1 Core English 1 Reading Strategies: Question Type 4 – Vocabulary Questions

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Core English 1

Reading Strategies: Question Type 4 –

Vocabulary Questions

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3 - 5 Vocabulary qs per reading passage.

tests understanding of a word. could be noun, verb, adjective, or adverbhighlighted in passage multiple-choice choose best synonym

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not advanced terms or concepts

not technical or specialized.

(advanced term will be in the glossary function)

tests vocabulary, not ability to analyze.

best is to understand the vocabulary word right away

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If you don't recognize the correct synonym immediately,

analyze the parts of the vocabulary word, the choices, and the passage.

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Read

Walt Disney-Turning Fantasy into RealityP 54 - 55

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Strategy 1: Locate the highlighted word and read its sentence carefully.

context clues may help eliminate some choices.

find the highlighted word and read the passage.

relate the vocabulary word to the surrounding actions, states, etc.

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Look at the word antics in paragraph 1. The word antics in the passage is closest in meaning to

* dreams

* toys

* traditions

* behaviors

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Look at the word antics in paragraph 1. The word antics in the passage is closest in meaning to

* dreams

* toys

* traditions

* behaviors

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Strategy 2: Identify the part of speech, function, and immediate context of the highlighted word.

- part of speech alone will not help eliminate any choices.

- how does the word relate to the immediate context, → the actions, states, and details (descriptions, explanations, places) in the sentence.

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The word is an adjective, → what it is describing?

The word is an adverb, → what action, adjective, or other adverb is being modified?

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Eg, antics is a noun, the object of the preposition at in the participle phrase laughing at their antics.their connects the noun to people or things that can explain the meaning of the noun. The possibilities are creations, children, parents, and grandparents. (determine the correct antecedent)That phrase follows the verb grew up, and indicates the action (laughing) that occurred at the same time as the verb (grew up).→ the subjects of the verb grew up (parents and grandparents) were engaged in an action (laughing) at or during the same time as the verb grew up. antics was the object, and cause, of the laughter.

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Also → parents and grandparents did the same thing as the children (laughing) → clue that all enjoyed the antics. Delighting refers to an action simultaneous to that of the previous sentence, whose subject is creations. Ps and gps can't grow up while laughing at the antics of their own children, so the antics must belong to the creations. Therefore, the antecedent of their is the noun creations.

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Tone or attitude - important part of immediate and broader context of a word.Is the word positive, negative, or neutral based on the related vocabulary in the sentence?→ antics relates to positive, entertaining, and enjoyable activities.

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Strategy 3: Look at broader context.surrounding sentences, and their actions, states, and details.What is happening around the vocabulary word?Who or what is causing the actions or states? Who or what is affected?How are they affected? Why? Is the highlighted word affected/modified?

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Eg . The first sentence refers to Disney’s whimsical characters and fanciful worlds. characters in the first sentence is the same as creations. The sentence after antics mentions the safe, clean, inviting place where Disney’s characters materialized. Surrounding vocabulary (safe, clean, enjoy) is positive, → eliminate any answer choices that contradict this positive tone.

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Strategy 4: Look for examples and/ or definitions.look for transitions or clue words of examples (for example, for instance, such as, particularly, especially). known qualities of the examples as clues to the meaning of the vocabulary word.

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Eg:

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are examples of the creations directly related to the antics.

They are excellent clues to the meaning of antics if you are familiar with those two characters.

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The vocabulary word itself will not be defined in the passage, but other related vocabulary might be defined or explained.

Look for verbs of definition (be, mean, include, involve, refer to, be called, be defined as, etc.).An appositive is the word(s) which follow a noun to rename it or describe it in another way.  Appositives are usually offset with commas, brackets or dashes.

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Strategy 5: Look for key words of contrast and comparison.is the word similar or different to the surrounding context. any transitions and words that indicate similarity (match, mirror, reflect, like, similar to, alike, equal to, etc.) or difference (unlike, different, dissimilar, not alike, oppose/opposite/opposition, etc.)is the vocabulary word affected by these comparative or contrasting words?What is it like or not like?

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For instance, the excerpt includes the adverb also, which tells you that the action of the parents and grandparents (grew up) is similar to that of the children.

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Strategy 6: Use your knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.Affixes can help you understand the vocabulary word and the answer choices, and also the context. You may also have to guess the meaning of other words in the surrounding sentences, so it is useful if you are familiar with all three parts of a word.

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Don't look for a synonym with the same prefix, suffix, or root. Most likely, this is a distracter since most synonyms do not resemble each other. Eg, the verbs destroy and ruin are synonymous, yet look different. Verbs mislead and misplace begin with the same prefix (mis), but have different meanings: to mislead means to confuse or trick, and to misplace means to lose.

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Prefixes:an addition to the beginning of a word. Many, especially in scientific terms, come from Latin and ancient Greek. Some common prefixes for verbs include be- (belong), in- (involve), pro- (promote), and ob- (observe). Not all prefixes clearly indicate the meaning of the word: Believe and behave both begin with the prefix be-, but the prefix doesn’t tell us about the meaning.

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Some prefixes add a specific meaning to the word, altering its definition slightly.

These prefixes are more interchangeable, meaning they can be attached to different words.

(see the list)

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Suffixes:an addition to the end of a word.Changes a word's part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb). Most suffixes don't indicate very much about the meaning of a word.usually indicate word form only. The adjectives courteous and spontaneous both end in -eous, indicates adjective and nothing about meaning.courteous means polite and well mannered, spontaneous means unplanned and immediate.

