TOEFL Vocab 7 May 2025

The deepest that any person can get below the surface of Earth is to the bottom of the deepest mine, a mere 4 kilometres; the deepest hole ever drilled into Earth's crust reached less than 20 kilometres below the surface.

The word "mere" is closest in meaning to ...

• approximate

• insignificant

• measured

• lengthy

The high temperature in the core is in part a result of the fact that the Earth formed as a ball of molten rock. Once a cool crust had formed around the molten ball of rock, it functioned as an insulating blanket.

The word "it" refers to...

• earth

• a cool crust

• the molten ball of rock

• the heat

The high temperature in the core is in part a result of the fact that the Earth formed as a ball of molten rock. Once a cool crust had formed around the molten ball of rock, it functioned as an insulating blanket.

The word "formed" is clossest in meaning to...

• colapsed

• relocated

• clustered

• developed

Unlike these kinds of fossils, which are usually mineral replacements of the original structure, amber is entirely organic; its composition from the original tree resin has changed little over millions of years. Even the inclusions of tiny organisms in amber are strikingly intact.

The word "intact" is closest in meaning to ...

• beautiful

• unusual

• obvious

• unchanged

Unlike these kinds of fossils, which are usually mineral replacements of the original structure, amber is entirely organic; its composition from the original tree resin has changed little over millions of years. Even the inclusions of tiny organisms in amber are strikingly intact.

The word "replacement" is closest in meaning to ...

• transformation

• substitution

• reconstruction

• displacement

Hundreds of deposits of amber occur around the world, most of them in trace quantities. Amber is found in places where the hardened resin of various extinct plants is preserved, but special conditions are required to preserve this substance over millions of years, and only occasionally has amber survived in quantities large enough to be mined.

The word "trace" is closest in meaning to ...

• unknown

• decreasing

• very small

• somewhat similar

Hundreds of deposits of amber occur around the world, most of them in trace quantities. Amber is found in places where the hardened resin of various extinct plants is preserved, but special conditions are required to preserve this substance over millions of years, and only occasionally has amber survived in quantities large enough to be mined.

The word "occasionally" is closest in meaning to ...

• intermittently

• extensively

• abruptly

• inevitably

It is a common misconception that amber is derived exclusively from pine tree; in fact, amber was formed by various conifer trees (only a few of them apparently related to pines), as well as by some tropical broad-leaved trees.

The word "misconception" is closest in meaning to ...

• false belief

• known fact

• scientific theory

• subject of debate

It is a common misconception that amber is derived exclusively from pine tree; in fact, amber was formed by various conifer trees (only a few of them apparently related to pines), as well as by some tropical broad-leaved trees.

The word "them" refers to ...

• deposits

• pine trees

• conifer trees

• broad-leaved trees

It is a common misconception that amber is derived exclusively from pine tree; in fact, amber was formed by various conifer trees (only a few of them apparently related to pines), as well as by some tropical broad-leaved trees.

The word "leaved" is closest in meaning to ...

• branched

• layered

• barked

• foliated