Fourth Edition
Sherrie L. Nist
© 2010 Townsend Press

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TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1
– adjective
• Finding a stranger on our doorstep startled me, but the benign expression on his face told me not to worry.
• Gorilla mothers, usually loving and benign , have been known to attack their babies if they are put in the same cage.
means
A.
realistic.
B.
kindhearted.
C.
bored.
A benign expression

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1
– adjective
• Finding a stranger on our doorstep startled me, but the benign expression on his face told me not to worry.
• Gorilla mothers, usually loving and benign , have been known to attack their babies if they are put in the same cage.
A benign expression
means
A.
realistic.
B. kindhearted.
C.
bored.
A kindhearted expression would tell a person not to worry. If it is surprising that gorilla mothers attack their babies, they must usually be loving and kindhearted .

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2
– adjective
• The new staff members were enthusiastic at the weekly meetings, but the old-timers were pretty blasé .
• No matter how many games I see, I will never become blasé about baseball. Each game is new and exciting to me.
means
A.
unexcited.
B.
obvious.
C.
repetitive.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2
– adjective
• The new staff members were enthusiastic at the weekly meetings, but the old-timers were pretty blasé .
• No matter how many games I see, I will never become blasé about baseball. Each game is new and exciting to me.
means
A. unexcited.
B.
obvious.
C.
repetitive.
In contrast with the new staff members being enthusiastic, the oldtimers are pretty unexcited by the weekly meetings. If each game is new and exiting, the person will never become unexcited about baseball.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3
– verb
• The United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland.
• Saliva comprises about sixty ingredients, including minerals that help repair tooth enamel.
means
A.
to cause.
B.
to reveal.
C.
to be made up of.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3
– verb
• The United Kingdom comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland.
• Saliva comprises about sixty ingredients, including minerals that help repair tooth enamel.
means
A.
to cause.
B.
to reveal.
C. to be made up of.
The United Kingdom is made up of the countries listed. Saliva is made up of about sixty ingredients.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4
– verb
• The snobby millionaire wouldn’t condescend to associate with anyone who wasn’t also rich.
• Although everyone else in the office took turns making coffee, Bill would not condescend to perform “such a lowly task.”
means
A.
to lower oneself.
B.
to dare something frightening.
C.
to remember.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4
– verb
• The snobby millionaire wouldn’t condescend to associate with anyone who wasn’t also rich.
• Although everyone else in the office took turns making coffee, Bill would not condescend to perform “such a lowly task.”
means
A. to lower oneself.
B.
to dare something frightening.
C.
to remember.
In order to associate with someone less rich, the snobby millionaire would have to lower himself . In the second item, the words such a lowly task suggest that condescend means “ to lower oneself .”

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5
– noun
• The facade of the old department store was cleaned this summer.
Now the store’s brick front is an inviting bright orange-red.
• The facade of the hotel—facing Main Street—has marble, but the sides and back were made of steel.
means
A.
an inside.
B.
a top.
C.
a front.
The facade of a cathedral

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5
– noun
• The facade of the old department store was cleaned this summer.
Now the store’s brick front is an inviting bright orange-red.
• The facade of the hotel—facing Main Street—has marble, but the sides and back were made of steel.
The facade of a cathedral
means
A.
an inside.
B.
a top.
C. a front.
In the first item, the word you the meaning of facade front tells
. In the second item, if the back and the sides of the hotel are made of steel, the marble part must be the front .

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6
– adjective
• Always ready with a slick promise, the glib politician smoothly talked his way into being re-elected.
• Jerome thought his conversation would impress Sofia, but she found it glib and insincere.
means
A.
bored.
B.
strict.
C.
smooth.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6
– adjective
• Always ready with a slick promise, the glib politician smoothly talked his way into being re-elected.
• Jerome thought his conversation would impress Sofia, but she found it glib and insincere.
means
A.
bored.
B.
strict.
C. smooth.
In the first item, the words slick and means “ smooth .” In the second item, Sofia finds Jerome’s conversation smooth and insincere. smoothly suggest that glib

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7
– adjective
• The Smiths acted as though they were better than anybody else.
Not surprisingly, their haughty manner made them unpopular with their neighbors.
• After being promoted to manager, Gil was haughty with his old office buddies, saying he now had more important things to do than waste time with them.
means
A portrait of
Queen Victoria looking haughty
A.
snobbish.
B.
angry.
C.
wordy.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7
– adjective
• The Smiths acted as though they were better than anybody else.
Not surprisingly, their haughty manner made them unpopular with their neighbors.
• After being promoted to manager, Gil was haughty with his old office buddies, saying he now had more important things to do than waste time with them.
means
A portrait of
Queen Victoria looking haughty
A. snobbish.
B.
angry.
C.
wordy.
If the Smiths acted as though they were better than anyone else, they were snobbish . As described in the second item, Gil’s attitude toward his old office buddies is snobbish .

