2022 / 2023 ASVAB For Dummies. Angie Papple Johnston
Читать онлайн книгу.Word families: Finding related words
When you see an unfamiliar word on the Word Knowledge section, don’t get upset and pound on the computer (they make you pay for those things if you break them). You may know the word after all — just in a different form. Suppose you run across the word beneficent on the Word Knowledge portion:
(A) kind.
(B) beautiful.
(C) unhappy.
(D) troubled.
You sit there and begin to sweat. You’ve never seen the word before, and it’s all over for you, right? Well, maybe not. Take a closer look. What other word starting with the letters benefi do you know? How about the word benefit? A benefit is something that helps or aids. It’d be a good bet that the word beneficent is related to helping or aiding. So, when you look over the possible choices, you can choose the one that has something to do with helping.
But wait! None of the answers states help or aid. Now what? Just use the process of elimination. If someone is helpful (beneficent), they probably aren’t troubled or unhappy. They may be beautiful, but more likely, they’re kind. So, the best answer would be Choice (A).
Deconstructing words
Pulling apart words is a great strategy when you’re not sure what something means. Even knowing what part of a word means can help you make a smarter choice — and on the ASVAB, every question counts.
Try to pull apart the word in this question to see whether you can figure out its meaning.
(A) critic.
(B) driver.
(C) expert.
(D) adulatory.
Take apart the word detractor:
de- is the prefix
tract is the root
-or is the suffix
If you’ve learned what any part of the word means, whether it’s the prefix, root, or suffix, finding the correct answer is easier. (Check Tables 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4 if you’re not sure yet.)
The prefix de- means “away from,” tract means “pull,” and the suffix -or means “one who does a thing.” After you’ve broken down the word detractor, you can see that it means a person who pulls away from something.
Remember, too, that the suffix -or often makes a word a noun (a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea), so you can immediately rule out Choice (D). That leaves three choices: critic, driver, and expert.
If you guessed that detractor most nearly means critic, Choice (A), you’re right. It’s the only one that makes sense when you know what each part of the word means.