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GETTINGMEANINGFROMCONTD(T
Whenyou arereading,youoftencomeacrosswordsthatarerurfamiliaror unknownto
you Two goodwaysthatyou canlearnaboutthemeaningof anunknownwordare:
l. Youcanlookit upin thedictionary.
2. You canfigrueoutthemeaningof theunknownwordby usingcontextct6s.
.
€rr..
Context - the sentence,paragraphor selectionin ufrich the word is used.
Context Clues - familiar words and phrasesin a sentenceor paragraphthat help you
Figue out the meaningof an unknownword. '
Thereare four kinds of contextclues:
l. definition or restatement
2. eiampteordescription
3. comparisonor coffiast
4. inference
DEFINMON OR RESTATEMENT
Sometimesa sentenceof paragraphactuallyincludesa definition of the unknouar
word.
L
E)(AMPLE
l. If your housedepreciates,tbat meansttrat it losessomeof its value.
Depreciatemea$r
2. Oneofthe weapots availableto a governmentispropganda the spreadingof its
own narrolvand often falsevieun.
Propaganda
mears
3. Standingback from a book to reflect on imagesas we standback from a pairaing
permit us to createanamalgan of the printed word and our own images. That
amalgan - the conclusionwe draw,the interpretationwEcreate- is our very
personalrendition of tbe text
Amalgammeans
E)(AMPTEORDESCRIPTION
-
Tffitrryffio1t0wul
b,yexamples
thatcanglveyou 8n
ideaof ufratthewordmeans.Theexamples
mayalsocomebeforetheunknoil word"
Wth thiskindof contextclue,youcangaina senseof whattheunfaniliar wordmea$r
by lookingat theexamples.
E}GMPLE
l. Thenteatshopswheremanypoorimmigrantsworkedwerecharacterized
by
poorheatandventilatio4no fire €scapes,
overcrowding,
andverylow wages.
Sweatshopmeans
2. Whenlprocrastinate aadputoffworking on a projectdayafterdayrmtiljust
beforeit is due,I usuallydon'tdoasgoodajob asI amcapableof doing.
Procrastinate
means
3. Thenew headquarters
building,a four storyedifice,housesan informationdesk,an
assemblyroorn,an auditorium,anda smallmuseum.
Edificemeatrs
COMPARISONOR CONTRAST
Onekind of contextclueis givenulhenan authortells you aboutanunlcnownwordby
comparing(ike) or contrasting
(notlike) it with somatringelse.
E)(AMPLE
l. Herpredicamentpresented
herwith tbe samedifficult problemshehadfacedthe
yearbeforewhenher fanrilyhadmovedfor the first time.
Predicament
means,
2. Insteadof being demotedas shehad feare4 shewas offercd a new and more
challengingjob that paid more.
Demotednreeqs
3. Sincethe undertowandtemperature
of the waterwereenoughto deteranyone
going
from
in swimming;wereturnedto the cabin
Determeans
INFERENCE
An inferenceis a conclusionor ideathat you createby examiningvariousfactsand
judgmentbasedon thosefacts. For example,you caninfer
thenmakinga reasonable
whatthemenuwill b€ at lunchby walkingpastthe cafeteriaandrecognizingthe smells
of thevariousfoods. Sometimes
youcaninfer themeaningof an unknonmwordby
exarniningthemeaningsofthe wordsandptrasesaroundit
E)GMPLE
l. If you'veevergoneon a blind date,you've probablyexperienced
thatmomentof
trepidationjustbeforeyoumeetyourdatefor the first time.
Trepidationmeans
2. Documents
whichturnout tobe spwioz,shaveoftenbeenspecificallyteate4dto
givethema surfaceappearance
of age. Onemethodis to createthe illusion of foldsas
old asthe documentis supposed
to be. This is doneby mechanicalmeansor by hand
pressure.Likewise,thebrownishcolor which normallycomeswith ageis oftenimitated
by usingsubstances
suchascoffee,tea"tobaccoextract,or smokefrom woodfire.
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Spurious
means ""
List thecluesthathelpedyouto decidewhatthewordspuriozsmeant.
l.
2.
3.
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