Question 1
Find the word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the opposite of each word or phrase.
cease
To cease means to stop doing something, so its opposite is continue. Example: The guns ceased firing at midnight.
Question 2
artillery
Artillery means large, heavy guns such as cannons, usually fired from a distance. The opposite is light guns, small weapons that one soldier can carry.
Question 3
mobilize
To mobilize means to get people (especially troops) ready and moving into action. The opposite is to stay still.
Question 4
battle
To battle means to fight. The opposite of fighting is to make peace.
Question 5
in the trenches
In the trenches means in the middle of the actual fighting (trenches are the long holes soldiers fight from). The opposite is not in the fighting.
Question 6
Choose the word that is closest in meaning to the underlined part of each sentence.
Destruction of the enemy’s radar defenses was rated very high in the plan of attack.
To be rated or ranked high means to be given a high position on a list of importance. Here, destroying the radar defences was one of the most important goals of the attack.
Question 7
The president’s constant mistakes weakened the army’s loyalty to him.
Allegiance means loyalty or faithful support for a leader, country or cause. Example: The soldiers swore allegiance to their commander.
Question 8
Eventually, Gordon reached the highest level in the military’s system of positions, that of a five-star general.
A hierarchy is a system in which people are arranged in levels or positions, from lowest to highest. A five-star general is at the top of the military hierarchy.
Question 9
The planet Mercury is so small that the proportion of its volume to Earth’s is only about 1 to 20.
A ratio is the relationship in size or amount between two things, often written as 1 to 20 or 1:20. Here it compares Mercury’s volume with Earth’s.
Question 10
While other officers worried about day-to-day operations, General Helvetski kept his eye on long-term plans.
A strategy is a long-term plan for reaching a goal. The sentence contrasts it with day-to-day operations, which are short-term actions (tactics).
Question 11
Read the passage to review the vocabulary you have learned. Answer the questions that follow.
Until a century ago, military medicine was poor at battling disease. The ratio of soldiers killed by diseases to those killed in combat was probably at least two to one. For strategic reasons, military camps were often set up near a body of water. This gave some protection from enemy artillery, but it exposed soldiers to disease-carrying mosquitoes. Mosquitoes also plagued troops in the trenches. Low-ranking troops suffered the most. Officers who were advanced enough in the hierarchy slept in separate tents on high ground.
The long-held belief that disease resulted from evil spirits or bad air eventually ceased to rule military medicine. The germ theory mobilized actual science against disease. General George Washington ordered that his men be inoculated against smallpox. Their allegiance to him can be measured by the fact that they obeyed, for Washington’s doctors used the actual smallpox virus, not the safer vaccination that Edward Jenner would introduce in 1798.
Bonus Structure — Until a century ago indicates that the condition to be described stopped about 100 years ago.
Which sentence best expresses the essential information of this passage?
The main idea is in the first paragraph. The ratio of soldiers killed by disease to those killed in combat was at least two to one, and the rest of the passage explains why. The other options are only details (officers on high ground, camps near water) or ideas the passage does not give as its main point.
Question 12
Why does the author mention that military camps were often set up near water?
Paragraph 1 says camps near water gave protection from artillery but it exposed soldiers to disease-carrying mosquitoes. The author mentions this to show how soldiers came into contact with disease. Not the first option: protection from artillery is mentioned, but the point is the danger of disease.
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Word List
allegiance [əˈliːdʒəns] n.
Loyalty
→ My allegiance to my country is based on respect for its principles.
Usage tips Allegiance is commonly followed by a to phrase.
artillery [ɑːˈtɪlərɪ] n.
Large guns that shoot powerful shells; army units that handle such guns
→ An artillery barrage broke down the city’s thick walls within seconds.
Usage tips When it means a part of an army, artillery is sometimes plural.
battle [ˈbætl] v.
To fight against
→ The Viet Minh battled French forces at Dien Bien Phu for nearly two months in 1954.
Parts of speech battle n.
cease [siːs] v.
Stop
→ The lightning continued even after the thunder had ceased.
Usage tips Cease is found in official statements,not usually in everyday speech.
Parts of speech cessation n., ceaseless adj.
hierarchy [ˈhaɪərɑːkɪ] n.
A system of levels that places people high or low according to their importance
→ Starting as a lowly private, Burt Jones gradually rose through the hierarchy of the army.
Usage tips Hierarchy is often followed by an of phrase.
Parts of speech hierarchical adj., hierarchically adv.
in the trenches [trentʃ] n.
In the middle of the hardest fighting or work
→ With their unrealistic view of this war, our generals don’t know what things are like out in the trenches.
Usage tips Creates an image of soldiers fighting in a long, dug-out place in the battlefield.
mobilize [ˈməʊbɪlaɪz] v.
To put members of a group into motion
→ After a terrible storm, the governor mobilized the National Guard to rescue victims.
Parts of speech mobilization n.
rank [ræŋk] v.
To put into a many-leveled order, depending on importance or achievement
→ The Marines ranked Jim Hurst highest among all their officer candidates.
Parts of speech rank n.
ratio [ˈreɪʃɪəʊ] n.
The relationship of one number or amount to another
→ Military analysts say that the ratio of attackers to defenders in a battle should be about three to one for the attackers to win.
Usage tips Ratio is very often followed by an of . . . to structure.
strategic [strəˈtiːdʒɪk] adj.
Related to long-term plans for achieving a goal
→ The United States has formed strategic friendships with Tajikistan and Mongolia to have Central Asian bases in the future.
Usage tips Strategic is often used with nouns for plans.
Parts of speech strategy n., strategize v., strategically adv.