3.4 Vocabulary & Selection Test

Match the following words with their definitions.

• to make something stronger or more intense

• essential

• an intense feeling of embarrassment

• amplify

• something is so important that you can't do without it

• generate

• to create or develop something

• humiliation

Match the following words with their definitions.

• a very steep cliff

• cascade

• something that will fall, pour, or rush in stages, like a waterfall over steep rocks

• murky

• a small brook or stream

• rivulet

• dark, obscure, and gloomy

• precipice

Match the following words with their definitions.

• surrounding words and sentences that provide clues about figurative and connotative meanings

• context

• ideas and feelings associated with a word

• figurative language

• words used in a imaginative way to help express and clarify ideas

• connotations

Match the following words with their definitions.

• a character who does not change by the end of the story

• characterization

• how the author creates and describes a character

• dynamic character

• a character who changes as a result of the story's conflicts and plot

• static character

In “Embarrassed?,” the author includes information about Cyberball most likely to explain —

• how feelings change over time

• why teens excel at certain games

• how feeling rejected affects the brain

• why some people feel pain more than others

Read this sentence from paragraph 9 of “Embarrassed?”

Activity in one system can amplify or cancel out activity in another.

Amplify and cancel out are antonyms. What is the meaning of the word amplify as used in this sentence?

• Strengthen

• End

• Make louder

• Take away

In “Embarrassed?,” the section “Embarrassment Has an Unfair Advantage” is organized to show the —

• ways teens can overcome negative thoughts

• positive and negative impacts of social pain

• types of positive feelings teens may experience

• way understanding of social pain has changed over time

Read this sentence from the informational box titled “Need Help?” in “Embarrassed?” 

You can’t directly shut down this threat alert system, but you can trick your brain into doing it.

What is the most likely meaning of the phrase threat alert system in this context?

• A system that turns off one’s feelings

• A system that prepares one’s body to fight

• A system that cannot be controlled

• A system that helps trick the brain

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A

How does Vinny’s conversation with his mother contribute to the plot of “The Ravine”?

• It reveals his mother’s controlling personality.

• It shows that his mother disagrees with his father.

• It increases Vinny's sense of danger about going to the pond.

• It shows that Vinny breaks his promises.

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part B

Which two details from “The Ravine” best support the answer to Part A?

• Vinny’s mother is worried because a boy has recently died at the pond.

• Vinny is a responsible son who never goes against his parents’ word.

• Vinny’s friends make fun of him for letting his mother boss him around.

• Vinny worries that his friends will laugh at him if he obeys his mother.

• Vinny worries when Starlene jumps into the pond from a ledge.