学习词根---Unit 3.4
昨天的答案：
1. a 2. g 3. f 4. d 5. c 6. b 7. h 8. e
今天将学习HOM/HOMO和DIS两个词根。
HOM/HOMO. 源自希腊语homos, 意为"same," 在英语中意为"similar". A homograph is a word spelled like another word but different in meaning or pronunciation, and a homosexual is a person who favors others of the same sex. (This root has nothing to do with the Latin homo, meaning "person," as in Homo sapiens, the French homme, and the Spanish hombre.)
homonym. One of two or more words pronounced and/or spelled alike but different in meaning.
例句：The pool of "a pool of water" and the pool of "a game of pool" are homonyms.
Homonym can be troublesome because it may refer to three distinct classes of words. Homonyms may be words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and meanings, such as to, too, and two. Or they may be words both identical pronunciations identical spellings but different meanings, such as quail(the bird 鹌鹑) and quail(to cringe 退缩). Finally, they may be words that are spelled alike but are different in pronunciation and meaning, such as the bow of a ship and bow that shoots arrows. The first and second types are sometimes called homophones, and the second and the third types are sometimes called homographs--which makes naming the second type a bit confusing. Some language scholars prefer to limit homonym to the third type.
homogeneous. (1) Of the same or a similar kind. (2) Of uniform structure or composition throughout.
例句：Though she was raised in a small town, she found the city more interesting because its population was less homogeneous.
A slab of rock is homogeneous if it consists of the same material throughout, like granite or marble. A neighborhood might be called homogeneous if all the people in it are similar, having pretty much the same background, education, and outlook. Homogeneity is fine in a rock, though some people find it a little boring in a neighborhood (while others find it comforting). Note that many people spells this word homogenous, and pronounce it that way to.
homologous. Developing from the same or a similar part of a remote ancestor.
例句：Arms and wings are homologous structures that reveal the ancient relationship between birds and four-legged animals.
In his famous discussion of the panda's thumb, Stephen Jay Gould carefully explains how this thumb is not homologous to the human thumb. Although the two digits are used in much the same way (the panda's thumb is essential for stripping bamboo of its tasty leaves, the staple of the panda's diet), the panda's thumb developed from a bone in its wrist and is an addition to the five "fingers" of its paw. The tiny stirrup and anvil bones of our inner ear, however, do seem to be homologous with the bones that allow a garter snake to swallow a frog whole.
homogenize. (1) The treat(milk) so that the fat is mixed throughout instead of floating on top. (2) To change(something) so that its parts are the same or similar.
例句：By now the suburb had gotten so homogenized that he couldn't tell the families on his street apart.
Homogenized milk has been around so long--about a hundred years--that many Americans have never seen milk with the cream on top, and probably think cream separation only happens in expensive yogurt. But homogenize was being used before anyone succeeded in getting milk and cream to mix. People who use the word often dislike the idea that everything is becoming the same, whether it's radio shows that are no longer produced locally or school that rely too much on standardized testing.
DIS. 源自拉丁，意为"apart". 在英语中，意思扩充为"opposite"或"not"(as in distance, disagreeable), "deprive of"(disinfect), or "exclude or expel from"(disbar). The original meaning can still be seen in a word like dissipate, which means "to break up and scatter".
dissuade. To convince (someone) not to do something.
例句：The thought of the danger he might be facing on the journey makes her uneasy, and she's trying to dissuade him from going.
Dissuade is the opposite of persuade, though it's a less common word. The dissuading may be done by a person or by something else: A bad weather forecast may dissuade a fisherman from going out to sea that day, but a warning on a cigarette pack almost never dissuades a real smoker from having his or her next cigarette.
disorient. To cause to be confused or lost.
例句：By now the hikers were completely disoriented, and darkness was falling fast.
The Orient is the East (just as the Occident is the West). The verb orient comes from the traditional practice of building Christian churches so that the altar is at the building's easterly end--in other words, "orienting"the church. One reason for this practice is that the Book of Matthew says, "As the lightning comes from the East...so also will the Son of Man"--that is, just like the sun in the morning, Jesus in his Second Coming will appear in the East. Orienteering is participating in a cross-country race in which each person uses a map and compass to navigate the course. Orient comes from the word meaning "to rise" (like the sun), and still today it's easy for a hiker to become disoriented when an overcast(多云的，阴天的) sky hides the sun.
discredit. (1) To cause (someone or something) to seem dishonest or untrue. (2) To damage the reputation of (someone).
例句：His book had been thoroughly discredited by scholars, and his reputation was badly damaged.
Since one meaning of credit is "trust", discredit means basically "destroy one's trust". A scientific study may be discredited if it turns out it was secretly written up by someone paid by a drug company. An autobiography may be discredited if someone discovers that the best parts came out of an novel. A lawyer may try to discredit testimony in a trial by revealing that the witness just got out of the slammer(监狱，大牢). Many political campaigns rely on discrediting one's opponents; desperate politicians have learned that, if they can claim that someone attacking them has been completely discredited, it might work even if it isn't true.
dislodge. To force out of a place, especially a place of rest, hiding, or defense.
例句：Senators are attempting to dislodge the bill from the committee, where the chairman has failed to act on it for five months.
A lodge is usually a kind of rooming house or hotel, and the verb lodge often means staying or sleeping in such a place. Thus, dislodge means removing a person or thing from where it's been staying. So, for instance, you might use a toothpick(牙签) to dislodge a seed from between your teeth, police might use tear gas to dislodge a sniper(狙击手) from his hiding place, and a slate tile dislodged from a roof could be dangerous to someone hanging out on the street.
Quizzes:
Match the definition on the left to the correct word on the right:
1. word spelled like another a. disorient
2. pry loose b. homogenize
3. having a consistent texture c. dissuade
4. perplex d. homonym
5. evolutionarily e. discredit
6. damage a reputation f. homologous
7. make the same throughout g. dislodge
8. convince otherwise h. homogeneous
