Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

3 6

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Practice
Read the following passages and determine the mean-
ing of the words from their context. The answers appear
immediately after the questions.
Although social work is not a particularly 
lucrative
career, I wouldn’t do anything else. Knowing I’m
helping others is far more important to me than
money.
6.
Lucrative
means.
a.
highly profitable.
b.
highly rewarding.
c.
highly exciting.
When you are in an interview, try not to show any
overt
signs that you are nervous. Don’t shift in your
chair, shake, or stutter.
7.
Overt
means.
a.
embarrassing, awkward.
b.
subtle, suggestive.
c.
obvious, not hidden.
By the time our staff meeting ended at 8:00, I was
ravenous
. I had skipped lunch and hadn’t eaten since
breakfast.
8.
Ravenous
means
a.
like a raven, bird-like.
b.
extremely hungry, greedy for food.
c.
exhausted, ready for bed.
Answers
6.
a.
The writer says money is not important to
him. If money is not an issue, it is okay that
social work is not 
highly profitable,
that it
doesn’t earn a lot of money.
7.
c.
Shifting, shaking, and stuttering are all
obvious, not hidden
signs of nervousness.
They are not 
b,
subtle or suggestive; and
though they may make the interviewee feel 
a,
embarrassed or awkward, the signs them-
selves are not embarrassing or awkward.
8.
b.
Because the writer hadn’t eaten since break-
fast, she is 
extremely hungry, greedy for food.
She may also be