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Adapted from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1876)
Saturday morning was come, and all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life. Tom appeared on the sidewalk with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit. Thirty yards of board fence nine feet high. Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden. Sighing, he dipped his brush and passed it along the topmost plank; repeated the operation; did it again; compared the insignificant whitewashed streak with the far-reaching continent of unwhitewashed fence, and sat down on a tree-box discouraged.
He began to think of the fun he had planned for this day, and his sorrows multiplied. Soon the boys would come tripping along on all sorts of delicious expeditions, and they would make a world of fun of him for having to work—the very thought of it burnt him like fire. At this dark and hopeless moment an inspiration burst upon him! Nothing less than a great, magnificent inspiration.
He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. Ben Rogers hove in sight presently—the very boy, of all boys, whose ridicule he had been dreading. Ben’s gait was the hop-skip-and-jump—proof enough that his heart was light and his anticipations high. He was eating an apple, and giving a long, melodious whoop, at intervals, followed by a deep-toned ding-dong-dong, ding-dong-dong, for he was personating a steamboat. As he drew near, he slackened speed, took the middle of the street, leaned far over to star-board and rounded to ponderously and with laborious pomp and circumstance—for he was personating the Big Missouri, and considered himself to be drawing nine feet of water. He was boat and captain and engine-bells combined, so he had to imagine himself standing on his own hurricane-deck giving the orders and executing them:
“Stop her, sir! Ting-a-ling-ling!” The headway ran almost out, and he drew up slowly toward the sidewalk.
Tom went on whitewashing—paid no attention to the steamboat. Ben stared a moment and then said: “Hi-yi! You’re up a stump, ain’t you!”
No answer. Tom surveyed his last touch with the eye of an artist, then he gave his brush another gentle sweep and surveyed the result, as before. Ben ranged up alongside of him. Tom’s mouth watered for the apple, but he stuck to his work. Ben said:
“Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?”
Tom wheeled suddenly and said:
“Why, it’s you, Ben! I warn’t noticing.”
“Say—I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you’d druther _work—_wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:
“What do you call work?”
“Why, ain’t that work?”
Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:
“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”
The brush continued to move.
“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticized the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:
“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”
Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind:
“No—no—I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful particular about this fence—right here on the street, you know—but if it was the back fence I wouldn’t mind and she wouldn’t. Yes, she’s awful particular about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.”
“No—is that so? Oh come, now—lemme, just try. Only just a little—I’d let you, if you was me, Tom.”
“Ben, I’d like to; but Aunt Polly—well, Jim wanted to do it, but she wouldn’t let him; Sid wanted to do it, and she wouldn’t let Sid. Now don’t you see how I’m fixed? If you was to tackle this fence and anything was to happen to it—”
“Oh, shucks, I’ll be just as careful. Now lemme try. Say—I’ll give you the core of my apple.”
“Well, here—No, Ben, now don’t. I’m afeard—”
“I’ll give you all of it!”
Tom gave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart. And while the late steamer Big Missouri worked and sweated in the sun, the retired artist sat on a barrel in the shade close by, dangled his legs, munched his apple, and planned the slaughter of more innocents. There was no lack of material; boys happened along every little while; they came to jeer, but remained to whitewash. By the time Ben was tired, Tom had traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for a kite, in good repair; and when he played out, Johnny Miller bought in for a dead rat and a string to swing it with—and so on, and so on, hour after hour. And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth. And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth. He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn't unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire-crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar—but no dog—the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash.
He had had a nice, good, idle time all the while—plenty of company—and the fence had three coats of whitewash on it! If he hadn’t run out of whitewash he would have bankrupted every boy in the village.
In the third paragraph, the author uses the word "personating." Which of the following is closest in meaning to this word as it's used in the passage?
Let's look at the part of the passage in which the author uses the word "personating." Even if you think you know exactly what a word means, if a question asks you how it's used in the passage, it's very important that you find it in the passage. Sometimes words have more than one meaning, authors might use obscure meanings of words instead of familiar ones. Don't just pick the most familiar answer—check the passage to figure out what the word means!
Ben’s gait was the hop-skip-and-jump—proof enough that his heart was light and his anticipations high. He was eating an apple, and giving a long, melodious whoop, at intervals, followed by a deep-toned ding-dong-dong, ding-dong-dong, for he was personating a steamboat. As he drew near, he slackened speed, took the middle of the street, leaned far over to star-board and rounded to ponderously and with laborious pomp and circumstance—for he was personating the Big Missouri, and considered himself to be drawing nine feet of water.
