Milestones Review: Context Clues

The Oxford Ballet Company's intensive summer program includes a variety of classes for students to develop their technique.

What does program mean in the above sentence?

• verb - to encode operating instructions for a computer

• noun - a plan of scheduled performances or activities

Preparing a budget can be an effective way to monitor your finances, track your expenses, and help you save money.

What does monitor mean in the above sentence?

• verb - to watch carefully

• noun - a computer's display or screen

The custom at many Chinese weddings is for the bride to wear a qipao, a red silk dress with elaborate gold embroidery.

What does custom mean in the above sentence?

• noun - a practice that is traditional for a particular group

• adjective - made or changed to fit the needs of a particular person or role

In deciding on a college major, it's important to select a subject that you find particularly interesting.

What does subject mean in the above sentence?

• verb - to force another person to undergo some experience

• noun - an area of knowledge or research that is studied

The colon helps process the body's waste products by absorbing fluids and storing the solid waste until the body is ready to eliminate it.

What does colon mean in the above sentence?

• noun - a part of the large intenstine

• noun - a punctuation mark that introduces a list or an explanation

Billy plans to submit his five best poems to the poetry contest, which has a grand prize of one thousand dollars.

What does contest mean in the above sentence?

• noun - a race or competition

• verb - to dispute or challenge

Hot, dry, windy conditions continued to hamper firefighters in their efforts to battle the forest fire.

What does hamper mean in the above sentence?

• noun - a large basket with a lid

• verb - to hold back

After a productive afternoon of focused writing, Ruth felt content with the progress she had made on her paper.

What does content mean in the above sentence?

• noun - the material contained within something

• adjective - pleased and satisfied

In his novel Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy explores themes of marriage, passion, and societal expectations in Russia.

What does novel mean in the above sentence?

• adjective - new and different

• noun - a long fictional piece of writing

Our planet's third largest desert is the Sahara, which covers approximately twenty-five percent of Africa—more than three million square miles.

What does desert mean in the above sentence?

• verb - to leave a place

• noun - a land or region that receives little rainfall