Quiz created: 2020-10-13

Vocabulary Quiz 89

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. “The comments from Trump … were unsurprising given his penchant for GRIEVANCE. But they were nonetheless stunning for the degree to which Trump refused to view [the late Senator John] Lewis’ life and legacy in terms beyond how it related to Trump himself.” (2020-08-05, NYT via SDUT, p. A5) “Grievance” refers to
the unhappiness one feels at the loss of a friend or relative 
a tendency to become enraged over small annoyances 
a state of perpetual morbid depression 
pessimism about the future 
a sense of having been wronged 
a legal case filed against a student for violating a school’s code of conduct 
No Answer
2. “Israel has long considered Iran a regional NEMESIS because of its nuclear program … as well as Iran’s military presence in Syria supporting President Bashar Assad, and its backing of armed groups like Hezbollah.” (2020-09-27, SDUT, p. A10) A “nemesis” is
a dangerous situation 
an underestimated or widely unanticipated source of unpredictable events, usually but not always bad ones 
a powerful or unbeatable opponent, especially one seeking retribution 
a longtime rival, whether hostile or friendly 
any powerful country 
a country or corporation with concealed strengths 
a desert-dwelling wild animal, related to the wolf 
No Answer
3. “At the same time, they say the Trump administration’s ‘sledgehammer’ approach, which seems intent on starting another cold war and leaves no room for dialogue, is counterproductive and DISINGENUOUS in its purported concern for Chinese people.” (2020-09-27, SDUT, p. A10) Someone “disingenuous”
is cunning but pretends to be naïve 
is unaware of the surrounding world 
is self-destructive 
seeks to change long-established institutions or customs 
transparently tries to exploit others to get money or political concessions 
No Answer
4. “I know they’re all trying to do the best they can, but nothing, even a pandemic, gives you the right to AGGREGATE our freedom of religion. It’s forcing people to choose between following God’s law and man’s law.” (Rev. Art Hodges III, South Bay United Pentecostal Church, objecting to prohibition on indoor church services during the Covid-19 crisis; 2020-08-10, SDUT, p. 9) The word “aggregate” does not mean what the speaker thinks it means. The word he probably had in mind was
abdicate 
alleviate 
annotate 
abrogate 
adumbrate 
affiliate 
No Answer
5. “It [the reciprocal closing of consulates] has been a dramatic shift in relations between the U.S. and China, which had for decodes overcome fundamental differences between America’s capitalist democracy and China’s Leninist AUTOCRACY not only to coexist, but also to anchor the global economy and cooperate on critical issues, including climate change and pandemic prevention.” (2020-09-27, SDUT, p. A10) An “autocracy” is a political system in which
there is only one political party, which eliminates competitors using the police force 
there is only one political party, which eliminates competitors using extralegal armed agents 
power is held by a closed circle of aristocrats whose families intermarry 
a single leader has unlimited power 
the parliament is so large that it is unable to debate anything 
No Answer
6. “[The U.S. Department of the] Treasury said the new [Chinese] law has allowed authorities in mainland China to operate with impunity in Hong Kong, has MANDATED ‘national security education’ in Hong Kong schools, undermined the rule of law, and laid the groundwork to censor individuals and outlets ‘deemed unfriendly’ to China.” (2020-08-08, SDUT, p. A-3) Something “mandated” is
weakened 
reorganized 
encouraged 
prohibited 
required 
No Answer
7. “The intelligence community as a whole, insiders say, now routinely edits and softens its conclusions about Russia. Officials know that if they do not they will be “replaced with a more SYCOPHANTIC alternative.’” (2020-08-21, The Week, p. 6) “Sycophancy” is the art of
telling fortunes from animal entrails 
foretelling the future from seemingly unrelated events 
foreseeing the moves of an enemy based on a close analysis of public statements 
keeping secrets within a very small circle 
servile flattery 
No Answer
8. “America’s confrontation with China is escalating dangerously. … This ratcheting up of pressure partly reflects electioneering: being tough on China is a key STRUT of President Donald Trump’s campaign.” (2020-08-15, The Economist, p. 11) A “strut” is
a mesh tube used to hold open a failing vein or artery 
a solo dance in which the performer expresses his own importance 
a structural element used to brace a framework by resisting compression 
a STRategic UTterance repeated in every campaign speech because it has proven unusually effective. 
No Answer
9. “The Democrats held their national convention virtually and without the usual RAZZAMATAZZ. Although Milwaukee was the event’s official hub, the roll call that officially nominated Joe Biden as the party’s candidate for president was broadcast from each state.” (2020-08-22, The Economist, p. 6) “Razzamatazz” (also spelled “razzmatazz”) is a slang term that means
mindless and endless speechmaking 
excited action and impressive display 
advance preparation for a large sporting or theatrical event 
spectacularly high attention 
financial backing from large corporations 
financial backing from extremely wealth private individuals 
widespread public interest and participation 
No Answer

      Points out of 9:


Awesomeness
Score
Awesomeness Score: The following awesomeness score is a measure of how much guessing you did to get all items right. It is 100 if you got all questions right when you clicked the process button for the first time. It gets proportionately lower if it took more clicks, until it hits 0 if your clicks exceeded the number of questions.



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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
multiple-choice quiz was produced automatically from
a simple text file of questions using D.K. Jordan's
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Think Again Quiz Maker
of March 24, 2015.