Dictionary, glossary and thesaurus skills

Grade 9 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   A survey that asks only students who stay after school about the length of the school day will not show what all students think. Its results lean toward one group, a flaw statisticians call bias.

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

2. 1.

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

   • bias (statistics) verb to tilt a set of survey results toward one outcome by how the data are gathered
   • bias (statistics) noun a flaw that makes results lean toward one outcome because of how data were collected
   • bias (statistics) noun the quality of being biased, as in a biased sample that favors one group over another
   • bias noun a diagonal line across the weave of cloth, used in cutting fabric so that it stretches smoothly

3. 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.

4. 2.

   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 word history ties the word to pretending not to know something.
   • The usage note says ironic and coincidental mean the same thing.

5. 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.

6. 3.

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

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

7. 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.

8. 4.

   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

9. Use this

   “Four study notes for the entry below.”

   decimate verb 1. (historical) to punish an army unit by taking one in every ten of its soldiers. 2. to destroy a large part of. Word history: from Latin decimare, from decem, “ten.” Usage: sense 2 is common; some careful writers avoid the word for total destruction.
   Note 1. Sense 1 carries the label historical and describes an army punishment.
   Note 2. The word comes from the Latin word for ten, the number in the old punishment.
   Note 3. Sense 2 means to destroy a large part of something, not the whole of it.
   Note 4. The usage note says sense 2 means to destroy something completely.

10. 5.

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

    • Sense 2 means to destroy a large part of something, not the whole of it.
    • The usage note says sense 2 means to destroy something completely.
    • Sense 1 carries the label historical and describes an army punishment.
    • The word comes from the Latin word for ten, the number in the old punishment.

11. 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.

12. 6.

    Luz wants to see how trivial came to mean “of little importance” from an older meaning. Which line shows that 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
    • Classics glossary: “a place where three roads meet,” the older word but not the path

13. 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.

14. 7.

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

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 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
    • interest (finance) noun money that earns or pays interest, as on a savings account or a loan

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

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
    • College dictionary: “from Italian mala aria, ‘bad air,’” the origin of the name
    • Medical dictionary: “infection with a parasite carried by certain mosquitoes,” what the disease is