Developmental Reading 2
Developmental Reading 2
Developmental Reading 2
There are several different types of context clues. Some of them are:
EXERCISE I: Circle the letter of the best meaning for the underlined word as it is used in
context.
1. My brother said, “I just freed myself from a very loquacious history professor. All
he seemed to want was an audience.”
a. pretentious
b. grouchy
c. talkative
d. worried
2. There is no doubt that the idea of living in such a benign climate was appealing. The
islanders seemed to keep their vitality and live longer than Europeans.
a. tropical
b. not malignant
c. kind
d. favorable
4. There is a large demand all over the United States for plants indigenous to the
desert. Many people in Arizona have made a good business of growing and
selling cacti and other local plants.
a. native
b. necessary
c. foreign
d. alien
5. After the Romans left, a millennium and a half passed before people again lived in
such comfort. Churchill wrote, “From the year 400 until the year 1900 no one had
central heating and very few had hot baths.”
a. a decade
b. many years
c. 1000 years
d. a century
CONTEXT CLUES -- PRACTICE EXERCISES
6. Many years before, Caesar’s men had tried and failed to invade Britain. No
doubt this contributed to the xenophobia of the Romans. They were cautious
about strangers who entered their country.
a. honesty
b. fear of foreigners
c. kindliness
d. stubbornness
7. Such are the vicissitudes of history. Nothing remains the same. Three hundred years
of peace ended in darkness and confusion.
a. evils
b. mistakes
c. changes
d. rules
9. We knew he couldn’t hold out much longer, because he had been doomed from the
beginning. One night he met his ineluctable fate.
a. forgotten
b. inevitable
c. hidden
d. unhappy
10. A combination of fog and industrial smoke, called smog, has vitiated the air in and
around many big cities.
a. concentrate
b. fill up
c. replace
d. contaminate
CONTEXT CLUES -- PRACTICE EXERCISES
EXERCISE II: In the space provided, write a synonym for each underlined word as it is
used in context.
1. His lucid lectures, along with his clearly presented explanations, made him a popular
professor.
_____________________
2. Their vociferous chatter made me wish I had ear plugs.
_____________________
3. He was so impudent to his mother that I would have punished him if he talked to me that
way.
_____________________
4. The Russians are skillful at sending cryptic messages, open to many interpretations.
Our State Department spends days puzzling over their meanings.
_____________________
5. The Great Flood of Noah’s day was caused by incessant rain that fell for 40 days and
nights.
_____________________
6. The students who arrived late told the teacher an implausible story about stopping to
watch a UFO.
_____________________
7. After spending three weeks in the hospital, I had a surfeit of daytime TV programming.
_____________________
8. The prisoners liberated from the Nazi death camp were so emaciated that they looked like
skeletons.
_____________________
9. Bob decided to be prudent and call ahead for reservations, instead of just showing up.
_____________________
10. The ambiguity of Joe’s directions made it almost impossible to find his house.
_____________________
11. The job candidate’s background was impeccable – good references and many years
of experience, but the company did not give her the job.
_____________________
12. The tranquilized grizzly bear was lethargic enough for the scientists to safely examine his
teeth and tattoo his ears.
_____________________
Making Inferences
DIRECTIONS: Read the following passage. Combine details from the text with your own
knowledge and experience to make inferences about setting, character, and plot.
Adrian wiped her sweating hands on her skirt and immediately checked to be sure she
hadn’t stained the shimmering fabric. Through the thick curtain she heard the audience
murmuring. Although she could not yet see them, her ears told her it must be a packed
house. She’d dreamed of this moment all her life, spent years training her body to move
gracefully in rhythm with the music. The final weeks leading up to tonight had been
especially trying, and Adrian had the blisters and calluses to prove it. They were carefully
hidden, of course, under delicate satin slippers with ribbons that encircled her ankles. The
first notes of the opening number were hanging in the air as Adrian quickly took her place
center stage. She took a deep breath, as she’d been taught, and tried to send all of the
negative emotions out of her body as she slowly exhaled. The curtains parted.
2. Setting – What can you infer about the time and place?
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What inference can you make
find in the text? you already have about this topic? about the setting?
+ =
c. Character – What can you infer about how the character feels?
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What can you infer about
find in the text? you already have about this topic? the character’s feelings?
+ =
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What can you infer that the
find in the text? you already have about this topic? character is doing?
+ =
Making Inferences
Corey counted the tickets in his hand one more time. Three left, he thought. If he used two for the
carousel, he would still have one to buy popcorn. Earlier that day a carnie had asked Corey if he’d be
willing to help out in exchange for ten red tickets. Now, Corey’s back ached, and his boots were grimy
with the smelly stuff that once covered the petting zoo floor–but it had all been worth it. Already Corey
had swapped some of his tickets to see a magician make a lady disappear, and he had ridden high into
the air on a Ferris-wheel – while eating the tastiest caramel apple imaginable. He could see the yellow
and white lights of the Ferris-wheel turning slowly in the distance, and he remembered how small the
nearby town had looked from that great height. Calliope music from the carousel roused him, and
Corey remembered the tickets in his hand. He raced toward the sound.
