Words That Carry an Attitude

3 questions. Choose the meaning or usage that best fits each situation. Try answering before reopening the passage.

1What makes the interruption pedantic?A. It provides relevant evidence for the exercise.B. It acknowledges that the speaker does not know the answer.C. It gives excessive attention to a minor technical detail in an unhelpful way.D. It asks a necessary question about the main argument.

2Which description is didactic in the neutral sense used here?A. An unrelated interruption prevents anyone from hearing the example.B. A decorative pattern contains no intended lesson or instruction.C. An exercise is intentionally designed to teach a particular reasoning skill.D. A speaker refuses to explain the goal of any activity.

3Complete the sentence: Rather than _____ as though his opinions settled the matter, he invited others to test his reasoning.A. inquireB. listenC. collaborateD. pontificate

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