Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle School Words
Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!
1. Vertebrate
► Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative
► Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise.
► An unstable, poisonous allotrope of oxygen.
► Having a backbone or spinal column.
2. Embargo
► One that takes in everything available, as with the mind.
► A prohibition by a government on certain or all trade with a foreign nation
► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.
► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.
3. Hypocrisy
► One who rejects a religion, cause, allegiance, or group for another; a deserter.
► One who habitually takes advantage of the generosity of others without making any useful return.
4. Jovial
► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline
► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.
► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
5. Wretched
► Having a buoyant or self-confident air; brisk.
► A poisonous substance, especially a protein, that is produced by living cells or organisms.
► The act of resting or the state of being at rest.
► In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable.
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.