing influence.

Bonus Structure— As a glance at introduces evidence for the author’s claim.

  1. According to this reading,why did merchants have “culture-changing influence”?
    • a. They found new ways to get from one country to another.
    • b. Many of the plants they sold were poisonous and killed off some populations.
    • c. They made it possible for cultures to develop new dishes.
    • d. They spread European cooking habits around the world.
  2. Cinnamon, tomatoes, and saffron are mentioned to make the point that __________.
    • a. many of the new plants merchants introduced were from Asia
    • b. some strange-looking foods from odd sources were eventually accepted
    • c. nightshade was unfairly dreaded by Europeans
    • d. nearly every part of a plant can be turned into a kind of food
Answer Key
Answer Key
  1. c
  2. b
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.

Read more