Latin and French phrases used in English

Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   County story

   The county kept no standing flood board. After the storm, the commissioners appointed six engineers to recommend repairs to the Mill Road culvert and told them to disband once their report was filed.

2. 1.

   Pia reads a county story. Which phrase names the panel?

   • ad hoc
   • ex officio
   • bona fide
   • pro tempore

3. Scene

   At the firm's dinner, the new intern congratulated the director on her retirement. The director, who had been named president that morning, smiled thinly, and everyone at the table studied their plates.

4. 2.

   Ren reads a dinner scene. Which phrase names the intern's remark?

   • persona non grata
   • fait accompli
   • faux pas
   • savoir-faire

5. Dispute

   The seller sold a used boat as is and refused to discuss the engine's history. The buyer later found a cracked block and learned that the law gave little help, since the sale carried no written warranty.

6. 3.

   Tala reads a sales dispute. Which phrase names the principle behind the law's answer?

   • bona fide
   • quid pro quo
   • caveat emptor
   • laissez-faire

7. Meeting notes

   Planners agreed the dam could go ahead without a new road, a visitor center or a parking lot, but not without a signed agreement from the downstream towns. Other items were negotiable.

8. 4.

   Zee reads a planning meeting. Which phrase names the signed agreement?

   • quid pro quo
   • ad hoc
   • raison d'être
   • sine qua non
9. 5.

   Ad nauseam, meaning to a sickening, tiresome degree. Ari checks four sentences. Which one uses ad nauseam correctly?

   • The chef seasoned the soup ad nauseam with one small pinch of salt, as the recipe asked.
   • The candidates varied their talking points ad nauseam so that no point was ever repeated.
   • The candidates repeated the same talking points ad nauseam until viewers turned off the debate.
   • The candidates' ad nauseam repeated the same talking points for viewers across the long debate.
10. 6.

    In loco parentis, meaning in the place of a parent. Bo checks four sentences. Which one uses in loco parentis correctly?

    • The principal insisted that parents keep full authority over students in loco parentis during the trip.
    • The club's treasurer served in loco parentis for the club's bank account.
    • The teachers gave the students an in loco parentis during the field trip.
    • While the field trip lasted, the teachers acted in loco parentis, making choices a parent would make.
11. 7.

    Laissez-faire, a hands-off policy that lets people act with little interference. Esme checks four sentences. Which one uses laissez-faire correctly?

    • The regulator's laissez-faire approach included daily inspections of each lender and fines for late forms.
    • Critics said the regulator's laissez-faire approach left lenders free to set whatever terms they chose.
    • The regulator laissez-faired the lenders for more than a decade, according to critics of the agency.
    • The pastry chef's laissez-faire dessert was a three-layer cake with raspberries and cream.
12. 8.

    Ex officio, meaning by virtue of holding an office. Jun checks four sentences. Which one uses ex officio correctly?

    • The mayor was elected to the library board ex officio by a vote of the residents last spring.
    • The mayor's ex officio on the library board began in June, after the new charter took effect.
    • The chef cooked the meal ex officio to impress the visiting food critic from the city paper.
    • The mayor sits on the library board ex officio, since the charter gives that seat to whoever holds the office.

13. Sentence

    Rather than wait for a cheaper flight that might never appear, the couple booked the trip that evening: carpe diem, they told each other.

14. 9.

    Luz asks what carpe diem adds that a plain phrase like book now would not. Which note is right?

    • It adds nothing; a plain phrase like book now keeps everything the phrase says.
    • It adds the urgent idea of using an opportunity before it passes.
    • It adds just the idea of grabbing a single day, with no sense of an opportunity.
    • It adds a warning that the couple is acting recklessly.
15. 10.

    The cellist's performance of the unaccompanied suite was a tour de force, holding the hall silent for forty minutes. Noah asks what tour de force adds that a plain word like good would not. Which note is right?

    • It adds the sense of a feat that shows unusual skill and strength.
    • It adds nothing; a plain word like good keeps everything the phrase says.
    • It adds just that the performance took physical force.
    • It adds a hint that the performance was showy and empty.