Read the following study guide for a concept review: Word Roots Help
Word Roots Practice
Words in Context
The following exercise will help you figure out the meaning of some words from the vocabulary list by reading context clues. After you have read and understood the paragraph, explain the context clues that helped you with the meaning of the vocabulary word. Refer to the answer section at the end of this chapter for an explanation of the clues.
Scientists at the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn have discovered that bottle-nosed dolphins may have self-awareness. They attribute this belief to the result of experiments by Dr. Diane Reiss at the Osborn Lab of Marine Science. She and her team gave further credence to this notion by marking dolphins' noses with an x and an o. Sometimes the mark was done with just water, sometimes with colored waterproof dye.
Each time a dolphin was marked, it would check itself in the mirror. If it had a conspicuous colored mark, it would swim to the side of the pool and try to rub it off. As a result of these experiments, scientists made an inference that because these dolphins recognized their image in a mirror, they were self-aware. Before these experiments, gorillas had set the precedent of being the only mammals other than humans who could recognize their images.
Sentence Completion
Insert the correct word from the vocabulary list into the following sentences.
- Reaching heights of 310 feet, the Millennium Force roller coaster is the most _____ ride at the Cedar Point Amusement Park.
- In only one generation, the immigrant family was _____ able to to its new surroundings.
- Recent ocean-floor discoveries have made it _____ that the huge part of our planet hidden underwater still holds surprises that are waiting to be uncovered.
- Some pest-control companies guarantee that their _____ products will not leave any traces in either air or soil.
- The _____ couple founded Out of Africa rehabilitation and learning center for abandoned or injured wild cats.
- In order to become more _____, the shy young woman enrolled in a public speaking course.
- The largest _____ to advancing in society is a lack of education.
- Despite recent attacks, it is no _____ that humans are much more dangerous to sharks than sharks are to humans.
- The restaurant got four stars in the newspaper review, but I thought it was only _____.
- Lance Armstrong's recovery from cancer and comeback as world-champion cyclist gives _____ to his positive attitude and perseverance.
- As a result of the administration's tax rebate policy, most U.S. taxpayers received a(n) _____ of $300–$600.
- The multimillion-dollar cultural arts center was built due to the _____ of wealthy patrons.
- Scientists made _____ predictions about the damage from Europe's most active volcano, Mt. Etna in Sicily.
- In her warm and funny short stories, Eudora Welty preferred to talk about simple, humble characters rather than _____, high-society people.
- Her local association was _____ to the worldwide environmental organization.
- The writer _____ from his publisher's e-mail that his book was approved for publishing.
- The elderly woman became increasingly _____ and refused to leave her apartment.
- He used the first chapter of his novel to _____ the historical background of the special air force unit in WWII.
- Research has shown that as adults, even twins who are separated at birth have similar _____.
- Before Sandra Day O'Connor's appointment, there was no _____ set for a federally appointed female Supreme Court Justice.
Synonyms
The following exercise lists vocabulary words from this chapter. Each word is followed by five answer choices. Four of them are synonyms of the vocabulary word in bold. Your task is to choose the one that is NOT a synonym.
- benevolent
- compassionate
- caring
- malevolent
- kind
- generous
- recapitulate
- repeat
- summarize
- reiterate
- decimate
- review
- urbane
- sophisticated
- advanced
- complicated
- polished
- puerile
- conspicuous
- cryptic
- evident
- visible
- prominent
- noticeable
- incisive
- keen
- insightful
- unclear
- intuitive
- penetrating
- gregarious
- sociable
- companionable
- outgoing
- extroverted
- shy
- assimilate
- incorporate
- reject
- absorb
- digest
- understand
- impediment
- hindrance
- obstacle
- obstruction
- aid
- barrier
- inference
- deduction
- assumption
- obsolescence
- suggestion
- supposition
- evident
- obvious
- clear
- apparent
- foggy
- blatant
Antonyms
Choose the word from the vocabulary list that means the opposite, or most nearly the opposite, of the following groups of words.
- aid, assistance, support, backing
- bill, cost, charge
- central, vital, innermost, crucial
- nastiness, greed, selfishness, gluttony
- unsophisticated, simple, crude, unrefi ned
- disbelief, incredulity, doubt, mistrust
- agreement, consensus, accord, harmony
- mean, nasty, unkind, malevolent
- outstanding, exceptional, superior, first-rate
- unclear, murky, indistinct, doubtful
TIP
The thing about roots is that you probably know more than you think. Pay attention to words you already know and use, and notice how many roots you've already learned along the way.
Choosing the Right Word
Circle the word in bold that best completes the sentence.
- Because she was fearful of wide-open spaces, she was diagnosed as being (agoraphobic, gregarious).
- During the scavenger hunt, the easily seen clue was left under a (conspicuous, incisive) rock.
- The quickly dissolving fertilizer was (mediocre, biodegradable).
