7 • Lesson 11 Word List

(n) Heavy material used to make a ship steady or control the rising and falling of a vessel like a balloon.
The hot-air balloon rose when the water used as ballast was released.

(adj) 1. Able to float.
The life jackets are buoyant enough to support a 200-pound person.

2. Cheerful and carefree.
The students were in a buoyant mood on the last day of school.

buoyancy (n) The ability to float.
The buoyancy of helium balloons causes them to rise rapidly.

(v) To climb awkwardly.
My dad clambered onto the roof to get the kite.

(v) To separate from.
I detached the flower from the bush and gave it to my best friend.

detached (adj) 1. Not connected.
The house comes with a detached garage.

2. Lacking concern; not taking sides.
I tried to stay detached from my friends? quarrel.

(adj) Causing uneasiness; strange or mysterious.
The eerie sound you heard was just an owl hooting.

(n) A length of six feet, used in measuring the depth of water.
The wreck of the Spanish ship lay in thirty fathoms of water.

(v) To figure out; to understand.
We could not fathom how the magician made the goldfish disappear.

(v) To arouse or excite.
Pandora?s curiosity was piqued by the mysterious box that she was not supposed to open.

(n) A feeling of resentment caused by being ignored, insulted, etc.
Ramon did not let his pique at being benched for most of the game affect his enthusiasm during the fourth quarter.

(v) 1. To poke or prod.
I probed the snow with my ski pole to determine how deep it was.

2. To examine closely.
The Opportunity spacecraft, launched in 2003 to probe the surface of Mars, was still operating thirteen years later.

(n) 1. A long, slender instrument used to examine a wound or part of the body.
The doctor used a probe to look for fragments of glass in the wound.

2. A thorough investigation.
The principal?s probe into the incident led to three students going to detention for a week.

(v) 1. To be aware of.
I didn?t realize how astute you were until you came up with that brilliant idea.

2. To bring into being; to make happen.
I realized a lifelong dream by going skydiving.

(v) To split or break.
The diggers ruptured the water pipe, flooding the basement.

(n) 1. A breaking or tearing apart by force.
The earthquake caused a rupture in the highway that took three months to repair.

2. The breaking of a friendly relationship.
The rupture between Cuba and the United States began in 1961 and was not repaired until 2015.

(n) 1. An object with all points on its surface equally distant from its center; a ball or globe.
Earth is not quite a sphere, because it is flattened at the poles.

2. An area of power, influence, or activity.
The 1823 Monroe Doctrine extended the United States? sphere of influence throughout the Americas.

spherical (adj) Of or relating to the shape of a sphere.
The spherical lamp threw light in all directions.

(v) 1. To go underwater.
From the shore, we could see the dolphins jump and then submerge.

2. To put underwater or cover with water.
The tide submerges the rocks when it is high.

(adj) Seeming to go on for a long time; boring.
The lecture was so tedious that I nearly fell asleep.

tedium (n) Boredom.
We tried to relieve the tedium of our long drive by telling jokes.

(adj) 1. Final.
Anwar?s ultimate goal is to be chief of surgery at a hospital.

2. The greatest possible; maximum.
The producer has ultimate control over the movie.

(n) Something that is the greatest; the maximum.
For his birthday, he received the ultimate in video games.

(adj) Completely unharmed.
Because of its sturdy construction, the house survived the hurricane unscathed.