L38 The first calender

Words & Expressions:

1. accumulate/əkjuːmjʊəleɪt/, a. to gradually get more and more money, possessions, knowledge etc over a period of time; b. to gradually increase in numbers or amount until there is a large quantity in one place

--It is unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate wealth.

--Fat tends to accumulate around the hips and thighs.

accumulation/əkjuːmjʊəleɪʃən/ noun

--the accumulation of data

2. bewildering/bɪwɪldərɪŋ/, confusing, especially because there are too many choices or things happening at the same time

a bewildering variety /array /range

a bewildering variety of choices

adv.bewilderingly

--The details are bewilderingly complex

3. deduce/dɪ'duːs/, to use the knowledge and information you have in order to understand something or form an opinion about it

deduce that

--From her son's age, I deduced that her husband must be at least 60.

deduce from

--What did Darwin deduce from the presence of these species

4. scanty/ skænti/ a. not enough; b.scanty clothes are small and do not cover very much of your body – used to show disapproval=skimpy

--There is only scanty evidence of his involvement.

5. assume/ə'suːm/, to think that something is true, although you do not have definite proof = presume

assume that

I didn't see your car, so I assumed youd gone out.

it is/seems reasonable to assume that

--It seems reasonable to assume that the book was written around 70 AD.

--I think we can safely assume (=it is almost certain) that interest rates will go up again soon.

let us/ let's assume that =used when thinking about a possible event or situation and its possible results

--Let us assume for a moment that we could indeed fire her. Should we?

--When it got to midnight and Paul was still not back, I began to assume the worst (=think that the worst possible thing had happened).

6. throw /shed/ cast light on something, to provide new information that makes a difficult subject or problem easier to understand

--Melanie was able to shed some light on the situation.

--These discoveries may throw new light on the origins of the universe

Sentences:

But the historian attempting to reconstruct the distant past is always faced with a difficult task. He has to deduce what he can from the few scanty clues available. Even seemingly insignificant remains can shed interesting light on the history of early man.