general sense of the text
Sometimes it takes a bit more detective work to puzzle out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. In such cases, you must draw conclusions based on the information given with the word. Asking yourself questions about the passage may help you make a fairly accurate guess about the meaning of the unfamiliar word.
Now consider the following examples:
1. The public knows very little about the covert activities of CIA spies.
(What kind of activities would the CIA spies be involved in that the public wouldn’t know much about?)
Covert means
a. public. b. secret. c. family.
2. Whether or not there is life in outer space is an enigma. We may never know for sure until we are capable of space travel or aliens actually land on our planet.
(What would we call something to which we have no answer?)
Enigma means
a. reason. b. certainty. c. mystery.
3. Suicide rates tend to fluctuate with the seasons, with much higher rates in the winter than in the summer.
(What happens to the suicide rate from season to season?)
Fluctuate means
a. go up and down. b. disappear. c. stay the same.
7. Human beings are resilient creatures—they can often bounce back from negative experiences and adjust well to life.
(What point is the author making about the nature of human beings?)
Resilient means
a. not flexible. b. living. c. able to recover.
8. A major accomplishment of sociology is dispelling the myths and prejudices that groups of people have about each other.
(What would a profession do to “myths and prejudices” that could be considered a “major accomplishment”?)
Dispelling means
a. ignoring. b. making vanish. c. creating again.