NAME_____________________________________ DATE ______________________BLOCK_____
English I Vocabulary
Unit 3 Activity
I.
Completing the Sentence – From the words in this unit, choose the one that best completes each of the
following sentences. Write the word in the space provided.
1. Although I am not a particularly argumentative person, last week I found myself involved in a heated
_______________________________ with a salesclerk.
2. Although they have enough money to live on, the loss of most of their great wealth has left them feeling like
_______________________________.
3. “I am willing to wink at a harmless prank,” the dean remarked, “but I will not
______________________________ outright vandalism.”
4. It is a real tribute to the ingenuity of the human mind that for thousands of years people have been
______________________________ new and interesting theories of the universe.
5. After so many years of distinguished service in the United States Senate, he can properly be called a(n)
_______________________________ statesman.
6. It is only through the exercise of their intelligence that people can begin to ______________________________
the difficulties they encounter in daily living.
7. A screenplay or television drama with the same old boy-meets-girl plot can certainly be criticized as
_____________________________.
8. In order to fit the newspaper article into the space available, the editor had to
_______________________________ it by omitting secondary details.
9. Bands of ___________________________________ broke through the frontier defenses of the province and
began to plunder the rich farmlands of the interior.
10. As the layer of clouds that hung over the city began to break up, the sun came pouring through the
____________________________.
11. Though I was hurt by the tactless comment, I tried to show pleasure in it by twisting my lips into a feeble
____________________________________ of a smile.
12. During a recent interdenominational service in our community center, the
_______________________________________ of various faiths met as one.
13. “That child may have an angel’s _________________________________ features, but at heart he is a little
devil!” I exclaimed with disgust.
14. A few of us who disagreed strongly with the committee’s conclusions felt compelled to raise our voices in
____________________________________.
15. The only way I could ____________________________________ the argument peacefully was to walk away
abruptly.
16. “I think,” said the salesclerk, “that the phrase ‘hot under the collar’ aptly describes the typical
___________________________________ customer I have to deal with.”
17. No one but a heartless scoundrel would ___________________________________ nickels and dimes from a
charity collection fund.
18. The only lasting cure for ______________________________ is to eat a great deal less and exercise a great deal
more.
19. In this clever spoof of horror movies, the local witch doctor encounters hilarious difficulties when he tries to
______________________________ an evil demon that has taken up residence in the heroine’s body.
20. After driving the lawful ruler out of the country for good, the villainous duke
________________________________ the throne and crowned himself king.
II.
Synonyms – Choose the word from the unit that is the same or most nearly the same in meaning as the
boldface word or expression in the given phrases.
21. Vowed to capture the notorious freebooter
_________________________________________
22. Programs that aid destitute persons
_________________________________________
23. Refuses to turn a blind eye to corrupt practices
_________________________________________
24. Gets into one quarrel after another
_________________________________________
25. Tried to make up a credible alibi
_________________________________________
26. A painful split between old allies
_________________________________________
27. Conquered every obstacle they faced
_________________________________________
28. Condensed the long and detailed report
_________________________________________
III.
Antonyms – Choose the word from this unit that is most nearly opposite in meaning to the boldface word or
expression in the given phrase. Write the word on the line provided.
29. A major novel by an obscure writer
_________________________________________
30. A fresh approach to a familiar story
_________________________________________
IV.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT WORD – Circle the boldface word that more satisfactorily completes each of the
following sentences.
1. Either party had the right to ( terminate / surmount ) the agreement that has been made whenever the
partnership proves unprofitable.
2. In a dictatorship, people who ( abridge / dissent ) from the official party line usually wind up in prison or worse.
3. I am very much flattered that you have referred to me as “an ( eminent / obese ) educator,” but I prefer to
think of myself as just a good teacher.
4. The robber barons of an earlier era often acted more like ( adherents / marauders ) than ethical businessmen in
their dealings with the public.