2 Setting – What can you infer about the time and place?
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What inference can you make
find in the text? you already have about this topic? about the setting?
+ =
6. Character – What can you infer about how the character feels?
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What can you infer about
find in the text? you already have about this topic? the character’s feelings?
+ =
10. Plot – What can you infer that Corey did to earn the tickets?
What evidence did you What experience/knowledge do What can you infer that Corey
find in the text? you already have about this topic? did to earn the tickets?
+ =
Predicting outcomes means that you are able to foretell or logically speculate what will happen
in the future. For example, if you see a bunch of storm clouds in the sky moving towards you, it
is logical for you to predict that a possible outcome might be that it will rain in the near future.
This is an example of predicting outcomes. While you can certainly predict outcomes in fictional
texts such as stories (sometimes by using the pictures) you can predict outcomes for just about
any text type...so long as you take the time to think about what you have read in order to make
some logical guesses about what might happen next.
Directions: Read the following passages. Determine what event is likely to occur next. Explain your
answer using textual evidence.
Vince Thunder waved to the crowd one more time before he put on his motorcycle helmet. The crowd
cheered uproariously. Vince looked down the ramp and across the 17 school busses that he was about to
attempt to jump. It was a difficult trick and everything would need to go right for him to nail it. His cape
blew in the wind. As Vince hoped on his motorcycle and started down the ramp, he noticed something that
he had not seen before. There was large oil slick at the end of the ramp. He attempted to stop the bike, but
it was too late. He had already built up too much momentum...
Rex sat at the mouth of the alley and chewed the bone that he had found by the dumpster. It was a meaty
bone that had belonged to a larger animal, perhaps a state fair prize winning pig. Rex was attracted to
the bone by its strong scent. Apparently, he was not the only one who could smell it. He heard the jangle
of tags behind him and turned to see a larger dog. Rex released the bone and began growling at the other
dog. The other dog began growling at Rex. The two dogs inched toward one another, maintaining eye
contact. Each began growling louder as the other approached within striking distance...
John sat in the classroom and drew pictures of the Tatakai Fighting Warriors in his notebook while his
teacher lectured about biology or something. He didn't really know for sure. The last thing he
remembered her saying was that there would be a test tomorrow. His heart jumped. He went home to
study for the test, but he was soon drawn to his Game Box. He played Tatakai Fighting Warriors long
into the night. When his alarm clock rang the next day, he was too tired to hit the snooze button, so he let
it beep for about 20 minutes before he got up and went to school. As she had promised, the teacher has
prepared a test. She reviewed the testing procedures and directions with the class and then passed out the
test. John looked at his test and scratched his head...
4. What event is most likely to occur next? ________________________________________________
Angela threw the bedspread over the bed and fussed with it until it was free of wrinkles. She dusted her
dresser and straightened the knickknacks. As she was leaving the room, she noticed that a picture frame on
the nightstand was slightly crooked. She went back into the room and straightened the picture frame. She
examined her bedroom one more time and gave it a satisfied nod, and then she went to vacuum the living
room. As she was running the vacuum, her three-year-old son Jason walked into Angela's bedroom. He
was drinking a glass of grape juice and playing with his cars. Angela's bedspread fell as he raced his cars
off the bed. While hitting an imaginary jump with his cars, he bumped into the nightstand and knocked
over Angela's picture frame. Then, while he lined his cars up at the starting line of a pretend race, he kicked
over the grape juice and it spilled all over Angela's white carpet. Jason didn't notice. After Angela finished
vacuuming the living room, she tied the cord around the vacuum and went to return it to her bedroom...
Lance didn't cook much but he wanted to do something nice for his wife's birthday, so he decided to make
her dinner. He was preparing a meal of steak and potatoes by following a recipe that he had found on the
Internet. He put the steaks on the grill on low heat and quartered the potatoes. Then he threw the potatoes
in a skillet with a little bit of oil and cooked them over medium heat. After browning the potatoes, he
grabbed the skillet by the metal handle and put it into the oven at 400 degrees. Twenty minutes later he
grabbed the steaks off of the grill and began preparing the plates. The last thing that he needed to do was
take the potatoes out of the oven. He thought about using a potholder to remove the pan, but didn't want to
bother with getting one out of the drawer. He reached into the hot oven, his hand nearing the metal handle
of the skillet. He wrapped his hand around the handle and clenched tightly...