Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
Vocabulary in Context
Directions: Use context clues to choose the answer closest in meaning to each
CAPITALIZED word. Then choose the answer of your choice.
1. My husband, a “night owl,” does his most creative work in the evening. My OPTIMUM
working time, on the other hand, is early in the morning after a good night’s sleep.
a. most favorable or desirable
b. least favorite
c. laziest
2. Having a new baby in the house is a DETRIMENT to a good night’s sleep.
a. something which gives assistance
b. something that causes damage or loss
c. something rare or unusual
3. Although Jim’s critical remarks about Linda’s new hairstyle were FACETIOUS, she took
them seriously and would not speak to him for the rest of the evening.
a. joking
b. complimentary
c. serious
4. Kim always has a good time at parties. She’s so naturally GREGARIOUS that she’s soon the
center of a lively conversation.
a. shy
b. athletic
c. sociable
5. Chad’s OSTENTATIOUS display of money annoyed, rather than impressed, his date. She
thought that he acted as if money were the most important thing in the world.
a. casual
b. hidden
c. showing off to impress others
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
6. Blind people are often more sensitive than others to a variety of SENSORY impressions.
They are highly aware of the sounds, smells, and textures around them.
a. of the senses
b. of the mind
c. of the heart
7. A favorite attraction at the county fair was the paper-cutter. She was so DEXTEROUS that
she could cut out a perfect silhouette of anyone in just one minute.
a. slow and careful
b. untalented
c. skillful with the hands or body
8. Whenever the subject of honesty comes up, someone usually tells the story of Abraham
Lincoln, who was so SCRUPULOUS he once walked miles to return five cents to a customer he
had overcharged.
a. physically fit
b. carefully following ethical standards
c. good at mathematics
9. Why are so many people so lacking in DISCRETION that they stare at people who are
different in some way?
a. tact and good judgment in one’s actions or speech
b. amusement
c. vision
10. I had a VICARIOUS sense of achievement as I watched my sister graduate from college. I
couldn’t have been more thrilled if I were getting my own diploma.
a. very slight, almost unnoticeable
b. experienced indirectly, through imagined participation in the experiences of others
c. spitefully jealous
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
Directions: Choose the correct meaning for each of the ten words that follow.
1. The word OPTIMUM means
a. skillful in using the hands or body.
b. playfully witty.
c. most favorable or desirable.
2. The word DETRIMENT means
a. sense impression.
b. something that causes damage or loss.
c. tact and good judgment in one's actions and speech.
3. The word FACETIOUS means
a. playfully witty.
b. conspicuous so as to impress others.
c. enjoying or seeking the company of others.
4. The word GREGARIOUS means
a. skillful in using the hands or body.
b. enjoying or seeking the company of others.
c. experienced indirectly, through imagined participation in the experiences of others.
5. The word OSTENTATIOUS means
a. conspicuous so as to impress others.
b. having to do with sense impressions.
c. best possible.
6. The word SENSORY means
a. most favorable or desirable.
b. joking.
c. of the senses.
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
7. The word DEXTEROUS means
a. experienced indirectly, through imagined participation in the experiences of others.
b. skillful in using the hands or body.
c. carefully following ethical standards.
8. The word SCRUPULOUS means
a. conspicuous so as to impress others.
b. sociable.
c. conscientious.
9. The word DISCRETION means
a. something experienced indirectly, through imagined participation in the experience of
others.
b. tact and good judgment in one's actions and speech.
c. skill in using the hands or body.
10. The word VICARIOUS means
a. experienced indirectly, through imagined participation in the experiences of others.
b. enjoying or seeking the company of others.
c. having to do with sense impressions.
Sentence Check 2
Directions: Choose the best pair of words to fill the blanks.
1-2. “You have to use ___ in choosing your friends,” my father said. “If your associates are
dishonest, people will think that you yourself may not be ___.”
a. optimum-ostentatious
b. detriment-ostentatious
c. discretion-scrupulous
d. discretion-vicarious
e. optimum-scrupulous
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
3-4. Tyra is being ___ when she says she’s as ___ a dancer as a ballerina. That’s her way of
making fun of her own clumsiness.
a. gregarious-vicarious
b. scrupulous-dexterous
c. vicarious-sensory
d. facetious-dexterous
e. gregarious-scrupulous
5-6. When you take vitamins, be sure to take only the recommended dose. Anything more than
this ___ amount can be a dangerous ___ to your health.
a. optimum-detriment
b. scrupulous-discretion
c. sensory-discretion
d. sensory-detriment
e. scrupulous-dexterous
7-8. My neighbors give a lot of parties, but not because they’re ___. They just want to impress
the guests with their ___ home and furnishings.
a. vicarious-scrupulous
b. dexterous-ostentatious
c. gregarious-sensory
d. vicarious-optimum
e. gregarious-ostentatious
9-10. Our cousin in Nigeria writes great letters, filled with ___ details that give us a(n) ___
acquaintance with the sights and sounds of an African village.
a. ostentatious-gregarious
b. facetious-optimum
c. sensory-scrupulous
d. ostentatious-scrupulous
e. sensory-vicarious
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
Final Check
Directions: Choose the word that best fills in the blank.
Although I’m ordinarily a(n) __________ person, I’m tempted to move into a cave, far from
other people—and landlords. Okay, I admit that I didn’t use enough __________ in choosing
apartments to rent. But does every one of them have to be a(n) __________ to my health, mental
stability, and checkbook?
