These questions refer to "Take out the Trash, and Put It...Where?" by Bernard Gavzer, from Parade Magazine.
Expand your vocabulary using context clues.
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8 | |
Dealing with America's cascade of garbage is as vital an issue as Social Security or Medicare or maintaining a defense structure. We opened the storage cabinet in my grandfather's garage, we were flooded with a cascade of forty years' worth of National Geographic magazines. Cascade means: |
| | A) | small, steady trickle |
| | B) | large, compacted block of material |
| | C) | limited amount |
| | D) | something thought to resemble a waterfall |
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9 | |
We need to be an Heirloom Society instead of a Throw-Away Society. I treasure this hand-carved baby crib, an heirloom made by my great-grandfather. Heirloom means: |
| | A) | a possession belonging to a relative |
| | B) | valued possession passed down in a family through succeeding generations |
| | C) | property specified in a will |
| | D) | furniture that has been restored |
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10 | |
Some is recycled, some is incinerated, but the majority of it is laid to rest in the more than 2300 U.S. landfills in operation today. The passengers' baggage was incinerated by the explosion and fire that raged in the plane's cargo hold. Incinerated means: |
| | A) | burned slightly |
| | B) | burned completely |
| | C) | damaged |
| | D) | scorched |
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11 | |
Even the very best landfill liners made with tough high-density polyethylene are vulnerable to chemicals found in most household garbage. People with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to infections. Vulnerable means: |
| | A) | susceptible to |
| | B) | unaffected by |
| | C) | resistant to |
| | D) | killed by |
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12 | |
Environmental advocates estimate that New York's Fresh Kills Landfill produces 1 million gallons per day of leachate. Advocates of free speech believe that nothing on the Internet should be regulated or censored. Advocates means: |
| | A) | supporters of |
| | B) | those who oppose something |
| | C) | protestors |
| | D) | terrorists |
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13 | |
Things become mummified. When excavated from the pyramid after nearly 3,000 years, the mummified body of the Egyptian pharaoh was still remarkably intact. Mummified means: |
| | A) | disintegrated |
| | B) | badly damaged |
| | C) | destroyed |
| | D) | dried up and preserved |
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14 | |
In all, Fresh Kills gets the bulk of the city's daily generation of 13,200 tons of municipal waste. Both solar and nuclear energy can be used for the generation of electricity. Generation means: |
| | A) | destruction |
| | B) | conversion |
| | C) | production |
| | D) | reduction |
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15 | |
According to the EPA, there are 110 plants in the U.S. that burn municipal waste to get rid of it or use it as fuel to generate power. Our municipal government consists of a mayor and a 12-member city council. Municipal means: |
| | A) | uncontrollable |
| | B) | pertaining to a city |
| | C) | unspecified |
| | D) | pertaining to a state |
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16 | |
The fly ash is very toxic. Botulism is a form of severe, sometimes fatal, food poisoning caused by a toxic bacteria. Toxic means: |
| | A) | difficult to detect |
| | B) | easy to identify |
| | C) | having a distinct odor |
| | D) | capable of causing injury or death |
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17 | |
Although ash byproducts pass toxicity tests, the way such tests are conducted can invalidate the results. When the private investigator discovered new evidence, he was able to invalidate the police officers' theory about the murder. Invalidate means: |
| | A) | make unnecessary |
| | B) | improve the quality of; enhance |
| | C) | publicize widely |
| | D) | cancel the value of; nullify |
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