Question: Which context clue is most helpful in determining the meaning of the underlined term?
''He worked feverishly for a little less than an hour, at the end of which he found he had solved every problem in every branch of higher mathematics that had ever puzzled either him or any of the great mathematicians of the land.''
Options:
- Assume that feverishly is a synonym of problem.
- Assume that feverishly is an antonym of problem.
- Consider how you would feel while doing math homework.
- Consider how somebody would have to work to solve a huge number of math problems in an hour.
Answer: The correct answer is: Consider how somebody would have to work to solve a huge number of math problems in an hour.
Explanation: Feverishly is defined as doing something in a frenetically energetic, intense or excited manner. Context clues are hints given by the author in order to help define an unusual or difficult word. The context clue ''Consider how somebody would have to work to solve a huge number of math problems in an hour.'' helps us understand the intensity that someone would have to work in order to solve huge number of math problems and this gives us a hint of the definition of the word ''feverishly''.
