BUILDING VOCABULARY SKILLS Fourth Edition Sherrie L. Nist © 2010 Townsend Press Unit Three: Chapter 13 • accessible • prevail • awe • propel • cite • rational • compatible • retort • exempt • retrieve TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 1 accessible – adjective • The department store was not accessible from her side of the road, so Kristin looked ahead for a U-turn. • We always hung the candy canes on the Christmas tree’s highest branches, where they weren’t accessible to the younger children. Accessible means A. good to look at. B. within reach. C. desirable. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 1 accessible – adjective • The department store was not accessible from her side of the road, so Kristin looked ahead for a U-turn. • We always hung the candy canes on the Christmas tree’s highest branches, where they weren’t accessible to the younger children. Accessible means A. good to look at. B. within reach. C. desirable. If the department store couldn’t be reached (wasn’t within reach) from her side of the road, Kristin would have to make a U-turn. If the candy canes were on the highest branches, they would not be within reach of little children. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 2 awe – noun • Nelson and Donna have different types of heroes. Although Nelson greatly admires Tom Brady, Donna is in awe of Oprah Winfrey. • Sid is in awe of his gymnastics coach, whom he considers the greatest man he knows. Awe means A. anger. B. respect. C. hope. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 2 awe – noun • Nelson and Donna have different types of heroes. Although Nelson greatly admires Tom Brady, Donna is in awe of Oprah Winfrey. • Sid is in awe of his gymnastics coach, whom he considers the greatest man he knows. Awe means A. anger. B. respect. C. hope. If Oprah Winfrey is a hero to Donna, Donna must respect her. If Sid considers the coach the greatest man he knows, Sid must respect the coach. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 3 cite – verb • Jamal was embarrassed but pleased when the teacher cited his essay as an example of good writing. • Tired of picking up after her sister, Kim cited examples of her sloppiness: “stacks of papers, piles of dirty clothes, and unwashed dishes.” Cite means A. to forget. B. to mention. C. to ignore. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 3 cite – verb • Jamal was embarrassed but pleased when the teacher cited his essay as an example of good writing. • Tired of picking up after her sister, Kim cited examples of her sloppiness: “stacks of papers, piles of dirty clothes, and unwashed dishes.” Cite means A. to forget. B. to mention. C. to ignore. It would please Jamal to have the teacher mention his essay as an example of good writing. Kim mentions three specific examples of her sister’s sloppiness. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 4 compatible – adjective • My former girlfriend and I weren’t very compatible; whenever she wasn’t angry with me, I was angry with her. • Some sweet and salty foods are compatible: for example, chocolate-covered pretzels are delicious. Compatible means A. well-known. B. healthy. C. able to work together. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 4 compatible – adjective • My former girlfriend and I weren’t very compatible; whenever she wasn’t angry with me, I was angry with her. • Some sweet and salty foods are compatible: for example, chocolate-covered pretzels are delicious. Compatible means A. well-known. B. healthy. C. able to work together. If he is angry with the former girlfriend whenever she is not angry with him, the two would not be able to work together very well. If chocolate covered pretzels are delicious, the flavors must work together. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 5 exempt – adjective • Since he had never been spanked, my little brother thought he was exempt from punishment—until he wrote on the walls in ink. • Students with A averages were exempt from final exams, so the top three students began their vacation early while the rest of us sweated it out on exam day. Exempt means A. excused. B. in fear. C. hiding. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 5 exempt – adjective • Since he had never been spanked, my little brother thought he was exempt from punishment—until he wrote on the walls in ink. • Students with A averages were exempt from final exams, so the top three students began their vacation early while the rest of us sweated it out on exam day. Exempt means A. excused. B. in fear. C. hiding. If the little brother had never been spanked, he would have thought he was excused from punishment. If the top students were able to begin their vacation before exams, they must have been excused from the exams. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 6 prevail – verb • Most Hollywood movies have a happy ending: good prevails over evil. • Although Kennedy prevailed over Nixon in 1960, eight years later Nixon won the presidency. Prevail means A. to win. B. to watch. C. to lose. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 6 prevail – verb • Most Hollywood movies have a happy ending: good prevails over evil. • Although Kennedy prevailed over Nixon in 1960, eight years later Nixon won the presidency. Prevail means A. to win. B. to watch. C. to lose. If the movies have happy endings, good must win over evil. In the second sentence, the word won tells you the meaning of prevail. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 7 propel – verb • My brother gave me a shove, which propelled me into the lake fully clothed. • When the wind failed to propel the boat, we lowered the sails and turned on the motor. Propel means A. to support. B. to move forward. C. to raise. Airplane propellers TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 7 propel – verb • My brother gave me a shove, which propelled me into the lake fully clothed. • When the wind failed to propel the boat, we lowered the sails and turned on the motor. Propel means A. to support. B. to move forward. C. to raise. Airplane propellers move a plane forward. If one is shoved (from behind), one moves forward. If they had to turn on the motor, the wind must have failed to move the boat forward. