Vocabulary Exercise
#8
Communicative Objective: Describing Dryness
Context: The Atacama Desert
Part 1, Definitions: The words listed below are all synonyms of the adjective “dry.” Each varies slightly from the others in meaning and use. Review the definition and application of each word.
1. arid: (adjective) dry, usually used
scientifically
Example: A popular brand of women’s deodorant is “Arid Extra
Dry.”
2. baked: (adjective) dry, for
soil
Example: T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” evokes images of a baked,
mountainous landscape.
3. dehydrated: (adjective) dry,
for living tissue
Example: It is dangerously easy for children to become dehydrated
in the summer.
4. desiccated: (adjective) dry,
for once-living tissue
Example: I enjoy eating desiccated, chocolate-dipped apricots.
5. parched: (adjective)
dry, for soil and animals, in the sense of “awaiting hydration”
Example: Pass me the lemonade; I’m parched!
Part 2, Reading: Complete the passage below with the most appropriate vocabulary from the list.
The Atacama Desert of Peru is extremely dry, receiving on average only
.004 inches of rainfall per year. Indeed, according to NASA estimates, it is
the most _____ area on the planet Earth.
The earth and mountains encompassed in this 41,000 square-mile zone are
_____ and cracked as there are no glaciers to feed rivers or even streams.
Despite this, flowers bloom between September and November when the _____ land
receives its slight rain.
This environment lent itself to the few human civilizations in the
region mummifying their dead. The Chinchorro mummies found in the Atacama are
the oldest in the world -predating those of Egypt by approximately 2,000 years.
Almost half of these were prepared through a natural mummification process as
conditions were so dry that the deceased became _____ following burial.
Today, fewer than 75,000 people live in the area. Although locals are accustomed
to challenging desert conditions, it is not surprising that visitors to the
region can quickly become _____.
Vocabulary Class:
Are you interested in learning more vocabulary? Take this great class!
http://www.mylanguagesolutions.com/#!intermediate-reading-and-vocabulary/ccve
Are you interested in learning more vocabulary? Take this great class!
http://www.mylanguagesolutions.com/#!intermediate-reading-and-vocabulary/ccve
©
James Doyle, 2013
