Context Clues #13

Read the sentence.

He was so stolid and impassive by nature that at his mother's funeral he did not even appear to be moved at all.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "stolid" as it is used in this sentence.

• unemotional

• interested

• solid

• passionate

Read the sentence.

This Central American country was ruled by an oligarchy (the dictator, vice-chairman, and brigadier general of the armed forces) which made all the key decisions that affected the people of the nation.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "oligarchy" as it is used in this sentence.

• large crowd

• democracy

• small group of people in control

• loyal citizens

Read the sentence.

Because the politician had a different message for each different ethnic group and social class, his opponents accused him of pandering for votes.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "pandering" as it is used in this sentence.

• giving a speech

• looking like a panda

• appealing to one's desires

• disappointing others

Read the sentence.

Because Meredith is such a know-it-all, she will pontificate on any subject regardless of whether or not she knows anything about the topic.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "pontificate" as it is used in this sentence.

• study

• join a discussion

• ask questions

• arrogantly speak at length

Read the sentence.

Since the professor always answered his students' questions in such an opaque manner, we often wondered if he really wanted to be understood at all.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "opaque" as it is used in this sentence.

• hard to understand

• comprehensible

• transparent

• scholarly, intelligent

Read the sentence.

The long, dark shadows cast by furniture in the old mansion, along with the low rumble of thunder and the slow creak of footsteps on the stairs, combined to create a sinister effect during this scene of the movie.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "sinister" as it is used in this sentence.

• expectant

• pleasing

• sinful

• threatening

Read the sentence.

Alison really didn't want to go to the party (and she knew her parents would be disappointed if she went), but the hegemony of the popular crowd was something she could not overcome.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "hegemony" as it is used in this sentence.

• weakness

• morality

• influence

• money

Read the sentence.

Even though the other students had encouraged her to fill her research paper with meaningless statistics just to make it appear longer ("This teacher never even reads what you turn," they had said), Carla was too conscientious to do anything less than her best effort.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "conscientious" as it is used in this sentence.

• careless

• particular

• indifferent

• dishonest

Read the sentence.

His financial prescience helped him to predict the next big stock market depression; therefore, he had sold all of his shares ahead of time and was living in luxury while other investors lost all they had.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "prescience" as it is used in this sentence.

• ignorance

• foreknowledge

• preciousness

• hindsight

Read the sentence.

Because the people in the small Vermont town had adopted an insular attitude, they were not interested at all in what was going on in any other parts of the world.

Use context clues to determine the meaning of "insular" as it is used in this sentence.

• broad-minded

• unusual

• global

• isolated