Everyday Barron's wordlist 976-1000

cower V. shrink quivering as from fear; cringe
coy adj. shy (flirtatiously); not willing to give information about sth, or answer questions that tell people too much about you
cozen V. cheat; hoodwink; swindle
crabbed adj. sour; bad-tempered; peevish; difficult to read as handwriting
s peevish bad-tempered; irritable; V. peeve: make angry
crass adj. very unrefined, very stupid; grossly insensible; crude and undiscriminating; Ex. crass behavior
craven adj. cowardly
credence N. belief
credo N. creed,a set of principles or religious beliefs:
credulity N. belief on slight evidence; gullibility; ADJ. credulous
creed system of religious or ethical belief
crescendo N.. increase in the volume or intensity as in a musical passage; climax; CF. crescent Opp. DIMINUENDO
far-fetched adj. implausible, too difficult to believe; Ex. far-fetched story
overture musical introduction to a long musical piece; first offer or proposal (to begin talks in the hope of reaching an agreement); Ex. overtures for peace
crestfallen adj. dejected; dispirited
s crest top (as of a hill or wave); showy feathers on the head of a bird
crevice N. crack; fissure
cringe V. shrink back as if in fear; cower
criteria standards used in judging; CF. criterion
crone N. ugly old woman
crotchety (of someone old) eccentric; odd; whimsical; bad-tempered; N. crotchet: odd or whimsical notion
crux N. essential or main point; Ex. the crux of the problem; ADJ. crucial: of deciding importance
crypt N. a room under the floor of a church, used especially in the past as a place for burying people
cryptic adj. mysterious; hidden; secret
cubicle N. small chamber used for sleeping or work
compartment N. one of the parts into which an enclosed space is divided
cuisine N. style of cooking; Ex. French cuisine

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GRE Model Essay 27. "Society does not place enough emphasis on the intellect---that is, on reasoning and other cognitive skills."

The speaker asserts that society should place more emphasis on intellect and cognition. While the speaker might overlook the benefits of nurturing certain emotions and feelings, on balance I agree that it is by way of our heads rather than our hearts that we can best ensure the well-being of our society.


I concede that undue emphasis on cultivating the intellect at the expense of healthy emotions can harm an individual psychologically. Undue suppression of legitimate and healthy desires and emotions can result in depression, dysfunction, and even physical illness. In fact, the intellect can mask such problems, thereby exacerbating them. To the extent they occur on a mass scale these problems become societal ones--lowering our economic productivity, burdening our health-care and social-welfare systems, and so forth. I also concede that by encouraging and cultivating certain positive emotions and feelings--such as compassion and empathy--society dearly stands to benefit.


In many other respects, however, emphasizing emotions and de-emphasizing intellect can carry negative, even dangerous, consequences for any society. Our collective sense of fairness, equity, and justice can easily give way to base instincts like hate, greed, and lust for power and domination. Thus, on balance any society is better off quelling or at least tempering these sorts of instincts, by nurturing reason, judgment, tolerance, fairness, and understanding--all of which are products of the intellect.


The empirical evidence supporting this position is overwhelming; yet one need look no further than a television set. Most of us have been witness to the current trend in trashy talk shows, which eschew anything approaching intellectual discourse in favor of pan &ring to our baser urges and instincts like jealousy, lust and hate. Episodes often devolve into anti-social, sometimes violent, behavior on the part of participants and observers alike. And any ostensible "lessons learned" from such shows hardly justify the antisocial outbursts that the producers and audiences of these shows hope for.


The dangers of a de-emphasis on intellect are all too evident in contemporary America.The incidence of hate crimes is increasing at a starting rate; gang warfare is at an all-time high; the level of distrust between African Americans and white American seems to be growing. Moreover, taken to an extreme and on a mass scale, appeal to the emotions rather than the intellect has resulted in humanity's most horrific atrocities, like the Jewish holocaust, as well as in nearly every holy war ever waged throughout history. Indeed, suppressing reason is how demagogues and despots gain and hold their power over their citizen-victims. In contrast, reason and better judgment are effective deterrents to despotism, demagoguery, and especially to war.


Those opposed to the speaker's position might argue that stressing cognition and intellect at the expense of emotion and feeling would have a chilling effect on artistic creativity, which would work a harm to the society. However, even in the arts students must learn theories and techniques, which they then apply to their craft whether it be music performance, dance, or acting. And creative writing requires the cognitive ability to understand how language is used and how to best communicate ideas. Besides, creative ability is itsdf partly a function of intellect; that is, creative expression is a marriage between cognitive ability and the expression of feelings and emotions.


In sum, emotions and feelings can serve as important catalysts for compassion and for creativity. Yet behaviors that are most harmful to any society are also born of emotions and instincts, which the intellect can serve to override. The inescapable conclusion, then, is that the speaker is fundamentally correct.

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