Separate material flexibility from uncritical agreement
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A sequacious committee repeated its founder's design claims without checking the drawings, even when two claims plainly conflicted. A ductile metal sample in the adjoining studio could be drawn into a thin wire without breaking, giving students a literal example of material flexibility. One committee member was susceptible to flattery and changed his recommendation whenever a speaker praised his judgment. The tutor compared these cases carefully, explaining that influence on a person and shaping a material share a useful image but require different kinds of evidence.
The committee's sequacious agreement became visible when members repeated the founder's latest claim without noticing that it reversed the earlier one. The ductile sample illustrated the word's physical sense, while its figurative sense could describe an easily led audience if a story supplied that behavior. The member susceptible to flattery showed a particular vulnerability rather than a willingness to accept every possible influence. The tutor asked students to identify the relevant pressure and response in each example, keeping a metaphor from replacing the evidence needed for a claim.
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.