Question

Difficulty: EasyIdioms and Phrasal Expressions in Context

During the spring semester, when the renowned novelist visited our creative writing workshop, she offered constructive criticism on my draft. Instead of becoming defensive, I decided to take her advice to heart. Over the next month, I painstakingly revised the opening chapters, focusing on developing more realistic dialogue. This dedication paid off when the revised manuscript was accepted by a prominent literary journal.

As it is used in the passage, what does the phrase 'take her advice to heart' most nearly mean?

  1. A
    physically locate something within one's cardiac muscle
  2. consider seriously and act uponAnswer
  3. C
    feel deeply offended or saddened by
  4. D
    memorize the suggestions word-for-word

Answer

The phrase 'take her advice to heart' most nearly means to consider the advice seriously and act upon it.
The correct answer states that the narrator decided to 'consider seriously and act upon' the novelist's advice. In the passage, the novelist provides constructive criticism, and the narrator chooses to revise the opening chapters instead of becoming defensive. This subsequent action demonstrates that the advice was taken seriously and put into practice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context surrounding the target phrase.
The narrator receives constructive criticism from a novelist. Instead of getting defensive, the narrator reacts by revising the opening chapters over the next month.
Looking at context clues reveals the narrator's attitude and subsequent action in response to the novelist's advice.
2
Determine the figurative meaning of the phrase based on the context.
Since the narrator did not get defensive and worked hard to apply the changes, the phrase must mean that they took the advice seriously and put it into action.
Idiomatic expressions must be interpreted figuratively in a way that matches the actions described in the passage.

Key Concept

Determining the meaning of idiomatic and phrasal expressions in context by using surrounding textual clues.
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