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Quiz on Last Month's Words

January / February 2014                               Volume 15  No. 1

Here are the words that were featured last month:

peripatetic

miasma

iconoclast

obtuse

subservient

avarice

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: iconoclast, iconoclastic, iconoclasm, and so on.

  1. Famous opera singers lead the lives of . . . . ., constantly hopping from one city to another.
  2. The moment I learned that Daniela had just returned from a visit to the eastern half of Germany, I asked: “Are there any streets or buildings or other sights still in existence that are clear vestiges of the . . . . . past that used to be called East Germany?”
  3. The history of modern Africa and Asia is filled with stories of . . . . . leaders who, while in power, secretly built huge Swiss bank accounts.
  4. The lane closures on the George Washington Bridge last September, ordered out of political vengeance by someone in Gov. Chris Christie's office, not only affected everyday office-goers but also school buses, ambulances, doctors and other healthcare workers needing to tend to patients, all of whom were hopelessly stuck in traffic for four hours or more. One wonders how anyone sworn to public service can make such a nakedly . . . . . decision, no matter what their agenda.
  5. The two committee members are almost always clashing because one is orthodox and the other is . . . . ..
  6. Are you sure you want that new position of VP of business development? I ask since you now have a child at home and this job requires significant travel. It's one of the more . . . . . assignments within the company.
  7. When trying to win business from government enterprises in some parts of Asia and Africa, we often lose out to foreign competition because of the culture of bribes and under-the-table deals. Thanks to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, our American company has a hard time penetrating the . . . . . of corruption there.
  8. Sharon is not just the CEO; she's also the founder of our extraordinarily successful company. Therefore, managers, salespersons--in fact all of the employees--accept her directions very enthusiastically. You'll witness a lot of . . . . . when Sharon's running a meeting.

_______________________________________________________________

Answers:

1. peripatetics    2. miasmic    3. avaricious    4. obtuse

5. iconoclastic    6. peripatetic    7. miasma    8. subservience

 

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.

© 2017 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.