IMPROVING
VOCABULARY SKILLS
Fourth Edition
Sherrie L. Nist
© 2010 Townsend Press
Unit Four: Chapter 22
• commemorate
• empathy
• complacent
• menial
• consensus
• niche
• deplete
• transcend
• diligent
• waive
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 commemorate
– verb
• Thomas devoted himself to feeding the hungry. So on the
anniversary of his death, it seems wrong to commemorate his
life with a fancy dinner party that only the rich can attend.
• Each year, my parents commemorate their first date by having
dinner at McDonalds, the place where they first met.
Commemorate means
A. to share.
B. to celebrate.
C. to believe.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 commemorate
– verb
• Thomas devoted himself to feeding the hungry. So on the
anniversary of his death, it seems wrong to commemorate his
life with a fancy dinner party that only the rich can attend.
• Each year, my parents commemorate their first date by having
dinner at McDonalds, the place where they first met.
Commemorate means
A. to share.
B. to celebrate.
C. to believe.
One would celebrate Thomas’s life on the anniversary of his death.
Having dinner at the place where they first met would be a fitting
way for the parents to celebrate the anniversary of their first date.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 complacent
– adjective
• Elected officials cannot afford to be complacent about winning
an election. Before long, they’ll have to campaign again for the
voters’ support.
• Getting all A’s hasn’t made Ivy complacent. She continues to
work hard at school.
Complacent means
A. very eager.
B. reasonable.
C. too much at ease.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 complacent
– adjective
– adjective
• Elected officials cannot afford to be complacent about winning
an election. Before long, they’ll have to campaign again for the
voters’ support.
• Getting all A’s hasn’t made Ivy complacent. She continues to
work hard at school.
Complacent means
A. very eager.
B. reasonable.
C. too much at ease.
If the elected officials will soon have to campaign again, they cannot
be too much at ease about winning the most recent election. If Ivy
continues to work hard, getting all A’s must not have made her too
much at ease with her schoolwork.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 consensus
– noun
• A vote revealed strong agreement among the teachers. The
consensus was that they would strike if the school board did not
act quickly to raise their pay.
• The family consensus was that we should go camping again this
summer. Ray was the only one who wanted to do something else
for a change.
Consensus means
A. a majority view.
B. an unusual idea.
C. a question.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 consensus
– noun
• A vote revealed strong agreement among the teachers. The
consensus was that they would strike if the school board did not
act quickly to raise their pay.
• The family consensus was that we should go camping again this
summer. Ray was the only one who wanted to do something else
for a change.
Consensus means
A. a majority view.
B. an unusual idea.
C. a question.
In the first item, the words strong agreement suggest that consensus
means “a majority view.” In the second item, if Ray was the only family
member who didn’t want to go camping, the majority view was that
they should go camping.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 deplete
– verb
• I’d like to help you out with a loan, but unexpected car repairs
have managed to deplete my bank account.
• In order not to deplete their small supply of canned food, the
shipwreck survivors searched the island for plants they could eat.
Deplete means
A. to use up.
B. to forget.
C. to find.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 deplete
– verb
• I’d like to help you out with a loan, but unexpected car repairs
have managed to deplete my bank account.
• In order not to deplete their small supply of canned food, the
shipwreck survivors searched the island for plants they could eat.
Deplete means
A. to use up.
B. to forget.
C. to find.
If the person can’t afford to help out with a loan, his or her car
repairs must have used up the bank account. If the survivors
searched for plants they could eat, they must have wanted not
to use up their small supply of canned food.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 diligent
– adjective
• I wish I had been more diligent about practicing piano when I
was younger. It would be nice to be able to play well now.
• Diane was lazy when she first joined the family business, but she
soon became so diligent that she inspired others to work harder.
Diligent means
A. self-satisfied.
B. lucky.
C. hard-working.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 diligent
– adjective
• I wish I had been more diligent about practicing piano when I
was younger. It would be nice to be able to play well now.
• Diane was lazy when she first joined the family business, but she
soon became so diligent that she inspired others to work harder.
Diligent means
A. self-satisfied.
B. lucky.
C. hard-working.
If the person had been more hard-working
about practicing the piano in the past, he or
she would be able to play well now. The
second item contrasts Diane’s former
laziness with the fact that she is now hardworking.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 empathy
– noun
• Families who lost loved ones in the attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon have empathy for one another because
of their shared grief.
• Ms. Allan is an excellent career counselor partly because of her
great empathy. She understands each student’s feelings and point
of view.
Empathy means
A. a common opinion.
B. a sympathetic understanding.
C. an efficiency.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 empathy
– noun
• Families who lost loved ones in the attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon have empathy for one another because
of their shared grief.
• Ms. Allan is an excellent career counselor partly because of her
great empathy. She understands each student’s feelings and point
of view.
Empathy means
A. a common opinion.
B. a sympathetic understanding.
C. an efficiency.
In the first item, the words shared grief suggest that empathy
means “a sympathetic understanding.” In the second item, if Ms.
Allan understands each student’s feelings and point of view, she
has a sympathetic understanding of each student.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 menial
– adjective
• Julio seems to think my summer job delivering pizza is menial
work, but I’ve found that it requires some skills.
• Every job can be done with pride. Even menial jobs such as
washing windows or scrubbing floors can be performed with
care.
Menial means
A. unskilled.
B. steady.
C. satisfying.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 menial
– adjective
• Julio seems to think my summer job delivering pizza is menial
work, but I’ve found that it requires some skills.
