Context Clues

Last updated over 3 years ago

20 questions

Instructions

Using context clues from the sentences in the passage to identify the correct meanings of the words in
boldface.

Library

Context Clues

Last updated over 3 years ago

20 questions

Instructions

Using context clues from the sentences in the passage to identify the correct meanings of the words in
boldface.

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

Required

1

In the space provided, write a synonym for each underlined word as it is used in context. (Most responses are one word. Do not answer using complete sentences.)

Required

1

His lucid lectures, along with his clearly presented explanations, made him a popular professor

Required

1

Their vociferous chatter made me wish I had ear plugs.

Required

1

He was so impudent to his mother that I would have punished him if he talked to me that way.

Required

1

The Russians are skillful at sending cryptic messages, open to many interpretations. Our State Department spends days puzzling over their meanings.

Required

1

After spending three weeks in the hospital, I had a surfeit of daytime TV programming.

“I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building.”

scenery or setting

entrance; gate

characteristic; appearance

windows

“Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity.”

value

poor quality; inferiority

dampness or humidity

age or ancientness

“Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior."

tiny; very small

60 seconds

deadly; dangerous

dark green

“This was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.”

evaluation or judgment

ruin; disrepair

beauty or grace

restoration; care

“reminded me of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years”

complex

deceptively attractive or appealing

unique

large quantity

“Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure”

unkind or hateful

investigating; examining

professional

casual or uninterested

“Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure”

understandable

noticeable; obvious

believable

treatable or fixable

it became lost in the sullen waters

deep

foamy or spraying

gloomy or glum

dirty; polluted

Choose the letter of the best meaning for the underlined word as it is used in context.

My brother said, “I just freed myself from a very loquacious history professor. All he seemed to want was an audience.”

pretentious

grouchy

worried

talkative

There is no doubt that the idea of living in such a benign climate was appealing. The islanders seemed to keep their vitality and live longer than Europeans.

favorable

kind

not malignant

tropical

It is difficult to imagine a surfeit of talent in one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein simply does not have the time to make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer, and lecturer.

superiority

lack

excess

variety

There is a large demand all over the United States for plants indigenous to the desert. Many people in Arizona have made a good business of growing and selling cacti and other local plants.

necessary

alien

native

foreign

After the Romans left, a millennium and a half passed before people again lived in such comfort. Churchill wrote, “From the year 400 until the year 1900 no one had central heating and very few had hot baths.”

a decade

1000 years

a century

many years

Many years before, Caesar’s men had tried and failed to invade Britain. No doubt this contributed to the xenophobia of the Romans. They were cautious about strangers who entered their country.

fear of foreigners

honesty

stubbornness

kindliness

Such are the vicissitudes of history. Nothing remains the same. Three hundred years of peace ended in darkness and confusion.

changes

mistakes

rules

evils

In the space provided, write a synonym for each underlined word as it is used in context. (Most responses are one word. Do not answer using complete sentences.)

His lucid lectures, along with his clearly presented explanations, made him a popular professor

Their vociferous chatter made me wish I had ear plugs.

He was so impudent to his mother that I would have punished him if he talked to me that way.

The Russians are skillful at sending cryptic messages, open to many interpretations. Our State Department spends days puzzling over their meanings.

After spending three weeks in the hospital, I had a surfeit of daytime TV programming.

“I scanned more narrowly the real aspect of the building.”

scenery or setting

entrance; gate

characteristic; appearance

windows

“Its principal feature seemed to be that of an excessive antiquity.”

value

poor quality; inferiority

dampness or humidity

age or ancientness

“Minute fungi overspread the whole exterior."

tiny; very small

60 seconds

deadly; dangerous

dark green

“This was apart from any extraordinary dilapidation.”

evaluation or judgment

ruin; disrepair

beauty or grace

restoration; care

“reminded me of the specious totality of old wood-work which has rotted for long years”

complex

deceptively attractive or appealing

unique

large quantity

“Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure”

unkind or hateful

investigating; examining

professional

casual or uninterested

“Perhaps the eye of a scrutinizing observer might have discovered a barely perceptible fissure”

understandable

noticeable; obvious

believable

treatable or fixable

it became lost in the sullen waters

deep

foamy or spraying

gloomy or glum

dirty; polluted

My brother said, “I just freed myself from a very loquacious history professor. All he seemed to want was an audience.”

pretentious

grouchy

worried

talkative

There is no doubt that the idea of living in such a benign climate was appealing. The islanders seemed to keep their vitality and live longer than Europeans.

favorable

kind

not malignant

tropical

It is difficult to imagine a surfeit of talent in one individual, yet Leonard Bernstein simply does not have the time to make complete use of his talent as conductor, performer, writer, and lecturer.

superiority

lack

excess

variety

There is a large demand all over the United States for plants indigenous to the desert. Many people in Arizona have made a good business of growing and selling cacti and other local plants.

necessary

alien

native

foreign

After the Romans left, a millennium and a half passed before people again lived in such comfort. Churchill wrote, “From the year 400 until the year 1900 no one had central heating and very few had hot baths.”

a decade

1000 years

a century

many years

Many years before, Caesar’s men had tried and failed to invade Britain. No doubt this contributed to the xenophobia of the Romans. They were cautious about strangers who entered their country.

fear of foreigners

honesty

stubbornness

kindliness

Such are the vicissitudes of history. Nothing remains the same. Three hundred years of peace ended in darkness and confusion.

changes

mistakes

rules

evils