VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT 29
9. d. Outmoded means no longer in style or no longer usable.
10. b. A quest is a search or pursuit of something, in this case for the perfect
cup of tea.
11. b. Explicit means clearly and fully stated; straightforward, exact. The con-
text tells you that the directions need to be clear to prevent an error. If the
directions are clearly and fully stated, it will help ensure that no one makes
a mistake.
12. c. To teem means to be full of, to be present in large numbers. Numerous
security personnel typically surround the leader of a country. If there is a
meeting of several foreign leaders, there is likely to be a great number of
security officers in the hotel.
13. d. Benign means not harmful or malignant; gentle, mild, having a beneficial
effect. Choice d is the only answer that makes sense in the context of the
sentence; Karen would logically be worried about chemicals in her water
and relieved if she learned those chemicals were harmless.
14. a. Futile means useless, producing no result, hopeless, vain. Jensen’s appli-
cation is useless because he does not meet the minimum requirements for
the job.
15. d. Terse means concise, using no unnecessary words. The main clue is that
the editor cut the article by 25%, dramatically reducing its wordiness.
16. b. Elusive means evasive, eluding the grasp; difficult to capture. The sen-
tence tells you that Dr. Frankenstein was never able to catch the creature,
who constantly escaped his grasp.
17. d. To diffuse means to spread throughout, disperse; to soften or make less
brilliant. Xiu’s joke softened the tension so that the meeting could be more
productive.
18. a. To digress means to turn aside, deviate; to stray from the main subject in
writing or speaking. The speaker loses track of the point because Tula
keeps shifting from the main topic to unrelated subjects.
19. a. To evade means to elude or avoid by cleverness or deceit; to avoid fulfill-
ing, answering, or doing. The senator avoids answering the question by
changing the subject.
20. d. To surmise means to form a notion from scanty evidence. The narrator is
guessing that Samantha has been withdrawn because she is upset about not
being able to go to camp.
21. b. Banter is defined as remarks or talk that is playful and teasing. Choice a
is incorrect because antics are unpredictable behavior or actions. Choices c
and d are incorrect because their definitions are too broad and do not focus
on conversation.