Transcript Vocabulary Lesson 16 - School District of Cambridge

Vocabulary Lesson
16
Abound
• Biographies and stories about Mohammad (known as the
Prophet) abound. These many books and stories tell about
Mohammad’s birth in Mecca on Arabia’s western coast.
• To teem; to exist in large numbers; to have plenty
• The amount of fish in the sea abound.
Aptitude
• Although Mohammad apparently did not have a formal
education, he seems to have had a good aptitude for business
because he learned the merchant trade.
• A talent; a natural ability; the ability to learn.
• Some students have a natural aptitude for English.
Astute
• It is entirely possible that Mohammad was an astute, or
shrewd, merchant, but at the age of forty, he gave up his
career as a merchant and became a religious hermit.
• Showing keen judgment, shrewd, crafty
• The astute student will study his vocabulary words nightly.
Conducive
• Mohammed, who was familiar with the teachings of Judaism
and Christianity, found solitude to be conducive to
understanding proper faith. He also found mediation to be
helpful.
• Favorable; helpful; tending to promote as a result
• The fluffy snow was conducive to a perfect snowman.
Erratic
• The responses to Mohammed’s teachings were at first erratic.
Some people responded favorably, while others resisted his
claim that “there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his
Prophet.”
• Irregular; not steady; uncertain
• When you turn your homework in erratically, your grade will
suffer.
Pastoral
• Mohammed is not thought of as a pastoral preacher who
went into the country to convert people. He is identified with
the cities of Mecca and Medina.
• Relating to a simple country way of life; relating to shepherds;
rural
• The pastoral church was surrounded by cornfields.
Quantitative
• His success could be measured not only in quantitative ways –
the number of followers of Islam – but also in a qualitative
way: the improvement in people’s lives.
• Capable of being measured or expressed as a numerical
amount.
• Your grades are a quantitative measure.
Recur
• Ramadan recurs every year as the ninth month of the Muslim
lunar calendar. Ramadan is remembered as the time during
which Mohammed received the Koran, Islam’s holy book, from
the archangel Gabriel.
• To return in thought or speech; to happen or appear again; to
occur at intervals.
• I have a recurring dream that I am falling out of an airplane.
Requisite
• Following the “Five Pillars of Faith” is a requisite part of
Muslim religious duties. The required duties include giving to
the poor.
• A necessity; a requirement; absolutely necessary; required by
circumstances
• It is a requisite that you have four credits of English to
graduate.
Zenith
• The zenith of any Muslim’s life is a trip to Mecca. The trip is
the highest point of a Muslim’s earthly path because Mecca is
considered the Muslims’ holy city.
• The highest point of any course or path; peak; the point in the
sky directly above an observer
• The sun reaches its zenith at noon.