Context clues

What does value mean here?

Mr. and Mrs. Hunt own a jewelry store. In addition to selling and repairing items, they also value pieces for customers.

• value

  noun- a moral principle or standard

• value

  verb-to assess at a certain price or worth

What does produce mean here?

Proponents of the raw food diet believe that cooking food destroys its nutritional content, so they recommend eating uncooked produce, seeds, nuts, and sprouted grains.

• produce

  verb-to make or create

• produce

  noun-fresh fruits and vegetables

Select the word that means very noisy and lively.

For robotics competitions, teams spend weeks designing their robots and programming them to do battle against competitors' robots. The resulting robot games are often boisterous. Watching their creations perform against the others, the human competitors don't hold back from whooping and cheering.

• competitions

• whooping

• boisterous

• perform

Select the word that means to do something special to honor and remember.

The Chinese festival of Qingming takes place on the fifteenth day after the spring equinox. On this day, people burn paper "spirit money" and models of houses and cars to commemorate the dead. Their hope is to make their departed relatives more comfortable in the spirit world.

• relatives

• departed

• hope

• commemorate

Read the passage. Then, select the synonym of the word solace.

After Franklin, the junior defensive end on the football team, broke his leg and missed the championship game, he found solace in the realization that he would be able to return in his senior year. The fact that his team won the state championship was also a source of comfort for him.

• defensive

• comfort

• realization

• source

Read the passage. Then, select the synonym of the word deficient.

Scurvy is a nutritional disorder caused by a diet lacking in vitamin C. Near the end of the fifteenth century, scurvy was the major cause of illness and death among sailors on lengthy ocean voyages, because their diets were often deficient in fresh fruits and vegetables. In 1753, Scottish surgeon James Lind showed that scurvy could be treated and prevented by consuming citrus fruits.

• treated

• death

• scurvy

• lacking

Read the passage. Then, select the antonym of the word perturb.

Massage therapy is a popular treatment for relieving stress and pain, but it isn't for everyone. Massages are intended to calm patients, but they often perturb those who are uncomfortable with an unfamiliar touch.

• releiving

• calm

• treatment

• intended

Read the passage and then answer the question.

At high latitudes, one might look into the night sky and see dazzling curtains of colorful light. This brilliant sight, known as an aurora, is the result of solar winds. Solar winds occur when the outer layers of the sun boil off due to the intense heat, emitting streams of magnetically charged particles into the surrounding space.

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

• surrounding

• giving off

• absorbing

• destroying

What does custom mean here?

The custom at many Chinese weddings is for the bride to wear a qipao, a red silk dress with elaborate gold embroidery.

• custom

  adjective-made or change to fit the needs of a particular person or role

• custom

  noun- a practice that is traditional for a particular group

Read the passage and then answer the question.

A typical human baby is born with around 300 bones, but by the time that baby reaches adulthood, it will have only 206. Initially, such a notable diminution in the number of bones may seem counterintuitive—shouldn't a skeleton need more bones, not fewer, as it grows? The explanation lies in the way bones grow and develop.

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

• adjustment

• increase

• decrease

• variation