In this part of the passage, Ben is introduced. We are told that he is "personating" a steamboat—specifically, the Big Missouri. What is Ben doing relative to steamboats in this passage? He's imitating one. He's making the noises that a steamboat would make and is moving at the speeds a steamboat might move. There isn't an actual steamboat in the passage; Ben is just pretending to be one. This is the correct answer!
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Adapted from “The Open Window” in Beasts and Super-Beasts by H. H. Munro (Saki) (1914)
"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel," said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen. "In the meantime you must try and put up with me."
Framton Nuttel endeavored to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.
"I know how it will be," his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat. "You will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice."
Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the "nice" division.
"Do you know many of the people round here?" asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.
"Hardly a soul," said Framton. "My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here."
He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.
"Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady.
"Only her name and address," admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
"Her great tragedy happened just three years ago," said the child. "That would be since your sister's time."
"Her tragedy?" asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place.
"You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.
"It is quite warm for the time of the year," said Framton, "but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy?"
"Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day's shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favorite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it." Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. "Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?' as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window—"
She broke off with a little shudder. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt bustled into the room with a whirl of apologies for being late in making her appearance.
"I hope Vera has been amusing you?" she said.
"She has been very interesting," said Framton.
"I hope you don't mind the open window," said Mrs. Sappleton briskly. "My husband and brothers will be home directly from shooting, and they always come in this way. They've been out for snipe in the marshes today, so they'll make a fine mess over my poor carpets. So like you menfolk, isn't it?"
She rattled on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the prospects for duck in the winter. To Framton it was all purely horrible. He made a desperate but only partially successful effort to turn the talk on to a less ghastly topic, he was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a fragment of her attention, and her eyes were constantly straying past him to the open window and the lawn beyond. It was certainly an unfortunate coincidence that he should have paid his visit on this tragic anniversary.
"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of violent physical exercise," announced Framton, who labored under the tolerably widespread delusion that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. "On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement," he continued.
"No?" said Mrs. Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention—but not to what Framton was saying.
"Here they are at last!" she cried. "Just in time for tea, and don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!"
Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with a dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.
In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window, they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?"
Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall door, the gravel drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.
"Here we are, my dear," said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window. "Fairly muddy, but most of it's dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?"
"A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel," said Mrs. Sappleton. "Could only talk about his illnesses, and dashed off without a word of goodbye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost."
"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly. "He told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve."
Romance at short notice was her speciality.
Based on the way it is used in the passage, what do the underlined words “self-possessed” mean? (This word has been underlined in the first, eighth, and fourteenth paragraphs.)
The author uses "self-possessed" three times in the passage, in the excerpts shown below:
"'My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,' said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen."
"'Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?' pursued the self-possessed young lady."
"Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human."
The only thing we can gather about the word from the first two instances is that the niece is keeping to social expectations and does not seem to be shy. The third usage contrasts "self-possessed" against "falteringly human." Something "falteringly human" is emotional. More than that, the use of "falteringly" suggests that "falteringly human" means with uncontrolled emotions.
With that in mind, let's look over the answer choices. It wouldn't make any sense for "self-possessed" to mean "anxious and nervous"; in the first two excerpts, the niece isn't anxious or nervous at all, and she's described as "self-possessed" in each. Neither "funny and telling jokes" nor "visibly upset" make sense either. "Like a ghost" may be in keeping with the theme of the story, but neither of the first excerpts suggest that the niece is acting "like a ghost" at all. Eliminating these incorrect answers leaves us with the correct answer: "calm and confident." The niece is acting calm and confident in addressing Mr. Nuttel, and the "calm" part of the word's definition contrasts against the "faltering" part of "falteringly human" in the third excerpt.
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Adapted from “Theodore Roosevelt the Rancher.” National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 1 July 2016. https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-the-rancher.htm.
Theodore Roosevelt originally came to Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. The locals showed little interest in helping this eastern tenderfoot. The promise of quick cash, however, convinced Joe Ferris—a 25-year-old Canadian living in the Badlands—to act as Roosevelt's hunting guide.
