(Eng1) BENCHMARK QUIZ SOLUTIONS

How did you do on identifying context clues? Check your answers here, and then analyze the results to figure out your plan of attack for mastering this topic.

Answers
1. b. Explicit means clearly and fully stated; straightforward, exact. The
context tells you that the directions need to be clear to prevent an error. If the directions are clearly and fully stated, it will help ensure that no one makes a mistake.

2. c. To teem means to be full of, to be present in large numbers.
Numerous security personnel typically surround the leader of a country. If there is a meeting of several foreign leaders, there is likely to be a great number of security officers in the hotel.

3. e. Benign means not harmful or malignant; gentle, mild, having a
beneficial effect. Choice e is the only answer that makes sense in the context of the sentence; Karen would logically be worried about chemicals in her water and relieved if she learned those chemicals were harmless.

4. a. Futile means useless, producing no result, hopeless, vain. Jensen's
application is useless because he does not meet the minimum requirements for the job.

5. d. Trite means repeated too often, overly familiar through overuse.

The key context clue is the phrase "the old storyline,’’ which indicates that the plot of the movie is overused.

6. b. To emulate means to try to equal or excel, especially by imitation.
The sentence tells you that Ilka is pursuing the same career as her brother, which indicates that she is trying to equal or outdo him through imitation.

7. e. To garner means to gather, amass, or acquire. The sentence tells
you that Ilona quickly found the support she needed to present her idea to the committee; also since the sentence states that peo¬ple loved Ilona's idea, it is logical to conclude that she would gather their support.

8. b. To thwart means to prevent the accomplishment or realization of
something. Cy's twisted ankle kept him from realizing his attempt to complete the marathon.

9. a. Caustic means bitingly sarcastic, cutting; able to burn or dissolve
by chemical action. The main context clue is that people find Aswad's jokes upsetting rather than humorous; thus choice a is the only option that makes sense.

10. d. Enigma means something that is puzzling or difficult to under¬stand; a baffling problem or riddle. The context tells you that people know who Sandra is, but no one knows anything about her; thus, she remains a mystery.

BENCHMARK QUIZ RESULTS
If you answered 8-10 questions correctly, well done! You are already skilled at determining meaning from context. Give the lesson a quick review and do the practice exercise. If your score on the practice test is equally high, move on to Chapter 3.
If you answered 4-7 questions correctly, you know how to use context to determine meaning, but you need more practice to really sharpen this skill. Work through the quiz at the end of the chapter to check your progress.

If you answered 1-3 questions correctly, you have difficulty using con¬text to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Study the lesson that follows carefully, and do the practice quiz on a separate sheet of paper so that you can do the exercise several times if necessary. Consider supplementing your test preparation with some reading comprehension practice.



Synonyms
1. I
2. G
3. E
4. F
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. J
9. A
10 H

Antonyms
1. E
2. B
3. D
4. A
5. E
6. A
7. C
8. D
9. B
10. A