Word Meanings from Context
Use the context to help you choose the best meaning or synonym for
each highlighted word.
1. Mr. Huge was very proud of his auto superstore. “We have such an extensive
selection of cars,” he said, “so everyone should find a vehicle that he or she will
love!”
The word “extensive” means __________.
a. costing a lot of money
b. large amount
c. having no color
d. not enough
2. Friendship is a priceless thing. If Chris put a price, or conditions, on her friendship,
it’s no longer priceless. In fact, it’s not real friendship at all!
If something is priceless, __________.
a. it has a missing tag
b. it has no value
c. it has great value
d. it is made out of rice
3. The news story was based on a letter that was a fabrication. Now the reporter who
wrote the story is in big trouble. Will anyone believe him again?
A fabrication is __________.
a. made of cloth
b. full of long words
c. funny
d. fake
4. The reporter insisted that the letter he used was authentic. He said that he had
shown it to many experts before he used it in his story.
When something is authentic, it’s __________.
a. genuine, or real
b. carefully written
c. full of tasty worms
d. very old
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5. In 1975, Governor James promised to do something about the high taxes in our
state. She didn’t present a tax cut bill to lawmakers until 1985. It took her a decade to
keep her promise, but better late than never.
How long is a decade?
a. 75 years
b. 85 years
c. a century
d. 10 years
Word Meanings From Context
The United States has a new president. Americans are hopeful that George W. Bush
will succeed in dealing with some of the major problems that our nation faces. Some
feel that the task will be made extremely difficult by the controversial way that the
election ended. Others are very confident that our new leader is a man who will bring
people together to get things done.
President Bush’s top priority will be to improve education in our country. He is
determined to see that no child will ever fail. He believes that local school districts
should decide how to meet national standards. The president insists that parents
should have greater choices about which schools their kids attend. He will work hard
to find areas of agreement between the opposing parties so that important education
reforms will become law.
1. Which word in the selection is a synonym of “important”?
2. Which word in the selection is an antonym of “succeed”?
3. Which word in the selection means to make better?
4. Use a word from the selection to complete the following sentence.
The Giants and the Ravens will be the ___________ teams in the Super
Bowl.
5. Which word in the selection is a synonym of “nation”?
6. Which word in the selection means the rank (place in order) of importance?
7. Which word in the selection means having a lot of disagreement.
Using Context - Antonyms
Use the context of the selections to identify antonyms.
Megan was determined to finish her homework before bedtime. She still had to start
her math assignment; it would take at least an hour to complete. She sighed and
thought, “I’ve been working really hard since right after dinner!”
2
1. Which word in the paragraph is an antonym of “complete”?
2. Which word in the paragraph is an antonym of “before”?
There are some very different opinions about the outcome of the presidential election.
James insists that Al Gore really won the election and that the U.S. Supreme Court
took it away from him. He didn’t have the same kind of objections when the Florida
Supreme Court ruled for his candidate. Is James right, or is he just a sore loser?
In my opinion, the final decision was correct. The Supreme Court of the United States
ruled against a very bad and unequal process. Votes weren’t being counted, they were
being assigned to people who hadn’t cast legal votes. George W. Bush was the true
winner of the presidential election.
3. Which word in the selection is an antonym of “same”?
4. Which word in the selection is an antonym of “against”?
5. Which word in the selection is an antonym of “loser”?
How Television Has Changed
You really have to get very old before you realize you’re old. I’m in my
middle fifties and I don’t feel old yet. However, sometimes I look back at my
childhood and __1__ things to the way life is for __2__ kids. Some things have
certainly changed.
One area of change is television. Some changes have been improvements.
Some changes, on the other hand, have been __3__.
When I started school, most people didn’t have a television; TV was just
beginning to get __4__. My father decided to go all out and buy a 16 inch black and
white Motorola set. I still remember watching the Lone Ranger save people from the
__5__ guys on that awesome electronic machine. That was exciting!
Now, __6__ have larger pictures in full color. The pictures are clearer and the
sound is much more realistic. The new high definition sets are made to rival __7__
screens.
The variety and quantity of programming has __8__ greatly. There are
hundreds of channels and more shows than one person could ever watch. There are
many fine entertainment and educational __9__. There’s also a lot of garbage, stuff
that most parents don’t want their kids exposed to. Overall, we have more choices,
and that is good.
I wonder what __10__ will be like when today’s kids are my age.
How Television Has Changed
3
1. forget
remember
compare
miss
2. today's
yesterday's
tomorrow's
poor
3. great
huge
setbacks
remarkable
4. gone
replaced
expensive
popular
5. old
good
bad
best
6. films
movies
billboards
televisions
7. movie
video
watch
telephone
8. loss
increased
decreased
played
9. books
shows
authors
awards
10. movies
food
cars
television
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Vacation at the Beach
By Beth Beutler
Our extended family went to the beach every summer. We had
a few favourite spots. Sometimes we would bring our tents and
camp at a campground. Other times we would treat ourselves to a
fancy hotel. This year, we got to use a friend's beach house. They
offered it as a way to congratulate my mom and dad on their
fifteenth wedding anniversary.
1
I loved to go to the shore and pick up shells among the
pebbles. The best time to do this was during low tide. The waves
would wash up on shore and leave many things to discover. I was
always excited about beach combing because I never knew what
exquisite thing I'd find.
2
My cousin and I headed out early the first morning. We walked
along the shore in front of the beach house. It was so quiet and
peaceful. There was no one to be seen for miles at this hour. We
could hear only the abrupt crash of the waves.
3
As I looked on the beach, I found several things. I saw a dead
shrimp, a large conch shell, and even a sock without its mate. It
made me wonder what the unknown story was behind it.
