Barron 3500 SAT List 37

Question 0

precinct

Answer 0

N. /行政区/district or division of a city. Ed McBain’s detec¬tive novels set in the 87th precinct provide an exciting picture of police work.

Question 1

precept

Answer 1

N. /规则/practical rule guiding conduct. “Love thy neigh¬bor as thyself” is a worthwhile precept.

Question 2

precipice

Answer 2

N. /悬崖；危险的位置/cliff; dangerous position. Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.

Question 3

precipitate

Answer 3

ADJ. /匆忙的；突然的；未成熟的；草率的/rash; premature; hasty; sudden. Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot, I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipi¬tate fashion.

Question 4

precipitate

Answer 4

V. /下降；下坠/throw headlong; hasten. The removal of American political support appears to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos regime.

Question 5

precipitous

Answer 5

ADJ. /陡峭的；急躁的/steep; overhasty. This hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as well.

Question 6

précis

Answer 6

N. /大纲；摘要/concise summing up of main points. Before mak¬ing her presentation at the conference, Ellen wrote up a neat précis of the major elements she would cover.

Question 7

precise

Answer 7

ADJ. /精确的/exact. If you don’t give me precise directions and a map, I’ll never find your place.

Question 8

preclude

Answer 8

V. /消灭；杜绝/make impossible; eliminate. The fact that the band was already booked to play in Hollywood on New Year’s Eve precluded their accepting the New Year’s Eve gig in London they were offered.

Question 9

precocious

Answer 9

ADJ. /早熟的/advanced in development. Listening to the grown-up way the child discussed serious topics, we couldn’t help remarking how precocious she was. precocity, N.

Question 10

precursor

Answer 10

N. /领跑者，先驱/forerunner. Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them, most critics consider them precursors of the Romantic Movement, not true Romantics.

Question 11

predator

Answer 11

N. /捕食者/creature that seizes and devours another ani¬mal; person who robs or exploits others. Not just cats, but a wide variety of predators-owls, hawks, weasels, foxes¬catch mice for dinner. A carnivore is by definition predatory, for he preys on weaker creatures.

Question 12

predecessor

Answer 12

N. /前任；前辈/former occupant of a post. I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office.

Question 13

predetermine

Answer 13

V. /预定；预先确定/predestine; settle or decide beforehand; influence markedly. Romeo and Juliet believed that Fate had predetermined their meeting. Bea gathered estimates from caterers, florists, and stationers so that she could pre¬determine the costs of holding a catered buffet. Philip’s love of athletics predetermined his choice of a career in sports marketing.

Question 14

predicament

Answer 14

N. /困境；危险的境地；两难/tricky or dangerous situation; dilemma. Tied to the railroad tracks by the villain, Pauline strained against her bonds. How would she escape from this terrible predicament?

Question 15

predilection

Answer 15

N. /偏爱；偏好/partiality; preference. Although I have writ¬ten all sorts of poetry over the years, I have a definite predilection for occasional verse.

Question 16

predispose

Answer 16

V. /预先安排，使其偏向于/give an inclination toward; make suscepti¬ble to. Oleg’s love of dressing up his big sister’s Barbie doll may have predisposed him to become a fashion designer. Genetic influences apparently predispose people to certain forms of cancer.

Question 17

preeminent

Answer 17

ADJ. /出色的；出类拔萃的/outstanding; superior. The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the operation.

Question 18

preempt

Answer 18

V. /排挤，代替；阻止；抢占；先发制人/head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant. Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue, the candidate set out her own plan to revitalize the public schools. preemptive,ADJ.

Question 19

preen

Answer 19

V. /把自己打扮漂亮；自我满足；鸟类用嘴梳理羽毛/make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satis¬faction. As Kitty preened before the mirror, carefully smoothing her shining hair, she couldn’t help preening over how pretty she looked.

Question 20

prehensile

Answer 20

ADJ. /可以得到的；可以抓住的/capable of grasping or holding. Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling through the trees.

Question 21

prelate

Answer 21

N. /高级教士/church dignitary. The archbishop of Moscow and other high-ranking prelates visited the Russian Ortho¬dox seminary.

Question 22

prelude

Answer 22

N. /序；先驱；先导/introduction; forerunner. I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks.

Question 23

premeditate

Answer 23

V. /预谋，预先考虑/plan in advance. She had premeditated the murder for months, reading about common poisons and buying weed killer that contained arsenic.

Question 24

premise

Answer 24

N. /假定，假设；前提/assumption; postulate. Based on the premise that there's no fool like an old fool, P. T. Barnum hired a ninety-year-old clown for his circus.

Question 25

premonition

Answer 25

N. /前兆/forewarning. We ignored these premoni¬tions of disaster because they appeared to be based on childish fears.

Question 26

preposterous

Answer 26

ADJ. /荒唐的/absurd; ridiculous. When he tried to downplay his youthful experiments with marijuana by saying he hadn't inhaled, we all thought, "What a preposterous excuse!"

