A route in an adventure story
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A precipitous hillside rose beside the travelers' camp in the adventure story, its extremely steep face making the chosen setting look far more severe than the valley below. A treacherous guide knowingly led his companions away from the promised meeting place while pretending to protect their interests. The guide's assurance that the destination had been checked was an unmitigated lie, because he had made no inquiry and knew his entire account was invented. The travelers compared his claims with their written instructions before agreeing to continue.
The precipitous slope remained a feature of the landscape regardless of whether the guide's directions could be trusted. His treacherous behavior concerned betrayal and deception, not simply an honest mistake about a difficult place. The unmitigated falsehood left no truthful qualification in the assurance that the destination had already been checked. Once the travelers discovered the invention, they returned to the agreed information and selected someone else to coordinate the next discussion.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.