READING 1 OF 23 focus words
Context study 1
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A minor delay prompted an unreasonable tirade. The historian carried a heavy tome to the reading desk. The afternoon heat induced a torpor in the crowded room.
She waited for the tirade to end before answering calmly. The slim essay challenged an argument developed in an imposing tome. A new director stirred the institution out of its torpor.
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.