Quiz created: 190811

Vocabulary Quiz 76

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 coverage of the [Mueller] investigation [of the 2016 presidential election] did include embarrassments —specious CHYRONS, tendentious talking heads, and retracted scoops among them. Yet it does not follow that American journalism failed …” (190408, The New Yorker, p. 21) A “chyron” (pronounced KAI-ron) is
a political analyst 
a political ad 
a running banner on the bottom of a television screen 
an idiot 
a panel discussion in which all parties agree with each other 
an argument or reasoned point of view 
No Answer
2. “The coverage of the [Mueller] investigation [of the 2016 presidential election] did include embarrassments —specious chyrons, TENDENTIOUS talking heads, and retracted scoops among them. Yet it does not follow that American journalism failed … .” (190408, The New Yorker, p. 21) Something or someone “tendentious”
likes to argue for the sake of arguing 
allows no one else to speak 
takes positions dictated by public opinion 
is strongly opinionated or partisan 
makes statements intended to be dramatic, while knowing them to be untrue 
is boring 
is overly concise 
is overly long and repetitive 
is colorful 
No Answer
3. “As the [Mueller] investigation [of the 2016 presidential election] extended into this year [2019], the PORTENTOUS question of what new information Mueller’s team, exercising subpoena power, might disclose remained unanswered.” (190408, The New Yorker, p. 21) A “portentous” question
is weighty 
predicts the future course of events 
opens a door to a large number of other issues 
is pompously phrased but ultimately foolish 
is unanswerable 
No Answer
4. “His NARCISSISM leaves no room to honor other people or to honor other gods.” (190417, Washington Post via SDUT, p. B-5). Narcissism is
a very busy schedule of activities 
complete devotion to a hobby 
a life devoted to prayer and religious contemplation 
excessive preoccupation with and admiration of oneself 
No Answer
5. “Indonesia’s tsunami warning system relies on land SEISMOMETERS and buoys connected to … gauges and is not equipped to detect underwater landslides. The system, in any case, has not operated for years because the buoys have been vandalized or not maintained because of low funding.” (181228, Associated Press via SDUT, p. A-8) A “seismometer”
is a measure of distance 
is a measure of land area 
is a surveying instrument 
is a process of inspecting land from low-flying aircraft 
measures earth motion, for example in earthquakes 
No Answer
6. “Indonesia’s tsunami warning system relies on land seismometers and BUOYS connected to … gauges and is not equipped to detect underwater landslides. The system, in any case, has not operated for years because the BUOYS have been vandalized or not maintained because of low funding.” (181228, Associated Press via SDUT, p. A-8) “Buoys” are
observation stations, for example towers used to scan for forest fires 
caged animals sensitive to changes in air pressure 
mechanical instruments that record changes in air pressure 
anchored floats that mark locations on a body of water 
waterproof radio transmitters used in data collection at various sea depths 
No Answer
7. “Since the day he became president, Donald Trump has trampled political norms. He has cosied up to foreign dictators, while TRADUCING his own officials. He has …” (190223, The Economist, p. 14) To “traduce” is roughly the same as to
malign humiliatingly 
seduce 
betray 
misinterpret 
fail to pay 
No Answer
8. “Boxed in by his own foolish promises and ineptitude, he [President Trump] has fallen back on the RUSE of declaring an emergency and grabbing what money he can from the military budget.” (190223, The Economist, p. 14) A “ruse” is a
rushed, precipitous action 
rapid-response action 
surprise attack or pre-emptive strike 
crafty stratagem 
Russian technique 
No Answer
9. “I was also mystified by the show’s reception, because the first season struck me as both TREACLY and exhausting. This was true despite its having a premise that was so far up my alley it was practically chopping onions in my kitchen.” (181224, The New Yorker, p. 88) Something “treacly” is
painfully close to unpleasant memories 
expressing unpleasant and unfashionable truths 
cloyingly sweet or excessively sentimental 
slow-moving 
No Answer

      Points out of 9:

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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
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of March 24, 2015.