7106-0_VW_A_U02_028-034 1/24/05 5:42 PM Page 34
Name
2
Vocabulary
in Context
Read the following passage, in which some of the words you have
studied in this unit appear in boldface type. Then complete each
statement given below the passage by circling the letter of the item that
is the same or almost the same in meaning as the highlighted word.
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of Vocabulary Workshop.
“A Pageant
of Fatigue”
“A Pageant
of Fatigue”
One of the most incomprehensible public competitions ever conceived was the
dance marathon. The object of this crazy contest, first held in 1923, was to see
which couple could dance for longer than any other. Grace and style didn’t matter.
Stamina was the only thing that counted.
Dance marathons were wildly popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Young couples
staggered around dance floors, moving to the contemporary tunes of the day. The
music was played by live bands or on records.
The last couple to remain standing won. Winners
might be rewarded up to a maximum of $1000,
which was a vast sum at that time. But they faced
highly adverse conditions in their efforts to win.
Rules varied slightly from contest to contest,
but the main idea was always the same.
Dancers could never leave the dance floor,
except to use the rest room. They were
constrained to eat, drink, and sleep on their
feet. They always had to move, at least a little.
Partners took turns supporting each other as
best they could.
Critics claimed that the dance marathons
were simply physical cruelty. Lawmakers tried
to get the contests banned. However, curious
onlookers packed the dance halls. To them, it
was entertaining to watch weary dancers.
A woman struggles to hold up her fastWhy did people put themselves through this?
fading dance partner.
Of course, there was prize money at stake. But
the major reason seemed to be the power of the fad itself. Marathon dancers became
overnight celebrities. Morning papers ran ongoing stories on them. People couldn’t
resist tales of wacky, risk-taking heroism, and juicy gossip about the dancers, whose
relationships suffered as much as their bodies did during those grueling hours.
( Line)
(5)
(10)
(15)
(20)
(25)
(30)
1. The meaning of incomprehensible (line 1) is
a. understandable
c. baffling
b. famous
d. tiring
4. Maximum (line 9) is best defined as
a. money reward
c. lowest amount
b. special prize
d. greatest amount
2. The meaning of stamina (line 4) is
a. endurance
c. rhythm
b. weakness
d. intelligence
5. Adverse (line 11) most nearly means
a. helpful
c. musical
b. difficult
d. competitive
3. Contemporary (line 6) most nearly means
a. ancient
c. popular
b. jazzy
d. current
6. Constrained (line 16) is best defined as
a. liberated
c. portrayed
b. compelled
d. exploited
34
■
Unit 2
Vocabulary Workshop, Level AUnit 2 ■ 1 Name: ____________________________________________________________ Level A, Unit 2: Practice
Choose the answer that best completes the sentence or answers the question.
1. The calm expression on someone’s face can be
described as
A sheepish
B incomprehensible
C groundless
D serene
3. Which of the following is another word for
bewildering?
A serene
B incomprehensible
C groundless
D adverse
2. To handle or use skillfully is to
A encompass
B depict
C constrain
D manipulate
4. If a garden is encircled by shrubs, it is
A encompassed
B confronted
C constrained
D disinterested
People who live in the Arizona’s Sonora Desert and other arid areas in the American Southwest are likely to
be familiar with scorpions. These relatives of the spider use a poison, or venom, that they make in their
bodies both to sting prey and to defend themselves when they are confronted by enemies such as lizards and
toads. Does this mean that people should be afraid of the tiny assailants? For the most part, the answer is no.
Most species of scorpions found in the United States can do very little damage to a human with their stings. If
someone still shivers at the thought of the little creatures, however, his or her fears are not completely
groundless. One species, known as the bark scorpion, can be dangerous. Even so, the maximum damage it can
cause usually takes the form of adverse reactions such as pain and swelling. Rarely does this North American
scorpion’s sting cause death or serious illness.
5. Arid (line 1) places are extremely
A hot
B cold
C humid
D dry
6. Which of the following words could be used to
replace confronted (line 3)?
A eaten
B killed
C faced
D questioned
7. In line 4, assailants means
A attackers
B victims
C pets
D friends
Vocabulary Workshop, Level A
8. Which of the following words could not be used
to replace groundless (line 7)?
A baseless
B unfounded
C reasonable
D unjustified
9. The maximum (line 7) damage that a sting could
cause could also be described as the
A smallest
B best
C likeliest
D utmost
10. In line 8, adverse means
A negative
B noticeable
C immediate
D favorable
Copyright © William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
Sadlier-Oxford VOCABULARY WORKSHOP SAT Practice Worksheet
IDENTIFYING SENTENCE ERRORS
Name
Level A Unit 2
Date
DIRECTION: Each of the following sentences contains a single error in grammar and usage or no error
at all. The error, if there is one, is underlined and lettered. If the sentence contains an error, choose the
underlined part that must be changed. If the sentence is correct as it stands, select choice E.
1. At the awards ceremony, the mayor’s eloquent
A
speech left an indelible impression for Samuel, and
B
C
he decided then and there to embark on a career of
D
public service. No error.
E
2. Whereas voters in that region used to approve
A
school budgets routinely; it is now common for
B
substantial budget increases to be scrutinized
C
intensively and sometimes even rejected. No error.
