324 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension

LESSON 47
VOCABULARY-IN-CONTEXT QUESTIONS

In vocabulary-in-context questions, you must determine which of four words or phrases can best
substitute for a word or words in the passage.
Most of the questions ask about single words (usually nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs).
Some ask about two- or three-word phrases.
Sometimes two or more of the answer choices for these items might be "correct" definitions of
the word that is asked about. In those cases, you must decide which is correct in the context of the
passage.
There are a number of clues that can help you determine the meaning of an unknown word:
• Synonyms
The first state to institute compulsory education was Massachusetts, which made it
mandatory for students to attend school 12 weeks a year.
The word mandatory is a synonym for the word compulsory.
• Examples
Many gardeners use some kind of mulch, such as chopped leaves, peat moss, grass
clippings, pine needles, or wood chips, in order to stop the growth of weeds and to
hold in moisture.
From the examples given, it is clear that mulch is plant matter.
• Contrast
In the 1820's the Southern states supported improvements in the national transportation
system, but the Northern states balked.
Since the Southern states supported improvements, and since a word signaling contrast
(but) is used, it is clear that the Northern states disagreed with this idea, and that the
word balked must mean objected or refused.
• General Context
In a desert, vegetation is so as to be incapable of supporting any large human
population.
As is generally known, deserts contain little vegetation, so clearly the word scanty must
mean scarce or barely sufficient.
When answering vocabulary-in-context questions, you mllst often depend on the general context of
the sentence to help you choose the correct answer.
You should follow these steps to answer vocabulary-in-context items:
1. Look at the word being asked about and the four answer choices. If you are familiar with
the word, guess which answer is correct. Do not mark your answer sheet yet.
2. Read the sentence in which the word appears. If you were familiar with the word and
guessed at the answer, make sure that the word that you chose fits with the word as it is
used in the sentence. If you were unfamiliar with the word, see if context clues in the
sentence or in the sentences before or after help you guess the meaning.
 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension 325

3. If you are not sure which answer is correct, read the sentence with each ofthe four
answer choices in place. Does one seem more logical, given the context of the sentence,
than the other three? If not, do any seem illogical? (Those you can eliminate.)
4. If you're still not sure, make the best guess you can and go on.

Sample Items
In Britain's NorthAmerican colonies, university
trained physicians were at a premium. At the time of
the Revolution, there were probably only around 400 physicians
(line) and some 3,000 practitioners who had on-the-job training as
(5) barber-surgeons or physicians' apprentices. Whether
university trained or not, none had much knowledge of
the causes of disease, and the "cures" they often
recommended-bleeding, blistering, and the use of
violent purgatives-were at best ineffective and at
(0) worst lethal.
l. The phrase"at a premium" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
(A) well-paid
(B) not very numerous
(C) very experienced
(D) not well-respected

The phrase "only around 400" indicates that there was a shortage of
university-trained physicians.
2. Which of the following words could best be substituted for the word
"lethal" in line 1O?
(A) Impractical
(B) Brutal
(C) Impossible
(D) Deadly

The phrase "at best ineffectual and at worst lethal" indicates that the
correct answer must describe a situation much worse than ineffectual.
Choices (A) and (C) don't create logical sentences when substituted for
lethal. Choice (B), brutal (which means savage or violent), is more logical,
but only choice (D) is synonymous with the word that is asked about. ...

Exercise 47.1

Focus: Using context clues to answer vocabulary-in-context questions involving words with multiple
definitions.
Directions: Read each item. Then mark the answer choice that could best be used in place of the
underlined expression as it appears in the sentence.
1. The planet Mercury is visible to the naked eye but is not the easiest planet to spot.
_ _ _ (A) unclothed
(B) unaided
___ (C) unarmed
326 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension

