SKIP TO CONTENT

Unit 1: Week 2 Vocabulary

29 words 81 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Full list of words from this list:

  1. insight
    clear or deep perception of a situation
  2. wander
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
  3. passage
    a way through which someone or something may go
  4. adventure
    a wild and exciting undertaking
  5. curious
    eager to investigate and learn or learn more
  6. microbe
    a minute life form, especially one that causes disease
    Many rocks are honeycombed with little spaces, or pores, that seem like huge caverns to super-small creatures called microbes. Microbes (also called microorganisms) are the tiniest of all living things.
  7. colony
    a group of organisms of the same type living together
    A colony of microbes was living in pores just under the surface.
  8. sensor
    a device that responds to a signal or stimulus
    The sensors measured the light and moisture inside the rocks year-round.
  9. radiation
    energy transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles
    The atmosphere on Mars is too thin to block dangerous radiation from the sun. If any life exists on Mars, it would need to be shielded from solar radiation by rock or soil.
  10. rover
    a vehicle for exploring rough, extraterrestrial terrain
    In January 2004 two robotic rovers landed on Mars.
  11. astrobiology
    the study of living organism throughout the universe
  12. heading
    a line of text indicating what the passage below it is about
    Headings appear at the beginning of a section of text.
  13. photograph
    a picture taken with a camera or phone that shows people or scenes
    Photographs, illustrations, and maps help readers picture the topic. Visuals often include captions that explain the images.
  14. illustration
    a visual representation to make a subject easy to understand
    Photographs, illustrations, and maps help readers picture the topic. Visuals often include captions that explain the images.
  15. map
    a diagrammatic representation of the earth's surface
    Photographs, illustrations, and maps help readers picture the topic. Visuals often include captions that explain the images.
  16. caption
    brief description accompanying an illustration
    Photographs, illustrations, and maps help readers picture the topic. Visuals often include captions that explain the images.
  17. sidebar
    a short, boxed section of text accompanying the main text
    Sidebars give readers additional information about the topic.
  18. purpose
    an anticipated outcome that guides your planned actions
    The purpose, or reason, for reading informational texts is to learn more about a subject.
  19. clause
    an expression including a subject and predicate
    A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb.
  20. independent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that can stand alone
    Independent clauses can stand alone as sentences.
  21. dependent clause
    a section in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone
    Dependent clauses have a subject and a verb, but they cannot stand alone.
  22. complex sentence
    a sentence composed of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause
    A complex sentence is made up of one independent clause and one dependent clause.
  23. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
    Readers make inferences to figure out information that is not stated directly. To make an inference, put together what you already know with what you read in the text and text features.
  24. synonym
    a word that expresses the same or similar meaning
    Words that have the same or similar meanings are synonyms.
  25. antonym
    a word that expresses an opposite meaning
    Words that have opposite meanings are antonyms.
  26. root
    the form of a word after all affixes are removed
    Many words in English are formed by adding word parts to Greek roots, such as chron, meter, photo, bio, geo, and logy.
  27. point of view
    the perspective from which a story is told
    In a personal narrative, the writer is the narrator. You tell the events from your own point of view. Your point of view is your thoughts about a subject.
  28. dialogue
    the lines spoken by characters in drama or fiction
    A writer can provide details and develop experiences through dialogue, or words that are spoken between people in the narrative. Set off dialogue with quotation marks and text that tells which person is speaking.
  29. context
    discourse that surrounds and helps explain a word or passage
    Context clues are words and sentences around an unfamiliar word that help readers understand the word.
Created on Tue Oct 13 11:54:03 EDT 2020 (updated Mon Jun 21 16:26:06 EDT 2021)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.