VCB Exercises
VCB 6 Mythology
Exercise 6.1: Meanings
Directions: Write the letter of the best definition of the italicized word.
1. ambrosial fare:
a. expensive
b. cut-rate
2. unemployed thespians:
a. musicians
b. actors
3. martial arts:
a. matrimonial
b. tuneful
4. impassioned philippic:
a. plea
b. message
5. plutocratic associates:
a. loyal & wealthy
b. jovial
6. Draconian laws:
a. democratic
b. ironhanded
7. hermetic compartments:
a. rigid
b. tiny
8. road atlas:
a. traveler
b. map collection
9. endless odyssey:
a. story
b. wandering
10. new Adonis:
a. lover
b. movie actor
c. railroad
c. dancers
c. military
c. praise
c. carefree
c. unpopular
c. airtight
c. network
c. sufferings
c. myrmidon
d. delicious
d. loafers
d. soothing
d. tirade
d. rich & influential
d. unenforced
d. iridescent
d. surface
d. errands
d. handsome youth
Exercise 6.2: Sentence Completion
Directions: Write the letter of the choice that best completes the sentence.
1. Photographs of ___ celebrities decorated the wall of the dance studio.
a. operatic
b. Olympic
c. thespian
d. eristic
e. terpsichorean
2. The wrestler’s ___ maneuvers made it difficult for an opponent to obtain a hold.
a. hermetic
b. protean
c. titanic
d. procrustean
e. philippic
3. In a locker-room speech between halves, the ___ reaffirmed his confidence in his ___.
a. conductor…myrmidons
b. amazon…team
c. myrmidon…adherents
d. mentor…squad
e. conductor…mentors
4. Many literatures describe a paradise where the ___ dwell in ___ repose.
a. heroic…Stygian
b. unvanquished…bacchanalian
c. sirens…abject
d. pefidious…ambrosial
e. blessed…Elysian
5. When people become ___, their ability to reason gives way to fear.
a. lethargic
b. saturnine
c. panicky
d. Draconian
e. plutocratic
6. The audience laughed to see the burly actor ___ by his puny companion’s hectoring.
a. convinced
b. betrayed
c. tripped
d. intimidated
e. encouraged
7. The Pyrrhic victory was cause for widespread ___.
a. dejection
b. optimism
c. paeans
d. satisfaction
e. promotions
8. Only a person with a ___ voice could have been heard above the din of the angry crowd.
a. herculean
b. stentorian
c. jovial
d. laconic
e. titanic
9. Our ___ host always enjoys having friends to share his Lucullan suppers.
a. cursive
b. martial
c. fractious
d. convivial
e. sanguine
10. Psychoanalysis can help patients recall long-forgotten experiences from the ___ recesses of their minds.
a. labyrinthine
b. chimerical
c. iridescent
d. auroral
e. mercurial
Exercise 6.3: Concise Writing
Directions: Express the thought of each sentence below in no more than four words.
1. Those who make predictions of doom and disaster are not popular.
2. Some people are inclined to be too much in love with themselves.
3. You aroused their hopes while you made it impossible for them to realize those hopes.
4. This is not an ordinary beverage; it is exceptionally delicious.
5. People should avoid the practice of automatically and instantly repeating what others say.
6. We attended a meeting at which there was open discussion and audience participation.
7. Make an effort to be sparing in your use of words.
8. Her cousin is the sort of person who likes to engage in disputes.
9. Tell us about the long series of wanderings that you were involved in.
10. Rumors can be the cause of sudden and overpowering terror.
Exercise 6.4: Fill-in-the-Blank
Directions: Write the complete word.
1. Feeling ___, the driver stopped for a short nap.
2. To lift the heavy weight trapping the victim would have required ___ strength.
Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student, pupil edition 241-246
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VCB Exercises
VCB 6 Mythology
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Sometimes, after a summer shower, a(n) ___arc appears in the sky.
___ seals help to make some products tamperproof.
A home run in the nineteenth inning won the game, a six-hour ___.
Our ___ instructor needs no microphone to be heard in our gym.
No one expects a(n) ___ dinner to be served in a fast-food restaurant.
Long before the first ___ light, the farmer is up and ready for the day’s chores.
The audience cheered when—at last—the evildoers met their ___.
We spent an hour finding our way back through the ___ corridors.
Exercise 6.5: Composition
Directions: Answer in two or three sentences.
1. Would you be in a jovial mood after achieving a victory? Why or why not?
2. Why is it normal for someone exploring a labyrinthine cave to be gripped with panic?
3. Of all the foods you have tasted, name one that was ambrosial, and another that was like nectar. Give reasons for your choice.
4. Are Draconian penalties an effective palladium against crime? Why or why not?
5. Would you withdraw from an election campaign if your rival’s myrmidons hectored you at every place you tried to speak?
Explain.
Exercise 6.6: Analogies
Directions: Write the letter of the word-pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that existing between the capitalized wordpair.
1. Solon : Laws
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
2. Siren : Beauty
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
3. Cassandra : Pollyanna
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
4. Nemesis : Evildoer
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
5. Amazon : Strength
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
6. Palladium : Danger
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
7. Mercurial : Capricious
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
8. Paean : Exstasy
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
9. Thespian : Terpsichorean
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
10. Auroral : Dawn
a. atlas : maps
b. ruler : subjects
c. philosophers : credentials
d. artisan : trade
e. composer: operas
Vocabulary for the College-Bound Student, pupil edition 241-246
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