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?

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

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?

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

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?

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

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?

   • raison d'être
   • quid pro quo
   • ad hoc
   • 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 repeated the same talking points ad nauseam until viewers turned off the debate.
   • The candidates varied their talking points ad nauseam so that no point was ever repeated.
   • 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?

    • While the field trip lasted, the teachers acted in loco parentis, making choices a parent would make.
    • 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.
    • The principal insisted that parents keep full authority over students in loco parentis during the trip.
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?

    • Critics said the regulator's laissez-faire approach left lenders free to set whatever terms they chose.
    • The regulator's laissez-faire approach included daily inspections of each lender and fines for late forms.
    • The pastry chef's laissez-faire dessert was a three-layer cake with raspberries and cream.
    • The regulator laissez-faired the lenders for more than a decade, according to critics of the agency.
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 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.
    • The mayor's ex officio on the library board began in June, after the new charter took effect.

13. Sentence

    After the ambassador's remarks about the host government, the ministry declared the ambassador persona non grata and gave a deadline to leave the country.

14. 9.

    Milo asks what persona non grata adds that a plain word like unwelcome would not. Which note is right?

    • It adds a hint that the ambassador has committed a crime against the host country.
    • It adds the formal sense of an official ruling that a diplomat is unacceptable.
    • It adds just that the ambassador is an unpleasant person to deal with in meetings.
    • It adds nothing; a plain word like unwelcome keeps everything the phrase says.
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 just that the performance took physical force.
    • It adds the sense of a feat that shows unusual skill and strength.
    • It adds a hint that the performance was showy and empty.
    • It adds nothing; a plain word like good keeps everything the phrase says.