5. You had no right to ( exorcise / usurp ) for yourself the role of gracious host at my party!
6. The few words that she grudgingly muttered were the only ( semblance / altercation ) of an apology that she
offered for her rude behavior.
7. I feel like a ( usurper / pauper ) now that my part time job has come to an end and I no longer have any
spending money.
8. Like all literary sneak thieves, he has a truly nasty habit of ( pilfering / fabricating ) other people’s ideas and then
claiming them as his own.
9. The fact that many citizens are ( trite / irate ) over the new taxes does not mean that these taxes are
unjustifiable.
10. My cousin has so much imagination that he can ( dissent / fabricate ) an excuse that even an experienced
principal would believe!
11. One can’t become a good writer just by ( surmounting / adhering) closely to rules laid down in standard
grammar books.
12. What began as a minor quarrel grew into a serious ( altercation / exorcism ) and then into an ugly brawl.
13. Their ( irate / cherubic ) faces and ethereal voices almost made me believe that the music they were singing
was coming from heaven.
14. The fact that Abraham Lincoln was able to ( surmount / terminate ) the handicap of a limited education does
not mean you should quit school.
15. I do not entirely ( usurp / condone) your misconduct, but I can understand, to a degree, why you behaved as
you did.
16. Unless we repair the ( rifts / semblances ) in our party and present a united front, we will go down to crushing
defeat in the upcoming election.
17. It is the sacred duty of all Americans to oppose any attempt to ( abridge / condone) or deny the rights
guaranteed us in the Constitution.
18. Anyone who wants to dine at that outrageously expensive restaurant had better carry a credit card or a truly (
obese / eminent ) wallet.
19. His speech was so ( cherubic/ trite ) that one could almost anticipate the phrases he would use next.
20. The comforting presence of relatives did much to ( exorcise / pilfer) the patient’s feelings of alarm at the
thought to undergoing major surgery.
V.
VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT – Read the following passage, in which some of the words you have just studied
in this unit appear in boldface type. Then complete each statement given below the passage by circling the
letter of the item that is the same or almost the same in meaning as the highlighted word.
Angel Island
Chinese immigrants came to America for the same reasons that other immigrants came: to seek a better life.
They began to arrive in the late 1840’s , drawn by the promise of California’s gold fields. Later they helped build the
railroads. Like other immigrants before or since, many newly arrived Chinese were willing to work for very low wages.
Irate critics accused them of taking jobs away from American born workers and European immigrants. These protests
led to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Although the law barred most Chinese from entering the
country, it contained exceptions for the wives and children of certain groups of Chinese, such as merchants and
teachers. Soon a demand developed for papers fabricated to prove the existence of such relatives.
Angel Island, located in San Francisco Bay, once served as a hideout for marauders. But from 1910 to 1940, it
was used to enforce the exclusion laws. It became known as the “Guardian of the Western Gate.” Unlike Ellis Island,
which was truly a port of entry, Angel Island was a place of detention. New immigrants were held there, sometimes for
months, until their claims could be checked. They endured repeated questioning about every detail of their lives in
China. Many expressed their hopes and fears in poems written on the walls of their barracks. Despite the laws,
thousands of Chinese, including so-called paper sons and daughters, were able to surmount the obstacles that barred
their way.
In 1943, Congress terminated the 1882 act. People of Chinese descent, along with people from many other parts
of Asia, were finally free to come to America. Today a portion of one old station on Angel Island stands as a memorial to
their struggle.
1. The meaning of irate as seen in the
passage is
a. Severe
b. Unruffled
c. Incensed
d. Biased
2. Fabricated as seen in the passage most
nearly means
a. Purchased
b. Concocted
c. Intended
d. Written
3. Marauders is best defined as
a. Celebrities
b. Pirates
c. Spies
d. Fugitives
4. The meaning of surmount as seen in
the passage is
a. Overcome
b. Bypass
c. Protest
d. Face
5. Terminated as seen in the passage
most nearly means
a. Replaced
b. Amended
c. Rejected
d. Ended