Question 27

prerogative

Answer 27

N. /特权/privilege; unquestionable right. The presi¬dent cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legisla¬tive branch of government.

Question 28

presage

Answer 28

V. /预示/foretell. The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert.

Question 29

prescience

Answer 29

N. /预示能力/ability to foretell the future. Given the current wave of Japan-bashing, it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our future trade relations with Japan.

Question 30

presentiment

Answer 30

N. /预感/feeling something will happen; anticipa¬tory fear; premonition. Saying goodbye at the airport, Jack had a sudden presentiment that this was the last time he would see Jill.

Question 31

prestige

Answer 31

N. /声望；威信/impression produced by achievements or repu¬tation. Many students want to go to Harvard College not for the education offered but for the prestige of Harvard's name.

Question 32

presumptuous

Answer 32

ADJ. /自大；轻狂；专横/overconfident; impertinently bold; tak¬ing liberties. Matilda thought it was somewhat presumptu¬ous of the young man to have addressed her without first having been introduced. Perhaps manners were freer here in the New World.

Question 33

pretentious

Answer 33

ADJ. /自命不凡；华而不实；自大/ostentatious; pompous; making unjusti¬fied claims; overly ambitious. None of the other prize win¬ners are wearing their medals; isn't it a bit pretentious of you to wear yours?

Question 34

preternatural

Answer 34

ADJ. /超自然的/beyond what is normal in nature. Mal¬colm's mother's total ability to tell when he was lying struck him as almost preternatural.

Question 35

pretext

Answer 35

N. /借口；托辞/excuse. He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt.

Question 36

prevail

Answer 36

V. /导致，促使；击败；盛行/induce; triumph over. He tried to prevail on her to type his essay for him.

Question 37

prevalent

Answer 37

ADJ. /普遍的；流行的/widespread; generally accepted. A radical committed to social change, Reed had no patience with the conservative views prevalent in the America of his day.

Question 38

prevaricate

Answer 38

V. /撒谎；支吾，搪塞；糊弄/lie. Some people believe that to prevaricate in a good cause is justifiable and regard such a statement as a "white lie."

Question 39

prey

Answer 39

N. /猎物；受害人，牺牲品/target of a hunt; victim. In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons has as his prey not wild beasts but wild plants. alsoV.

Question 40

prim

Answer 40

ADJ. /整洁的；精准的，精确的/very precise and formal; exceedingly proper. Many people commented on the contrast between the prim attire of the young lady and the inappropriate clothing worn by her escort.

Question 41

primordial

Answer 41

ADJ. /原始的；与时间同在的/existing at the beginning (of time); rudi¬mentary. The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.

Question 42

primp

Answer 42

V. /打扮/groom oneself with care; adorn oneself. The groom stood by idly while his nervous bride-to-be primped one last time before the mirror.

Question 43

pristine

Answer 43

ADJ. /史前的；质朴的/characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled. This area has been preserved in all its pristine wildness.

Question 44

privation

Answer 44

N. /困难，困苦；短缺，缺少/hardship; want. In his youth, he knew hunger and privation.

Question 45

probe

Answer 45

V. /探测/explore with tools. The surgeon probed the wound for foreign matter before suturing it. also N.

Question 46

problematic

Answer 46

ADJ. /忧郁的；忧心忡忡的；心存疑虑的；有疑问的/doubtful; unsettled; questionable; per¬plexing. Given the way building costs have exceeded esti-mates for the job, whether the arena will ever be completed is problematic.

Question 47

proclivity

Answer 47

N. /倾向；自然倾向/inclination; natural tendency. Watching the two-year-old voluntarily put away his toys, I was amazed by his proclivityfor neatness.

Question 48

procrastinate

Answer 48

V. /推迟；延期/postpone; delay or put off. Looking at four years of receipts and checks he still had to sort through, Bob was truly sorry he had procrastinated for so long and not finished filing his taxes long ago.

Question 49

prod

Answer 49

V. /刺；刺激；激励/poke; stir up; urge. If you prod him hard enough, he'll eventually clean his room.

Question 50

prodigal

Answer 50

ADJ. /浪费的/wasteful; reckless with money. Don't be so prodigal spending my money; when you've earned some money yourself, you can waste it as much as you want! also N.

Question 51

prodigious

Answer 51

ADJ. /巨大的/marvelous; enormous. Watching the champion weight lifter heave the weighty barbell to shoul¬der height and then boost it overhead, we marveled at his prodigious strength.

Question 52

prodigy

Answer 52

N. /奇才；天才/marvel; highly gifted child. Menuhin was a prodigy, performing wonders on his violin when he was barely eight years old.

