IREAD Using Context Clues 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Read the sentence: 'The scientist made a crucial discovery, one so important that it changed the way doctors treated the disease.' What does crucial mean?
- unimportant and minor
- very important (Correct answer)
- accidental
- outdated
Correct answer: very important
The clue 'so important that it changed' doctors' treatments shows crucial means very important.
Question 2: Read the sentence: 'The dense fog made it so obscure that drivers could barely see the road ahead.' What does obscure mean?
- very clear and bright
- hard to see or unclear (Correct answer)
- busy with traffic
- perfectly smooth
Correct answer: hard to see or unclear
If drivers could barely see the road, it was unclear or hard to see, so obscure means not clearly seen.
Question 3: Read the sentence: 'He was so frugal that he always clipped coupons, bought store brands, and never wasted a single penny.' What does frugal mean?
- very generous with money
- careful about spending money (Correct answer)
- reckless and wasteful
- extremely wealthy
Correct answer: careful about spending money
Clipping coupons and avoiding waste shows someone who is careful with money, which is what frugal means.
Question 4: Read the sentence: 'The book was so tedious that Sara could hardly keep her eyes open; she had never read anything so boring in her life.' What does tedious mean?
- exciting and thrilling
- long and boring (Correct answer)
- short and fun
- sad and emotional
Correct answer: long and boring
The clues 'could hardly keep her eyes open' and 'so boring' directly tell us tedious means dull and uninteresting.
Question 5: Read the sentence: 'After the argument, the two friends decided to reconcile; they shook hands and promised to be friends again.' What does reconcile mean?
- end a friendship forever
- make up and restore friendship (Correct answer)
- start a new argument
- ignore each other
Correct answer: make up and restore friendship
Shaking hands and promising to be friends again shows reconcile means to make up after a conflict.
Question 6: Read the sentence: 'The baby giggled with glee, laughing and clapping her hands as she played with the colorful toys.' What does glee mean?
- fear and sadness
- great joy and delight (Correct answer)
- confusion
- anger
Correct answer: great joy and delight
Giggling, laughing, and clapping show the baby is very happy, so glee means great joy.
Question 7: Read the sentence: 'The chef's specialty dish was so exquisite that every guest at the table said it was the finest meal they had ever tasted.' What does exquisite mean?
- poorly made and bland
- extremely beautiful or excellent (Correct answer)
- overly spicy
- average and ordinary
Correct answer: extremely beautiful or excellent
'The finest meal they had ever tasted' signals that exquisite means of the highest quality or excellence.
IREAD Using Context Clues 3
Read the sentence: 'The scientist made a crucial discovery, one so important that it changed the way doctors treated the disease.' What does crucial mean?