4
5
I asked my cousin, "Who do you suppose lost a sock?"
"I wonder," he replied, engaging in conversation. "Perhaps it
was someone who wanted to protect their feet. Maybe they wore
their socks into the water!"
6
"Maybe." I replied. "Or perhaps they were sailing and hung
their feet over the edge while the driver hoisted the sail..."
7
"Yes," my cousin interrupted. "And a huge sea creature jumped
up and snatched the sock!"
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9
10
"Then spit it out because it tasted awful! It was full of sweat!"
My cousin and I cracked up laughing.
5
1. This family went to the beach frequently. They named three places they have
stayed at. What are they?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. According to the story, the individuals were related. Does the story indicate that
the relatives often vacationed together?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Which of the following expresses an opinion in this story?
The water was cold.
There was no one for miles.
There was a boat on the water
The cousins were on the beach early in the morning.
4. Did the cousins discover the dead shrimp before or after seeing the sock?
After
Before
5. Describe your favourite vacation experience. Use some very descriptive words.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Adjective or Adverb?
Choose the correct answer.
Q1 - She played _____.
beautiful
beautifuly
beautifully
Q2 - The TV's far too ____.
loud
loudly
Either could be used here.
Q3 - She speaks so very ____.
quick
quickly
Q4 - She's a ____learner.
quick
quickly
Q5 - I know them quite ____.
good
well
Either could be used here.
Q6 - Check your work ____.
careful
carefuly
carefully
Q7 - I've been having a lot of headaches ____.
late
lately
Q8 - He's a ____ actor.
terrible
terribly
Q9 - He should pass the test _____.
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easy
easily
easilly
Q10 - He's really lazy and _____ tries.
hard
hardly
Either could be used here
Adjective or Adverb? (Page 2)
Q11 - The newspapers were very _____ of the scheme.
critical
critically
Q12 - He's ____ill.
critical
critically
Q13 - I don't ____ agree with you.
full
fuly
fully
Q14 - I was _____ shocked.
complete
completely
Q15 - It was a ____ mess.
complete
completely
Q16 - They messed things up ____.
complete
completely
Q17 - It was a ____ day for us all.
sad
sadly
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This, That, These and Those (Page 1)
Choose the correct word Click here for the answer sheet.
Q1 - You shouldn't do it like that, do it ____ way.
this
that
these
those
Q2 - Take one of _____ books from that pile.
this
those
these
Q3 - Everyone does it _____ days.
this
that
these
those
Q4 - Everyone did it in _____ days.
this
that
these
those
Q5 - If ____ class doesn't stop making so much noise, I'm going to go
and tell them to shut up.
this
that
these
those
Q6 - Can you see what _____ car's registration is? It's too far away for
me.
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this
that
these
those
Q7 - I'm leaving ____ Tuesday.
this
that
these
those
Q8 - I spoke to her a few hours ago- at the meeting _____ morning.
this
that
these
those
Q9 - The flat we looked at today was better than ____ two we saw at the
weekend.
this
that
these
those
Q10 - 'Waiter, I think ____ wine is off.'
this
that
these
those
Prepositions of Location- At & In (Page 1)
Choose the correct preposition Click here for the answer sheet.
Q1 - He's ____ the hospital, having a heart operation.
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at
in
Q2 - Our seats are ____ the front row.
in
at
Q3 - They want to ban smoking ____ public places completely.
at
in
Q4 - The shop's _____ High Street.
in
at
Q5 - I left it ____ the classroom.
in
at
Q6 - The market's ____ front of the old cinema.
in
at
Q7 - She is _____ the front of the queue.
in
at
Q8 - Their house is ____ the end of the road.
in
at
Q9 - The concert was very full and we had to stand ____ the back of the
auditorium.
in
at
Q10 - He should be ____ work by now.
in
at
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Prepositions of Location- At & In (Page 2)
Q11 - I spent the morning reading ____ my garden.
in
at
Q12 - The children were ____ the playground.
in
at
Question Words (Page 1)
Choose the correct answer. Click here for the answer sheet.
Q1 - ____ are you doing tonight?
What
Where
Q2 - ____ time do you get up?
When
What
Q3 - ____ is going with you?
Who
Whose
Whom
Q4 - ____ is the dark-green coat?
Who
Who's
Whose
Q5 - How ____ does it take you get home?
long
long time
Q6 - ____ often do you go to the theatre?
When
How
What
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Q7 - ____ people were there at the meeting?
How much
How many
Q8 - ____ are you going on holiday?
What time
When
Q9 - ____ have you been? I've been waiting for ages.
Why
What
Where
Q10 - ____ did it cost?
How
How much
How many
Parts of Speech 1 (Page 1)
What kind of word is the word in CAPITALS?
Q1 - She's a GOOD player
adverb
adjective
Q2 - A LEISURELY lunch
adjective
adverb
Q3 - I've JUST done it
preposition
adverb
Q4 - He finished the show very WELL
adverb
adjective
Q5 - It took half AN hour to get there
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definite article
indefinite article
Q6 - It's IN the box
pronoun
preposition
Q7 - THEY left early
noun
pronoun
Q8 - I SOMETIMES go there
adjective
adverb
Q9 - It's a LOVELY film
adverb
adjective
Q10 - She's SMOKING a cigarette outside
gerund
present participle
Parts of Speech 1 (Page 2)
Q11 - SMOKING is bad for you
present participle
gerund
Q12 - It's THE best I've ever had
definite article
indefinite article
Q13 - He bought A new car
definite article
indefinite article
Q14 - The film started LATE
adverb
adjective
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15
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