1. Excel: be better than; do better than
a. Because he was so small, Larry could not excel in sports.
b. At least Hannah had the security of knowing that she excelled in swimming.
c. Clarence Darrow wanted to become a prominent lawyer, but he felt that he must first excel in history.
2. Feminine: of women or girls
a. When my sister wants to look feminine, she changes from dungarees into a dress.
b. Some men cannot resist staring when they see a woman who is especially feminine.
c. My brother is ashamed to cry at a sad movie because people might think he is behaving in a feminine manner.
3. Mount: get up on
a. Congressman Gingrich mounted the platform to make his speech.
b. The watchman mounted the tower to see if there were any people in the vicinity.
c. My sister couldn't mount the horse so they gave her a pony instead.
4. Compete: try hard to get something wanted by others; be a rival
a. Steffi Graf was challenged to compete for the tennis title.
b. The runner was reluctant to compete in front of his parents for the first time.
c. When the amateur became a pro, he had to compete against better men.
5. Dread: look forward to with fear; fear greatly; causing great fear
a. The poor student dreaded going to school each morning.
b. He had a dread feeling about the challenge he was about to face.
c. I dread going into that deserted house.
6. Masculine: of man; male
a. The boy became more masculine as he got older.
b. It is undeniable that his beard makes him look masculine.
c. The girls liked Jerry because of his masculine ways.
7. Menace: threat
a. Irv's lack of respect made him a menace to his parents.
b. The torrents of rain were a menace to the farmer's crops.
c. Sergeant Foy's raw language was an obvious menace to the reputation of the entire police department.
8. Tendency: leaning; movement in a certain direction
a. My algebra teacher has a tendency to forget the students' names.
b. His tendency was to work hard in the morning and then to take it easy in the afternoon.
c. The tendency in all human beings is to try to survive.
9. Underestimate: set too Iowa value, amount, or rate
a. I admit that I underestimated the power in the bulky fighter's frame.
b. Undoubtedly the boss underestimated his employee's ability to work hard.
c. The value of our house was underestimated by at least two thousand dollars.
10. Victorious: having won a victory; conquering
a. Playing in New Jersey. the Giants were victorious two years in a row.
b. Terry faced the challenge with the bad attitude that he could not be victorious.
c. Our girls' volleyball squad was victorious over a taller team.
11. Numerous: very many; several
a. Critics review numerous movies every week.
b. Dr. Fischer had resisted accepting money from the poor woman on numerous house calls.
c. The debater used numerous documents to back up his statements.
12. Flexible: easily bent; willing to yield
a. The toy was flexible, and the baby could bend it easily.
b. Remaining flexible, Nick listened to arguments from both sides.
c. A mouse's flexible body allows it to squeeze through narrow openings.
Answers:
1. menace 2. dread 3. tendency 4. underestimate 5. excel 6. flexible
7. numerious 8. feminine 9. compete 10. mount 11. victorious 12. masculine
連接:
五百基礎詞匯的使用和練習（10）
