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Question

Difficulty: MediumIdioms and Phrasal Expressions in Context

As sea levels rise, municipal engineers in coastal cities are scrambling to protect vulnerable infrastructure. In many areas, traditional seawalls are no longer sufficient to withstand storm surges. To shore up these weakening defenses, planners are turning to ecological engineering, such as restoring salt marshes and mangrove forests. These natural buffers absorb wave energy far more dynamically than concrete barriers, offering a resilient long-term solution to coastal erosion.

Which of the following most nearly captures the meaning of the phrase "shore up" as it is used in the passage?

  1. A
    physically prop up with wooden posts
  2. reinforceAnswer
  3. C
    relocate onto the beach
  4. D
    replace completely

Answer

reinforce
The correct answer is correct because the passage describes municipal engineers trying to protect coastal infrastructure by bolstering or strengthening weakening seawall defenses through ecological engineering. In this context, 'shore up' means to reinforce.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context surrounding the target phrase 'shore up' in the passage.
The passage notes that 'traditional seawalls are no longer sufficient to withstand storm surges' and that planners are turning to ecological engineering to address these 'weakening defenses.'
Understanding the surrounding context helps determine the function and meaning of the targeted vocabulary within the sentence.
2
Evaluate the choices to find the one that best fits the meaning of strengthening or supporting these weakening defenses.
The word 'reinforce' matches the context of strengthening weakened defenses. The other options either interpret the words too literally or introduce an incorrect meaning shift.
Matching the contextual clues to the correct dictionary definition or synonym is the final step in context-based vocabulary questions.

Key Concept

Determining the meaning of idioms and phrasal verbs in context by identifying surrounding details and contextual clues.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Idioms and Phrasal Expressions in Context

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