Word Power

Sharpen your pencil and put on your thinking cap—it’s time to head back to school. We’ve selected a roster of words that will challenge learners of all ages. Will you make the grade or draw a blank? Turn the page for answers.

1. parochial (puh-'roh-kee-uhl) adj.—a: rigorous. B: elementary. C: run by a church.

2. conscientious (kon-shee-'enshuhs) adj.—a: extremely careful. B: alert. C: well educated.

3. pore (pohr) v.—a: quote at length. B: study intently. C: write by hand.

4. carrel ('kehr-uhl) n.—a: library nook. B: songbook. C: punctuation mark.

5. curriculum (kuh-'rih-kyuh-luhm) n.—a: lecture hall. B: highest grade. C: set of courses.

6. pedantic (pih-'dan-tik) adj.— A: misbehaving. B: making a show of knowledge. C: highly poetic.

7. glean (gleen) v.—a: divide equally. B: erase. C: gather.

8. rudiments ('roo-duh-ments) n.—a: wrong answers. B: small classes. C: beginner’s skills. 9. syntax ('sin-tax) n.—a: dictionary. B: sentence structure. C: math equation.

10. semantic (sih-'man-tik) adj.— A: related to meaning in language. B: collegiate. C: in essay form.

11. pedagogy ('peh-duh-goh-jee) n.—a: art of teaching. B: debate tactic. C: study of children.

12. syllabus ('sih-luh-buhs) n.—a: word part. B: class outline. C: textbook.

13. woolgathering ('wool-ga-thuhring) n.—a: taking notes. B: memorizing. C: daydreaming.

14. cognizant ('cog-nuh-zent) adj.—a: engrossed. B: aware. C: automated.

15. empirical (im-'peer-ih-kuhl) adj.—a: theoretical. B: quick to learn. C: based on observation.

To play an interactive version of Word Power on your ipad, download the Reader’s Digest app.