Vocabulary Unit 9, Level C

The great renown that Rosa Parks earned as the "mother of the civil rights movement" often overwhelmed this modest woman. She changed the course of American life, yet her simple refusal to capitulate to racism was unplanned. As she explained, she was just one of many who fought for freedom.

What is the meaning of renown as it is used in the paragraph above?

• infamy

• praise

• rewards

• fame

The great renown that Rosa Parks earned as the "mother of the civil rights movement" often overwhelmed this modest woman. She changed the course of American life, yet her simple refusal to capitulate to racism was unplanned. As she explained, she was just one of many who fought for freedom.

Which word means the OPPOSITE of capitulate in the above paragraph?

• succumb

• resist

• surrender

• respond

On December 1, 1955, Parks took a city bus home from her job at a store in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. According to the segregation laws of the day, Parks, an African American, was required to sit in the back of the bus, but instead, she took a seat toward the front. She was accused of encroaching on the whites only section. The bus driver attempted to convince her to obey the law, but Parks kept both her dignified mien and her seat. Finally the driver warned her that he would send for penal authorities. "Go ahead and call them," Parks answered.

What does encroaching most likely mean as it is used in the above paragraph?

• intruding

• performing

• demonstrating

• encamping

On December 1, 1955, Parks took a city bus home from her job at a store in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. According to the segregation laws of the day, Parks, an African American, was required to sit in the back of the bus, but instead, she took a seat toward the front. She was accused of encroaching on the whites only section. The bus driver attempted to convince her to obey the law, but Parks kept both her dignified mien and her seat. Finally the driver warned her that he would send for penal authorities. "Go ahead and call them," Parks answered.

What is the meaning of mien as it is used in the above paragraph?

• bearing

• beliefs

• attire

• temper

On December 1, 1955, Parks took a city bus home from her job at a store in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. According to the segregation laws of the day, Parks, an African American, was required to sit in the back of the bus, but instead, she took a seat toward the front. She was accused of encroaching on the whites only section. The bus driver attempted to convince her to obey the law, but Parks kept both her dignified mien and her seat. Finally the driver warned her that he would send for penal authorities. "Go ahead and call them," Parks answered.

Penal comes from the Latin noun poena. Poena most likely means...

• authority

• disaster

• punishment

• rules

Match the following

• recluse

• a person who leads a life shut up or withdrawn from the world

• impunity

• warning of trouble to come

• bludgeon

• freedom from punishment

• dire

• a short club used as a weapon

SYNONYMS: Select the item that means the SAME as the underlined word.

endow a new museum wing

• rearrange

• purchase

• grant

• raze

SYNONYMS: Select the item that means the SAME as the underlined word.

fend off an assailant

• report

• resist

• trick

• avoid

SYNONYMS: Select the item that means the SAME as the underlined word.

defiled the meadow

• enjoyed

• preserved

• developed

• polluted

SYNONYMS: Select the item that means the SAME as the underlined word.

a seven year-old chess prodigy

• tournament

• instructor

• genius

• game