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8
– noun
• When Nick saw his name listed in the article as a gang member, he was furious. “That’s libel !” he yelled. “How dare they print such a lie about me?”
• Many magazine editors double-check the facts they publish about a person. Then, if they are accused of libel , they can prove that they stated the truth.
means
A.
a false name.
B.
a printed falsehood.
C.
a repeated expression.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8
– noun
• When Nick saw his name listed in the article as a gang member, he was furious. “That’s libel !” he yelled. “How dare they print such a lie about me?”
• Many magazine editors double-check the facts they publish about a person. Then, if they are accused of libel , they can prove that they stated the truth.
means
A.
a false name.
B. a printed falsehood.
C.
a repeated expression.
The words print such a lie suggest that libel is a printed falsehood themselves against charges of having printed falsehoods in their publications.
.
If magazine editors double-check the facts, they must want protect

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9
– noun
• When writing a personal story for a family magazine, Bev used a pseudonym . She didn’t want everyone in town to know about her problems.
• The author Stephen King uses a pseudonym on some of his books so readers won’t be aware that so many of the horror novels on the market are his.
means
A.
a weak vocabulary.
B.
a personal experience.
C.
a false name.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9
– noun
• When writing a personal story for a family magazine, Bev used a pseudonym . She didn’t want everyone in town to know about her problems.
• The author Stephen King uses a pseudonym on some of his books so readers won’t be aware that so many of the horror novels on the market are his.
means
A.
a weak vocabulary.
B.
a personal experience.
C. a false name.
If Bev didn’t want anyone to know about her problems, she would write the story under a false name . If Stephen King doesn’t want readers to know he wrote some of his books, he would use a false name .

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10
– adjective
• The TV ad for a headache medicine was so redundant that it gave me a headache! The name of the product was repeated at least a dozen times.
• The teacher wrote “ redundant ” in several spots in the essay where Eric had repeated a point or used extra, unneeded words.
means
A.
grammatical.
B.
proud.
C.
repetitious.

TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10
– adjective
• The TV ad for a headache medicine was so redundant that it gave me a headache! The name of the product was repeated at least a dozen times.
• The teacher wrote “ redundant ” in several spots in the essay where Eric had repeated a point or used extra, unneeded words.
means
A.
grammatical.
B.
proud.
C. repetitious.
If the name of the product was repeated a dozen times, the ad was repetitious . In the second item, the word that redundant means “ repetitious .” repeated tells you

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
1.
A receptionist’s job ________s answering the phone, greeting customers, opening the mail, dealing with messengers, and smiling.
2.
My aunt’s e-mails are annoyingly __________, repeating
“news” she has already given us by telephone.

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
1.
comprises greeting customers, opening the mail, dealing with messengers, and smiling.
A receptionist’s job is made up of the tasks listed.
2.
redundant
“news” she has already given us by telephone.
If the aunt repeats in her e-mails what she has already told them by telephone, the e-mails are needlessly repetitive .

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
3.
Since becoming a fashion model, Nora has been very
__________, even snubbing some of her old, unglamorous friends.
4.
One actress sued a magazine for __________ because it printed a false and damaging story about her being drunk in public.
5.
Harry, always ready with some made-up excuse, is
__________ enough to talk himself out of any difficulty at the snap of a finger.

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
3.
Since becoming a fashion model, Nora has been very
__________, even snubbing some of her old, unglamorous friends.
If Nora snubs her old, unglamorous friends, she has become arrogant .
4.
libel printed a false and damaging story about her being drunk in public.
The words printed a false. . .story
tell you the meaning of libel .
5.
glib enough to talk himself out of any difficulty at the snap of a finger.
The ease with which Harry tosses off his made-up excuses suggests he is smooth and insincere .

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
6.
In his usual ________ manner, my neighbor carefully picked up the ant in his kitchen, brought it outside, and gently put it down on the sidewalk.
7.
When my sister first got her job at the recording studio, she was thrilled to go to work each day. Now, after ten years, she’s ________ about her work and wants to change jobs.

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
6.
benign picked up the ant in his kitchen, brought it outside, and gently put it down on the sidewalk.
The neighbor’s actions show that he is kind and gentle .
7.
When my sister first got her job at the recording studio, she was thrilled to go to work each day. Now, after ten years, she’s ________ about her work and wants to change jobs.
blasé
If she used to be thrilled about her job but now wants to change jobs, she must now be bored with her work.

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
8.
Lidia’s grandfather made her a dollhouse with a ________ just like the front of her family’s house: black shutters, a red front door, and even the same address.
9.
The conceited young baseball player wouldn’t ___________ to talk to his fans until an old-timer reminded him that the fans were the ones who had made him a star.
10.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens wasn’t the first author to use the ___________ Mark Twain. A newspaper writer of the time used the same pen name.

SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A.
benign
F.
glib
B.
blasé
G.
haughty
C.
comprise D.
condescend E.
facade
H.
libel I.
pseudonym J.
redundant
8.
facade just like the front of her family’s house: black shutters, a red front door, and even the same address.
The words front of . . . house tell you the meaning of facade .
9.
condescend to talk to his fans until an old-timer reminded him that the fans were the ones who had made him a star.
If the ball player was conceited, he wouldn’t lower himself to talk to fans.
10.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens wasn’t the first author to use the ___________ Mark Twain. A newspaper writer of the time used the same pen name.
The words pen name tell you the meaning of pseudonym .