Chapter 13: Learning to Study

Chapter 13: Learning to Study

English 10

curtail v.

• Upon hearing reports of a huge snowstorm, the principal curtailed the school day so students could go home early.

• I need to curtail my volunteer activities so that I can spend more time earning money to pay back a loan.

Multiple Choice

Curtail means

• to combine

• to shorten

• to lengthen

devastate v.

• News that the bicycle factory is closing devastated the residents of the small town, especially those who learned they'd be losing their jobs.

• Vera is so fond of Andy. She’ll be devastated to hear he is very sick.

Multiple Choice

Devastate means

• to thrill

• to annoy

• to upset greatly

digress v.

• Professor Rubin never digresses during a lecture. Even his jokes relate to the day’s topic.

• I tried to teach my three-year-old niece our phone number, but we digressed to a discussion of whether Big Bird has an iPad.

Multiple Choice

Digress means

• to listen carefully

• to go off the subject

• to get up

incentive n.

• The insurance company offers an incentive—a free vacation—to encourage its representatives to make more sales.

• The basketball coach offered his players an incentive to pie him in the face if they achieved 90% with their free throw shooting.

Multiple Choice

Incentive means

• encouragement

• liberty

• change

incorporate v.

• Jerry incorporated all of his favorite desserts into one: a chocolate-covered banana-cream pecan pie.

• Since the number of young children has gone down in my neighborhood, the two elementary schools have been incorporated into one.

Multiple Choice

Incorporate means

• to give up

• to join together

• to raise

indispensable adj.

• Because there’s no bus or train service nearby, a car is indispensable in my neighborhood.

• When you’re broke, you find that many things you thought were indispensable aren’t actually necessary after all.

Multiple Choice

Indispensable means

• expensive

• necessary

• strong

intermittent adj.

• You have to work steadily with your dog to train him well. Intermittent practice won’t work.

• Dora realized that her weight loss on a diet would be intermittent, so she didn’t give up when the losses stopped. She knew they would start again.

Multiple Choice

Intermittent means

• irregular

• too much

• steady

rigor n.

• New Marines must go through the rigors of boot camp, such as completing an obstacle course and running several miles a day.

• The rigor of working at two part-time jobs while going to school proved too much for Jamal. Exhausted, he quit both jobs.

Multiple Choice

Rigor means

• a gamble

• a hardship

• an expense

squander v.

• Dan won the lottery last year, but unfortunately, he squandered away most of his winnings.

• The company lunchroom now closes promptly at one o’clock so that workers can’t squander time on long lunch breaks.

Multiple Choice

Squander means

• to share

• to waste

• to upset

succumb v.

• Leah succumbed to her daughter’s begging and bought her a pet lizard for her birthday.

• Once the suspect was arrested, he quickly succumbed and confessed to stealing the car stereo.

Multiple Choice

Succumb means

• fail to resist

• fail to delay

• fail to anger