Context Clues EOG Prep

Based on the following quote, what does the word traverse mean?

"Gradually the boy lost himself in sweet fancies, and suddenly he found himself again, in the charmed land of sleep. He wandered in far countries , rich and strange; he traversed wild waters with incredible swiftness"

• travel across or through.

• move (something) back and forth or sideways.

• (of a curtain rod) allowing the curtain to be opened and closed by sliding it along the rod.

• A vehicle

Based on the quote below, what does the word molten mean?

"Brighter was the light- beam than molten gold, but silent in its rise and silent in its fall.

• melted

• liquified

• Useful

• solidified

Based on the sentence below, what does the word pyrrhic mean?

The swordsman achieved a pyrrhic victory, defeating his opponent while incurring mortal wounds of his own.

The victory came at a great cost. The victory was quick and efficient.

• (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.

• a metrical foot of two short or unaccented syllables.

• the meter of a song accompanying a war dance

• purposeful

The biggest overall challenge in moving raw silk from Asia to eastern North America was time. Raw silk deteriorates quickly. Because the fibers would begin to fall apart, the product had to move a great distance extremely fast.

What does deteriorate mean?

• To become lower in quality

• to be purchased

• To expand or grow heavier

• To do away with

Laboratory researchers believe that they have found a way to alter the genes within the helper cell so that they switch into a new, more productive repair mode. . . .

With newly discovered gene manipulation of helper cells, there is hope for future treatments that will aid those suffering from peripheral nerve damage.

What does manipulation mean?

• The act of changing or controlling something

• The act of storing something

• An unintended effect or outcome

• The act of destroying something

Welsh settlers in Patagonia had a tough start, since the desert-like terrain was not well suited to growing food. Their first houses and crops were washed away by flash floods. After a while, though, they began to thrive. They settled in northern Patagonia, where the land is more suitable for farming, and over the years, a new dialect formed: Patagonian Welsh. Today, more than five thousand people speak this variety of the language.

What does dialect mean?

• A political system or organization

• A form of a language specific to a region or group

• A farming technique or practice

• A way of acting

Before they were launched, engineers set a goal for Spirit and Opportunity to travel up to forty meters per day and reach a total distance of one kilometer each. Both surpassed this estimation by far. When Spirit finally broke down, it had lasted over twenty times longer than its planned lifespan. Opportunity has lasted over fifty times longer than expected.

What does surpass mean?

• To exceed or be better than

• To fulfill exactly

• To provide evidence for

• I don't know what I'm doing and this word is not an actual word.

While most scientific findings are the result of deliberate and carefully designed experiments, occasionally a major discovery happens in a more fortuitous way. One such example is the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by the Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming. After working as a field doctor during World War I and witnessing how many soldiers died needlessly from bacterial infections, Fleming recognized the exigency of finding a chemical that could fight these afflictions. He began to conduct experiments by growing bacteria in Petri dishes and treating them with various chemicals. Unfortunately, none of the chemicals he tested proved effective at stopping the bacteria's growth.

What is the meaning of fortuitous as used in the passage?

• Common

• By Chance

• Quick

• Promising

Select the text from the paragraph that best helps you understand that fortuitous means by chance. There may be more than one correct choice.

• While most scientific findings are the result of deliberate and carefully designed experiments

• One such example is the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by the Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming

• After working as a field doctor during World War I and witnessing how many soldiers died needlessly from bacterial infections, Fleming recognized the exigency of finding a chemical that could fight these afflictions.

• He began to conduct experiments by growing bacteria in Petri dishes and treating them with various chemicals. Unfortunately, none of the chemicals he tested proved effective at stopping the bacteria's growth.

At the time of the film's release, the possibility of de-extinction seemed fantastical. Subsequent advances in technology, however, have made that possibility a growing reality. In 2003, for example, a team of scientists used preserved DNA to create a clone of an extinct species of goat called the bucardo. Although the clone died shortly after birth, the event marked the first documented case of de-extinction.

What is the meaning of fantastical as used in the passage?

• Puzzling

• Terrifying

• Exciting

• Far- Fetched