Context Clues

A legend states that Captain Kidd buried treasure on an island in the Connecticut River. The crew determined which of them would be killed and buried above the treasure chest. They believed the dead pirate would dissuade future treasure seekers. No known treasure has been found there.

What does the underlined word mean?

• assist

• discourage

• capture

A scientist had been working for months in the jungle. He was searching for plants that might help cure diseases. One day, he told his colleague that he made a thrilling discovery. He figured out how to derive an ingredient for medicine from a certain kind of tree sap.

• obtain

• copy

• drive

Pirates led dangerous lives. They knew they could be killed at any moment. Therefore, they often wasted little time in spending what they had plundered. Burying treasure and going back for it would take too much time and effort.

• stolen

• borrowed

• earned

If a person today finds valuable items that were buried long ago, he may be entitled to keep them. The person who buried the items is dead and it may not be possible to find relatives of that person. There is truth in the saying "finders, keepers."

• asked

• allowed

• afraid

Some people hunt for lost coins on beaches using an apparatus called a metal detector. It has a long stem that ends in a circular part called a search head, which hovers just over the ground. When it passes over metal, it makes a sound.

• process

• service

• machine