1. Second Edition BETH JOHNSON JANET M. GOLDSTEIN
ADVANCED WORD POWER
Second Edition
BETH JOHNSON
JANET M. GOLDSTEIN
© Townsend Press

2. Unit Two: Chapter 8 • affable • loquacious • apocryphal • obtuse
• desultory • opaque
• garbled • paucity
• irascible • recapitulate
Page 44 in textbook.

3. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 1 affable – adjective Affable means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 affable
– adjective
• Dobermans and pit bulls are often thought of as unfriendly dogs, while golden retrievers and Labradors are seen as affable.
• “I wish my new boss were more affable,” Jothi said. “She seems so stern that I’m afraid to ask her a question when I don’t understand something.”
Affable means
A. bad-tempered.
B. good-natured.
C. intelligent.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: B
The next slide explains the answer.
Photos: Ginny From USA (left), U.S. Air Force - Josh Plueger (right)

4. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 1 affable – adjective Affable means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
1 affable
– adjective
• Dobermans and pit bulls are often thought of as unfriendly dogs, while golden retrievers and Labradors are seen as affable.
• “I wish my new boss were more affable,” Jothi said. “She seems so stern that I’m afraid to ask her a question when I don’t understand something.”
Affable means
A. bad-tempered.
B. good-natured.
C. intelligent.
Page 44 in textbook.
Photos: Ginny From USA (left), U.S. Air Force - Josh Plueger (right)
Unfriendly dogs are contrasted with good-natured ones. Jothi wishes his boss were good-natured, rather than stern and intimidating.

5. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 2 apocryphal – adjective Apocryphal means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 apocryphal
– adjective
• A hero of American folklore is the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan, whose footprints supposedly formed the Great Lakes. Clearly, this story is apocryphal.
• There is a story in our family that my great-great-grandfather was a train robber, but I think the story is apocryphal. I’ve never seen any proof.
Apocryphal means
A. fictitious.
B. difficult to understand.
C. true.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: A
The next slide explains the answer.

6. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 2 apocryphal – adjective Apocryphal means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
2 apocryphal
– adjective
• A hero of American folklore is the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan, whose footprints supposedly formed the Great Lakes. Clearly, this story is apocryphal.
• There is a story in our family that my great-great-grandfather was a train robber, but I think the story is apocryphal. I’ve never seen any proof.
Apocryphal means
A. fictitious.
B. difficult to understand.
C. true.
Page 44 in textbook.
Since giants don’t exist, the story must be fictitious, or made-up. Having never seen proof that the great-great-grandfather was in fact a train robber, the speaker suspects the family story is fictitious.

7. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 3 desultory – adjective Desultory means A. fake.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 desultory
– adjective
• When the shoe repair shop lost my boots, the clerk’s search was so desultory and disorganized that I had to go through the shelves and find them myself.
• Darrin went to the emergency room with a severe stomachache, but the doctor on duty gave him only a quick, desultory examination and sent him home.
Desultory means
A. fake.
B. random.
C. intensive.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: B
The next slide explains the answer.

8. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 3 desultory – adjective Desultory means A. fake.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
3 desultory
– adjective
• When the shoe repair shop lost my boots, the clerk’s search was so desultory and disorganized that I had to go through the shelves and find them myself.
• Darrin went to the emergency room with a severe stomachache, but the doctor on duty gave him only a quick, desultory examination and sent him home.
Desultory means
A. fake.
B. random.
C. intensive.
Page 44 in textbook.
The word disorganized suggests that the clerk searched for the boots in a random way. A doctor doing a more systematic, less random examination might have identified the stomachache’s cause and treatment before sending the patient home.