Through terrible weather and awful luck, Roosevelt showed a determination which surprised his exasperated hunting guide. Finding a bison proved difficult; most of the herds had been slaughtered in recent years by commercial hunters. When they were not sleeping outdoors, Roosevelt and Ferris used the small ranch cabin of Gregor Lang as a base camp. Evenings at Lang's ranch saw an exhausted Ferris falling asleep to conversations between Roosevelt and their host. Spirited debates on politics gave way to discussions about ranching, and Roosevelt became interested in raising cattle in the Badlands.
Cattle ranching in Dakota was a boom business in the 1880s. With the northern plains recently devoid of bison, cattle were being driven north from Texas to feed on the nutritious grasses. The Northern Pacific Railroad offered a quick route to eastern markets without long drives that reduced the quality of the meat. Entrepreneurs like the Marquis de Morès were bringing money and infrastructure to the region. The opportunity struck Roosevelt as a sound business opportunity.
With Roosevelt's interest sparked, he entered into business with his guide's brother, Sylvane Ferris, and Bill Merrifield, another Dakota cattleman. Roosevelt put down an initial investment of $14,000—significantly more than his annual salary. Roosevelt returned to New York with instructions for Ferris and Merrifield to build the Maltese Cross Cabin. His investment was not purely for business; Roosevelt saw it as a chance to immerse himself in a western lifestyle he had long romanticized.
Based on the way it is used in the passage, which of the following is closest to the meaning of “tenderfoot,” underlined in the underlined sentence in the first paragraph?
To figure out what is meant by "tenderfoot," let's look at the word in the paragraph in which it appears in the passage.
Theodore Roosevelt originally came to Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison. The locals showed little interest in helping this eastern tenderfoot. The promise of quick cash, however, convinced Joe Ferris—a 25-year-old Canadian living in the Badlands—to act as Roosevelt's hunting guide.
"This eastern tenderfoot" is used to refer to Theodore Roosevelt. What do we know about him at this point in the passage? The passage is describing the first time he has traveled to the Dakota Territory. He wanted to hunt bison, but the locals didn't want to help him. The passage says nothing about Roosevelt as a "political candidate," so that answer choice is incorrect. While the passage talks about Roosevelt's investing in a cattle ranch, that point hasn't been brought up yet at this point in the passage, so "investor" doesn't make any sense as a meaning of "tenderfoot." This leaves us to choose from three remaining answer choices: "newbie," "expert," and "important person." The fact that this is the first time that Roosevelt has been to the Dakota Territory suggests that "newbie" is the correct answer. Does this make sense? It does! The locals don't want to help him because he is new, and the adjective "eastern" makes more sense. Roosevelt is from the eastern U.S. and has never been to the area before. This emphasizes how new he is to the West.
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Read the paragraph below and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
My friend Shelly waved me over to sit at the desk adjacent to hers. It was the first day of school and there was no way we were getting stuck sitting across the room from each other. We whispered across the aisle to each other while we waited for the teacher to start Geometry.
The context clues in the sentences that help readers to decipher what the word adjacent means are “there was no way we were getting stuck sitting across the room from each other” and “whispered across the aisle”. These indicate they are near to each other and in fact, they are across the aisle from each other. Picturing a classroom and students whispering across the aisle can help readers see where the desks would be located.
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Read the sentences and determine which part(s) help readers determine the meaning of the underlined word.
My stomach was tingling and twitching with anticipation as the roller coaster crept closer to the drop. I had been waiting to ride The Scream Machine for years and was finally tall enough to meet the height requirements. I had prepared for the ride of my life and was nervous that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations.
Which words or phrases from the passage best help you determine the meaning of the word anticipation?
The definition of anticipation is the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction. The context clues provided lead readers to understand the build-up and wait that the character has experienced for years.
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Read the sentence and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
Haiti was not ready for a catastrophe of this level. The earthquake hit in the dead of night and shook the country to its core. Buildings were destroyed, lives lost, and families scarred for life. It happened so suddenly that people didn’t have time to prepare.
What does the word catastrophe mean in the context of this sentence?
The catastrophe, or disaster, in this passage is an earthquake that struck suddenly and caused much destruction and devastation.
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Read the following sentence and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
While measuring the sides and angles of the square in his Geometry class Randy realized they were congruent.
What does the word congruent mean in the sentence above?
One of the characteristics of a square that makes it a square is that the sides are all congruent, or equal, as well as four congruent 90⁰ angles. Randy realized while measuring angles and side lengths they are all equal to each other.
