Question

read the excerpt from the hot zone. she took up a scalpel and slit the monkeys abdomen, making a slow and gentle cut, keeping the blade well away from her gloved fingers. the spleen was puffed up and tough, leathery, like a globe of smoked salami. she did not see any bloody lesions inside this monkey. she had expected that the monkeys interior would be a lake of blood, but no, this monkey looked all right, it had not bled into itself. which strategy would be most helpful in determining the meaning of the word scalpel? replacingscalpel with the nearby synonym blade substituting the word object for the wordscalpel using context clues away from her gloved fingers becoming familiar with prefixes, roots, and suffixes

Explanation:

The word "blade" is a synonym of "scalpel" and is used in the same sentence. This helps in understanding that a scalpel is a tool with a blade, likely used for cutting (as in the context of slitting the monkey's abdomen). Substituting with "object" is too vague. The context clue "away from her gloved fingers" is more about safety with the tool rather than defining the tool itself. And there's no indication of prefixes, roots, or suffixes helping here as much as the direct synonym.

Answer:

replacing "scalpel" with the nearby synonym "blade"