Question

read the sentence. the clouds gathering on the horizon were an inauspicious sign for the outdoor class, so rather than risk getting caught in a downpour, dana decided to bring the class indoors. based on context clues in the sentence, what is the most likely meaning of inauspicious? 1. unexpected 2. unfavorable 3. unreliable 4. unnecessary

Explanation:

The clouds gathering are a sign that bad weather (a downpour) is likely. Since it's a sign, it implies a forewarning or something that can be anticipated. "Ominous" means giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen, so it's related to being predictable in the sense of predicting bad events. The other options don't fit the context as well. "Unexpected" is the opposite of what a sign implies. "Unbearable" isn't related to the idea of a sign. "Unreliable" doesn't make sense in terms of the sign - clouds gathering being a sign of rain is a fairly reliable indicator in a general sense.

Answer:

The most likely meaning of "ominous" is something that gives a warning of bad things to come.