I wonder how many asteroids Superman could _____ with his bare hands.
You can show respect for your supervisors without seeming to _____ whenever one of them speaks to you.
Deciding who is or isn't eligible for school athletic teams is not within the _____ of the student council.
The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether a substance will dissolve more rapidly in water if it is thoroughly _____ .
Although I may not agree with what you have to say, I will always _____ your right to say it.
Your thoughtless remarks hurt me deeply, even though you say that you were merely trying to be _____ .
In recent decades, we have been forced to make greater use of our _____ coal supply to meet our growing energy needs.
It takes a practiced eye to make out the _____ on old, weather-beaten tombstones in a country churchyard.
One of the most _____ mysteries I have ever read involved a priest and was set in the Wild West.
I do not believe that people who come from poor families should be regarded as _____ .
Government officials believe the pirate situation occurring in the high seas remains _____ and requires immediate action.
My neighbor's furniture is supposed to be “original” and “colorful,” but I think it is a(n) _____ collection of junk.
It will take the two of us months of strict economizing to make up for this one weekend of _____ shopping.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches show the title character three prophetic _____ .
I find my friend's stories about life in her native country most _____ .
Only a snob would show such _____ for someone who doesn't drive a fancy car.
The tenant wanted the landlord to include a mold _____ in his lease so the owner would be responsible for any mold problems.
The _____ of the leaders' ideas on many subjects made it easy for them to work together during that critical period of our history.
Sometimes, it is difficult to tell if my brother is being _____ or if he really means the things he says.
The voters, _____ that such scandal could occur in their town, demanded the mayor's immediate resignation.
I thought that my whispers to you were _____ , but I learned otherwise when the teacher told me in no uncertain terms to be quiet.
Her moods are so _____ that we never know if she will be in a good humor or down in the dumps.
His explanation that he is failing math because “the teacher is down on me” doesn't seem _____ .
Lawyers may be punished by disbarment if it can be shown that they have violated the _____ of the legal profession.
The _____ of nuclear war inspired the international agreement.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read the following excerpts that contain vocabulary words from this unit. The vocabulary words are written in bold font.
2. Select the answer that best completes each question. (5 points)
*You may only select one option for your answer.
EXCERPT #1 Question: An apparition is a _____ .
EXCERPT #2:
"I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,” said the Spirit. “Look upon me!” Scrooge reverently did so. It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare, as if disdaining to be warded or concealed by any artifice.
EXCERPT #2 Question: The act of disdaining involves _____ .
EXCERPT #3 Question: If an item of clothing has ample folds, the folds are _____ .
EXCERPT #4 Question: Speech that is inaudible is _____ .
EXCERPT #5 Question: Someone who is facetious is NOT _____ .
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read the following passage that contains vocabulary words from this unit. The vocabulary words are written in bold font.
2. Select the answer that best completes each question. (5 points)
*You may only select one option for your answer.
PASSAGE:
The American author Washington Irving was born to a wealthy New York City family. This circumstance allowed him to lead a prodigal existence for much of his life. At age sixteen, Irving began to study law. However, he soon disdained the college education that many young men of his social position chose. Rather, he preferred to travel and to write. Thanks to his family’s fortune, he was able to devote himself to both these passions.
Washington Irving had a quick mind and a lively wit, and he was determined to apply his intelligence to becoming a writer. Using the pen name Jonathan Oldstyle, he wrote humorous essays. Later, he and his brother William began to publish their own magazine, called Salmagundi. (The name refers to a spicy dish.) This short-lived periodical featured facetious essays poking fun at New York society.
Irving first toured Europe between 1804 and 1806. He returned to Europe in 1815 and lived there until 1832. Two of his most famous and beloved stories, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” were written during this period. They appeared in his short story collection The Sketch Book, published in 1820. Irving found ample ideas for his writing in the European customs, legends, and folktales that charmed him.
Because Irving spent so many years abroad, some critics questioned his devotion to America. The best way he knew to serve his country, he asserted, was with the strength of his pen. Washington Irving has been called “the first American man of letters.” How remarkable that some of his most enduring tales, so distinctly American in tone, were penned abroad!
The meaning of prodigal is _____ .
Disdained most nearly means _____ .
Facetious is best defined as _____ .
The meaning of ample is _____ .
Asserted most nearly means _____ .
