by Norman Lewis
Why this is not a book to be read; how to learn to pronounce the new words correctly; how the etymological approach works better than any other method for learning words quickly and permanently; how to master nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in five to ten minutes; how to use the psychological principles of learning to sharpen your verbal skills.
How vocabulary growth of the average adult compares with that of children; a simple test to show you whether your vocabulary is below average, average, above average, excellent, or superior in range, verbal speed, and responsiveness; important evidence of the close relationship between vocabulary and success.
How building your vocabulary will enrich your thinking, increase your self-assurance in speaking and writing, and give you a better understanding of the world and of yourself; why it is necessary to recapture the "powerful urge to learn"; why your age makes little difference; how this book is designed to build a college-size vocabulary in two to three months.
Words that describe all kinds and sorts of people, including terms for self-interest, reactions to the world, attitudes to others, skill and awkwardness, marital states, hatred of man, of woman, and of marriage. How one session of pleasant work can add more words to your vocabulary than the average adult learns in an entire year; why it is necessary to develop a comfortable time schedule and then stick to it.
Words that relate to medical specialists and specialties. Terms for experts in disorders of the female organs; childhood diseases; skin ailments; skeletal deformities; heart ailments; disorders of the nerves, mind, and personality. How self-discipline and persistence will ultimately lead to complete mastery over words.
Words that describe a variety of professions, including those dealing with the human mind; teeth; vision; feet; handwriting; aging; etc. How you are becoming more and more conscious of the new words you meet in your reading.
Words that describe students of human development, of the heavens, of the earth, of plant and animal life, of insect forms, of words and language, of social organization. Books on psychology that will add immeasurably both to your store of new words and ideas, and also to your understanding of yourself and of other people.
Words that accurately label different types of liars and lying. Terms that relate to fame, artistry, reform, heredity, time, place, suffering, etc. Four lasting benefits you have begun to acquire from your work in vocabulary building.
A 120-item test of your learning in Part I.
Verbs that accurately describe important human activities. Excursions into expressive terms for good and evil, doing, saying, wishing, and pleasing. Further proof that you can learn, in a few weeks or less, more new words than the average adult learns in an entire year.
Words that explore in depth all degrees and kinds of talk and silence. More books that will increase your alertness to new ideas and new words.
Terms for describing a disciplinarian, toady, dabbler, provocative woman, flag-waver, possessor of a one-track mind, freethinker, sufferer from imaginary ailments, etc. Excursions into words relating to father and mother, murder of all sorts, sexual desires, and various manias and phobias. Magazines that will help you build your vocabulary.
Terms for describing friendliness, energy, honesty, mental keenness, bravery, charm, sophistication, etc. Excursions into expressive words that refer to ways of eating and drinking, believing and disbelieving, looking and seeing, facing the present, past, and future, and living in the city and country. How the new words you are learning have begun to influence your thinking.
A 120-item test of your achievement in Part II.
Words for poverty and wealth, direct and indirect emotions, not calling a spade a spade, banter and other light talk, animallike contentment, homesickness, meat-eating, and different kinds of secrecy. Excursions into terms expressive of goodness, of hackneyed phraseology, of human similarity to various animals, of kinds of sound, etc. How to react to the new words you meet in your reading.
Verbs that show exhaustion, criticism, self-sacrifice, repetition, mental stagnation, pretense, hinting, soothing, sympathizing, indecision, etc. How you can increase your vocabulary by picking your friends' brains.
Adjectives that describe insincere humility, dissatisfaction, snobbery, courtesy to women, financial embarrassment, sadness, etc. How increasing your vocabulary has begun to change the intellectual climate of your life.
A 120-item test of your achievement in Part III.
Answers to Teaser Questions in Chapters 3–7, 9–12, and 14–16.
The five simple, but vital, steps to take so that you can keep your vocabulary ever developing, ever increasing. How your vocabulary will continue to grow only if you remain on the search for new ideas. The best means for making this search successful.
A thirty-sentence test of your ability to use words correctly. Is your English average, above average, or nearly perfect?
Grammatical usage is becoming more liberal every day—is your speech neither affected nor illiterate? Simple rules for fifteen important expressions.
Grammar follows the speech habits of educated people—how does your grammar measure up in your use of nine common expressions?
There is no reason for being overprecise in your speech—but do you also avoid barbarisms and illiterate expressions?
Nine more expressions of which you must be careful.
A twenty-five sentence check on your increasing linguistic ability.
How words come from the names of people and places.
You can eliminate all your spelling difficulties—provided you know the tricks.
Proof that you are becoming a better speller.
Further tests to nail home the correct spellings of common but difficult words.