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Read the sentences below and determine the closest synonym of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
Farmer Michelle had never seen a drought this severe. She needed to irrigate her crops at least four times a day just to keep them alive. The sprinklers and wells were pumping all day long, and she was afraid the aquifers would run dry.
The word irrigate means to supply water to (land or crops) to help growth. In this case, the author has given context clues about the challenging situation the farmer is in; she has never seen a drought this severe before, sprinklers and wells are pumping, and the aquifers could run dry. These are all clues that irrigate means something with water and the only choice that relates to water is soak.
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Read the sentences and determine which part(s) help readers determine the meaning of the underlined word.
Tammy and Jean were walking down the sidewalk in New York City when Jean slammed headfirst into the street sign on the corner. She had been so involved in her conversation she was oblivious to the large metal pole right in front of her. Everyone stopped to ask if she was alright and how could she miss the sign? She had no response except a shrug of her shoulders and a muffled, “Guess I wasn’t paying attention.”
These clues assist the reader in determining the meaning of the unknown word, oblivious. Oblivious means not aware of or not concerned about what is happening around one and this is exactly what happened to Jean. She was so involved in her conversation that she didn’t even pay attention to the sidewalk and obstacles around her.
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Read the sentences and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
Amy and Sean could not agree on a restaurant for their first-anniversary dinner. They decided on The Pie Emporium as the tentative location until they could finalize their plans. They wanted to leave their options open in case a better idea came around.
What does the word tentative mean in the context of the sentences above?
Amy and Sean could not decide on a restaurant so they set a “tentative” location until they could finalize, or concrete their plans. They are not positive this is the place they want to eat so they leave their options open rather than settling the decision right now.
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Read the sentences and determine which context clues help readers to determine the meaning of the underlined word.
The teacher said we could not play an indoor recess game unless the class came to a unanimous decision. We all put our heads down and luckily there were no votes against the indoor relay race so we all got to play. Who knew that 30 students all felt the same way about running around a classroom!?
Which words from the passage best help you determine the meaning of the word unanimous?
Unanimous means two or more people fully in agreement with each other. The teacher said the class had to come to a unanimous decision which means all students voting the same way. The students voted and there were no votes against the race which readers can infer to mean they all voted for the race (the same way) so they were allowed to play.
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Read the following sentences and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
The dog did not want to do the trick without a tangible reward. A “good boy” or clap of the hands was not enough, he wanted a pat on the head or a delicious treat! Words and cheers were not what this pup was after!
What does the word tangible mean?
In this set of sentences, the dog wants something he can touch or feel. He wants pats on the head or a dog treat to eat, not words or praise. Something tangible is able to be touched or grasped.
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Read the following sentences and determine the meaning of the underlined word using context clues or your prior knowledge.
“Annie is the most treacherous person I have ever met!!,” Natalie yelled as she ran up the stairs to her room. She could not believe that Annie would stab her in the back the way she did. She told Annie about the crush she had on Nick in secret and Annie blabbed it to the whole school! She would never be able to trust Annie again.
What does the word treacherous mean?
In this passage, Annie is described as a treacherous person. She “stabbed Natalie in the back”, was told a secret then blabbed it to everyone, and Natalie can never trust her again. These are all characteristics of someone who has betrayed or been disloyal to someone.
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
To help someone be calmer
To soothe is to help someone, or something, be calmer.
To use soothe in a sentence, "The mother's voice helped soothe her baby to sleep."
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
No longer existing
When something is extinct, it means it no longer exists.
To use extinct in a sentence, "The panda bear is endanger of becoming extinct."
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
With a speaking voice that can be clearly heard.
To read something aloud means to read it so people can hear it. Not silently or at a whisper.
To use aloud in a sentence, “The teacher decided the class would read the chapter aloud.”
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
To have been given permission.
When something is allowed, it is permitted.
To use allowed in a sentence, “The lifeguard said we were allowed to dive in the deep end of the pool.”
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
The type of environment in which an animal normally lives.
Most animals have a natural habitat. Birds in trees, whales in oceans, etc.
To use habitat in a sentence, “The tiger was returned to its natural habitat, a jungle in Asia.”
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
Follow in an effort to capture.
When you pursue something, you are trying to get it.
To use pursue in a sentence, “I have chosen to pursue a college degree.”
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Select the word that matches the definition provided.
Examine carefully or at length.
When you peruse an article, you are not skimming it. You are spending significant time reading through it.
To use peruse in a sentence, “I decided to peruse the article because I found the topic so interesting.”
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