2. Every atlas has its own legend.

_ _ (A) mythical story
___ (B) famous person
___ (C) explanation of symbols
3. Above the snowline, any mountain hollow is permanently occupied with snow.
_ _ (A) filled
_ _ (B) busy
4. The glass factories of Toledo, Ohio, boomed after Michael Owens invented a process that turned
out bottles by the thousands.
_ _ (A) exploded
___ (B) resounded
_ _ (C) prospered
5. Dr. Rene Dubos, a French physician who came to the United States in 1924, searched for
substances that would check the growth of bacteria.
___ (A) restrict
___ (B) investigate
6. The root of the horseradish plant has a biting taste.
_ _ (A) chewing
_ _ (B) sharp
___ (C) sarcastic
7. The double-bass is shaped like a viola and has a deep, rich tone.
___ (A) valuable
___ (B) resonant
___ (C) abundant
8. A public library is a resource the entire community can draw on.
___ (A) illustrate
_ _ (B) approach
_ _ (C) use

9. A business concern with two or more owners is referred to as a partnership.

_ _ (A) firm
___ (B) worry
10. Table salt is finer than rock salt.
___ (A) made up of smaller particles
___ (B) of better quality
___ (C) freer of impurities
11. Shirley Jackson's sometimes chilling, sometimes hilarious stories were largely ignored by critics at
the time they were published.
___ (A) freezing
_ _ (B) frightening
12. As a child, the sharpshooter Annie Oakley hunted game with such success that, by selling it, she
was able to payoff the mortgage on her family's farm.
_ _ (A) animals
_ _ _ (B) athletic competition

13. All chimpanzees are extremely curious about their surroundings.

___ (A) strange
_ _ _ (B) inquisitive
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14. Furniture design and manufacture were originally the work of individuals, but by the eighteenth
century, many furniture makers had teams of craftsmen to help them carry out their plans.
___ (A) transport
_ _ (B) obey
___ (C) implement
15. Samuel Latham Mitchell helped found Rutgers Medical College in New Jersey in 1826, and he
produced several important works in chemistry and geology.
_ _ (A) books
___ (B) accomplishments
___ (C) factories

Exercise 47.2

Focus: Answering vocabulary-in-context questions about words or phrases in reading passages.

Directions: Answer the questions about the vocabulary in the passages, and mark the words or
phrases that are closest in meaning to the words or phrases that are asked about. The first one is done
as an example.

Questions 1-11

The Civil War created feverish manufacturing activity to supply

critical material, especially in the North. When the fighting
stopped, the stage was set for dramatic economic growth. Wartime
(line) taxes on production vanished, and the few taxes that remained
(5) leaned heavily on real estate, not on business. The population flow
from farm to city increased, and the labor force it provided was
buttressed by millions of newly arrived immigrants willing to work
for low wages in the mills of the North and on the railroad crews
of the Midwest and West.
(10) Government was nothing if not accommodating. It established
tariff barriers, provided loans and grants to build a
transcontinental railroad, and assumed a studied posture of
nonintervention in private enterprise. The social Darwinism of
British philosopher Herbert Spencer and American economist William
(15) Graham Summer prevailed. The theory was that business, if left to
its own devices, would eliminate the weak and nurture the strong.
But as business expanded, rivalry heated up. In the 1880's,
five railroads operating between New York and Chicago were vying
for traffic, and two more were under construction. As a result of
(20) the battle, the fare between the cities decreased to $1. The
petroleum industry suffered from similar savage competition, and in
the 1870's, many oil industries failed.
1. The word "feverish" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
(A) extremely rapid
___ (B) sickly and slow
_ _ _ (C) very dangerous
___ (D) understandable
2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "critical" in line 2?
___ (A) Industrial
_ _ _ (B) Serious
___ (C) Crucial
_ _ (D) InSUlting
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3. The phrase "the stage was seC in line 3 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
___ (A) The play was over.
___ (B) The progress continued.
___ (C) The foundation was laid.
___ (D) The direction was clear.
4. The phrase "real estate" in line 5 refers to
___ (A) tools and machines
___ (B) actual income
___ (C) new enterprises
___ (D) land and buildings
5. The word "buttressed ,. in line 7 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) concerned
_ _ (B) supplemented
___ (C) restructured
___ (D) enriched
6. The word "accommodating" in line lO is closest in meaning to
___ (A) persistent
___ (B) indifferent
_ _ (C) balanced
_ _ (D) helpful
7. W11ich of the following could best be substituted for the word "posture" in line 12?
___ (A) Stature
___ (B) Predicament
___ (C) Position
___ (D) Situation
8. The word "prevailed" in line 15 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) influenced
___ (B) triumphed
_ _ _ (C) premiered
___ CD) evolved
9. The phrase"left to its own devices" in lines 15-16 means
_ _ _ CA) forced to do additional work
___ (B) allowed to do as it pleased
___ (C) made to change its plans
___ CD) encouraged to produce more goods
10. The word "vying" in line 18 is closest in meaning to
_ _ (A) competing
_ _ (B) hoping
___ (C) arranging
___ (D) caring
11. The word "savage" in line 21 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) fierce
_ _ (B) growing
___ (C) surprising
___ (D) genuine
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Questions 12-19

