Name
Date
Class
abstract
controversial
eventual
inferior
obsolete
absurd
defiant
grotesque
mere
technique
Directions. Scan the definitions in Column A.. Match each definition in Column A with the correct Vocabulary Word
above. Write the word on the blank. From Column B., write the letter of your choice on the line next to the correct
number in Column A.
Change in Arts and Literature: But Is It Dancing?
Every generation seems to enjoy criticizing the dances of other generations. Comments such as "Do you really call that
'dancing'? " have been heard in households throughout the country for generations.
COLUMN A
____ 1. ____________________
adj. happening at the end of, or as a
result of, a series of events; ultimate,
final
____ 2. ____________________
adj. distorted; bizarre; absurd;
n. a hideous or fantastic thing or
quality
COLUMN B
(A)
We could talk about dance in ___________ or general terms,
but it’s more interesting to talk about specific dances and dancers.
(B)
Dance styles change, but the arguments they cause stay around.
The Charleston was just as ___________ in the 1920s as break
dancing was in the 1980s.
(C)
____ 3. ____________________
Today, few people would say that the Charleston, the Jitterbug, or
the Twist are ___________ , but when these dances were popular
with the young, many parents thought them bizarre.
adj. lower in importance, rank, order,
or status
(D) An older generation often thinks that a younger generation's
____ 4. ____________________
dances are ___________ . But, just as often, the younger generation
thinks that their elders' dances are ridiculous.
adj. causing argument; debatable
(E)
adj. nothing more or other than; only
To some people the difference in dance styles doesn't seem to be
a ___________ question of taste. The issue isn't that simple to them.
____ 6. ____________________
(F)
____ 5. ____________________
adj. openly and boldly resisting
____ 7. ____________________
No one likes to feel that his or her way of doing things has
become old-fashioned, or ___________ , like a horse-drawn carriage.
n. a way of using skills to achieve a
task; a technical skill; a way of doing
something
(G) Each generation feels a little ___________ when it hears its
____ 8. ____________________
(H) One good ___________ for avoiding conflict is to ask parents
adj. so untrue or unreasonable as to
be ridiculous
whether they ever had this discussion with their parents.
____ 9. ____________________
adj. out-of-date; no longer used
____ 10. ____________________
adj. not concrete; theoretical;
n. a summary; nonrepresentational
schools of contemporary art; v. to
summarize; to write an abstract
styles of dance criticized. Every generation resists the views of the
previous generation.
(I)
Actually, one generation's dances probably are neither
___________ to nor better than another's. They're just different.
(J)
The ___________ result of time passing is that whatever dance
style is “In" will soon become dated.
Name
Date
Class
abstract
controversial
eventual
inferior
obsolete
absurd
defiant
grotesque
mere
technique
Directions. Scan the definitions in Column A.. Match each definition in Column A with the correct Vocabulary Word
above. Write the word on the blank. From Column B., write the letter of your choice on the line next to the correct
number in Column A..
Change in Arts and Literature: But Is It Dancing?
Every generation seems to enjoy criticizing the dances of other generations. Comments such as "Do you really call that
'dancing'? " have been heard in households throughout the country for generations.
COLUMN A
____ 1. ____________________
adj. happening at the end of, or as a
result of, a series of events; ultimate,
final
____ 2. ____________________
adj. distorted; bizarre; absurd;
n. a hideous or fantastic thing or
quality
____ 3. ____________________
adj. lower in importance, rank, order,
or status
____ 4. ____________________
COLUMN B
A. Classical ballet has not become ___________; however, it has
faced many competing styles in the world of serious dance.
B. Some of the new forms of dance were as strange to lovers of
classical dance as ___________ art is to people who prefer
representational art.
C. These critics called the new dance forms ugly, even
___________.
D. They believed that modern dance could not begin to equal
classical dance—that it was clearly ___________.
adj. causing argument; debatable
____ 5. ____________________
adj. nothing more or other than; only
____ 6. ____________________
adj. openly and boldly resisting
____ 7. ____________________
n. a way of using skills to achieve a
task; a technical skill; a way of doing
something
E. When Isadora Duncan (1878-1927) was developing her free and
expressive style in the 1920s, she was very ___________. Not
everyone approved.
F. Duncan's approach was unlike anything people had come to
know as dance; they laughed at her style and called it
___________.
G. Some critics thought Duncan was a ___________ upstart, that
her dance style was nothing more than a passing fad. In reality,
she made major contributions to the field of dance.
____ 8. ____________________
adj. so untrue or unreasonable as to
be ridiculous
H. While she used some of the ___________ of classical ballet, she
introduced new forms of movement.
____ 9. ____________________
adj. out-of-date; no longer used
I. Duncan was ___________. She challenged her critics and won.
____ 10. ____________________
J. The ___________ popularity of today's modern dance troupes
adj. not concrete; theoretical;
n. a summary; nonrepresentational
schools of contemporary art; v. to
summarize; to write an abstract
is one of the results of her work..
Name
Directions. For each item below, write the
letter on the blank of the choice that means
the same, or about the same, as the boldface
word.
Date
____ 11. mere excuses
A.
B.
C.
D.
only
silly
similar
unusual
____ 12. an abstract painting
A.
B.
C.
D.
____ 13. an interesting technique
A.
B.
C.
D.
color
method
part
step
final
first
present
understandable
adopted
intelligent
resisting
talented
A.
B.
C.
D.
fashionable
out-of-date
short-lived
stupid
extremely talented
good-natured
well-trained
widely accepted
____ 18. a grotesque costume
A.
B.
C.
D.
____ 19. an obsolete dance
A.
B.
C.
D.
modern
old-fashioned
ridiculous
sensible
____ 16. a controversial dance instructor
____ 17. the defiant dance student
A.
B.
C.
D.
boring
interesting
representational
strange
____ 14. an absurd approach
A.
B.
C.
D.
____ 15. the eventual result
A.
B.
C.
D.
Class
Directions. For each item below, circle the letter
of the choice that means the opposite, or about
the opposite, of the boldface word.
beautiful
clever
earthy
ugly
____ 20. an inferior style
A.
B.
C.
D.
interior
lucky
superior
unfortunate