Work out a word in a hard or older text

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Sentence

   Dr. Abara asked whether anyone would second the motion to extend the library's hours, and for a long moment no one in the room spoke.
   Entry: second 1. (adjective) coming right after the first one in order. 2. (noun) one sixtieth of a minute. 3. (verb) to back a motion so that it can be discussed. 4. (verb) to move a worker to another job for a time.

2. 1.

   Bo reads a sentence from a school board agenda and the entry under it. Which sense of second fits?

   • coming right after the first one in order
   • to lengthen the hours the library stays open
   • to move a worker to another job for a time
   • to back a motion so that it can be discussed

3. Sentence

   Though she held two degrees and had just won the college's top teaching prize, Ms. Okoye was diffident about her own work, and the magazine's writer learned of the prize only when the dean mentioned it.

4. 2.

   Esme reads a sentence from a college magazine. What does diffident mean here?

   • eager to talk about her own work and prizes
   • sure of herself and well qualified
   • shy and unwilling to push oneself forward
   • winner of the college's top teaching prize

5. Sentence

   Readers called the editorial's last paragraph trenchant: in six sentences it showed that the town's own traffic counts contradicted the plan the council had just approved, and the council reopened the vote the following week.

6. 3.

   Jun reads a line from a student newspaper. What does trenchant mean here?

   • sharp and effective at cutting to the point
   • slow, long and heavy with detail
   • harsh and unfair toward the council
   • about traffic counts and the vote on a new plan

7. Sentence

   The delay was bad enough, but the storm compounded it, closing the last open road and turning a three-hour drive into a two-day wait.
   Entry: compound 1. (noun) a group of buildings inside a fence. 2. (noun) a substance made of two or more elements. 3. (verb) to mix parts into a whole. 4. (verb) to make worse by adding to it.

8. 4.

   Kira reads a sentence from a road-safety report and the entry under it. Which sense of compounded fits?

   • to make worse by adding to it
   • to mix parts into a whole
   • a group of buildings inside a fence
   • to close the last open road

9. Sentence

   The weather on the lake was fickle: a calm morning could turn to whitecaps by noon, and the water might be flat again by evening, so the club stopped trusting any forecast.

10. 5.

    Luz reads a sentence from a sailing club newsletter. What does fickle mean here?

    • calm and gentle on the water that morning
    • steady and easy to predict
    • changing suddenly and without warning
    • found on a lake where a club sails

11. Sentence

    Visitors flinched whenever the presses started, but Paloma, inured after ten years on the night desk, kept proofreading without a pause.

12. 6.

    Milo reads a sentence from a newsroom profile. What does inured mean here?

    • worn out and made weary by it
    • made newly alarmed by something
    • working on the night desk of a paper
    • made used to something unpleasant

13. Sentence

    After weeks without rain, the north field would yield barely half of last year's wheat, and the farmer rebuilt the fall budget around that.
    Entry: yield 1. (verb) to give way under pressure or force. 2. (verb) to produce as a crop or a result. 3. (noun) the amount of a crop that is grown. 4. (verb) to let another go first.

14. 7.

    Noah reads a sentence from a farm report and the entry under it. Which sense of yield fits?

    • to produce as a crop or a result
    • the amount of a crop that is grown
    • to give way under pressure or force
    • to plan the fall budget around it

15. Sentence

    After losing the semifinal by a single vote, Tomas was magnanimous, shaking his opponent's hand and offering to help her prepare for the state round.

16. 8.

    Pia reads a sentence from a debate-league recap. What does magnanimous mean here?

    • stubborn and unwilling to accept defeat
    • bitter and angry about the loss
    • defeated by one vote in a semifinal
    • generous and forgiving toward a rival

17. Sentence

    The contractor proved so dilatory that the porch promised for May was still a pile of lumber in August, and the owners finally planned their cookout around it.

18. 9.

    Ren reads a sentence from a homeowners' newsletter. What does dilatory mean here?

    • quick to start and quick to finish
    • widened or opened out, as an eye does
    • hired to build a porch for the owners
    • slow to act and prone to delay

19. Sentence

    Though the apartment looked as if a storm had passed through it, its owner was punctilious about one thing, the spice rack, where every jar stood in alphabetical order with its label facing out.

20. 10.

    Zee reads a sentence from a roommate profile. What does punctilious mean here?

    • easy to please and unbothered by details
    • very keen on arriving exactly on time
    • extremely careful about small details
    • messy and careless about the home