3.

2 Word Reading Strategies - Denitions

Exercise
Read the texts below. Each text contains technical terms and denitions for you to
identify.
1

Solid-state physics, the largest branch of condensed matter physics, is the

study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics,
crystallography, electromagnetism and metallurgy. Solid-state physics considers
how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from their atomic-scale
properties. Solid-state physics thus forms the theoretical basis of materials
science, as well as having direct applications, for example in the technology of
transistors and semiconductors.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

Stigma is the receptive tip of the carpel, which receives pollen at pollination
and on which the pollen grain germinates. The stigma is adapted to catch and
trap pollen, either by combining pollen of visiting insects or by various hairs,
aps, or sculpturings.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

The result of breathing elevated concentrations of oxygen is hyperoxia, an

excess of oxygen in body tissues.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

75

Statistics is the science of making effective use of numerical data relating to

groups of individuals or experiments. It deals with all aspects of this, including
not only the collection, analysis and interpretation of such data, but also
the planning of the collection of data, in terms of the design of surveys and
experiments.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

The term blood pressure usually refers to the pressure measured at a persons
upper arm. It is measured on the inside of an elbow at the brachial artery, which
is the upper arms major blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart. A
persons BP is usually expressed in terms of the systolic pressure and diastolic
pressure, for example 120/80.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

Nuclear power is power (generally electrical) produced from controlled (i.e.,

non-explosive) nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear
ssion reactions. Electric utility reactors heat water to produce steam, which
is then used to generate electricity. In 2009, 15% of the worlds electricity
came from nuclear power, despite concerns about safety and radioactive waste
management. More than 150 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion have been
built.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between
the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly
shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. The asteroid belt region is
also termed the main belt to distinguish it from other concentrations of minor

76

planets within the Solar System, such as the Kuiper belt and scattered disc.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
8

A peptide bond (amide bond) is a chemical bond formed between two

molecules when the carboxyl group of one molecule reacts with the amine
group of the other molecule, thereby releasing a molecule of water (H2O). This
is a dehydration synthesis reaction (also known as a condensation reaction),
and usually occurs between amino acids. The resulting CO-NH bond is called a
peptide bond, and the resulting molecule is an amide.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

The half-life of caffeine the time required for the body to eliminate one-half
of the total amount of caffeine varies widely among individuals according to
such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications,
and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy
adults, caffeines half-life is approximately 4.9 hours. In women taking oral
contraceptives, this is increased to 510 hours, and in pregnant women the
half-life is roughly 911 hours. Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with
severe liver disease, increasing its half-life up to 96 hours. In infants and
young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn
baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten
caffeines half-life. Fluvoxamine reduced the clearance of caffeine by 91.3%, and
prolonged its elimination half-life by 11.4-fold (from 4.9 hours to 56 hours).
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

10 A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and
donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the

77

two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a
hinny (the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey). All male mules and
most female mules are infertile.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
11 The science of color is sometimes called chromatics. It includes the perception
of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color
theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range
(that is, what we commonly refer to simply as light).
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
12 The CMYK color model, referred to as process color or sometimes four color,
is a subtractive color model, used in color printing, also used to describe the
printing process itself. CMYK refers to the four inks used in most color printing:
cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black. Though it varies by print house, press
operator, press manufacturer and press run, ink is typically applied in the order
of the abbreviation.

78

technical term: ........................................................................................

denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
13 A lunar phase or phase of the moon refers to the appearance of the
illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. The
lunar phases vary cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the
changing relative positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun. One half of the lunar
surface is always illuminated by the Sun (except during lunar eclipses), and
hence is bright, but the portion of the illuminated hemisphere that is visible to
an observer can vary from 100% (full moon) to 0% (new moon). The boundary
between the illuminated and unilluminated hemispheres is called the terminator.
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
14 A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group (CN),
which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Inorganic
cyanides are generally salts of the anion CN. Organic compounds that have
a CN functional group are called nitriles. Of the many kinds of cyanide
compounds, some are gases; others are solids or liquids. Those that can release
the cyanide ion CN are highly toxic to animals.

79

technical term: ........................................................................................

denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
15 The general term ice age or, more precisely, glacial age denotes a
geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earths
surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets,
polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. An ice age is a natural system. Within a
long-term ice age, individual pulses of extra cold climate are termed glacial
periods (or alternatively glacials or glaciations), and intermittent warm
periods are called interglacials. Glaciologically, ice age implies the presence
of extensive ice sheets in the northern and southern hemispheres; by this
denition we are still in the ice age that began at the start of the Pleistocene
(because the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets still exist).
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................
................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................
technical term: ........................................................................................
denition: ...............................................................................................

80

................................................................................................................
hint: ........................................................................................................

81