Unit Four: Chapter 23 bizarre gist conducive hamper falter paradox flaunt repertoire frenzyviable

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 1 bizarre Bizarre means A. limited. B. ordinary. C. odd. – adjective Some mentally ill people have bizarre ideas. For example, they may think that the TV is talking to them or that others can steal their thoughts. Wally’s outfits may seem bizarre, but when you see him with his even stranger-looking friends, his clothing looks quite ordinary. “What some people fail to grasp, Larry, is the difference between ‘thinking outside the box’ and just being bizarre.”

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 1 bizarre Bizarre means A. limited. B. ordinary. C. odd. – adjective Some mentally ill people have bizarre ideas. For example, they may think that the TV is talking to them or that others can steal their thoughts. Wally’s outfits may seem bizarre, but when you see him with his even stranger-looking friends, his clothing looks quite ordinary. The first item gives two examples of odd ideas. In the second item, the words stranger-looking suggest that bizarre means “odd.” “What some people fail to grasp, Larry, is the difference between ‘thinking outside the box’ and just being bizarre.”

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 2 conducive – adjective Conducive means A. favorable. B. similar. C. damaging. A deliciously warm and sunny April day is conducive to a bad case of spring fever. Learning to budget an allowance at a young age is conducive to good spending habits later in life.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 2 conducive – adjective Conducive means A. favorable. B. similar. C. damaging. A deliciously warm and sunny April day is conducive to a bad case of spring fever. Learning to budget an allowance at a young age is conducive to good spending habits later in life. An April day that is deliciously warm and sunny would be favorable to a bad case of spring fever. Learning to budget one’s money at a young age would be favorable to good spending habits later in life.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 3 falter – verb Falter means A. to show off. B. to hesitate. C. to succeed. Vince faltered on the first few notes of his piano piece but then played the rest without pausing. Even public speakers who now sound smooth and confident must have faltered when giving their first speeches.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 3 falter – verb Falter means A. to show off. B. to hesitate. C. to succeed. Vince faltered on the first few notes of his piano piece but then played the rest without pausing. Even public speakers who now sound smooth and confident must have faltered when giving their first speeches. If Vince played the rest of the piece without pausing, he must have hesitated on the first few notes. The words smooth and confident suggest that, in contrast, falter must mean “hesitate.”

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Instead of enjoying their wealth quietly, the Stewarts flaunt every new thing they buy in front of their poor relatives. Tamika never flaunted her high grades. In fact, I didn’t know that she was first in her class until she received the highest academic award at graduation. 4 flaunt Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Flaunt means A. to interfere with. B. to approve of. C. to exhibit. – verb

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Instead of enjoying their wealth quietly, the Stewarts flaunt every new thing they buy in front of their poor relatives. Tamika never flaunted her high grades. In fact, I didn’t know that she was first in her class until she received the highest academic award at graduation. 4 flaunt Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Flaunt means A. to interfere with. B. to approve of. C. to exhibit. – verb The Stewarts do the opposite of enjoying their wealth quietly—they exhibit it. If people didn’t know Tamika was first in her class until she received the award, she must not have exhibited her high grades.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Frenzy means A. a calm condition. B. an angry condition. C. an excited condition. 5 frenzy – noun When Grace couldn’t find her little son in the department store, she went into a frenzy and didn’t calm down until she knew he was safe. The holiday season always includes a frenzy of last-minute shopping.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Frenzy means A. a calm condition. B. an angry condition. C. an excited condition. 5 frenzy – noun When Grace couldn’t find her little son in the department store, she went into a frenzy and didn’t calm down until she knew he was safe. The holiday season always includes a frenzy of last-minute shopping. The words calm down suggest that Grace was in an excited condition over the disappearance of her son. Shopping that is done at the last minute is likely to be done in a state of excitement (an excited condition).

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Gist means A. the small parts. B. the main idea. C. the benefit. We asked Alex to skip the details and get right to the gist of the argument. The gist of Joan Didion’s book The Year of Magical Thinking is that life as you know it can change in a second. 6 gist – noun

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Gist means A. the small parts. B. the main idea. C. the benefit. We asked Alex to skip the details and get right to the gist of the argument. The gist of Joan Didion’s book The Year of Magical Thinking is that life as you know it can change in a second. 6 gist – noun If Alex skips the details, he will get right to the main idea of the argument. In the second item, the sentence states the main idea of Didion’s book.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Hamper means A. to restrict. B. to show off. C. to promote. “We never meant to hamper your struggle for independence,” Tom’s parents said. “From now on, we’ll let you handle your own life, including your laundry and meals.” A series of major computer crashes hampered business all along the West Coast today. 7 hamper – verb

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Hamper means A. to restrict. B. to show off. C. to promote. “We never meant to hamper your struggle for independence,” Tom’s parents said. “From now on, we’ll let you handle your own life, including your laundry and meals.” A series of major computer crashes hampered business all along the West Coast today. 7 hamper – verb If Tom’s parents are now going to let Tom handle his own life, they must have restricted his life in the past (or, at least, so Tom thinks). A series of major computer crashes would restrict business.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Paradox means A. an outburst. B. a simple statement. C. a seeming contradiction. When Della kept postponing her decision about whether or not to go back to school, I reminded her of the paradox: “No decision is also a decision.” The story of King Midas illustrates a famous paradox: “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” The king gets what he thinks will be the best thing in the world—the golden touch—and then discovers that it is the worst thing when he accidentally turns his daughter into a golden statue. 8 paradox – noun

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Paradox means A. an outburst. B. a simple statement. C. a seeming contradiction. When Della kept postponing her decision about whether or not to go back to school, I reminded her of the paradox: “No decision is also a decision.” The story of King Midas illustrates a famous paradox: “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” The king gets what he thinks will be the best thing in the world—the golden touch—and then discovers that it is the worst thing when he accidentally turns his daughter into a golden statue. 8 paradox – noun Each item gives an example of a seeming contradiction.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Repertoire means A. a variety of skills. B. a reason to do something. C. a statement of intent. The actor’s repertoire includes drama, storytelling, song, and dance. In order to be successful in school, it’s important to have a repertoire of study strategies from which to choose. 9 repertoire – noun

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Repertoire means A. a variety of skills. B. a reason to do something. C. a statement of intent. The actor’s repertoire includes drama, storytelling, song, and dance. In order to be successful in school, it’s important to have a repertoire of study strategies from which to choose. 9 repertoire – noun Drama, storytelling, song, and dance are a variety of skills that an actor has. In the second item, one cannot choose unless there is a variety of strategies to choose from.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Viable means A. practical. B. attractive. C. expensive. 10 viable The parties in the labor dispute can reach a viable agreement only if both sides benefit equally. The little boy quickly learned that using plastic tape is not a viable solution to mending a broken vase. – adjective

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. Viable means A. practical. B. attractive. C. expensive. 10 viable The parties in the labor dispute can reach a viable agreement only if both sides benefit equally. The little boy quickly learned that using plastic tape is not a viable solution to mending a broken vase. – adjective If both sides benefit equally, the agreement would be practical. Using plastic tape to mend a broken vase is not a practical solution.