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 8 rational – adjective • The belief that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck isn’t rational. The only bad luck it could really bring is stepping on a sharp piece of broken glass. • Mr. Tibbs isn’t rational; in addition to believing he came from another planet, he does crazy things like shoveling snow in his pajamas. Rational means A. helpful. B. kind. C. reasonable. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 8 rational – adjective • The belief that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck isn’t rational. The only bad luck it could really bring is stepping on a sharp piece of broken glass. • Mr. Tibbs isn’t rational; in addition to believing he came from another planet, he does crazy things like shoveling snow in his pajamas. Rational means A. helpful. B. kind. C. reasonable. Believing that breaking a mirror can bring seven years bad luck is not reasonable. Shoveling snow in pajamas and believing one is from another planet are not reasonable things. The word crazy is a clue. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 9 retort – noun • Sue, who is slender, boasted, “Thin is in.” So Pat, who is heavy, gave this retort: “Well, fat is where it’s at.” • When Shelley’s balding boyfriend made fun of her new perm, her retort was, “Jealous?” Retort means A. a wish. B. an answer. C. a fact. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 9 retort – noun • Sue, who is slender, boasted, “Thin is in.” So Pat, who is heavy, gave this retort: “Well, fat is where it’s at.” • When Shelley’s balding boyfriend made fun of her new perm, her retort was, “Jealous?” Retort means A. a wish. B. an answer. C. a fact. Heavy Pat gives a clever answer to slender Sue’s boast. Shelly gives a clever answer to her boyfriend’s teasing. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 10 retrieve – verb • My dog Floyd refuses to retrieve a thrown Frisbee. Instead of running to bring it back, he only tilts his head and gives me a questioning look. • I can’t retrieve my sweater from the library until tomorrow, since the library had closed by the time I realized the sweater was missing. Retrieve means A. to remember. B. to touch. C. to get back. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word. 10 retrieve – verb – verb • My dog Floyd refuses to retrieve a thrown Frisbee. Instead of running to bring it back, he only tilts his head and gives me a questioning look. • I can’t retrieve my sweater from the library until tomorrow, since the library had closed by the time I realized the sweater was missing. Retrieve means A. to remember. B. to touch. C. to get back. In the first item, the words bring . . . back tell you the meaning. If the library had closed, one wouldn’t be able to get back the sweater. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 1. When I go bowling with Joan, she usually wins, but I always __________ in Scrabble. 2. Jet engines __________ a plane forward. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 1. When I go bowling with Joan, she usually wins, but I always __________ in Scrabble. prevail The word wins tells you that prevail means win. 2. Jet engines __________ a plane forward. propel The jet engines on an airplane move it forward. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 3. I ran back to the ladies’ room to __________ my purse, but someone had already taken it. 4. In my family, a person is __________ from household chores on his or her birthday. 5. The cabinet above the refrigerator was __________ to Tanya but not to her roommate Mieko, who was much shorter. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 3. I ran back to the ladies’ room to __________ retrieve my purse, but someone had already taken it. She would run back to the ladies’ room to get back her purse. 4. In my family, a person is __________ exempt from household chores on his or her birthday. One would be excused from doing household chores on his or her birthday. 5. The cabinet above the refrigerator was __________ accessible to Tanya but not to her roommate Mieko, who was much shorter. For Tanya, who is much taller, the cabinet is within reached. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 6. The general’s uniform and medals filled Scott with __________. However, Marla, who knew the general personally, felt only disrespect for him. 7. There are at least two versions of the joke in which a customer complains that a fly is in his soup. The waiter’s __________ is either “That’s okay—there’s no extra charge” or “Don’t worry—he won’t drink much.” SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 6. The general’s uniform and medals filled Scott with __________. However, Marla, who knew the general awe personally, felt only disrespect for him. The word disrespect tells you that awe means respect. 7. There are at least two versions of the joke in which a customer complains that a fly is in his soup. The waiter’s __________ is either “That’s okay—there’s no extra retort charge” or “Don’t worry—he won’t drink much.” Each statement by the waiter is an example of a clever reply to the customer’s complaint. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 8. When Bridget writes up her experiment, she will __________ similar studies by other researchers, to show that her results match theirs. 9. Some people don’t think in a(n) _________ way. Their thoughts are governed by emotion, not reason. 10. My father thinks everything combines well with peanut butter. He even thinks peanut butter and onions are __________ in a sandwich. SENTENCE CHECK 1 Complete each item with the correct word from the box. A. accessible B. awe C. cite D. compatible E. exempt F. prevail G. propel H. rational I. retort J. retrieve 8. When Bridget writes up her experiment, she will __________ similar studies by other researchers, to show cite that her results match theirs. Bridget will mention the other studies to support her own results. 9. Some people don’t think in a ___________ way. Their rational thoughts are governed by emotion, not reason. People whose thoughts are not governed by reason don’t think in a logical way. 10. My father thinks everything combines well with peanut butter. He even thinks peanut butter and onions are __________ compatible in a sandwich. The word combines tells you that the father thinks that peanut butter and onions combine well in a sandwich.