Academic Vocabulary - Preparing for the ACT and SAT: Part 6

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"The troops will make an advance at 6 a.m. and won’t stop until they reach the town."

• the act of moving forward, as toward a goal

• money paid beforehand

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"The new findings will advance our research project because they will answer one of the questions we have yet to resolve."

• to move forward

• to contribute to the progress or growth of

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"His kindness to the frightened child contradicted his reputation for meanness and showed his generous character."

• the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions

• an odd person, with many eccentricities

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"Three people testified that he was a man of good character who couldn’t have performed this act."

• a person's good reputation

• an odd person, with many eccentricities

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"The academy’s mission is to cultivate the minds of young children and arouse their curiosity."

• to prepare land for growing crops

• to develop or form something; to foster the growth of

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"The farmer will cultivate the field in the spring and then harvest the crops in the fall."

• to learn to be discriminate in taste or judgment

• to prepare land for growing crops

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"He was confused about what he wanted to do in life and needed someone to provide him with some direction."

• advice or instruction as to a decision or course of action

• the act of managing something

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"We looked for the best spot to make a U-turn once we found we had been driving down the highway in the wrong direction."

• a message describing how something is to be done, usually in the plural form "directions"

• a course or route leading to a place or point

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"As an extension of its services, the media center now offers job training."

• an addition to the length of something

• the act of expanding in scope; making something more widely available

Choose the correct meaning of the word based on the context of the sentence:

"Since the due date was next Tuesday and she still had a lot of work to do, Coraline was relieved when the teacher gave her an extension."

• a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or task or for the payment of a debt

• an addition that enlarges a main building