Reading skills

Deriving Meaning from Words and Phrases – Contextual Clues

Definitions as contextual clues

- clue: punctuation mark (dash, comma, bracket)

- clue: words like or, refers to, is called, meaning
Example:
The Heteralocha acutirostris – a green and black bird native to New
Zealand – is believed to be extinct.

Practice 1
1. Flavanoids, substances found in colourful fruit and vegetables, are an important
element in good nutrition.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

2. A spreadsheet refers to a computer application which is developed for

mathematical and financial calculations.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

3. Afrocentricity, or the study of African cultures, helps social scientists to better

understand human behaviour.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

4. Early Japanese immigrants to the United States were called the Issei.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

5. He referred to his aunt as a mercenary, meaning that she was only interested in
getting money, no matter what.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________
Examples as contextual clues

- clue: words like for example, for instance, such as, to illustrate, including
- clue: dashes
Example:
I think that grandma should stop wearing gaudy clothes; for example,
that electric blue blouse, that flaming orange skirt, that dazzling yellow
pair of pants and that shocking pink dress.

gaudy = bright and colourful

Practice 2
1. In a society which favours youth and physical strength, ageism is widespread.
For instance, people tend to look with disapproval at old people being weak,
senile, uninteresting, sickly and fussy.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

2. Cultural assimilation of immigrants in the United States has been rapid. To

illustrate, newcomers very quickly adopt the habits of the locals in the way they
dress, the food they eat, and the way they behave.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

3. The witness gave the police a blow-by-blow account of the incident – the time at
which it happened, the sequence of events, the number of people involved, what
they did and what they looked like.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

4. A person suffering from schizophrenia often has hallucinations including hearing

or seeing things which are actually not there, smelling strange odours and tasting
poisons in food.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

5. Gender roles are now becoming more androgynous. For example, it is now
perfectly acceptable for women to play football, work as a bus driver or study to
be an engineer, as it is for men to mop the floor, work as a nurse or look after the
children.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________
Contrast as contextual clues

- clue: words like but, however, yet, nevertheless, while, rather than, although,
whereas, despite
Example:
Babies are more susceptible to food allergies because their immune
systems are digestive tracts are immature; but older children are less
likely to suffer from these allergies as their body systems are better
developed.

susceptible = likely to suffer from

Practice 3
1. Sales and marketing managers who inspire their staff encourage them to achieve
peak performance, whereas those who do not motivate their staff often get
lacklustre results.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

2. To master the Japanese language rapidly while in Japan, live the Japanese
lifestyle by associating with non-English-speaking Japanese rather than by
socializing with non-Japanese-speaking foreigners all the time.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

3. Exercise increases the amount of oxygen that invigorates the body while lack of
exercise makes the body feel sluggish and tired.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

4. Although the death-defying sport of BASE jumping (BASE is the acronym for
buildings, antennae, spans and earth) is banned in the United States, there are
many enthusiastic participants who will not settle for anything less thrilling and
dangerous.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

5. It was once thought that the incidence of domestic violence was higher among
the poor; however, we know that this social problem is also common the affluent.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________
Experience or logical reasoning as contextual clues

Example:
The use of air-conditioning alleviates the discomfort felt on a stifling
hot day.

alleviates = lessens
Practice 4
1. A crying and fretful baby can usually be pacified by giving him a bottle of milk.

Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

2. Adult learners in their 30s and 40s are increasingly taking university courses on-
line through distance learning programmes as this accommodates their need for
flexible learning timetables.

Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

3. The tourists were so put off by the garbage and the stench at Pulau Keris, a
popular holiday resort, that they refused to eat there.

Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

4. The first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, was nervous when he made a
speech after receiving the Langley Medal for aviation as he was unaccustomed
to pubic speaking.

Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

5. An inventory of wildlife population using high-tech satellite equipment shows that

the population of tigers increased from 1000 in the 70s to 1500 in 1999, and the
elephant population from 400 to 600 in the same period.

Meaning:
__________________________________________________________
Restatements as contextual clues

- clue: words like that is, in other words, this means that
- clue: next part of the sentence or another sentence that restates the information
Example:
Many composer-pianists like Franz Liszt, embellished their music as
they played; that is, they added notes and ornaments as they played
along.

embellished = added notes and ornaments

Practice 5
1. Altruism shows the positive side of human nature. There many cases of people
who act charitably without any thought of personal gain or reward.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

2. In art, we find a bulwark against an evitable fact of life – death; that is to say, art,
being permanent and enduring, is our defence against something which is
unpleasant or frightening as death.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

3. Lorenzo de’ Medici was the archetypal “Renaissance Man”. In his

encouragement and patronage of the arts, he was the perfect example of
someone who was deeply involved in the revival of interest in art, music,
literature and learning during the Renaissance period.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

4. To play organizational politics right, make sure that you form alliances with
people who are on their way up the corporate ladder. By this association, you can
ensure that you are supported by those who will eventually sit in high positions.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________

5. The levirate is practised in some African societies. Under this custom, when a
woman’s husband dies, she is permitted to marry his brother.
Clue: __________________________
Meaning:
__________________________________________________________