NJSLA Vocabulary in Context 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the sentence 'The explorer's tenacious pursuit of the lost city kept her going despite countless setbacks,' what does tenacious mean?
- careless
- persistent (Correct answer)
- reckless
- brief
Correct answer: persistent
Tenacious means not giving up easily; showing great determination.
Question 2: Read this excerpt: 'The novel's protagonist is an enigmatic figure whose true motives are never fully revealed.' What does enigmatic mean?
- simple and obvious
- mysterious and puzzling (Correct answer)
- violent and aggressive
- generous and kind
Correct answer: mysterious and puzzling
Enigmatic describes something or someone that is difficult to understand or interpret.
Question 3: A teacher describes a student's essay as 'verbose.' Based on the root 'verb-' (word), what does verbose most likely mean?
- using too many words (Correct answer)
- containing many errors
- lacking supporting evidence
- written in a formal tone
Correct answer: using too many words
Verbose comes from the Latin root for 'word' and means using more words than necessary.
Question 4: In the sentence 'Her sanguine outlook helped her recover quickly from disappointment,' what does sanguine most likely mean?
- pessimistic
- optimistic (Correct answer)
- indifferent
- anxious
Correct answer: optimistic
Sanguine means optimistic, especially in a difficult situation.
Question 5: The word 'paramount' appears in this sentence: 'Student safety is of paramount importance in every school decision.' What does paramount mean?
- least important
- secondary
- most important (Correct answer)
- debatable
Correct answer: most important
Paramount means more important than anything else; supreme.
Question 6: A passage describes a character who is 'loath to accept help, preferring to solve problems independently.' What does loath mean?
- eager
- unwilling (Correct answer)
- forced
- surprised
Correct answer: unwilling
Loath means reluctant or unwilling to do something.
Question 7: In the text, a river is described as 'meandering through the valley in lazy curves.' What does meandering mean?
- rushing rapidly
- flowing in a winding path (Correct answer)
- drying up
- flooding its banks
Correct answer: flowing in a winding path
To meander means to follow a winding, indirect course.
NJSLA Vocabulary in Context 3
In the sentence 'The explorer's tenacious pursuit of the lost city kept her going despite countless setbacks,' what does tenacious mean?