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Zorluk: OrtaSecondary Meanings of Common Words

The defense attorney knew that the jury’s initial reaction to the horrific details of the crime would be one of immediate outrage. During her closing argument, she did not attempt to deny the tragedy of the event, but rather sought to temper their anger by introducing evidence of the defendant’s severe, lifelong cognitive impairment. She hoped that by presenting these mitigating factors, she could guide the jurors toward a more objective evaluation of the case, ensuring a balanced and just verdict rather than one driven purely by emotion.

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

  1. A
    harden
  2. moderateCevap
  3. C
    provoke
  4. D
    justify

Cevap

moderate
The correct answer is 'moderate'. In the passage, the defense attorney presents mitigating factors to help the jury reach an objective verdict rather than one driven by emotional outrage. Therefore, to 'temper' their anger means to moderate, soften, or reduce its intensity.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Locate the word 'temper' in the passage and examine its immediate sentence context.
The attorney 'sought to temper their anger by introducing evidence of the defendant’s severe, lifelong cognitive impairment.'
This establishes the action the attorney is taking and the tool (mitigating evidence) she is using to achieve her goal.
2
Analyze surrounding sentences for clues about the attorney's overall objective.
The passage notes she wanted to 'guide the jurors toward a more objective evaluation' and ensure a 'just verdict rather than one driven purely by emotion.'
This indicates that her goal is to reduce, soften, or decrease the emotional intensity of the jury's anger.
3
Substitute the options into the sentence to see which one maintains this meaning.
Replacing 'temper' with 'moderate' yields: 'sought to moderate their anger,' which perfectly captures the intent to soften or reduce the emotional charge.
This confirms the correct option while eliminating choices that contradict the context or rely on irrelevant definitions of the word.

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Secondary Meanings of Common Words
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Secondary Meanings of Common Words

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