Reading for the Real World 3/e-Book 2 Unit 02 (E)

activate

to enable; to start
The burglar alarm is activated by movement.

authenticate

to verify
The letter has been authenticated by handwriting experts.

availability

the quality or state of being obtainable
The advent of microprocessors transformed the world with the availability of personal computers.

biometric

relating to a measurement of physical characteristics
The ARC card is a biometric identity card.

blank

an empty space; missing information
Fill in the blank.

correspondence

written communication
Members doing their correspondence in Committee.

disposable

able to be used for a brief time and then discarded
Today, most bottle are made from disposable plastic.

enforcement

making (someone) follow a law or rule
He applied a strict enforcement of the law.

fraudulent

fake
The teen had a fraudulent driver's license.

identical

exactly the same
Being a clone means that she is identical to her mother.

identification

the action of recognizing something or someone
Don't forget to bring your identification card. You'll have to show it before entering the event.

intonation

the rise and fall in the sound of your voice as you speak
The intonation of the instrument sounded like it

iris

the colorful portion of the eye surrounding the pupil
The muscle that controls the iris of the eye is another.

marker

a symbol or sign representative of a category
Some people think wearing a lot of jewelry is a marker of wealth.

mimic

to imitate
The baby mimicked every sound the dog made.

morphology

physical characteristics
Linguistically, the most interesting feature of Netspeak is its morphology.

opt out

to choose not to do or take part in something
Employees may opt out of the company's pension plan.

personnel

the people who work at a particular place
When business increased, we had to hire more personnel.

problematic

difficult; controversial
The electric chair has been equally problematic.

replacement

one that replaces another
I need to find a replacement to take over my shift at work on Friday.

scrutinize

to look at closely and carefully
The lawyer scrutinized the criminal investigators role in the court case.

signature

a mark representing a person's name, as written by that person
My signature is very simple, anyone can copy it.

subtlety

a small detail that is usually important but is not obvious
The loud obnoxious man lacked any subtlety.

swindle

to deceive
The salesman was trying to swindle the woman out of money.

tactic

an action or method that is planned and used to achieve a goal
Sam thought of a good tactic in order to attract more business.

transaction

a business deal; an exchange of goods, services, or money
The transaction took several days.

unsolicited

not requested
The magazine does not as a rule pay for unsolicited Mss.

verification

the act of making sure something is true
Observations should be subject to public verification.