Quiz: Vocabulary Quiz 11

Quiz created: 110826

Vocabulary Quiz 11

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Instructions: Answer the multiple choice questions, guessing if necessary; then click on the "Process Questions" button at the end of the quiz to see your score in the adjacent message box. The program will not reveal which questions you got wrong, only how many points you have. Go back and change your answers until you get them all right. (The message box will rejoice at that point and the page will change color to show it is tickled pink.)

Points to note: (1) Questions with only one possible answer are one point each. (2) Questions with one or more possible answers (represented by check boxes) give a point for each correct answer, but also subtract a point for each wrong answer! (3) The program will not attempt to score your efforts at all if you have not tried at least half of the questions. (4) This quiz is for your own use only. No record of your progress is kept or reported to anyone.

1. [Author of The Evolution of God, Robert] "Wright wants us to notice that religions grew most when they stressed COMITY, not conflict. Christianity, for instance, caught fire only when St. Paul sold his listeners on the concept of universal brotherhood, an idea that no faith had offered before. A similar message underlaid Islam's early growth." (The Week, 090626, p. 21) "Comity" refers to

bathing and good grooming
initiation
joint ownership
widely shared decision-making
humor
avoidance of conflict
No Answer

2. "As 50-year comedy veteran Bob Newhart puts it: 'Television is an INSATIABLE beast that must be fed by writers who pore through news reports for the tiniest tidbits to keep their mateiral fresh.'" (CSM 090913, p. 14) A beast that is insatiable is one that

cannot be conquered
is too big to fit in its cage
dies without constant attention
is always hungry
No Answer

3. "While a circumspect middle ground is needed, the current approach is misguided. The US and the international community have lent enough support to the Transitional Federal Government [of Somalia] to TAINT the government's public relations campaign, but not enough to help it effectively govern."(CSM, 090913, p. 27) When one "taints" something one

props it up after its death
colors it
assists it
removes it
poisons it
No Answer

4. "Treasury officials now face a TRIFECTA of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a baloonon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed." (NYT 091123) A "trifecta" is

a group of three gods worshipped as a holy family
a three-headed demon mentioned in ancient Greek myths
a system of betting where the better must pick the first three winners in the correct sequence
a series of three injuries in quick succession that counts as an automatic loss in boxing
No Answer

5. [Socrates, if living in America today,] "would avail himself of America's as of Athens's freedom of speech, and simultaneously be horrified by the SPECIOUSNESS of the speech that Americans choose to make." (The Economist 091219-61) Speech is "specious" when it is

plausible but fallacious
repeated over and over
tediously long and wordy
strongly partisan
devoid of beauty in the way it is presented
No Answer

6. "The atmosphere in general was kind of somber for the occasion, a barometer of STRAITENED times perhaps." (New York Times 091209) Something is "straitened" when it is

confined to a single direction
slightly late
ahead of its scheduled arrival
limited or restricted
available only to a small number of people
No Answer

7. "D. K. Jordan, in all his PROLIX glory, expatiated ad infinitum on the genetic stability of sorghum." (Former MMW-1 Student) Jordan is being prolix when he

wears especially colorful clothing
is hard to understand
speaks or writes with very colorful examples
speaks or writes at unnecessary length
subtly includes references to the content of an upcoming exam
No Answer

8. "The coming year, however, will be a miserable one for Barack Obama. This is not only because of the iron law of WANING novelty. His second year as president will expose the underlying weakness of the political coalition that elected him Ω" (The Economist "World oin 2010", December 2009, p. 39) When something is "waning," it is

becoming irrelevant
making meaningless noise
exhibiting rising maintenance costs
diminishing
expanding
No Answer

9. "The tide [in Iran] may indeed be turning against the supreme leader, his dreadful president, and even the cracking CARAPACE of clerical tyranny." (The Economist 100102-9) A "carapace" is

the underside of a turtle shell
peeling paint that spreads poisonous lead
a corrupt political system
something which moves very slowly
No Answer

Points out of 9:

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