Reading · Original worked example
Choose the meaning that fits this passage
Use surrounding details to interpret a familiar word with more than one meaning. Compare substitutions in two original short passages.
Before you begin
Useful foundation: Read the sentences before and after the target word.
Your goal: Use local evidence to choose a word’s meaning instead of automatically picking its most familiar definition.
Replace the target word with each proposed meaning and reread the sentence. The right choice must fit both the grammar and the surrounding ideas. A real dictionary meaning can still be wrong in this context.
Work through an example
The committee advanced a proposal to open the observatory on weekends. Members then discussed its staffing needs, but no vote was taken. Here, what does “advanced” mean?
- Identify what was advanced: a proposal, not a person or physical object.
- The next sentence describes discussion without a vote. The proposal was introduced for consideration, not formally approved.
- Substitute “put forward”: “The committee put forward a proposal …”. This preserves the meaning and fits the later discussion.
- “Moved ahead physically” and “paid early” are possible meanings in other contexts, but neither explains what happened to this proposal.
Try a question yourself
When the director asked about the new schedule, Elena gave a qualified endorsement. She welcomed the longer opening hours but said the plan would work only if a second staff member joined the evening shift.
Choose an answer, then check your reasoning. This public practice is not saved.
Read all answer explanations
backed by a professional credential: A person can be qualified through credentials, but the passage describes an endorsement. It does not discuss Elena’s training or certification.
expressed without any reservations: Her support depends on another staff member joining the shift, so it is not unconditional.
spoken too quietly to be understood: The passage says nothing about volume or difficulty hearing her response.
limited by a stated condition — correct answer: Yes. Elena supports the longer hours only under a staffing condition. “Limited by a stated condition” fits both the endorsement and the explanation that follows.
What to do next
Write your own short replacement before looking at choices. Then point to the sentence that rules out the most tempting alternative.
Revisit the idea in a week using a different question. Repeating this example can help you understand it, but remembering its answer is not evidence of learning a new problem.
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