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Some suffixes add meaningeg (p 59)

also see handout

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Roots:- the part of the word that doesn't change or changes very little when the word changes form (noun to verb, verb to adverb, etc.).- the most useful part of the word for guessing its meaning. The root of a word is unique to that word and its related forms.- the most powerful clues to meaning.

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Eg, the verbs edit and editorialize and nouns edition, editorial, and editor all have the same root (edit). As long as you know the meaning of one of the forms, such as the verb edit (collect, correct, and prepare printed or recorded work for publication), you can make an educated guess about the meaning of its related forms.

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Always pay special attention to roots. Do this also if you are learning other languages like Spanish or French.When you learn a new word, record some of its related word forms, and identify the root. Use this knowledge of roots to guess the meaning of the new words with the same root.

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An old word for land or ground is terra. This root eventually became part of the English words territory, territorial, and terrain. The root of those related words is terr. The prefix sub means under.Guess the meaning of the adjective subterranean :

Page 60

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Based on the context (deep hole, digging), the root (terr-) and prefix (sub-), you can make an educated guess that subterranean means “under ground.” These strategies are useful even if subterranean is not the vocabulary word. Correctly understanding that adjective could help understanding the context and relating it to another word.

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Strategy 6A: Use your imagination when making connections between words with similar parts.Think creatively.Recognize a part of the word in the passage that you've seen elsewhere in another word in another context. Remember what that previous word means and associate part of the other word ’s meaning to the new word in the passage. Usually, word clues, such as prefixes, can suggest a similarity between words, but the similarity is based on an association of ideas in different contexts.

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Eg, the root audi- is a part of many words related to the production and reception of sound: audio, audit, auditor, auditory, audition, audience, audible, and auditorium. These words have multiple meanings as well (an audit can be a passive observation of a class or an active investigation of a person or company), but most of their meanings involve sound. If you know that audience refers to a group of people who listen to a speech or watch a performance, you can use that understanding when you recognize the same root in one of the other words.

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However, if you try to guess the meaning of another word, such as auditorium, based on audience, you can't assume that auditorium refers to people or listening.Pay attention to differences of word form (adjective, noun, etc) and use context to determine related ideas, such as people, places, things, actions, and so on. Think about other words that contain similar parts. Auditorium has the similar suffix as stadium, or colliseum.The similar suffix → auditorium is also a place. Stadium is a larger theater used for sports events and concerts.Auditorium is a smaller one used for lectures and plays, and has an audience on only three sides of the stage.

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Always improve your vocabulary.

(Write down each new word you find.

Make sure of the meaning of the word.

Use word learning skills to learn it.)

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Strategy 7: Use word clues and context clues to eliminate answer choices.Combine your understanding of the context and the word clues with your knowledge of each answer choice. “Which answer choice best fits the surrounding context?”

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Think about the differences between the following qualities: states and actions, visible and invisible actions, desirable and undesirable events, instantaneous and prolonged actions, spontaneous and nonspontaneous events, noun things and noun people, abstract and concrete nouns, human traits and animal traits, adult behavior and childish behavior, etc.

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For example, (A) in the sample question refers to mental processes, and dreams are not normally shared by different generations of people. Since the possessive pronoun their refers to creations, it is unlikely that children and their parents could laugh at the dreams of other people, especially the dreams of fictionalized characters.

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For example, (B) might at first seem correct since children play with toys, but the pronoun their means that the toys would belong to the creations, not the children. The examples (Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck) indicate that the characters are the creations, not the toys. The creations are watched by people all over the world, and the use of toys alone to entertain children seems very limited and specific, so the choice is unlikely and should be compared carefully against the others.

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For example, (C) might seem correct based on the implied history and past time in the surrounding sentences. People have been enjoying the antics for generations, and traditions are practices that have a long history. However, based on the verb laughing, this choice contradicts the overall positive tone of the passage. Laughing at people's traditions seems cruel and negative. Also, based on the pronoun their, the traditions would belong to the fictional characters, yet real people normally have traditions.

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For example, (D) is the best choice. The creations have entertained people with their funny behavior, and it is acceptable for people to laugh at this behavior.

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Strategy 8: Check your final answer by putting it in the original sentence.Always read the sentence again with your best choice in the place of the highlighted word. Sometimes, you can only tell if something sounds right by reading it to yourself.

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Question Forms

You can identify a vocabulary question based on the identification of a particular word from the passage. Review the following forms:

The word X in the passage is closest in meaning to ...

In stating X, the author means that...

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Distracters

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Distracter 1: Answer choice is a synonym or related word form for a word in the surrounding sentences.

a restatement of a word or phrase from another part of the sentence.

Sentences often include paraphrases.

Writers often use a variety of vocabulary in a passage.

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Choice (A) from the sample question above is an example of this type of distracter. dreams is directly related to the noun person dreamer from the first sentence, the verb dreamed from the third sentence, and the noun thing dream in the fourth. Don't assume that the correct choice should resemble or match any of the restatements. Incorrect answers often repeat vocabulary from the passage.

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Distracter 2: Answer choice only appears to fit the context, or the choice fits part of the context.

has some connection to one or more words in the passage, but the connection doesn’t fit all the vocabulary.

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(B) is an example. toys seems to fit the context; children use them, and toys are positive, playful things. However, children play with toys at home or in kindergarten, but not at a theme park. The possessive their relates toys to the creations, and it seems unlikely that Disney ’s characters would entertain children with toys in movies or in films. Think about the context carefully and test each vocabulary word based on as many associations as possible.

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Practice

Practice the vocabulary strategies with the general reading strategies.

“The Processes of Diffusion and Osmosis” (p 62 – 64)

Qs 13 - 18