All birds have feathers, and all animals with feathers are birds.
No other major group of animals is so easy to categorize. All birds
have wings, too, but wings are not peculiar to birds.
(line) Many adaptations are found in both feathers and wings. Feathers
(5) form the soft down of geese and ducks, the long decorative plumes
of ostriches, and the strong flight feathers of eagles and hawks.
Wings vary from the short, broad ones of chickens, which seldom
fly, to the long, slim ones of albatrosses, which spend almost all
their lives soaring on air currents. In penguins, wings have been
(10) modified into flippers and feathers into a waterproof covering. In
kiwis, the wings are almost impossible to detect.
Yet diversity among birds is not so striking as it is among
mammals. The difference between a hummingbird and a penguin is
immense, but hardly as startling as that between a bat and a whale.
(15) It is variations in details rather than in fundamental patterns
that have been important in the adaptation of birds to many kinds of
ecosystems.
12. The word "categorize" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) appreciate
___ (B) comprehend
_ _ (C) classify
___ (D) visualize
13. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase "peculiar to" in line 3?
___ (A) Unusual for
___ (B) Common to
___ (C) Necessary for
___ (D) Unique to
14. The word "slim" in line 8 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) slender
_ _ (B) powerful
_ _ (C) graceful
_ _ (D) soft
15. The word "detect" in line 11 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) utilize
___ (B) extend
___ (C) observe
___ (D) describe
16. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "diversity" in line 12?
___ (A) Function
_ _ (B) Heredity
_ _ (C) SpeCialty
_ _ (D) Variety

17. The word "hardly" in line 14 is closest in meaning to

_ _ (A) definitely
___ (B) not nearly
_ _ (C) possibly
___ (D) not always
330 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension

18. The word "startling" in line 14 is closest in meaning to

___ (A) initial
_ _ _ (B) exciting
___ (C) tremendous
___ (D) surprising
19. The word "fundamental" in line 15 is closest in meaning to
_ _ (A) basic
_ _ (B) shifting
_ _ (C) predictable
___ (D) complicated

Questions 20-27

Manufactured in the tranquil New England town of Concord, New

Hampshire, the famous Concord Coach came to symbolize the Wild
West. Its rugged body and a suspension system of leather straps
(line) could handle the hard jolts from rough roads. A journalist in
(5) 1868, describing a railroad shipment of 30 coaches bound for Wells,
Fargo and Company, wrote, "They are splendidly decorated ... the
bodies red and the running parts yellow. Each door has a handsome
picture, mostly landscapes, and no two coaches are exactly alike."
Wells, Fargo and Company was founded in 1852 to provide mail and
(10) banking services for the gold camps of California and later won a
monopoly on express services west of the Mississippi. A Wells,
Fargo Concord Coach carried nine to fourteen passengers plus
baggage and mail. The accommodations were by no means plush.
However, the stagecoach was the swiftest method of travel through
(15) much of the Far West.
20. The word "tranquil" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
_ _ (A) peaceful
_ _ (B) bustling
_ _ _ (C) industrial
_ _ (D) tiny
21. The word "symbolize" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) recollect
_ _ (B) fulfill
_ _ (C) deny
___ (D) represent
22. Which of the following could best substitute for the word "rugged" in line 3?
_ _ (A) Streamlined
_ _ (B) Roomy
_ _ (C) Sturdy
___ (D) Primitive
23. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "jolts" in line 4?
_ _ (A) Signs
_ _ (B) Shocks
_ _ (C) Sights
_ _ (D) Shots
 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension 331

