Reading SOL Review Using Context Clues

The millionaire industrialist liked to think of himself as an art expert who could match wits with artists and critics alike, but those truly knowledgeable about modern art thought differently. To them, he was just a dilettante, a man who perfectly illustrated the old saying: "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." Using context clues, define the underlined word.

• amateur

• professional

• a person of great taste

• a skilled craftsman

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

The new flight instructor was fond of the pilot who had hired her, but his dilatory way of speaking drove her wild. Every sentence he spoke had, at the very minimum, three pauses. By the time he finished a thought, she was drumming her fingers in irritation. What does the underlined word mean?

• snappy

• quiet

• slow

• sophisticated

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

Queen Marie Antoinette's refusal to wear traditional court attire was indicative of her rebellious spirit, for she was, from the beginning, not inclined to do what was expected of her. Unfortunately, the people of France, who mistrusted poor Marie for being Austrian rather than French, were not charmed by her untraditional ways. For them, dressing like a member of the court symbolized a readiness to assume her proper role as queen. Define the underlined word.

• significant

• symbolic

• part

• supportive

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

People suffering from Manic depression have powerful mood swings and are given to vacillation. One day they might be upbeat and enthusiastic, ready to pursue and succeed at any number of projects. The next day sunk in misery, convinced that nothing but failure awaits them. Define the underlined word.

• fear of the unknown

• anger

• going back and forth

• lack of motivation

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

Ostensibly, the new college president was a no-nonsense businessman who wasn't about to fund any programs that didn't directly train students to compete in the job market. But since there were rumors that he also loved novels, ballet, poetry, and the theater, members of the liberal arts department were optimistic about their future funding. Define the underlined word.

• Secretly

• In speeches

• Apparently

• Quietly

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

In the morning, the doctor had tended her patients with what seemed to be endless energy and concentration. But in the afternoon she was overcome by a powerful feeling of lassitude, and she feared that she, too, had been struck down by the deadly virus. define the underlined word.

• anxiety

• well-being

• despair

• fatigue

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

In a democratic society, everyone has the right to propagate new ideas even if those ideas are unpopular with the majority.

• publicly criticize

• celebrate

• make widely known

• develop from scratch

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

Even now when more and more men are undergoing cosmetic procedures to improve their appearance, a man who wears make-up or perfume in public will probably encounter problems. But in the milieu of seventeenth-century France, men of high birth wore perfume to cover up body odor and rouge to brighten their lips and cheeks. Rouge for high-born men was simply the fashion (along with long curl wigs) and perfume was necessary because deodorant hadn't been invented. Define the underlined word.

• atmosphere

• chaos

• triumph

• downfall

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

In the mid-nineteenth century, con men traveled from town to town peddling phony medicines that supposedly cured everything from arthritis to baldness. But for the tonics' consumers, the medical efficacy of these potions might not have been a key issue. Those all-purpose tonics contained a high percentage of alcohol that, momentarily at least, must have made consumers feel a good deal better. Define the underlined word.

• ingredients

• effectiveness

• nature

• taste

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

Because he liked to present himself as a connoisseur, who preferred only the best in fine food and wine, the food critic for our local paper was embarrassed to be spotted at a dingy diner, where the special of the day was spam omelet and french fries heavily smothered in Cheese Whiz.

• creator

• critic

• writer

• expert

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4