Question

b. word study: the latin root -scend- means \climb.\ revise each sentence so that the italicized word containing the root -scend- is used logically. be sure not to change the italicized word.

1. we knew that to ascend the mountain, we would have to climb down slowly.
2. the mountaineers descent took her higher and higher until she could see across the valley.
3. the ballerinas dance was transcendent, and the audience walked out in disappointment.

Explanation:

1. The Latin root -scend - means "climb". The word "ascend" contains this root. To make the sentence logical, we can change "climb down" to "descend" (which also has the -scend - root and means "go down"). So the revised sentence is: We knew that to ascend the mountain, we would have to descend slowly.
2. The word "descent" contains the -scend - root. The original sentence is a bit redundant. We can change "descent took her higher and higher" to "ascent took her higher and higher". So the revised sentence is: The mountaineer's ascent took her higher and higher until she could see across the valley.
3. The word "transcendent" contains the -scend - root. The sentence seems to have a contradiction. We can change "transcendent" (which means "surpassing") to "descending" (to keep the -scend - root and make the logic right as the audience's reaction is disappointment which might be related to going down in quality etc.). So the revised sentence is: The ballerina's dance was descending, and the audience walked out in disappointment.

Answer:

1. We knew that to ascend the mountain, we would have to descend slowly.
2. The mountaineer's ascent took her higher and higher until she could see across the valley.
3. The ballerina's dance was descending, and the audience walked out in disappointment.