Name ______________________________ Date ___________________ Period ____ Vocabulary Set
EXERCISE 1: Definitions-Write the part of speech on the arrow and define each word in the box provided.
1.
epithet
2.
evasive
3.
evoke
4.
exacting
5.
foreshadow
6.
infer
7.
laudable
8.
lucid
9.
scrutinize
10.
symposium
3
EXERCISE 2: Context Clues
Directions: Scan the definitions in COLUMN A. Then think about how the boldface words are used in the sentences in
COLUMN B. To complete the exercise, match each definition in COLUMN A with the correct vocabulary word from
COLUMN B. Write the letter of your choice on the line provided; then write the vocabulary word on the line preceding the
definition.
COLUMN A
COLUMN B
_____11. word: ______________________:
n. a meeting for discussing a particular
subject; a collection of writings on a subject
(A) Have you ever known someone who was a fatalist? That
epithet aptly describes the main character in Singer’s story
“The Fatalist.”
_____12. word: ______________________:
v. to indicate or suggest beforehand; to give
warning of
(B) Fatalism is the belief that everything is determined by
fate or destiny. Thus you can infer from the story’s title that
Singer’s character doesn’t believe in chance.
_____13. word: ______________________:
v. to examine closely or critically
(C) Benjamin, the fatalist, discusses his strange beliefs at a
symposium held by a group of young scholars.
_____14. word: ______________________:
adj. avoiding by cleverness; not
straightforward; misleading
(D) Benjamin’s philosophy is so lucid that it begins to make
sense to some of the villagers.
_____15. word: ______________________:
v. to concluded the basis of reasoning or
observation
(E) Benjamin’s comments about fate foreshadow the clever
plot twists in the story. Even so, the events are sure to surprise
you.
_____16. word: ______________________:
adj. easily understood; clear; rational and
sane
(F) The fatalist’s beliefs evoke scorn in Heyele, the young
woman he wants to marry. She doesn’t hide her feelings,
but he proposes to her anyway.
_____17. word: ______________________:
adj. hard to please; requiring hard work and
close attention; demanding
(G) The woman has very exacting standards, and Benjamin
clearly doesn’t live up to them.
_____18. word: ______________________:
v. to call forth; to bring out; to elicit; to
produce (a reaction)
(H) Benjamin proposes an extraordinary bet to test whether
their marriage is fated. After scrutinizing his offer carefully,
looking for any possible tricks, Heyele accepts the wager.
_____19. word: ______________________:
n. a word or phrase that describes or
characterizes a person or thing; a
descriptive name
(I) The bet is this: Benjamin will lie in front of an oncoming
train, and if it doesn’t hit him, Heyele has to marry him. The
villagers find his courage laudable, but they can’t believe he’d
do something so foolish.
_____20. word: ______________________:
adj. praiseworthy; commendable
(J) Does Benjamin win the bet? I don’t mean to be evasive,
but you will have to read the story to find out!
Exercise 3: Synonyms/Antonyms
Word
Synonyms (1)
Antonyms (1)
EXERCISE 4: Sentence Completion
Directions: For each of the following items, circle the letter choice that best completes the meaning of the sentence or
sentences.
21. What an honor! You’ve been asked to speak at a national
_________ on the work of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
(A) epithet
(B) foreshadowing
(C) symposium
(D) scrutiny
(E) evasion
22. After carefully _________ a few of singer’s stories, you
can probably _________ the general themes in Singer’s work.
(A) foreshadowing . . . scrutinize
(B) scrutinizing . . . infer
(C) evoking . . . laud
(D) evading . . . infer
(E) evasive . . . laudable
23. Your listeners will be _________ scholars, so you have to
be sure that your ideas are _________ and clear.
(A) exacting . . . lucid
(B) laudable . . . exacting
(C) lucid . . . evasive
(D) exacting . . . evocative
(E) evasive . . . laudable
24. You decide to talk about how Singer _________ his
readers’ emotional responses through his retelling of
personal memories.
(A) foreshadows
(B) evokes
(C) infers
(D) scrutinizes
(E) exacts
25. In preparation for your talk, you _________ the story
“The Washwoman,” paying careful attention to all the
characters and details that _________ the outcome of the
story.
(A) evade . . . evoke
(B) foreshadow . . . scrutinize
(C) evoke . . . infer
(D) scrutinize . . . foreshadow
(E) infer . . . evade
26. The story tells about one of the few gentiles, or nonJewish people, whom Singers family had contact with. Singer
just calls her the washwoman, an appropriate _________
since her work was her whole life.
(A) evasion
(B) symposium
(C) lucidity
(D) inference
(E) epithet
27. The washwoman’s work was so _________ that even
Singer’s _________ mother praised her.
(A) exacting . . . evaded
(B) laudable . . . exacting
(C) lucid . . . laudable
(D) evasive . . . exacting
(E) foreshadowed . . . evocative
28. In a _________, straightforward narrative, Singer
describes how the woman walked an hour and a half each
way to pick up and drop off the laundry.
(A) evasive
(B) laudable
(C) foreshadowed
(D) evocative
(E) lucid
29. His description early in the story of the old woman’s
frailty _________ the day when she is too sick to bring the
wash.
(A) foreshadows
(B) scrutinizes
(C) evokes
(D) infers
(E) exacts
30. When the woman struggles from her sick bed for the last
time to bring her customers their laundry, Singer is not
_________ about the impression she made on him. He says
clearly that he cannot imagine such a person being turned
away from paradise.
(A) exacting
(B) lucid
(C) laudable
(D) evasive
(E) evocative