Barron 3500 SAT List 31

Question 0

missive

Answer 0

N. /信件/letter. The ambassador received a missive from the secretary of state.

Question 1

missile

Answer 1

N. /投掷物/object to be thrown or projected. After carefully folding his book report into a paper airplane, Beavis threw the missile across the classroom at Butthead. Rocket scien¬tists are building guided missiles; Beavis and Butthead can barely make unguided ones.

Question 2

mite

Answer 2

N. /小东西；小硬币/very small object or creature; small coin. Gnats are annoying mites that sting.

Question 3

mitigate

Answer 3

V. /减轻；减缓；中和/appease; moderate. Nothing Jason did could mitigate Medea’s anger; she refused to forgive him for betraying her.

Question 4

mnemonic

Answer 4

ADJ. /记忆的/pertaining to memory. He used mnemonic tricks to master new words.

Question 5

mobile

Answer 5

ADJ. /移动的/movable; not fixed. The mobile blood bank operated by the Red Cross visited our neighborhood today. mobility, N.

Question 6

mock

Answer 6

V. /嘲弄，嘲笑/ridicule; imitate, often in derision. It is unkind to mock anyone; it is stupid to mock anyone significantly big¬ger than you. mockery, N.

Question 7

mode

Answer 7

N. /时尚；方式；模式/prevailing style; manner; way of doing some¬thing. The rock star had to have her hair done in the latest mode: frizzed, with occasional moussed spikes for variety. Henry plans to adopt a simpler mode of life: he is going to become a mushroom hunter and live off the land.

Question 8

modicum

Answer 8

N. /少量/limited quantity. Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious.

Question 9

modulate

Answer 9

V. /控制；调制到标准；调制（信号）/tone down in intensity; regulate; change from one key to another. Always singing at the top of her lungs, the budding Brunhilde never learned to modulate her voice.

Question 10

molecule

Answer 10

N. /分子/the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance, having all the properties of that substance. In chemistry, we study how atoms and molecules react to form new substances.

Question 11

mollify

Answer 11

V. /平息；安抚/soothe. The airline customer service representa¬tive tried to mollify the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.

Question 12

molt

Answer 12

V. /换毛；褪毛/shed or cast off hair or feathers. When Molly’s canary molted, he shed feathers all over the house.

Question 13

molten

Answer 13

ADJ. /融化了的/melted. The city of Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic ash rather than by molten lava flowing from Mount Vesuvius.

Question 14

momentous

Answer 14

ADJ. /非常重要的/very important. When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium, they had no idea of the momen¬tous impact their discovery would have upon society.

Question 15

momentum

Answer 15

N. /动量；动力/quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus. The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill.

Question 16

monarchy

Answer 16

N. /君主制；君主整体/government under a single ruler. Though England today is a monarchy, there is some question whether it will be one in twenty years, given the present dis¬content at the prospect of Prince Charles as king.

Question 17

monastic

Answer 17

ADJ. /僧侣的；遁入空门的，不问世事/related to monks or monasteries; removed from worldly concerns. Withdrawing from the world, Thomas Merton joined a contemplative religious order and adopted the monastic life.

Question 18

monetary

Answer 18

ADJ. /金融的/pertaining to money. Jane held the family purse strings: she made all monetary decisions affecting the household.

Question 19

monochromatic

Answer 19

ADJ. /单色的/having only one color. Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly monochromatic view of a world all in shades of gray.

Question 20

monolithic

Answer 20

ADJ. /单片的，单块的；一体不动摇的/solidly uniform; unyielding. Knowing the importance of appearing resolute, the patriots sought to present a monolithic front.

Question 21

monosyllabic

Answer 21

ADJ. /单音节的/having only one syllable. No matter what he was asked, the taciturn New Englander answered with a monosyllabic “Yep” or “Nope.” monosyllable, N.

Question 22

monotony

Answer 22

N. /千篇一律的/sameness leading to boredom. What could be more deadly dull than the monotony of punching num¬bers into a computer hour after hour?

Question 23

montage

Answer 23

N. /蒙太奇/photographic composition combining ele¬ments from different sources. In one early montage, Beauchamp brought together pictures of broken man¬nequins and newspaper clippings about the Vietnam War.

Question 24

monumental

Answer 24

ADJ. /雄伟的；厚重的；结实的；纪念的/massive. Writing a dictionary is a monu-mental task.

Question 25

moodiness

Answer 25

N. /闷闷不乐/fits of depression or gloom. Her recurrent moodiness left her feeling as if she had fallen into a black hole.

Question 26

moratorium

Answer 26

N. /延期偿还/legal delay of payment. If we declare a moratorium and delay collection of debts for six months, I am sure the farmers will be able to meet their bills.

Question 27

morbid

Answer 27

ADJ. /病态的，恐怖的；喜怒无常的；不成熟的/given to unwholesome thought; moody; char¬acteristic of disease. People who come to disaster sites just to peer at the grisly wreckage are indulging their morbid curiosity.

Question 28

mores

Answer 28

N. /风俗习惯/conventions; moral standards; customs. In America, Benazir Bhutto dressed as Western women did; in Pakistan, however, she followed the mores of her people, dressing in traditional veil and robes.

Question 29

moribund

Answer 29

ADJ. /垂死的/dying. Hearst took a moribund, failing weekly newspaper and transformed it into one of the liveli¬est, most profitable daily papers around.

Question 30

morose

Answer 30

ADJ. /郁闷的；乖僻的/ill-humored; sullen; melancholy. Forced to take early retirement, Bill acted morose for months; then, all of a sudden, he shook off his sullen mood and was his usual cheerful self.