• Every job can be done with pride. Even menial jobs such as
washing windows or scrubbing floors can be performed with
care.
Menial means
A. unskilled.
B. steady.
C. satisfying.
Although delivering pizza may seem
like unskilled work, in fact it requires
some skills. Washing windows and
scrubbing floors are unskilled jobs.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 niche
– noun
• Although her degree was in accounting, Kendra decided her
niche was really in business management, so she went back to
school for more training.
• Dom spent the years after college moving restlessly from job to
job, never finding a comfortable niche for himself.
Niche means
A. a shared opinion.
B. a suitable place.
C. an education.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 niche
– noun
• Although her degree was in accounting, Kendra decided her
niche was really in business management, so she went back to
school for more training.
• Dom spent the years after college moving restlessly from job to
job, never finding a comfortable niche for himself.
Niche means
A. a shared opinion.
B. a suitable place.
C. an education.
If Kendra went back for more training in business management, she
must have decided that business management was work that suited
her well (was a suitable place for her). If Dom moved restlessly from
job to job, he must not have found a suitable place for himself.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 transcend
– verb
• The psychic convinced her clients that she could transcend time
and space and talk directly with the dead.
• Yoga can help one transcend the cares of the world and reach a
state of relaxation.
Transcend means
A. to participate in.
B. to go past.
C. to use up.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 transcend
– verb
• The psychic convinced her clients that she could transcend time
and space and talk directly with the dead.
• Yoga can help one transcend the cares of the world and reach a
state of relaxation.
Transcend means
A. to participate in.
B. to go past.
C. to use up.
In order to talk directly with the dead, the psychic would have to go
past time and space. In order to reach a state of relaxation one must
rise above (go past) the cares of the world.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 waive
– verb
• The defendant decided to waive his right to an attorney and,
instead, speak for himself in court.
• Since Lin had studied so much math on her own, the school
waived the requirement that she take high school algebra.
Waive means
A. to lose.
B. to honor.
C. to give up.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 waive
– verb
• The defendant decided to waive his right to an attorney and,
instead, speak for himself in court.
• Since Lin had studied so much math on her own, the school
waived the requirement that she take high school algebra.
Waive means
A. to lose.
B. to honor.
C. to give up.
If the defendant was going to speak for himself, he must have decided
to give up his right to an attorney. If Lin had already learned the
material on her own, the school would give up the requirement that
she take algebra.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
1. The old man decided to ___________ any claim he had to
the family fortune, preferring to see the money go to the
younger generation.
2. The American Inventors’ Association gathered at a
banquet to ____________ Thomas Edison.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
1. The old man decided to ___________
any claim he had to
waive
the family fortune, preferring to see the money go to the
younger generation.
The old man would give up his right to the money so it could go to others.
2. The American Inventors’ Association gathered at a
banquet to ____________
commemorate Thomas Edison.
Inventors would gather to honor the memory of the great inventor
Thomas Edison.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
3. My grandfather, who’s recovering from heart surgery, is
weak, so it doesn’t take much effort for him to _________
the little energy he has.
4. Many people believe that Shakespeare’s works _________
those of all other authors.
5. The hair salon got off to a good start, but then the owners
became __________ about their success and stopped trying
to attract new customers.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
3. My grandfather, who’s recovering from heart surgery, is
weak, so it doesn’t take much effort for him to _________
deplete
the little energy he has.
If he is weak, it wouldn’t take much effort to use up his energy.
4. Many people believe that Shakespeare’s works _________
transcend
those of all other authors.
Many believe that Shakespeare’s works rise above the works of others.
5. The hair salon got off to a good start, but then the owners
became __________
complacent about their success and stopped trying
to attract new customers.
If the owners stopped trying to attract new customers, they must
have felt too much satisfaction with their early success.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
6. Several sessions with a career counselor helped Suzanne
consider what her ________ in the working world might be.
7. The children like to help out at the family restaurant, but
they are able to perform only __________ tasks, such as
mopping floors and cleaning tables.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
6. Several sessions with a career counselor helped Suzanne
consider what her ________
niche in the working world might be.
A career counselor would help Suzanne think about what activity
would be especially suited to her.
7. The children like to help out at the family restaurant, but
they are able to perform only __________
menial tasks, such as
mopping floors and cleaning tables.
Mopping floors and cleaning tables are tasks not requiring special
skills or higher intellectual abilities.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
8. Arnie has been __________ in his study of German because
he hopes to speak the language with his relatives from
Germany when they visit next summer.
9. I had hoped the restaurant would be good, but our group’s
__________ was that the food was only so-so, and the
service was even worse.
10. Dr. Grange is a brilliant mathematician, but she lacks
__________ for her students. She doesn’t understand how
they can find some problems so difficult.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. commemorate B. complacent C. consensus
D. deplete
E. diligent
F. empathy
I. transcend
J. waive
G. menial
H. niche
8. Arnie has been __________
diligent in his study of German because
he hopes to speak the language with his relatives from
Germany when they visit next summer.
In order to speak German, his studying would be steady and determined.
9. I had hoped the restaurant would be good, but our group’s
__________
consensus was that the food was only so-so, and the
service was even worse.
The majority view was that the food and service were not good.
10. Dr. Grange is a brilliant mathematician, but she lacks
__________
empathy for her students. She doesn’t understand how
they can find some problems so difficult.
If Dr. Grange doesn’t understand her students’ difficulties, she lacks
the ability to share in their feelings and thoughts.