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Quiz on Last Month's Words

September / October 2011                               Volume 12  No. 5

Here are the words that were featured last month:

For each of the eight examples below, select a word from the above list that best fits the blank. Then check your answers at the end. Note that the correct answer could be any of the word forms that were featured -- example: imperial, imperialist, imperialism, and so on.

1. In a recent speech, this author said: "The biggest factor impeding our nation's progress is the inability of lawmakers in Washington D.C. to reach a compromise on vital issues. The United States is suffering from acute political . . . . .."
2. I often wonder what's behind China's massive military buildup of the last two or three decades, especially their sensational new weapons such as satellite-killer missiles. Do they really perceive a military threat from, say, the U.S., Russia, and India? Or is all this being pursued out of some national . . . . .?
3. I just hope when our CEO, Rob, retires in a couple of years, the board of directors can find someone of his . . . . . to run this behemoth of a company in the same stellar manner that Rob has done.
4. Speaking of Shawna, our former employee who has only one year's worth of work experience, did you know that she now has the . . . . . to hang out a shingle calling herself a "business consultant"?
5. During the recent Republican presidential debates, each contender for the White House has tried to establish that he possesses more presidential . . . . . than the other candidates and is therefore the Republican Party's best choice to unseat President Obama.
6. That corner table in the cafeteria is where all of the company's managers meet for lunch every Friday. It acts as a . . . . . for ideas, and even jokes, to travel across departments.
7. Except for a few of our CEO's longtime buddies who call him James, everyone in the company addresses him as Mr. Smith. So, you could see the surprise on Mr. Smith's face when this new hire, who I'm told is very cocky, had the . . . . . to greet him with "Hi Jim!" at yesterday's event.
8. My 28-year old sister, who is a self-described health-and-fitness-nut and has run several marathons, has a fetish for eating raw eggs, much against the advice of many medical professionals. I am no psychiatrist but I'm sure she's doing it out of some sort of health-extremist . . . . ..

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Give yourself one point for each correct answer.

A score of 8 = excellent; 7 = very good; 6 = not bad; 5 or less = you may want to revisit these words.

Please let me know by e-mail or phone (281-463-2500) what you think about this quiz and how it can be improved.

© 2012 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

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Phone: 281-463-2500, P.O. Box 841155, Houston, TX 77284-1155