BUILDING
VOCABULARY SKILLS
Fourth Edition
Sherrie L. Nist
© 2010 Townsend Press
Unit Four: Chapter 22
• plausible
• ridicule
• provoke
• shrewd
• recur
• skeptical
• reprimand
• stereotype
• revoke
• tactic
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 plausible
– adjective
• Was Buck’s excuse for being late plausible? Or did he tell you
some unbelievable story?
• “Some classic TV shows were just not plausible,” said the
producer. “Who ever heard of a flying nun or a teenage doctor?”
Plausible means
A. nice.
B. believable.
C. long enough.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 plausible
– adjective
• Was Buck’s excuse for being late plausible? Or did he tell you
some unbelievable story?
• “Some classic TV shows were just not plausible,” said the
producer. “Who ever heard of a flying nun or a teenage doctor?”
Plausible means
A. nice.
B. believable.
C. long enough.
Buck’s excuse was either believable or unbelievable. A show about
a flying nun or a teenage doctor does not sound very believable.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 provoke
– verb
• “Mr. Jackson provoked me by saying nasty things about my
mother, so I hit him,” Terry told the judge.
• My father is slow to anger, but this morning my sister’s
wisecracks began to provoke him.
Provoke means
A. to delay.
B. to confuse.
C. to anger.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 provoke
– verb
• “Mr. Jackson provoked me by saying nasty things about my
mother, so I hit him,” Terry told the judge.
• My father is slow to anger, but this morning my sister’s
wisecracks began to provoke him.
Provoke means
A. to delay.
B. to confuse.
C. to anger.
Mr. Jackson would anger Terry by saying nasty things about
Terry’s mother. In the second item, the word anger tells you
the meaning of provoke.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 recur
– verb
• Five-year-old Arnie’s nightmare of ghosts chasing him tends to
recur at least once a week.
• “If your headaches keep recurring,” the doctor told Mrs. Lopez,
“I’m going to recommend a lab test. We need to find out why you
are having so much pain.”
Recur means
A. to disappear.
B. to improve.
C. to happen again.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 recur
– verb
• Five-year-old Arnie’s nightmare of ghosts chasing him tends to
recur at least once a week.
• “If your headaches keep recurring,” the doctor told Mrs. Lopez,
“I’m going to recommend a lab test. We need to find out why you
are having so much pain.”
Recur means
A. to disappear.
B. to improve.
C. to happen again.
Arnie’s nightmare happens again every week. The doctor will
order a lab test if the headaches keep happening.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 reprimand
– noun
• If a boss wants to criticize a worker, the union requires that the
reprimand be written.
• As a child, when I misbehaved, my father gave me verbal
reprimands, but my mother would not hesitate to send me to my
room for a time-out.
Reprimand means
A. praise.
B. a scolding.
C. an answer.
“Since reprimands don’t work to keep
me off your chair, why don’t you try
offering me dog treats instead?”
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 reprimand
– noun
• If a boss wants to criticize a worker, the union requires that the
reprimand be written.
• As a child, when I misbehaved, my father gave me verbal
reprimands, but my mother would not hesitate to send me to my
room for a time-out.
Reprimand means
A. praise.
B. a scolding.
C. an answer.
“Since reprimands don’t work to keep
me off your chair, why don’t you try
offering me dog treats instead?”
In the first item, the word criticize
is a clue that a reprimand is a
scolding. If a child misbehaves, he
or she may get a scolding.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 revoke
– verb
• Mrs. Byers said she would revoke Ken’s privileges at the
computer lab if he ever again squirted glue between the computer
keys.
• To avoid having his driver’s license revoked, Art paid the $467
he owed for all of his speeding tickets.
Revoke means
A. to cancel.
B. to make longer.
C. to recognize.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 revoke
– verb
• Mrs. Byers said she would revoke Ken’s privileges at the
computer lab if he ever again squirted glue between the computer
keys.
• To avoid having his driver’s license revoked, Art paid the $467
he owed for all of his speeding tickets.
Revoke means
A. to cancel.
B. to make longer.
C. to recognize.
Squirting glue between the computer keys would be likely to get
one’s privileges in the lab canceled. If Art owed $467 in speeding
fines, he would be in danger of having his license canceled.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 ridicule
– verb
• Ignorant people often ridicule my brother because he is so
overweight. Even if they had perfect bodies—which they do
not—they have no right to tease him.
• Eugene knew his friends would ridicule him for wearing a shirt
and shorts with two different plaids, but he had no other clean
clothes to wear.
Ridicule means
A. to praise.
B. to notice.
C. to make fun of.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 ridicule
– verb
• Ignorant people often ridicule my brother because he is so
overweight. Even if they had perfect bodies—which they do
not—they have no right to tease him.
• Eugene knew his friends would ridicule him for wearing a shirt
and shorts with two different plaids, but he had no other clean
clothes to wear.
Ridicule means
A. to praise.
B. to notice.
C. to make fun of.
In the first item, the word tease tells you that ridicule means “to
make fun of.” Eugene’s friends would make fun of him for wearing
two different plaids.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 shrewd
– adjective
• Julio is a fine musician, but he’s no good with money. So he
hired a friend with a shrewd business sense to handle his
financial affairs.
• Sherry is a shrewd chess player. She always surprises her
opponents with clever winning moves.
Shrewd means
A. lucky.
B. loud.
C. smart.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 shrewd
– adjective
• Julio is a fine musician, but he’s no good with money. So he
hired a friend with a shrewd business sense to handle his
financial affairs.
