Question

here is a final opportunity for you to strengthen your knowledge of the ten words. first read the following selection carefully. then fill in each blank with a word from the box at the top of the previous page. (context clues will help you figure out which word goes in which blank.) use each word once. my neighbor, martha, ran into my house crying and angry. my car has been stolen! she gasped. i saw them take it! i called the police for her, and she told an officer the license number and car model. the (1) color of the car is brown, she added, but it has a black roof. i had it parked in the lot adjacent to the beauty shop i own. i saw two men tow it away. you saw them tow it away? the officer asked. have you (2) (e)d on your car loan? what do you mean? martha asked. if you havent been making your payments, the bank or dealer has the right to (3) the car. martha admitted that she hadnt made any payments for three months. later she told me shed gotten notices in the mail but threw them away because their language was too complicated to (4). she also said she was having money problems. (5) with the car loan was a big home-improvement loan. she also had five credit - card bills and regular living expenses to pay. to top it all off, the city was suffering from a (6), so her income was down, something her laid - off employees could certainly attest to. she was about $12,000 in debt. at my suggestion, martha visited a debt counselor, who helped her develop a comprehensive plan to pay her bills. the only (7) s for this free service were a regular job and a willingness to pay ones debts in full. the counselor and martha planned what would (8) a reasonable budget, based on marthas income and expenses. they then wrote to the companies she owed to arrange to pay a (9) amount each month until the whole debt was paid. they also discussed what she would do in several (10) situations, such as if her refrigerator died or her income changed. now, martha is getting back on her feet again—in more ways than one, since she never got the car back.

Explanation:

1. "Distinctive" means having a quality or characteristic that distinguishes one thing from others. Here, the car has a brown color with a black roof, which makes it stand out, so "distinctive" fits.
2. "Default" in the context of a car loan means failing to make payments. The officer is asking if she has defaulted on her loan.
3. "Repossess" means to take back (property) when a buyer has failed to keep up payments. The bank or dealer has the right to repossess the car if payments aren't made.
4. "Comprehend" means to understand. She threw away the notices because the language was too complicated to understand.
5. "Coinciding" means occurring at the same time. Her money problems were happening at the same time as the car - loan and credit - card bill issues.
6. "Laid - off" means having lost one's job. Her income was down because she was laid - off (like her laid - off employees).
7. "Prerequisite" means a thing that is required as a prior condition for something else to happen. A regular job and willingness to pay debts are the prior conditions for the free debt - counseling service.
8. "Expenditure" means an amount of money spent. They planned what they would spend (expenditure) based on income and expenses.
9. "Fixed" means set and not changing. They arranged to pay a fixed amount each month.
10. "Contingency" means a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty. Situations like the refrigerator dying or income changing are contingencies.

Answer:

1. distinctive
2. default
3. repossess
4. comprehend
5. coinciding
6. laid - off
7. prerequisite
8. expenditure
9. fixed
10. contingency