24. The phrase "bound for" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

_ _ (A) belonged to
___ (B) destined for
_ _ (C) built by
_ _ (D) paid for
25. The word "splendidly" in line 6 is closest in meaning to
_ _ (A) superbly
_ _ (B) deliberately
_ _ (C) specifically
_ _ (D) slightly
26. The word "plush" in line 13 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) normal
___ (B) luxurious
___ (C) memorable
___ (D) unpleasant
27. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "swiftest" in line 14?
___ (A) Most comfortable
_ _ (B) Cheapest
_ _ (C) Most direct
_ _ (D) Fastest

Questions 28-35

The Hopi people of Arizona stress the institutions of family and

religion in a harmonious existence which makes the self-sacrificing
individual the ideal. The Hopi individual is trained to feel his or
(line) her responsibility to and for the Peaceful People-the Hopi's
(5) own term for themselves. Fighting, bullying, or attempting to
surpass others bring automatic rebuke from the community.
Implicit in the Hopi view is an original and integrated theory of
the universe. With this they organize their society in such a way
to obtain a measure of security from a harsh and hazardous
(10) environment made up of human foes, famine, and plagues. They
conceive of the universe-humans, animals, plants, and supernatural
spirits-as an ordered system functioning under a set of rules
known to them alone. These rules govern their behavior, emotions,
and thoughts in a prescribed way.
28. The word "stress" in line 1 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) emphasize
_ _ (B) define
___ (C) describe
___ (D) persuade
29. Which of the following could best substitute for the word "harmonious" in line 2?
___ (A) Cooperative
___ (B) Dangerous
___ (C) Philosophical
___ (D) Exclusive
332 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension

30. The word "term" in line 5 is closest in meaning to

_ _ (A) era
_ _ (B) name
_ _ (C) area
_ _ (D)law
31. The word "bullying" in line 5 is closest in meaning to
_ _ (A) lying
___ (B) organizing
___ (C) entertaining
___ (D) tormenting
32. Which of the following can replace the word "rebuke" in line 6 with the least change in meaning?
___ (A) Prestige
___ (B) Criticism
___ (C) Reaction
___ (D) Acknowledgment
33. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word "hazardous" in line 9?
_ _ (A) Changing
_ _ (B) Random
_ _ _ (C) Familiar
___ (D) Dangerous
34. The word "foes" in line 10 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) fears
_ _ (B) needs
___ (C) enemies
___ (D) failures
35. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "prescribed" in line 14?
_ _ (A) Set
_ _ (B) Disorderly
_ _ (C) Legal
_ _ (D) Compatible

Questions 36-42

Canadian researchers have discovered a set of genes that

determine the lifespan of the common nematode, a type of worm.
This finding sheds new light on the aging process that may
(line) eventually allow scientists to delay the inexorable process of aging and
(5) death.
By manipulating the newly discovered genes, the team at McGill
University in Montreal was able to increase the lifespan of the
nematode fivefold. Altering the genes apparently slowed the
metabolism of the worms to a more leisurely pace. This in turn may
(10) slow the accumulation of the DNA defects thought to cause aging.
Although the causes of aging in humans are undoubtedly more
involved, researchers are confident that the discoveries will
provide invaluable clues about this heretofore mysterious process.
36. The word "determine" in line 2 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) control
_ _ (B) modify
___ (C) maintain
___ (D) shorten
 Section 3 • Guide to Reading Comprehension 333

37. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the phrase" sheds new light on" in line 3?
___ (A) Contradicts what is known about
___ (B) Gives new meaning to
___ (C) Provides more information about
___ (D) Calls more attention to
38. The word "inexorable" in line 4 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) cruel
___ (B) unstoppable
___ (C) essential
___ (D) incomprehensible
39. Which of the following could best be used in place of the phrase "more leisurely" in line 9?
___ (A) More relaxed
___ (B) Livelier
___ (C) Easier
___ (D) More irregular
40. The word "involved" in line 12 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) committed
___ (B) serious
___ (C) apparent
___ (D) complicated
4l. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word "clues" in line 13?
___ (A) Plans
___ (B) Secrets
_ _ (C) Signals
_ _ (D) Hints
42. The word "heretofore" in line 13 is closest in meaning to
___ (A) universally
___ (B) almost
___ (C) previously
___ (D) somewhat