9. An example of garbled text
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 garbled
– adjective
• When Tim printed his essay, a computer error made it come out garbled. Only meaningless symbols and numbers appeared on the page.
• The children played a game in which each one whispered a message to the next child in line. The first child whispered, “My favorite color is purple,” but the message the last child heard was garbled: “You shouldn’t holler at your uncle.”
Garbled means
A. lengthy.
B. shortened.
C. distorted.
Eevn if wrods are grbaeld, you mihgt sitll be albe to udnersnatd tehm if the frist and lsat ltteers are in the rghit pclaes.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: C
The next slide explains the answer.
An example of garbled text

10. An example of garbled text
TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
4 garbled
– adjective
• When Tim printed his essay, a computer error made it come out garbled. Only meaningless symbols and numbers appeared on the page.
• The children played a game in which each one whispered a message to the next child in line. The first child whispered, “My favorite color is purple,” but the message the last child heard was garbled: “You shouldn’t holler at your uncle.”
Garbled means
A. lengthy.
B. shortened.
C. distorted.
Eevn if wrods are grbaeld, you mihgt sitll be albe to udnersnatd tehm if the frist and lsat ltteers are in the rghit pclaes.
Page 44 in textbook.
A computer error distorted the words in the essay into meaningless symbols and numbers. The words became distorted as each child whispered the sentence to the next child.
An example of garbled text

11. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 5 irascible – adjective Irascible means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 irascible
– adjective
• “The holidays are supposed to be a happy time,” sighed Martina. “But with all the extra work and guests, I find myself becoming irascible—I’m a real grouch.”
• “I know my patients are improving when they become grumpy,” said Dr. Imiri. “An irascible patient is on the road to recovery.”
Irascible means
A. bad-tempered.
B. nervous.
C. depressed.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: A
The next slide explains the answer.
Photo: Alex Lee

12. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 5 irascible – adjective Irascible means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
5 irascible
– adjective
• “The holidays are supposed to be a happy time,” sighed Martina. “But with all the extra work and guests, I find myself becoming irascible—I’m a real grouch.”
• “I know my patients are improving when they become grumpy,” said Dr. Imiri. “An irascible patient is on the road to recovery.”
Irascible means
A. bad-tempered.
B. nervous.
C. depressed.
Page 44 in textbook.
The word grouch suggests that during the holidays Martina can be bad-tempered. The word grumpy suggests that recovering patients can be bad-tempered.
Photo: Alex Lee

13. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 6 loquacious – adjective Loquacious means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 loquacious
– adjective
• Kyle, who prefers to sleep or read on a long plane trip, says it never fails: he always ends up with a loquacious seat companion who wants to chat nonstop.
• The British have an amusing way of describing loquacious people: they say that such a person can “talk the hind leg off a donkey.”
Loquacious means
A. talking too much.
B. aggressive.
C. irritable.
Page 44 in textbook.
Answer: A
The next slide explains the answer.

14. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 6 loquacious – adjective Loquacious means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
6 loquacious
– adjective
• Kyle, who prefers to sleep or read on a long plane trip, says it never fails: he always ends up with a loquacious seat companion who wants to chat nonstop.
• The British have an amusing way of describing loquacious people: they say that such a person can “talk the hind leg off a donkey.”
Loquacious means
A. talking too much.
B. aggressive.
C. irritable.
Page 44 in textbook.
A person who chats nonstop is probably talking too much. A person who rattles on so long that a donkey’s leg falls off is probably talking too much.

15. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 7 obtuse – adjective Obtuse means A. angry.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 obtuse
– adjective
• Children can be remarkably obtuse about understanding school subjects like math, but their wits sharpen amazingly when they’re learning a new video game.
• Today, in front of Gillian, Harvey mentioned the surprise party we’re planning for her. I kicked him under the table, hoping to shut him up, but he’s so obtuse he just said, “Ow! Why did you kick me?”
Obtuse means
A. angry.
B. stupid.
C. thoughtful.
Page 45 in textbook.
Answer: B
The next slide explains the answer.

16. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 7 obtuse – adjective Obtuse means A. angry.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
7 obtuse
– adjective
• Children can be remarkably obtuse about understanding school subjects like math, but their wits sharpen amazingly when they’re learning a new video game.
• Today, in front of Gillian, Harvey mentioned the surprise party we’re planning for her. I kicked him under the table, hoping to shut him up, but he’s so obtuse he just said, “Ow! Why did you kick me?”
Obtuse means
A. angry.
B. stupid.
C. thoughtful.
Page 45 in textbook.
Sharpened wits when learning video games are contrasted with appearing stupid when trying to understand school subjects. It would seem stupid to talk about a surprise party in front of the guest of honor—and not even realize one’s mistake.

17. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 8 opaque – adjective Opaque means A. fascinating.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 opaque
– adjective
• We attempted to follow the movie’s complex plot, but the characters’ motives and reactions remained opaque. We finally gave up trying to understand it.
• Articles on Einstein’s theory of relativity usually start reassuringly, noting that there is no reason why this theory should be opaque to the ordinary reader. Then they proceed to make it even more confusing.
Opaque means
A. fascinating.
B. difficult to understand.
C. improbable.
Page 45 in textbook.
Answer: B
The next slide explains the answer.

18. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 8 opaque – adjective Opaque means A. fascinating.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
8 opaque
– adjective
• We attempted to follow the movie’s complex plot, but the characters’ motives and reactions remained opaque. We finally gave up trying to understand it.
• Articles on Einstein’s theory of relativity usually start reassuringly, noting that there is no reason why this theory should be opaque to the ordinary reader. Then they proceed to make it even more confusing.
Opaque means
A. fascinating.
B. difficult to understand.
C. improbable.
Page 45 in textbook.
If they gave up trying to understand the movie’s complex plot, then it must have been difficult to understand. If a theory is made more confusing, then it would be difficult to understand.

19. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 9 paucity – noun Paucity means A. repetition.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 paucity
– noun
• The speaker’s elegant language could not conceal his paucity of ideas. He had nothing meaningful to say.
• Serena wanted to get away from her small town because of its paucity of intellectual life. It didn’t even have a library or a bookstore.
Paucity means
A. repetition.
B. conflict.
C. lack.
Page 45 in textbook.
Answer: C
The next slide explains the answer.
Photo: Nomadz

20. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 9 paucity – noun Paucity means A. repetition.
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
9 paucity
– noun
• The speaker’s elegant language could not conceal his paucity of ideas. He had nothing meaningful to say.
• Serena wanted to get away from her small town because of its paucity of intellectual life. It didn’t even have a library or a bookstore.
Paucity means
A. repetition.
B. conflict.
C. lack.
Page 45 in textbook.
If the speaker said nothing meaningful, he must have had a lack of ideas to talk about. A lack of opportunities to share books suggests a lack of opportunities to share intellectual interests.
Photo: Nomadz

21. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 10 recapitulate – verb Recapitulate means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 recapitulate
– verb
• “To recapitulate what we told you on the phone,” said Ms. Brown to the baby sitter, “we’ll be home at eleven o’clock, and you can reach us at the Athens Café.”
• Before an exam, Ms. Chiu always has a review session in which she recapitulates some of the most important material the class has studied.
Recapitulate means
A. to sum up.
B. to ignore.
C. to contradict.
Page 45 in textbook.
Answer: A
The next slide explains the answer.

22. TEN WORDS IN CONTEXT 10 recapitulate – verb Recapitulate means
Choose the meaning closest to that of the boldfaced word.
10 recapitulate
– verb
• “To recapitulate what we told you on the phone,” said Ms. Brown to the baby sitter, “we’ll be home at eleven o’clock, and you can reach us at the Athens Café.”
• Before an exam, Ms. Chiu always has a review session in which she recapitulates some of the most important material the class has studied.
Recapitulate means
A. to sum up.
B. to ignore.
C. to contradict.
Page 45 in textbook.
As a reminder, the parent summed up the two most important points from their earlier phone conversation. As a review, the teacher sums up the most important material from previous classes.