Every choice uses something
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A student theater group had to allocate its production budget among costumes, rehearsal space, and scenery. The available funds were finite, so approving one large purchase would leave less for the other parts of the show. Rafi proposed a frugal approach that reused suitable items already in storage. He still wanted the costumes to fit the actors properly; avoiding waste did not mean accepting an item that could not serve its purpose.
Before asking the group to allocate money, Rafi laid out what each department already owned and what it still needed. That inventory made the finite budget easier to discuss because members could compare specific requests rather than defend broad estimates. A frugal decision sometimes meant repairing a useful item instead of replacing it. At other times, the group bought a missing essential and reduced a decorative expense that mattered less to the performance.
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.