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Question

Difficulty: HardSecondary Meanings of Common Words

During the high-profile trial, the defense attorney faced the daunting task of addressing the emotional impact of the prosecution's graphic exhibits. He attempted to temper the jury's immediate reaction to the gruesome evidence by systematically highlighting his client's severely troubled childhood. By providing this critical psychological context, the attorney hoped to moderate their ultimate judgment and secure a more lenient sentence. Although the prosecution argued that these external circumstances did not excuse the crime, the defense maintained that understanding the defendant's past was essential for a balanced and just verdict.

As it is used in the passage, the word "temper" most nearly means which of the following?

  1. A
    anger
  2. B
    harden
  3. moderateAnswer
  4. D
    trigger

Answer

The correct answer is the option stating 'moderate.'
The correct answer is the option stating 'moderate.' In the context of the passage, the defense attorney is trying to lessen the emotional impact of the gruesome evidence to secure a lenient sentence. Therefore, 'temper' is used in its secondary sense to mean moderate, soften, or mitigate.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the target word 'temper' in the passage and analyze the surrounding context.
The word appears in the sentence: 'He attempted to temper the jury's immediate reaction to the gruesome evidence by systematically highlighting his client's severely troubled childhood.'
Understanding the sentence structure and surrounding clues is necessary to determine how the word functions.
2
Identify context clues that signal the intended meaning of 'temper' in this specific sentence.
The defense attorney's ultimate goal is to 'moderate their ultimate judgment' and 'secure a more lenient sentence.' The attorney highlights the client's 'troubled childhood' as a way to soften or mitigate the impact of the 'gruesome evidence.'
Context clues provide the semantic boundaries for the target word, pointing toward a meaning of softening, reducing, or mitigating.
3
Evaluate the answer choices against the identified meaning of softening or mitigating a reaction.
'Moderate' aligns perfectly with the goal of lessening the impact. 'Anger' is a noun form unrelated to the verb usage here. 'Harden' is another verb definition of temper (as in metallurgy) but contradicts the goal of leniency. 'Trigger' means to cause or start a reaction, which is the opposite of what the defense attorney wants to do.
Comparing options systematically eliminates distractors and confirms the correct synonym.

Key Concept

Determining the secondary meaning of a common word in a passage by analyzing surrounding context clues, tone, and authorial intent, while avoiding primary meaning bias.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Secondary Meanings of Common Words

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