Question 53

profane

Answer 53

V. /亵渎/violate; desecrate; treat unworthily. The mem¬bers of the mysterious Far Eastern cult sought to kill the British explorer because he had profaned the sanctity of their holy goblet by using it as an ashtray. alsoADJ.

Question 54

profligate

Answer 54

ADJ. /放荡的；放肆的；不检点的/dissipated; wasteful; wildly immoral. Although surrounded by wild and profligate companions, she nevertheless managed to retain some sense of decency.

Question 55

profound

Answer 55

ADJ. /深刻的/deep; not superficial; complete. Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound thinker. profundity, N.

Question 56

profusion

Answer 56

N. /过量；过剩/overabundance; lavish expenditure; excess. Freddy was so overwhelmed by the profusion of choices on the menu that he knocked over his wine glass and soaked his host. He made profuse apologies to his host, the waiter, the bus boy, the people at the next table, and the attendant handing out paper towels.

Question 57

progenitor

Answer 57

N. /祖先/ancestor. The Roth family, whose progeni¬tors emigrated from Germany early in the nineteenth cen¬tury, settled in Peru, Illinois.

Question 58

progeny

Answer 58

N. /后裔/children; offspring. He was proud of his prog¬eny in general, but regarded George as the most promising of all his children.

Question 59

prognosis

Answer 59

N. /预言；疾病警告/forecasted course of a disease; prediction. If the doctor's prognosis is correct, the patient will be in a coma for at least twenty-four hours.

Question 60

projectile

Answer 60

N. /发射；导弹/missile. Man has always hurled projectiles at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explo¬sive shells.

Question 61

proletarian

Answer 61

N. /无产阶级的；蓝领的/member of the working class; blue collar person. "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains" is addressed to proletarians, not preppies. So is Blue Collar Holler. proletariat, N.

Question 62

proliferation

Answer 62

N. /迅速增长，倍增；扩散/rapid growth; spread; multiplication. Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage the proliferation of countless get-rich-quick schemes. proliferate,V.

Question 63

prolific

Answer 63

ADJ. /多产的；丰富的/abundantly fruitful. My editors must assume I'm a prolific writer: they expect me to revise six books this year!

Question 64

prolixity

Answer 64

N. /冗长的；啰嗦的/tedious wordiness; verbosity. A writer who suf¬fers from prolixity tells his readers everything they never wanted to know about his subject (or were too bored to ask). prolix,ADJ.

Question 65

prologue

Answer 65

N. /序（诗歌，歌剧的）/introduction (to a poem or play). In the pro¬logue to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare introduces the audience to the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.

Question 66

prolong

Answer 66

V. /拖延/make longer; draw out; lengthen. In their deter¬mination to discover ways to prolong human life, doctors fail to take into account that longer lives are not always happier ones.

Question 67

prominent

Answer 67

ADJ. /显著的；突出的；卓越的/conspicuous; notable; sticking out. Have you ever noticed that Prince Charles's prominent ears make him look like the big-eared character in Mad comics?

Question 68

promiscuous

Answer 68

ADJ. /随意混合的；打乱的；随便的/mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually. In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris.

Question 69

promontory

Answer 69

N. /岬；海角/headland. They erected a lighthouse on the promontory to warn approaching ships of their nearness to the shore.

Question 70

promote

Answer 70

V. /提升；促进/help to flourish; advance in rank; publicize. Founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman ceaselessly promotes the welfare of young people everywhere. 0

Question 71

prompt

Answer 71

V. /提示；鼓动；迅速及时的/cause; provoke; provide a cue for an actor. Whatever prompted you to ask for such a big piece of cake when you're on a diet?

Question 72

promulgate

Answer 72

V. /发布；公布/proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication. When Moses came down from the mountain top all set to promulgate God's commandments, he freaked out on discovering his followers worshipping a golden calf.

Question 73

prone

Answer 73

ADJ. /倾向于/inclined to; prostrate. She was prone to sudden fits of anger during which she would lie prone on the floor, screaming and kicking her heels.

Question 74

propagate

Answer 74

V. /迅速增长，传播，扩散/multiply; spread. Since bacteria propagate more quickly in unsanitary environments, it is important to keep hospital rooms clean.

Question 75

propellants

Answer 75

N. /推进剂/substances that propel or drive forward. The development of our missile program has forced our sci¬entists to seek more powerful propellants.

Question 76

propensity

Answer 76

N. /自然倾向/natural inclination. Convinced of his own tal¬ent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others.

Question 77

prophetic

Answer 77

ADJ. /预言的/foretelling the future. I have no magical prophetic powers; when I predict what will happen, I base my predictions on common sense. prophesy,V.

Question 78

propinquity

Answer 78

N. /亲近；血缘/nearness; kinship. Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity; they were more than relatives, they were true friends.

Question 79

propitiate

Answer 79

V. /劝解；平静；安抚/appease. The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods.