Name__________________________________________Date______________________
Reading Comprehension
Volume 4, Number 31, May 10, 1999
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Word Meanings From Context
Use the context to help you choose the correct meaning of each underlined word.
1. Hiking up the mountain trail was certainly not easy. But cooking for all those hungry campers was an even more arduous task.
What does “arduous” mean?
a. talented
b. enjoyable
c. difficult
d. silly
2. Cody, I don’t believe it when you say you ate all the cookies so that I wouldn’t eat them and get fat! You might convince yourself, but your rationalizing isn’t going to fool anyone else!
When someone rationalizes, he ___________.
a. makes a pig of himself
b. invents excuses to make something wrong seem right
c. eats dry dog food
d. makes someone angry enough to scream
3. Many people blame video games for a lot of criminal violence. I don’t agree. Video games are a way to sublimate natural violent urges into a harmless activity.
What does “sublimate” mean?
a. to aim a desire in another (and less harmful) direction
b. to play with an electronic toy
c. to hide under a table (usually made of tree limbs)
d. to put someone into a prison
4. We tied our boat to the quay and unloaded the cargo.
What is a quay (pronounced “key”)?
a. a bird that lives by the sea
b. a rare sea turtle
c. a sail that is used on cargo ships
d. a dock for boats
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