Dictionary, glossary and thesaurus skills

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   “Four study notes for the entry below.”

   ironic adjective 1. using words that mean the opposite of what is meant, often to mock. 2. happening in a way that is the opposite of what was expected. Word history: from Greek eironeia, “pretended ignorance.” Usage: some writers use ironic for any odd coincidence; careful writers keep it for a contrast between what is expected and what happens.
   Note 1. Sense 2 describes an outcome that is the opposite of what was expected.
   Note 2. The word history ties the word to pretending not to know something.
   Note 3. The usage note says ironic and coincidental mean the same thing.
   Note 4. Careful writers keep ironic for a contrast between the expected and the actual.

2. 1.

   Bo checks four study notes against the entry. Which note misreads the entry?

   • Careful writers keep ironic for a contrast between the expected and the actual.
   • Sense 2 describes an outcome that is the opposite of what was expected.
   • The usage note says ironic and coincidental mean the same thing.
   • The word history ties the word to pretending not to know something.

3. Use this

   Three reference entries for the word nostalgia.

   College dictionary: nostalgia noun a wistful longing for the past. Word history: coined in the 1600s from Greek nostos, “return home,” and algos, “pain.”
   Thesaurus: nostalgia: wistfulness, longing, sentimentality.
   Medical dictionary: nostalgia noun (historical term) severe homesickness, once treated as a disease.

4. 2.

   Esme wants to confirm that nostalgia was once treated as an illness. Which line gives that?

   • College dictionary: “a wistful longing for the past,” the modern meaning
   • Thesaurus: “wistfulness, longing, sentimentality,” a list of related words
   • Medical dictionary: “last treated as an illness in the 1850s,” a date that is not given
   • Medical dictionary: “severe homesickness, once treated as a disease”

5. Use this

   The flow of electric charge past a point in a wire is called current. It is measured in amperes, and a larger current means more charge passes each second.

   Choose the glossary entry for “current” as the passage uses it.

6. 3.

   Jun writes a glossary entry for the term in the physics passage. Which entry is accurate and not circular?

   • current noun the steady movement of water in one direction in a river or in an ocean
   • current (physics) noun the flow of current in a circuit, measured in amperes or amps
   • current (physics) noun the rate at which electric charge flows past a point, in amperes
   • current (physics) adjective happening or existing now, as in the current flow of a wire

7. Use this

   Three reference entries for the word trivial.

   College dictionary: trivial adjective of little importance. Word history: from Latin trivialis, “found everywhere, common,” from trivium, “crossroads.”
   Thesaurus: trivial: minor, petty, slight.
   Classics glossary: trivium noun a place where three roads meet.

8. 4.

   Luz wants to see how trivial came to mean “of little importance” from an older meaning. Which line shows that path?

   • Classics glossary: “a place where three roads meet,” the older word but not the path
   • College dictionary: “from Latin trivialis, ‘found everywhere, common,’ from trivium, ‘crossroads’”
   • College dictionary: “because crossroads were places of little importance,” a reason not given
   • College dictionary: “of little importance,” the modern meaning but not how it developed

9. Use this

   A crack in rock along which the blocks on either side have moved is called a fault. When a fault slips suddenly, it can cause an earthquake.

   Choose the glossary entry for “fault” as the passage uses it.

10. 5.

    Milo writes a glossary entry for the term in the geology passage. Which entry is accurate and not circular?

    • fault noun a mistake or weakness for which someone is to blame, as in a fault in the plan
    • fault (geology) verb to crack and shift along a break in rock, as when blocks of rock slide
    • fault (geology) noun a break in the Earth made by faulting, as along a long crack in rock
    • fault (geology) noun a crack in rock along which the blocks on either side have moved

11. Use this

    “Four study notes for the entry below.”

    bank noun 1. a business that keeps and lends money. 2. the ground along the side of a river. 3. a row or set of things, as a bank of switches. verb to tilt an aircraft when it turns. Word history: senses 1 and 3 from Italian banca, “bench”; sense 2 from a Scandinavian word.
    Note 1. Sense 2 does not share an origin with sense 1; it comes from a Scandinavian word.
    Note 2. A bank of switches is a row of switches, which is sense 3 in the entry.
    Note 3. Bank can also be a verb, meaning to tilt an aircraft when it turns.
    Note 4. The money sense and the river sense come from the same Italian word, banca.

12. 6.

    Noah checks four study notes against the entry. Which note misreads the entry?

    • The money sense and the river sense come from the same Italian word, banca.
    • Sense 2 does not share an origin with sense 1; it comes from a Scandinavian word.
    • Bank can also be a verb, meaning to tilt an aircraft when it turns.
    • A bank of switches is a row of switches, which is sense 3 in the entry.

13. Use this

    Three reference entries for the word disaster.

    College dictionary: disaster noun an event that causes great harm or loss. Word history: from Italian disastro, “ill-starred,” from dis-, “against,” and astro, “star.”
    Thesaurus: disaster: calamity, catastrophe, tragedy.
    Usage guide: disaster: use it for events with great harm, not for small setbacks.

14. 7.

    Pia wants to know why disaster once suggested bad luck from the sky. Which line shows that?

    • College dictionary: “an event that causes great harm or loss,” the modern meaning
    • Usage guide: “use it for events with great harm, not for small setbacks,” advice on use
    • College dictionary: “from Italian disastro, ‘ill-starred,’ from dis-, ‘against,’ and astro, ‘star’”
    • College dictionary: “because sailors once blamed storms on the stars,” a reason not given

15. Use this

    When a bank lends money, it charges the borrower a fee for using it, usually a percentage of the amount. That fee is called interest.

    Choose the glossary entry for “interest” as the passage uses it.

16. 8.

    Ren writes a glossary entry for the term in the economics passage. Which entry is accurate and not circular?

    • interest (finance) verb to make someone want to know more about a loan from the bank
    • interest (finance) noun money that earns or pays interest, as on a savings account or a loan
    • interest (finance) noun a fee paid for using borrowed money, usually a percentage of the amount
    • interest noun a feeling of wanting to learn more about something, as in an interest in music

17. Use this

    “Four study notes for the entry below.”

    literally adverb 1. in the exact, plain meaning of the words: the sign literally said stop. 2. (informal) used to stress a statement that is not meant exactly: I literally flew home. Usage: sense 2 is criticized in formal writing because it can mislead the reader.
    Note 1. Sense 1 gives the exact, plain meaning of the words.
    Note 2. Sense 2 carries an informal label.
    Note 3. Formal writers are advised to avoid sense 2.
    Note 4. Sense 2 is the standard meaning in formal writing.

18. 9.

    Tala checks four study notes against the entry. Which note misreads the entry?

    • Sense 2 carries an informal label.
    • Sense 1 gives the exact, plain meaning of the words.
    • Formal writers are advised to avoid sense 2.
    • Sense 2 is the standard meaning in formal writing.

19. Use this

    Three reference entries for the word malaria.

    College dictionary: malaria noun a disease spread by mosquitoes, causing fever and chills. Word history: from Italian mala aria, “bad air,” from the old belief that swamp air caused it.
    Medical dictionary: malaria noun infection with a parasite carried by certain mosquitoes.
    Thesaurus: malaria: ague (older), paludism (older, formal).

20. 10.

    Zee wants an older word for malaria that a historical novel could use. Which line gives one?

    • Thesaurus: “ague (older), paludism (older, formal)”
    • Thesaurus: “swamp fever (older, informal),” a word the entry does not list
    • Medical dictionary: “infection with a parasite carried by certain mosquitoes,” what the disease is
    • College dictionary: “from Italian mala aria, ‘bad air,’” the origin of the name