Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 34

Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know (MCQ Test + PDF) Week 34 - Day 4

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Question 1

EVELYN DISCOVERED

Failure was imminent, and Robert was bereft of hope. It was now Friday. Despite his abstemious and parsimonious way of living, his money had been reduced to a mere pittance. A perverse impulse brought him to the section where young people in strange clothing and with uncouth manners made him recoil in unmitigated disgust. He had never been au courant with the “hippies” and “punks.” He was always fastidious about proper dress and behavior. A moment later he saw her! Evelyn! She was sitting at a table in a coffee shop, surrounded by a coterie of the most noisome individuals he had ever seen. Evelyn was not incongruous, for she herself was unkempt. So this was her new habitat! At that instant Robert knew as an incontrovertible fact that he had lost her. With a grimace, he turned and walked, a doleful and melancholy figure, toward the bus depot and home.

Sample Sentences: Use the new words in these sentences.

Styles are such transient things that what is _____ today is archaic tomorrow.

A	pittance
B	fastidious
C	noisome
D	au courant
E	unkempt

Question 1 Explanation:

Au courant means up-to-date or fashionable. The sentence contrasts what is in fashion today with what is archaic (out of date) tomorrow, so the gap needs a word meaning 'up-to-date'. In the passage, Robert had never been au courant with the hippies and punks, which means he did not follow their latest styles.

Question 2

The tip he had been offered was a mere _____, and the taxi driver threw it on the ground in disdain.

A	pittance
B	fastidious
C	noisome
D	au courant
E	unkempt

Question 2 Explanation:

A pittance is a very small, almost insulting amount of money. The clue is a mere and the driver's disdain: the tip was so small that he threw it away. Example: She works long hours for a pittance.

Question 3

Children think mothers are asinine to get upset about _____ rooms.

A	pittance
B	fastidious
C	noisome
D	au courant
E	unkempt

Question 3 Explanation:

Unkempt means untidy and neglected, and it is often used for hair, clothes or rooms. Mothers get upset about messy, unkempt rooms. Not noisome, which means foul-smelling or harmful and is too strong for a child's untidy room.

Question 4

It was inevitable that they would discover the hidden body by its _____ aroma.

A	pittance
B	fastidious
C	noisome
D	au courant
E	unkempt

Question 4 Explanation:

Noisome means foul or offensive, and it is often used about a smell. A hidden body gives off a bad smell, so noisome aroma fits. Be careful: noisome has nothing to do with noise. In the passage, Evelyn's companions are 'the most noisome individuals', which means very unpleasant.

Question 5

He was so _____ about table manners that he lost his equanimity when his son reached for the bread.

A	pittance
B	fastidious
C	noisome
D	au courant
E	unkempt

Question 5 Explanation:

Fastidious means very particular and hard to please about details such as cleanliness or manners. The father lost his calm over a small thing, reaching for the bread, which shows how fastidious he was about table manners. In the passage, Robert is fastidious about proper dress and behaviour.

Question 6

Definitions: Match the new words with their definitions.

pittance

A	untidy, neglected
B	foul, unwholesome
C	small amount
D	particular, choosy
E	up-to-date

Question 6 Explanation:

Pittance means a very small amount, usually of money. In the passage, Robert's money 'had been reduced to a mere pittance'. Example: He was paid a pittance for his work.

Question 7

au courant

A	untidy, neglected
B	foul, unwholesome
C	small amount
D	particular, choosy
E	up-to-date

Question 7 Explanation:

Au courant (borrowed from French) means up-to-date and well-informed about the latest fashions or news. In the passage, Robert 'had never been au courant' with the hippies and punks.

Question 8

fastidious

A	untidy, neglected
B	foul, unwholesome
C	small amount
D	particular, choosy
E	up-to-date

Question 8 Explanation:

Fastidious means particular and choosy, and very concerned about accuracy, cleanliness or correctness. Robert was 'always fastidious about proper dress and behavior'. Example: She is fastidious about keeping her desk tidy.

Question 9

noisome

A	untidy, neglected
B	foul, unwholesome
C	small amount
D	particular, choosy
E	up-to-date

Question 9 Explanation:

Noisome means foul, unwholesome or offensive, often describing a smell. It is not related to noise. In the passage, Evelyn sits among 'the most noisome individuals' Robert had ever seen.

Question 10

unkempt

A	untidy, neglected
B	foul, unwholesome
C	small amount
D	particular, choosy
E	up-to-date

Question 10 Explanation:

Unkempt means untidy and neglected in appearance. In the passage, Evelyn 'herself was unkempt', so she fitted in with the scruffy crowd. Example: unkempt hair.

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NEW WORDS

pittance [pit´ ns]

“To be paid a mere pittance and yet to be suspected of theft; never in her life had she been subjected to such an outrage.” Anton Chekhov, “An Upheaval”