Question 31

mortician

Answer 31

N. /殡仪业者/undertaker. The mortician prepared the corpse for burial.

Question 32

mortify

Answer 32

V. /侮辱；体罚/humiliate; punish the flesh. She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.

Question 33

mosaic

Answer 33

N. /马赛克/picture made of colorful small inlaid tiles. The mayor compared the city to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth.

Question 34

mote

Answer 34

N. /小半点/small speck. The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful.

Question 35

motif

Answer 35

N. /主旨，本意；动机/theme. This simple motif runs throughout the entire score.

Question 36

motley

Answer 36

ADJ. /多彩的，杂色的；混合的/multi-colored; mixed. The jester wore a motley tunic, red and green and blue and gold all patched together haphazardly. Captain Ahab had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel: old sea dogs and runaway boys, pil¬lars of the church and drunkards, even a tattooed islander who terrified the rest of the crew.

Question 37

mottled

Answer 37

ADJ. /有斑点的；弄脏的/blotched in coloring; spotted. When old Fal¬staff blushed, his face was mottled with embarrassment, all pink and purple and red.

Question 38

muddle

Answer 38

V. /迷惑的；搞乱了的，混淆了的/confuse; mix up. His thoughts were muddled and chaotic. also N.

Question 39

muggy

Answer 39

ADJ. /又热又潮的（天气）/warm and damp. August in New York City is often muggy.

Question 40

multifaceted

Answer 40

ADJ. /多面的/having many aspects. A multifaceted composer, Roger Davidson has recorded original pieces that range from ragtime tangos to choral masses.

Question 41

multifarious

Answer 41

ADJ. /多样的；各式各样的/varied; greatly diversified. A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multi¬farious activities of her daily life.

Question 42

multiform

Answer 42

ADJ. /多态的/having many forms. Snowflakes are multi¬form but always hexagonal.

Question 43

multilingual

Answer 43

ADJ. /多语种的/having many languages. Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual.

Question 44

multiplicity

Answer 44

N. /多样性/state of being numerous. He was appalled by the multiplicity of details he had to complete before set¬ting out on his mission.

Question 45

mundane

Answer 45

ADJ. /世俗的；日常的/worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions, Tom talked only of mundane matters such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.

Question 46

munificent

Answer 46

ADJ. /宽宏大量的；慷慨大方的/very generous. Shamelessly fawning over a particularly generous donor, the dean kept on referring to her as "our munificent benefactor." munificence, N.

Question 47

mural

Answer 47

N. /壁画/wall painting. The walls of the Chicano Commu¬nity Center are covered with murals painted in the style of Diego Rivera, the great Mexican artist.

Question 48

murky

Answer 48

ADJ. /暗的，模糊的，暧昧的/dark and gloomy; thick with fog; vague. The murky depths of the swamp were so dark that one couldn't tell the vines and branches from the snakes.

Question 49

muse

Answer 49

V. /沉思/ponder. For a moment he mused about the beauty of the scene, but his thoughts soon changed as he recalled his own personal problems. also N.

Question 50

mushroom

Answer 50

V. /膨胀，迅速生长/expand or grow rapidly. Between 1990 and 1999, the population of Silicon Valley mushroomed; with the rapidly increasing demand for housing, home prices sky¬rocketed as well.

Question 51

musky

Answer 51

ADJ. /麝香味儿的/having the odor of musk. She left a trace of musky perfume behind her.

Question 52

muster

Answer 52

V. /收集；集合/gather; assemble. Washington mustered his forces at Trenton. also N.

Question 53

musty

Answer 53

ADJ. /陈腐的，变质的；时间长损失品质的/stale; spoiled by age. The attic was dark and musty.

Question 54

mutability

Answer 54

N. /变化能力/ability to change in form; fickleness. Going from rags to riches, and then back to rags again, the bank¬rupt financier was a victim of the mutability of fortune.

Question 55

muted

Answer 55

ADJ. /静默的；静音的/silent; muffled; toned down. Thanks to the thick, sound-absorbing walls of the cathedral, only muted traffic noise reached the worshippers within.

Question 56

mutinous

Answer 56

ADJ. /反抗的；暴动的/unruly; rebellious. The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew. mutiny, N.

Question 57

myopic

Answer 57

ADJ. /鼠目寸光；缺乏远见/nearsighted; lacking foresight. Stumbling into doors despite the coke bottle lenses on his glasses, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo is markedly myopic. In playing all summer long and ignoring to store up food for winter, the grasshopper in Aesop's fable was myopic as well.

Question 58

myriad

Answer 58

N. /无数，非常多/very large number. Myriads of mosquitoes from the swamps invaded our village every twilight. alsoADJ.

Question 59

mystify

Answer 59

V. /迷惑，蛊惑/bewilder purposely. When doctors speak in medical jargon, they often mystify their patients, who have little knowledge of medical terminology.

Question 60

nadir

Answer 60

N. /谷底，最低点；天底/lowest point. Although few people realized it, the Dow-Jones averages had reached their nadir and would soon begin an upward surge.

Question 61

naiveté

Answer 61

N. /天真烂漫的，简单的/quality of being unsophisticated; simplicity; art-lessness; gullibility. Touched by the naivetd of sweet, con¬vent-trained Cosette, Marius pledges himself to protect her innocence. naive,ADJ.

Question 62

narcissist

Answer 62

N. /自我陶醉的人；逞能的人/conceited person; someone in love with his own image. A narcissist is her own best friend.

Question 63

narrative

Answer 63

ADJ. /解说的/related to telling a story. A born teller of tales, Tillie Olsen used her impressive narrative skills to advantage in her story "I Stand Here Ironing." narrate,V.

Question 64

nascent

Answer 64

ADJ. /初生的/incipient; coming into being. If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years.

Question 65

natty

Answer 65

ADJ. /穿着整齐干净的/neatly or smartly dressed. Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits and ties.