D
E
3. During the 1860s, about two-thirds of the
A
B
Chinese in America worked in the California gold
mines; soon afterwards, as mining declined, many of
C
these laborers worked on the railroads. No error.
D
E
4. Revisiting his hometown for the first time in
A
more than thirty years, Gianni was amazed at the
B
C
changes that have occurred in his absence. No error.
D
E
5. As the newspaper’s managing editor, Mike stressed
A
to his subordinates the importance of accurate
B
research, fair-minded reporting, and to compete
C
D
vigorously with other new organizations. No error.
E
6. In 1866, when he was 31 years old, Mark Twain
A
spent four months in the Hawaiian islands, and few
B
C
visitors have written about it with such freshness and
D
charm. No error.
E
7. Now that most personal computers come with
A
CD/DVD burners as standard equipment, the
B
copying and duplication of important files onto disks
C
is probably the most cost-efficient backup strategy
D
for PC users. No error.
E
8. Unfortunately, it did not occur to the applicant to
A
ask either the interviewer nor the receptionist for the
B
C
D
company’s complete postal address. No error.
E
9. Undeniably, e-mail is fast, convenient, and cheap;
A
some of its critics, however, complain that it is a
B
C
relatively impersonal means of communication, and
to lack the subtlety and nuance of a phone call or
D
letter. No error.
E
10. That collection of periodicals are kept in the
A
annex, so library patrons must fill out a special
B
C
request form if they wish to consult the materials.
D
No error.
E
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(C)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
(E)
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of VOCABULARY WORKSHOP.
Sadlier-Oxford VOCABULARY WORKSHOP SAT Practice Worksheet
PASSAGE-BASED READING
Name
Questions 1-3 are based on the following
passage.
Read the passage and the questions below.
Then choose the letter of the best answer for
each question.
Photography and film have often been touted,
especially by their fans, as distinctively twentiethcentury media. Disinterested historians, however,
have traced the origins of both photography and
5
film back into the nineteenth century.
Perhaps the most important pioneer of
photography was Louis Daguerre, a Frenchman
born near Paris in 1787. Daguerre worked as a tax
inspector, but his heart lay in the visual arts.
10 Building on his experience as a scene painter for
the Paris opera, he began to create exhibitions he
called “Dioramas.” First presented in Paris in
1822, and subsequently in London, these shows
consisted of groups of immense pictorial views of
15 famous places and historical events, painted on
translucent paper or muslin fabric. Daguerre used
ingenious changes in lighting, enhanced by
appropriate music, to produce a wide range of
emotional effects. With the dioramas, Daguerre
20 could well be considered a forerunner of today’s
theatrical lighting designers.
In the mid-1820s, Daguerre learned of the
efforts of another Frenchman, Joseph-Nicéphore
Niepce, to produce images by the action of
25 sunlight. The two men shortly formed a
partnership. Although Niepce is held to have
produced the first actual photograph from
nature—a view of his country estate made around
1827—it was Daguerre who, after Niepce’s death
30 in 1833, perfected the process. In 1835, he
discovered that if an iodized silver plate were
exposed in a camera to mercury fumes, the latent
image could be developed and then fixed by using
a table salt solution. Niepce’s process had required
35 an exposure time of 8 hours, but Daguerre’s
technique cut the exposure time to 30 minutes.
Named for their inventor, daguerreotypes had
several important limitations. They were very
fragile, and the relatively long exposure time meant
40 that moving objects would not register on the
image. Thus, an 1839 picture of a city boulevard
gives the impression of empty streets, with the
single exception of a man who stopped to have his
shoes shined. (The two anonymous individuals
45 captured in that daguerreotype may be the first
people ever to have b een photographed.) Finally,
daguerreotypes suffered the drawback of being
Level A Unit 2
Date
non-reproducible. One important challenge in the
next phase of photography’s development was to
50 discover how copies of a picture could easily be
made.
For a few decades in the mid-19th century,
however, daguerreotypes were the cutting edge.
Daguerre’s process was officially announced in
55 early 1839. Daguerre and Niepce’s son and heir
sold the rights to the French government in
exchange for a lifelong pension. By the end of
1839, Daguerre’s booklet describing the process
had become a best-seller, going through 29
60 editions and translations. His keen sense of
theatrics, his ingenuity, and his curiosity had
assured him a permanent place in the annals of
photography.
1. The word disinterested in the first paragraph
most nearly means
(A) apathetic
(B) hostile
(C) impartial
(D) restrained
(E) biased
2. According to the passage, why was Daguerre’s
process superior to Niepce’s?
(A) Daguerreotypes were more durable than
Niepce’s images.
(B) Daguerre’s process dramatically cut the
exposure time required to produce images.
(C) Copies of daguerreotypes could be easily
made.
(D) Daguerreotypes could be made in color.
(E) Moving objects were visible in
daguerreotypes, but not in Niepce’s images.
3. Which of the following details from the passage
might you use to support the assertion that
Daguerre had a “keen sense of theatrics”?
(A) his sale of the process to the French
Government
(B) his partnership with Niepce
(C) his use of table salt to make images
permanent
(D) his designs for the dioramas
(E) the fragility of daguerreotypes
Copyright © by William H. Sadlier, Inc. Permission to duplicate classroom quantities granted to users of VOCABULARY WORKSHOP.