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Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Synonymous Context Clues

Before clearing a pathway for underground communication lines, field engineers must assess the soil composition. In arid test zones, excavation teams often encounter friable soil—material that is easily crumbled and fragile—which poses a significant cave-in hazard. When working with such unstable ground, crews must immediately brace the trench walls with modular shoring boxes to maintain stability and prevent structural collapse.

As used in the passage, what is the meaning of the word friable?

  1. A
    Reinforced with modular shoring
  2. Easily crumbled or brokenAnswer
  3. C
    Compact and densely packed
  4. D
    Inherently resistant to moisture

Answer

Easily crumbled or broken
The passage provides an explicit synonymous context clue offset by dashes directly after the target word: 'material that is easily crumbled and fragile'. The option stating 'Easily crumbled or broken' accurately restates this definition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the target word 'friable' within the passage.
Identified in the second sentence: '...excavation teams often encounter friable soil—material that is easily crumbled and fragile—which poses...'
Finding the immediate sentence context is necessary to identify surrounding grammatical markers and clues.
2
Identify the structural context clue defining the word.
The dashes offset the appositive phrase 'material that is easily crumbled and fragile', directly explaining 'friable'.
Appositives set off by dashes serve as explicit restatements or definitions of technical vocabulary.
3
Match the definition to the corresponding answer choice.
The phrase 'easily crumbled and fragile' directly corresponds to the option 'Easily crumbled or broken'.
The correct answer in synonymous context clue questions must directly reflect the definition given in the text.

Key Concept

Identifying synonymous context clues via appositive restatement
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Identifying Synonymous Context Clues

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