• Sherry is a shrewd chess player. She always surprises her
opponents with clever winning moves.
Shrewd means
A. lucky.
B. loud.
C. smart.
If Julio is no good with money, he would hire a friend who was
smart about business. If Sherry comes up with clever winning
moves, she must be a smart chess player.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 skeptical
– adjective
• I am skeptical about the articles on movie stars and space aliens
in supermarket newspapers. My brother, however, believes every
word he reads in those papers.
• Vanessa’s family is so rich that she is skeptical about any man
who asks her out. She wonders if he’s interested in her or in her
money.
Skeptical means
A. economical.
B. doubtful.
C. believing.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 skeptical
– adjective
• I am skeptical about the articles on movie stars and space aliens
in supermarket newspapers. My brother, however, believes every
word he reads in those papers.
• Vanessa’s family is so rich that she is skeptical about any man
who asks her out. She wonders if he’s interested in her or in her
money.
Skeptical means
A. economical.
B. doubtful.
C. believing.
In contrast with the brother who believes every word, the speaker is
doubtful about the articles. If Vanessa’s family is extremely rich, she
would be doubtful about the motives of any man who asks her out.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 stereotype
– noun
• Bev still accepts the stereotype of all athletes as stupid even
though the school’s star quarterback is her math tutor.
• Because not all members of a group are alike, stereotypes lead to
inaccurate judgments of people.
Stereotype means
A. an oversimplified image.
B. a desired image.
C. a true image.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 stereotype
– noun
• Bev still accepts the stereotype of all athletes as stupid even
though the school’s star quarterback is her math tutor.
• Because not all members of a group are alike, stereotypes lead to
inaccurate judgments of people.
Stereotype means
A. an oversimplified image.
B. a desired image.
C. a true image.
The image of all athletes as stupid is an oversimplified image. It is
an oversimplified image to say that all members of a group are alike.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 tactic
– noun
• The teacher finally caught on to Greg’s sneaky tactic for getting
his homework done—having his sister do it.
• The best tactic for keeping young children from fighting is to
separate them.
Tactic means
A. a method.
B. a result.
C. a reason.
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 tactic
– noun
• The teacher finally caught on to Greg’s sneaky tactic for getting
his homework done—having his sister do it.
• The best tactic for keeping young children from fighting is to
separate them.
Tactic means
A. a method.
B. a result.
C. a reason.
Having your sister do your homework is a sneaky method for
getting it done. Separating young children is a method for keeping
them from fighting.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
1. At first the other students _______(e)d Sofi for speaking
with an accent, but they stopped teasing her once they
got to know her better.
2. Aesop’s Fables are charming stories based on _________s
of animals. In the fables, foxes are always sly, lions are
always fierce, and owls are always wise.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
1. At first the other students __________
ridiculed Sofi for speaking
with an accent, but they stopped teasing her once they
got to know her better.
The word teasing suggests that ridicule means “to make fun of.”
2. Aesop’s Fables are charming stories based on __________
stereotypes
of animals. In the fables, foxes are always sly, lions are
always fierce, and owls are always wise.
The sly fox, the fierce lion, and the wise owl are common, oversimplified
images of the animals.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
3. It takes great skill to make a science fiction film seem
__________ to the audience.
4. It was __________ of Connie to move to California last
year. Now she can pay in-state fees when she takes courses
at San Bernardino Valley College.
5. Jordan has headaches that ________ as often as once a day.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
3. It takes great skill to make a science fiction film seem
__________
plausible to the audience.
It takes skill to make a science fiction film seem believable.
4. It was __________
shrewd of Connie to move to California last
year. Now she can pay in-state fees when she takes courses
at San Bernardino Valley College.
It was clever of Connie to move so that she can pay in-state fees.
5. Jordan has headaches that ________
recur as often as once a day.
If Jordan gets a headache once a day, his headaches happen repeatedly.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
6. Some divorced parents who want to see more of their
children use an illegal __________: kidnapping.
7. The roofer’s estimate was so low that we became
__________ about the quality of his work.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
6. Some divorced parents who want to see more of their
children use an illegal __________:
kidnapping.
tactic
Kidnapping is an illegal method for getting to see more of one’s child.
7. The roofer’s estimate was so low that we became
__________
skeptical about the quality of his work.
One would be doubting about the quality of the work if the estimate
was very low.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
8. The principal sent the gym teacher a written __________
for not having his class leave the gym right after the fire
alarm rang.
9. Arturo usually doesn’t let his older sister’s teasing ________
him, but he gets angry whenever she calls him “baby.”
10. Maggie’s parents said she could not attend the prom
because of her bad grades, but later they felt sorry for her
and ________(e)d the punishment.
SENTENCE CHECK 1
Complete each item with the correct word from the box.
A. plausible
B. provoke
C. recur
D. reprimand
E. revoke
F. ridicule
G. shrewd
H. skeptical
I. stereotype
J. tactic
8. The principal sent the gym teacher a written __________
reprimand
for not having his class leave the gym right after the fire
alarm rang.
Not having the class leave would be cause for a formal criticism.
9. Arturo usually doesn’t let his older sister’s teasing ________
provoke
him, but he gets angry whenever she calls him “baby.”
The words gets angry tell you that provoke means “to anger.”
10. Maggie’s parents said she could not attend the prom
because of her bad grades, but later they felt sorry for her
and ___________
revoked the punishment.
If Maggie’s parents felt sorry for her, they would cancel her punishment.