TOEFL Preparation: Lesson 17 - Military Operations
Target Words 1. allegiance
2. artillery
3. battle 4. cease 5. hierarchy 6. in the trenches
7. mobilize 8. rank 9. ratio 10. strategic
Definitions and Samples
1. allegiance n. Loyalty My allegiance to my country is based on respect for its principles. Usage tips Allegiance is commonly followed by a to phrase.
2. artillery n. Large guns that shoot powerful shells; army units that handle such guns An artillery barrage broke down the city’s thick walls within seconds. The 47th Artillery fired on rebels camped in the city center.
Usage tips When it means a part of an army, artillery is sometimes plural.
3. battle v. To fight against The Viet Minh battled French forces at Dien Bien Phu for nearly two months in 1954. Parts of speech battle n 4. cease v. Stop The lightning continued even after the thunder had ceased. Usage tips Cease is found in official statements, not usually in everyday speech. Parts of speech cessation n, ceaseless adj
5. hierarchy n. A system of levels that places people high or low according to their importance Starting as a lowly private, Burt Jones gradually rose through the hierarchy of the army. Usage tips Hierarchy is often followed by an of phrase. Parts of speech hierarchical adj, hierarchically adv
6. in the trenches adv’l. In the middle of the hardest fighting or work
With their unrealistic view of this war, our generals don’t know what things are like out in the trenches. Usage tips Creates an image of soldiers fighting in a long, dug-out place in the battlefield.
7. mobilize v. To put members of a group into motion After a terrible storm, the governor mobilized the National Guard to rescue victims. Parts of speech mobilization n
8. rank v. To put into a many-leveled order, depending on importance or achievement The Marines ranked Jim Hurst highest among all their officer can- didates. Parts of speech rank n
9. ratio n. The relationship of one number or amount to another Military analysts say that the ratio of attackers to defenders in a battle should be about three to one for the attackers to win.
Usage tips Ratio is very often followed by an of... to... structure.
10. strategic adj. Related to long-term plans for achieving a goal
The United States has formed strategic friendships with Tajikistan and Mongolia to have Central Asian bases in the future. Usage tips Strategic is often used with nouns for plans.
Parts of speech strategy n, strategize v, strategically adv
TOEFL Prep I
Find the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the opposite of each word or phrase in the left-hand column. Write the letter in the blank. 1. cease (a) stay still 2. artillery (b) not in the fighting 3. mobilize (c) continue 4. battle (d) make peace 5. in the trenches (e) light guns TOEFL Prep II
Choose the word from the list that is closest in meaning to the underlined part of each sentence.
allegiance hierarchy ranked ratio strategy
1. Destruction of the enemy’s radar defenses was rated very high in the plan of attack. 2. The president’s constant mistakes weakened the army’s loyalty to him.
3. Eventually, Gordon reached the highest level in the military’s system of positions, that of five-star general.
4. The planet Mercury is so small that the proportion of its volume to Earth’s is only about 1 to 20.
5. While other officers worried about day-to-day operations, General Helvetski kept his eye on long-term plans.
TOEFL Success
Read the passage to review the vocabulary you have learned. Answer the questions that follow.
Until a century ago, military medicine was poor at battling disease. The ratio of soldiers killed by diseases to those killed in combat was probably at least two to one. For strategic reasons, military camps were often set up near a body of water. This gave some protection from enemy artillery, but it exposed soldiers to disease-carrying mosquitoes. Mosquitoes also plagued troops in the trenches. Low-ranking troops suffered the most. Officers who were advanced enough in the hierarchy slept in separate tents on high ground. The long-held belief that disease resulted from evil spirits or bad air eventually ceased to rule military medicine. The germ theory mobilized actual science against disease. General George Washington ordered that his men be vaccinated against smallpox. Their allegiance to him can be measured by the fact that they obeyed, for Washington’s doctors used the actual smallpox virus, not the safer vaccination that Edward Jenner would introduce in 1798. Bonus Structure— Until a century ago indicates that the condition to be described stopped about 100 years ago.
1. Which sentence best expresses the essential information of this passage?
Army officers were far healthier than common foot soldiers.
For a long time, a soldier was more likely to die of disease than in battle.
Armies should camp on dry ground, not near water.
Diseases are caused by viruses and spread by mosquitoes.
2. Why does the author mention that military camps were often set up near water?
to explain why soldiers were not usually killed by artillery
to show that officers and men did not mix
to explain how soldiers came into contact with disease-carrying mosquitoes
to show that water was valuable in treating “camp fever”