When I moved into my first apartment, I discovered that the previous tenant had already
subleased the place to a very large family—of cockroaches. Although I kept trying, I was never
__________ enough to swat any of them; they were able to dodge all my blows. In time, they
became so bold that they paraded across the kitchen floor in the daytime in a(n) __________
manner meant to impress upon me how useless it was to try to stop them. As soon as I could, I
moved out.
My second apartment was a(n) __________ nightmare—the filth was hard on the eyes and the
nose. The place even assaulted the ears, as the walls were as thin as cardboard. My neighbors
played music until all hours. Since I was too poor to buy a stereo, I became a dedicated listener. I
even attended some of the neighbors’ parties, in a(n) __________ way—with my ear to the wall.
When my landlord found out, he tried to charge me seven dollars a day for entertainment, and he
wasn’t being __________—he meant it. I moved again, hoping to find a decent, __________
landlord.
I rented my last apartment because it was supposedly located in an area of __________ safety,
considering the rent I can afford. A week after I moved in, I came home to find the locks broken
and my belongings all over the floor. On the dresser was an angry note: “What gives you the
right to live in such a nice neighborhood and not have anything worth stealing?”
Maybe I should have stayed with the cockroaches. At least they were honest.
a. detriment
b. dexterous
c. discretion
d. facetious
e. gregarious
f. optimum
g. ostentatious
h. scrupulous
i. sensory
j. vicarious
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
Directions: Use context clues to choose the answer closest in meaning to the
CAPITALIZED word.
1. Chocolate-lovers disagree about the amount of cocoa they consider OPTIMUM. Some
people prefer milk chocolate, while others like chocolate best when it is very dark and bitter.
a. most favorable or desirable
b. least favorite
c. least expensive
2. Fred’s poor eyesight was a DETRIMENT to flying an airplane.
a. help
b. disadvantage
c. delay
3. On his wife’s 40th birthday, Andre was being FACETIOUS when he said, “A year older, and
you still don’t look a day over 50!”
a. playfully joking
b. complimentary
c. serious
4. Gregory has always been GREGARIOUS. Even as a toddler, he liked to walk up to
strangers and ask them to be his friends.
a. shy around others
b. energetic with others
c. seeking the company of others
5. After winning the lottery, Stanley tried to impress his friends by buying an
OSTENTATIOUS mansion with three marble staircases and crystal chandeliers in every room.
a. casual
b. secret
c. showy
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
6. A dog’s SENSORY experiences are different from ours. We take in most of our information
about the world through our eyes, ears, and fingers. Dogs learn more from their noses and
mouths.
a. of the senses
b. of the mind
c. of the heart
7. Neurosurgeons must be DEXTEROUS. If they don’t handle the instruments carefully, they
might end up paralyzing their patients.
a. slow and careful
b. dedicated to their work
c. skillful with the hands or body
8. George Washington was the first U.S. president, and perhaps the most SCRUPULOUS one.
He is often quoted as having said, “I cannot tell a lie.”
a. argumentative
b. carefully following moral standards
c. friendly
9. The Surgeon General used DISCRETION by not smoking in public. But it would have been
even wiser had he stopped smoking anywhere.
a. good sense
b. imagination
c. generosity
10. Ms. Jones took VICARIOUS pleasure in watching her son graduate from college, since she
had to leave school after 10th grade to support her family.
a. almost unnoticeable
b. experienced indirectly
c. spitefully jealous
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
Directions: Use context clues to choose the answer closest in meaning to the CAPITALIZED
word.
1. Many people do not get the OPTIMUM amount of sleep each night, which causes daytime
drowsiness and sometimes even accidents at work and on the road.
a. ideal
b. least favorite
c. most peaceful
2. For most people, having only one leg would be a DETRIMENT to becoming a dancer.
However, Clayton Bates, who lost a leg when he was 12, went on to become a famous tap
dancer.
a. something which gives assistance
b. something that causes a disadvantage
c. something rare or unusual
3. Some listeners thought the talk show host was being serious when he made a FACETIOUS
comment about catching swine flu by eating pork. But his joke backfired when the pork
producers filed a lawsuit against him.
a. joking
b. complimentary
c. serious
4. Carla is so GREGARIOUS that she easily makes friends wherever she travels, even if she
doesn’t know the local language.
a. shy
b. athletic
c. outgoing
5. The movie star wore an OSTENTATIOUS ring set with a diamond the size of a golf ball.
Everyone at the engagement party noticed it—including a jewel thief.
a. casual
b. subtle
c. flashy
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Chapter 1: Apartment Problems
6. Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother’s house was a SENSORY delight: the aroma of
sweet potatoes, the taste of pumpkin pie, the sound of laughter, the glow of faces, and the
warmth of a blazing fire.
a. having to do with seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, or smelling
b. having to do with social and political skills
c. having to do with physical and athletic ability
7. Even though her handwriting is messy, Latoya is so DEXTEROUS that she can string
together miniature beads to make beautiful earrings.
a. slow and careful
b. untalented
c. skillful with the hands
8. People trusted Bernie to invest their money because they thought he was SCRUPULOUS.
Unfortunately, he turned out to be a crook, and stole all their money.
a. physically fit
b. ethical
c. good at mathematics
9. At the press conference, a reporter expressed his disgust by throwing his shoe at the president.
Such lack of DISCRETION landed him in jail.
a. tact and good judgment in one’s actions or speech
b. sense of humor
c. vision
10. I’ve never been to a jungle. But when I read the book Tarzan, I lived there in a VICARIOUS
way.
a. very slight, almost unnoticeable
b. experienced through the imagination
c. unexpected
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