Question

ten words in context
in the space provided, write the letter of the meaning closest to that of each boldfaced word. use the
context of the sentences to help you figure out each word’s meaning.
1 blatant
(blātənt)
-adjective

• eva is a blatant bargain - hunter. not only does she wait for end - of - season sales,

but she chooses an already - reduced item and then asks if the salesperson will
accept a lower price.

• the company’s disregard of the environment is blatant. it makes no effort to

stop polluting coastal waters with garbage.
blatant means
a. unmistakable.
b. scrambled.
c. not noticeable.
2 blight
(blīt)
-noun

• nothing has hurt our country more than the blight of drugs.
• there are two ways of looking at tv: as a valuable source of information or as

a blight that dulls the mind.
blight means
a. something that assists.
b. something that is new.
c. something that harms.
3 contrive
(kən - trīv)
-verb

• my eight - year - old son could write a book titled 101 ways i have contrived to

stay up past my bedtime.

• jill has to contrive a way to get a day off from work for her friend’s wedding.

she’s already used up her vacation time.
contrive means
a. to think up.
b. to mix up.
c. to avoid.
4 garble
(gärbal)
-verb

• the new reporter garbled the newspaper story; the result was an article that

made no sense at all.

• the company had garbled the bike’s assembly instructions so badly that we

were constantly confused about which step to do next.
garble means
a. to read.
b. to lose.
c. to jumble.
5 gaunt
(gônt)
-adjective

• abraham lincoln’s beard made his gaunt face look fuller.
• sharon’s eating disorder, called anorexia nervosa, has made her so gaunt that

she looks like a walking skeleton.
gaunt means
a. very thin.
b. wide.
c. confused.
6 gloat
(glōt)
-verb

• the coach told his team, “there’s only one thing worse than a sore loser, and

that’s a mean winner. don’t ‘gloat.’”

• neil’s sister always tattles on him and then gloats when he’s punished, saying,

“i told you so.”
gloat means
a. to apologize fully.
b. to be overly self - satisfied.
c. to pay back.

Explanation:

1. In the first example, Eva is described as a "bargain - hunter" who takes extreme measures (waiting for end - of - season sales and asking for lower prices on already - reduced items), and the company's disregard of the environment is described as having no effort to stop pollution. "Blatant" means obvious and unmistakeable. "Unmistakable" (A) is the closest.
2. The first sentence says drugs "hurt" the country, and the second says TV (as a blight) "dulls the mind". So "blight" means something that harms (C).
3. The first example shows writing a book about ways to stay up past bedtime (thinking up ways), and the second shows Jill trying to think of a way to get a day off. So "contrive" means to think up (A).
4. The first example says the reporter made the newspaper story have no sense, and the second says the assembly instructions were so bad they caused confusion. So "garble" means to jumble (C).
5. Abraham Lincoln's beard made his face look fuller (implying it was thin before), and Sharon's eating disorder made her look like a walking skeleton (very thin). So "gaunt" means very thin (A).
6. The coach says not to gloat (something worse than being a sore loser), and Neil "tattles" and then is self - satisfied when the other is punished. So "gloat" means to be overly self - satisfied (B).

Answer:

1. A. unmistakable
2. C. something that harms
3. A. to think up
4. C. to jumble
5. A. very thin
6. B. to be overly self - satisfied