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read each sentence and determine if it contains a grammar error or not.
2. Select the answer that best completes each question. (10 points)
*You may only select one option for your answer.
Luke has some exciting plans for the summer: to move to a new apartment, to organize a volleyball league, and resuming training for a marathon for charity.
I was happy when the Reynolds family sent my sister Rebecca and myself an invitation to their daughter's graduation from college.
The reliability of public opinion polls in United States elections are impressive; in all but a very few cases, the polls have predicted the outcome of elections correctly.
The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City contains a variety of exhibits, ranging from Native American masks and beadwork to rodeos to the mythology of the Old West in Hollywood films.
In the sport of rugby, who's origins can be traced back to the 1820s in England, players are allowed to carry, kick, and throw the ball—but they can only throw it backward.
José has read most of Dickens's novels, and no one in our class is more knowledgeable than him about this British novelist.
There is five main groups of insects, which contain about three-quarters of all known insect species: beetles, bugs, flies, wasps (including ants and bees), and butterflies and moths.
Among the numerous adaptations of the Faust legend, a story that originated in Germany in the late Middle Ages, is Christopher Marlowe's tragedy Doctor Faustus and Charles Gounod's opera Faust.
Military bands make frequent use of brass instruments such as cornets and trumpets because they make a loud, stirring sound and on account of the fact that you can carry them easily while on parade.
The Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania, which covers an area about the size of the state of Connecticut, is home to one of the most remarkable mammal migrations on Earth.
If a substance changes readily from the liquid to the gaseous state, it can be described as _____ .
An appendix or addition to a book or written document is call a(n) _____ .
To look upon with scorn is to _____ .
A question or problem that has to do with morals and values can be described as _____ .
Which of the following is the opposite of judicious?
Which of the following might be another word for conspiracy?
An answer that cannot be heard could be described as _____ .
Which of the following might be another word for sufficient?
A member of the lower class, especially in ancient Rome, might be referred to as a(n) _____ .
Which of the following words is the opposite of frugal?
If a case is outside of a judge’s area of authority or control, it is beyond his or her _____ .
To grind or pound to a powder or dust is to _____ .
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read the following passage that contains vocabulary words from this unit. The vocabulary words are written in bold font.
2. Select the answer that best completes each question. (4 points)
*You may only select one option for your answer.
PASSAGE:
A graveyard can be a very spooky place—especially on a chilly late-October evening, just after darkness has set in. In this setting, one can easily imagine a group of young visitors looking aghast as the wind causes a strange apparition to sway just under the branches of a tree. Then, as the young people make a show of cowering and looking shocked, the epitaphs that are near them grab their attention and bring smiles to their faces. How can these nighttime visitors make light of the texts that are etched on the tombstones that are before them? They are not being cold and heartless. In fact, they are in a front yard filled with monuments made not of marble or granite but rather of light plastic. Displayed on these Halloween decorations are such humorous names as “Frank N. Stein” and “M. T. Tomb,” along with such amusing declarations as “I told you I was sick” and “I’ll be back.”
Which of the following could not replace aghast (sentence 2)?
In sentence 2, apparition means _____ .
If people are cowering (sentence 3), they are _____ .
Epitaphs (sentence 3) are _____ .
DIRECTIONS:
1. Read the following passage that contains vocabulary words from this unit. The vocabulary words are written in bold font.
2. Select the answer that best completes each question. (4 points)
*You may only select one option for your answer.
PASSAGE:
Yesterday my friend Ellen told me that there was a snowstorm going on in Hawaii. I felt sure she was trying to pull some sort of joke on me, so I asked her to stop being facetious. In response, however, Ellen asserted that she was speaking the truth. She then went on to acknowledge that the idea of a snowy scene in proximity to some of the world’s most famous year-round beaches might not seem plausible. Then she asked me if I could picture a mountain with a snow-covered peak. I already knew that mountain peaks can be covered with snow even when the surrounding area is not, because air temperatures are much lower at high elevations, so I understood her point. Ellen then completed her explanation of her surprising fact by telling me that the mountains where the snow was falling were called Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, and that they rose more than 13,500 feet above sea level.
If someone is being facetious (line 2), he or she is not being _____ .
In line 2, asserted means _____ .
A place that is in proximity (line 3) to another is _____ .
Which of the following could not be used to replace plausible (line 4)?