- (Benevolent, Urbane)Peace Corps volunteers selflessly devote their time to help others in need.
- In order to receive high marks, Olympic ice skaters' performances cannot be (conspicuous, mediocre).
- His blindness did not stop him from becoming a Grammy winner, nor was it an (impediment, precedent) to him becoming a singing sensation.
- In the Preamble of the Constitution, it clearly states, "We hold these truths to be self- (evident, benevolent), that all men are created equal."
- To sum up the important events, the producer had the narrator (attribute, recapitulate) those events at the movie's finale.
- It's always a good idea to send your (inference, remittance) to the phone company immediately after you receive your bill.
- Because of their clarity and logic, no one questioned the (incisive, mediocre) orders of the captain.
Practice Activities
The following is a list of words that contain the same roots as the words in this chapter. See if you can determine the words' meanings. Check your definitions with the dictionary definitions.
xenophobia, facsimile, contribution, beneficiary, bionic, introspection, dictate, credulous, video, egregious, pedestrian, precise, interfere, media, bibliophile, intercede, commission, contiguous, suburban
Select any five words from the list and create your own sentences.
Crossword Puzzle
Choose the word from the vocabulary list that best fits into the crossword puzzle. You can check your answers at the end of the chapter following the answers to the questions.
Answers
Words in Context
After reading the paragraph, we learn that scientists have made a discovery about bottle-nosed dolphins. Because of their experiments using mirrors, they believe that the dolphins can recognize themselves in a reflection. Therefore, they credit these experiments with proving this to be true. We can deduce that attribute means giving credit to the results that support this finding. The next word we see is credence. Further experiments of placing marks on the noses of these dolphins cause them to seek out their reflection to check their noses for marks that they try to wipe off. We can presume that credence means it makes these findings more believable. Because the dolphins tried to rub off conspicuous colored marks on their noses, we can infer that conspicuous marks were highly visible. Because of the results of these experiments, the scientists inferred that dolphins could recognize their own images. We can tell that the inference was their conclusion. The last vocabulary word we see is precedent. Since there have been no other examples of mammals being aware of their own image, other than gorillas setting a precedent, we can infer that the discovery of gorillas' self-awareness came before the dolphin discovery.
Sentence Completion
- conspicuous. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- assimilate. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- evident. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- biodegradable. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- benevolent. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- gregarious. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- impediment. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- contradiction. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- mediocre. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- credence. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- remittance. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- philanthropy. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- incisive. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- urbane. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- tangential. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- inferred. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- agoraphobic. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- recapitulate. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- attributes. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
- precedent. If you got this question wrong, refer back to the word's definition.
Synonyms
- c. malevolent. Benevolent means giving and kind, so malevolent would not be a synonym of the word because it means evil.
- d. decimate. Recapitulate means to recap, so decimate would not be a synonym of the word because it means destroy.
- e. puerile. Urbane means refined, so puerile would not be a synonym of the word because it means childish.
- a. cryptic. Conspicuous means obvious, so cryptic would not be a synonym of the word because it means hidden.
- c. unclear. Incisive means perceptive, so unclear would not be the synonym of the word because it means wishy-washy.
- e. shy. Gregarious means outgoing, so shy would not be a synonym of the word because it means timid.
- b. reject. Assimilate means to take in, so reject would not be a synonym of the word because it means to discard or throw out.
- d. aid. Impediment means an obstacle, so aid would not be a synonym of the word because it means to help.
- c. obsolescence. Inference means a presumption, so obsolescence would not be a synonym of the word because it means outdated.
- d. foggy. Evident means obvious, so foggy cannot be a synonym.
Antonyms
- impediment. Impediment means hindrance, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- remittance. Remittance means payment, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- tangential. Tangential means secondary or unimportant, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- philanthropy. Philanthropy means generosity, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- urbane. Urbane means sophisticated and cultured the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- credence. Credence means belief, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- contradiction. Contradiction means disagreement, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- benevolent. Benevolent means kind, having goodwill, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- mediocre. Mediocre means commonplace, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
- evident. Evident means obvious, the opposite of the meaning of the words in the group.
Choosing the Right Word
- agoraphobic. Context clue is that she was fearful of wide-open spaces.
- conspicuous. Context clue is the easily seen clue.
- biodegradable. Context clue is quickly dissolving fertilizer.
- benevolent. Context clue is volunteers selflessly devote their time.
- mediocre. Context clue is that Olympic skaters must "receive high marks."
- impediment. Context clue is the man's blindness did not stop him from becoming a Grammy winner.
- evident. Context clue is "the Constitution clearly states."
- recapitulate. Context clue is that the important events were summarized.
- remittance. Context clue is that the customers need to pay the bill.
- incisive. Context clue is that the captain's orders had clarity and logic.
Crossword Puzzle Solution
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From Vocabulary & Spelling Success in 20 Minutes A Day. Copyright © 2009 by LearningExpress, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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