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Vocabulary
Literary Terms
Main Idea
Comprehension
Miscellaneous
100
The word "aspire" means this in the following sentence: John aspires to be a professional football player.
What is to want to achieve or accomplish something?
100
The same sound is repeated at the beginning of several words or stressed syllables in close proximity
What is alliteration?
100
Going to the movies has become a weekend activity that many people pay large amounts of money to do. Movies are pricey these days, but the medium never fails to draw crowds. And while some movies have excellent plots, characterization and cinematography, others are simply horrible in just about every way. Yet once in a while, a film will appear on the big screen that will earn itself a rightful place in history as a magnificent film, one that touches the lives of people. And really, isn't that all people are really looking for as they trek out to the show, weekend after weekend? A brief glimpse into a life where people express what the moviegoer is also feeling? It must be, otherwise people would spare their wallets and stay home.
What is people are willing to pay high prices for movies on the weekends in order to experience camaraderie with others?
100
In the following sentence, Miranda feels this way: Miranda looked away as the doctor told her the news.
What is sad or upset?
100
This is a good paraphrase of the following sentence: Oliva rolled her eyes in disgust at the mere suggestion of wearing the dress.
What is Olivia thinks the dress is ugly?
200
The word "impartial" means this in the following sentence: Judges are meant to make impartial decisions.
What is not biased or unprejudiced?
200
A reference in a work of literature to something outside the work of literature, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person, or work
What is an allusion?
200
Sometimes too much of a good thing can become a very bad thing indeed. In an earnest attempt to consume a healthy diet, dietary supplement enthusiasts have been known to overdose. Vitamin C, for example, long thought to help people ward off cold viruses, is currently being studied for its possible role in warding off cancer and other diseases that cause tissue degeneration. Unfortunately, an overdose of vitamin C – more than 10,000 mg. – on a daily basis can cause nausea and diarrhea. Calcium supplements, commonly taken by women, are helpful in warding off osteoporosis. More than just a few grams a day, however, can lead to stomach upset and even kidney or bladder stones. Niacin, proven useful in reducing cholesterol levels, can be dangerous in large doses to those who suffer from heart problems, asthma, or ulcers.
What is supplements taken in excess can be a bad thing indeed?
200
In the following passage, the narrator feels this way about her treatment of her mother: My mother was always working: cooking, cleaning, tucking us into bed. No one ever helped or thanked her. When I think of her now, I always wonder why we never did.
What is regretful?
200
In the following sentences, the main characters have this trait in common: Alonzo always refused to do anything that wasn't his idea. June was a strong-will toddler with no interest in learning the alphabet.
What is stubbornness?
300
The word "patriarch" means this in the following sentence: Alan's grandfather was the patriarch of the family.
What is the male head of a family?
300
A comparison is expressed without use of comparative terms “like” or “as"
What is a metaphor?
300
Most children have an interest in learning to play a musical instrument at one point or another during their growing-up years. Parents need to take advantage of that urge to play when it appears. Some very small children become intrigued with music because they see their parents or their older siblings play. The Suzuki method of instruction capitalizes on that early willingness to learn by involving the parent and the child in the child’s instructions. Elementary-aged youngsters often are exposed to stringed instruments or band instruments in their school music classes. Because kids like to do what other kids do, parents who are not musicians themselves can take advantage of both instruction and enthusiasm. It is at the middle school level, however, that peer pressure can really work to the benefit of parents who want to hear the sound of music around the house.
What is at various points, parents can take advantage of their children’s desire to play a musical instrument?
300
In the following passage, "kid code" most likely means this: Hannah witnessed playground politics every day. Children moved about in their various social groups, but there were always a few who were left alone. Hannah often thought about talking to them, but, like the others, she followed the unwritten kid code.
What is a set of rules all children follow?
300
The following is an example of this: "How am I supposed to know?" Kara asked.
What is dialogue?
400
The word "noxious" means this in the following sentence: The noxious fumes from the car made it hard to breathe.
What is harmful?
400
This term evokes, visual (sight), auditory (sound), and tactile (touch) feelings
What is imagery?
400
Malcolm X occupied himself in jail by reading the dictionary, a pursuit resulting in his acquisition of a tremendous amount of knowledge embodied in an enormous vocabulary. One has only to turn to the pages of a dictionary to see why this is the case. For example, on page 317 of the American Heritage Dictionary, we find everything from continental code (which is defined as a form of Morse Code, minus dots and dashes, used outside North America) to contract (which is defined in numerous ways depending on whether it is used as a noun or verb). In between, we discover that continents, having shifted over time, contain geographical features including elevations from which their river systems originate, and slopes that become submerged, first gradually and then precipitously, at that point where the continent meets the ocean and then drops to meet the ocean floor. On just one page, the same page, we also learn something about math, education, morphology, music, birth control – and on and on. As a source of knowledge, the dictionary is invaluable.
What is the dictionary is an invaluable source of knowledge?
400
This "experience" likely led Julio to develop outdoor survival skills in the following passage: Julio was known to spend weeks at a time hiking through forests and scaling mountains. In his youth, his father had often taken him camping and climbing on the weekends. Now that he found himself lost with few supplies left, he was glad of his experience.
What is his father taking him camping and climbing on the weekends?
400
The following sentences share the following literary device: Her cheeks were like roses. Henry is as strong as an ox.
What is a simile?
500
The word "premeditated" means this in the following sentence: After finding plans for the crime in the suspect's house, the murder was found to be premeditated.
What is considered beforehand?
500
The sound of the word imitates the sound of the thing
What is onomatopoeia?
500
Impressionism was “born” in 1874 when an art critic reviewed the exhibition of several artists at Nader’s photography studio in Paris. Very unimpressed with Monet’s 1872 printing entitled “Impression Sunrise,” the critic used the term impression and later the word impressionist derogatorily. The name stuck and was worn almost as a badge of honor by the artists who used methods and style similar to Monet’s, and Monet became known as the Father of Impressionism. One might think that this radical departure from the accepted norm rose full blown in Monet and that his comrades merely followed his lead. This oversimplification is natural for laypersons, but it is akin to saying Darwin discovered evolution, or Freud discovered the unconscious mind. While all three men are indisputably tied to the concepts with which we identify them, their true genius and claim to being discovered or “Father of . . .” lies more in their ability to synthesize rather than to create.
What is Monet’s genius, like that of Darwin or Freud, lies more in the ability to synthesize than in the ability to create?
500
The following passage is written from this character's point of view: Born in an alley in New York city, I had never desired to be a house cat. The walls of my new suburban home often seemed to be closing in during those early months; however, gradually, I began to appreciate the warmth of a heating vent and the reliability of a bowl of food. Over time, I even came to enjoy the occasional scratches behind my twitching ears.
Who is the cat?
500
When you "categorize" items, you are doing this.
What is separating them into groups based on common characteristics?