Question 1
The coffee cups suddenly went spinning as an explosion knocked Dorie Miller flat on his back. Jumping up from his supine position, the powerfully built messman from Waco, Texas, headed for the deck. Everywhere that Dorie looked he saw smoke and mammoth warships lying on their sides. Overhead, dozens of Japanese dive bombers controlled the skies without a U.S. plane to repulse their attack. The havoc was enormous. Without hesitating, Dorie joined a team that was feeding ammunition to a machine gunner who was making an ineffectual attempt to protect their battleship from being razed by the torpedo planes.
Sample Sentences: Use the new words in the proper blanks.
From a _____ position, the hunter emitted the animal’s mating call.
Supine means lying flat on your back, face up. The passage uses it this way: Dorie was knocked flat on his back and jumped up from his supine position. A hunter lying on his back on the ground is in a supine position.
Question 2
Following the revolution, the people _____ the subterranean dungeons of the dictator.
Raze means to destroy a building completely, often by knocking it down to the ground. The sentence needs a past-tense verb with an object (the dungeons), so razed fits: after the revolution, the people tore the dungeons down. Not repulse: it is not in the past tense, and you drive back an attack, not a building.
Question 3
Management is sure to _____ any request for increased remuneration.
Repulse means to drive back or firmly refuse. After is sure to we need a base verb, so repulse fits: management will reject any request for more pay. Not razed: it is a past form, and you raze buildings, not requests.
Question 4
_____ placards announced the opening of the new movie.
Mammoth is an adjective meaning huge or enormous. It describes the noun placards (large posters or signs): mammoth placards are very big signs advertising the film.
Question 5
The virulent plague caused _____ among the populace.
Havoc is a noun meaning great destruction, disorder or confusion. It often follows the verb cause: cause havoc. A deadly (virulent) plague caused chaos and ruin among the people.
Question 6
Definitions: Match the new words with their meaning.
supine
Supine means lying on the back, face upward. Example: The patient lay supine on the bed.
Question 7
mammoth
Mammoth means huge or gigantic. The word comes from the name of the large prehistoric elephant. Example: mammoth warships.
Question 8
repulse
Repulse means to drive back an attack or attacker, or to reject something firmly. Example: The soldiers repulsed the enemy attack.
Question 9
havoc
Havoc is a noun meaning ruin: great destruction and disorder. Example: The storm caused havoc in the town. Not destroy: that is a verb, and it matches raze.
Question 10
raze
Raze is a verb meaning to destroy completely, especially a building or town, by knocking it to the ground. Example: The old factory was razed to make room for a park. Not ruin: in this set that matches the noun havoc.
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Free worksheets for class or home
NEW WORDS
- supine [sü pīn´]
“The clergy as a whole were therefore obedient and supine.” G. M. Trevelyan, Carlyle
- mammoth [mam´ əth]
“She began to repair the ravages made by generosity added to love—a tremendous task, dear friends—a mammoth task.” O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi”
- repulse [ri puls´]
“The cannons were set up to repulse a possible invasion but none was ever attempted.” Col. F. X. Prescott, “History as Our Teacher”
- havoc [hav´ ək]
“Excessive sensitiveness plays havoc with children’s nerves.” Guy De Maupassant, “Looking Back”
- raze [rāz]
“In the gorge, continually razed by the clawing wind, he would probably find his other dog.” Francisco Coloane, “Cururo . . . Sheep Dog”
TODAY’S IDIOM
Philadelphia lawyer—a lawyer of outstanding ability
His case is so hopeless that it would take a Philadelphia lawyer to set him free.