TOEFL iBT Academic Vocabulary Practice

A comprehensive vocabulary set covering key academic disciplines including Biology, Art, Geology, Economics, Psychology, Astronomy, History, Sociology, Philosophy, Physiology, Botany, Ecology, Agriculture, and Archaeology based on the TOEFL iBT essential word list.

Zoology

The branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom (動物學).

Amphibian

A cold-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that comprises the frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders (兩棲類).

Archeopteryx

An extinct genus of bird-like dinosaurs that is sometimes referred to by the German name Urvogel (始祖鳥).

Ruminant

Even-toed ungulate mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion (反芻動物).

Metamorphosis

The process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages (變形/變態).

Taxonomy

The branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms (分類學).

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

The work published by Charles Robert Darwin in 1859 (物種起源－物競天擇).

Fresco

A painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling (壁畫).

Vantage point

A place or position affording a good view of something (觀點/視角).

Vocal music types: Spiritual, Field holler, Work song

Categorized as early forms of religious or communal songs (靈歌、讚美歌/工作歌).

Aquifer

A body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater (地下蓄水層).

Stalactite

A tapering structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave, formed of calcium salts (鐘乳石).

Plate Tectonics

A scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of seven large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of Earth's lithosphere (板塊構造論).

Macroeconomics

The part of economics concerned with large-scale or general economic factors, such as interest rates and national productivity (總體經濟學).

Economic equilibrium

A state where economic forces such as supply and demand are balanced (均勢/經濟平衡).

Defense mechanisms

Automatic psychological processes protecting the individual against anxiety and from awareness of internal or external dangers or stressors (防衛機制).

Sublimation

A defense mechanism where socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior (昇華作用).

Nebula

A cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter (星雲).

Syzygy

A conjunction or opposition, especially of the moon with the sun (朔望/日、月、地球成一直線時).

Light year

A unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year (光年).

Feudalism

The dominant social system in medieval Europe (封建制度).

The Enlightenment Movement

An intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century (啟蒙運動).

Melting pot

A place where different peoples, styles, and theories are mixed together; often used to describe American society (大熔爐).

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope (認識論).

Socratic method

A form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking (詰問法).

Congenital

A disease or physical abnormality present from birth (先天的).

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water (光合作用).

Phototropism

The orientation of a plant or other organism in response to light, either toward the source of light (向光性).

Hydroponics

The process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, with added nutrients but without soil (水栽法/營養液栽培法).

Radiocarbon dating

A method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon (用放射性碳同位素來推斷年代).