Look closely at what is left unsaid
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
When the chair asked whether the consultation included every participant, the speaker began to prevaricate, describing enthusiastic conversations without answering who had actually been asked. Felix then discovered a subterfuge: the speaker had labeled the removal of unfavorable comments as a routine formatting correction. A surreptitious revision had also changed the circulated copy without alerting the committee. The chair paused the discussion and requested the earlier version, because evaluating the proposal required a clear account of both the evidence and the changes made to its presentation.
The speaker continued to prevaricate when asked why the comments had disappeared, talking around the decision instead of giving a direct explanation. Calling the deletion a formatting correction remained a subterfuge because it concealed the purpose of removing objections. The surreptitious change had been made quietly to avoid notice, which was why several members still believed they were reading the original report. The chair compared the two versions in the meeting and postponed the decision until everyone could examine the same complete set of comments.
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.