Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 3rd Edition

L E S S O N
Defining
Vocabulary 
in Context
L E S S O N S U M M A R Y
An active reader looks up unfamiliar words. But what if you don’t have
a dictionary? In a testing situation (or, for that matter, if you’re reading
on the bus), you almost certainly won’t be able to look up words you
don’t know. Instead, you can use the context to help you determine the
meaning.
3
3 3

---

F i n d i n g M e a n i n g f r o m C o n t ex t
The following paragraph is about one of our nation’s favorite pastimes, reality TV. Read it carefully, marking it
up as you go—but do NOT look up any unfamiliar words or phrases in a dictionary.
–
D E F I N I N G V O C A B U L A R Y I N C O N T E X T
–
3 4
Most reality TV shows center on two common motivators: fame and money. The
shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, counselors, and
teachers, to name a few, from obscure figures to household names. A lucky few
successfully parlay their 15 minutes of fame into celebrity. Even if you are not
interested in fame, you can probably understand the desire for lots of money.
Watching people eat large insects, reveal their innermost thoughts to millions of
people, and allow themselves to be filmed 24 hours a day for a huge financial
reward makes for interesting viewing. Whatever their attraction, these shows are
among the most popular on television, and every season, they proliferate like
weeds in an untended garden. The networks are quickly replacing more tradi-
tional dramas and comedies with reality TV programs, which earn millions in
advertising revenue. Whether you love it or hate it, one thing is for sure—reality
TV is here to stay!
As you read, you may have circled some words
that are unfamiliar. Did you circle 
obscure
and 
prolif-
erate
? If so, don’t look them up in a dictionary yet. If
you do a little detective work, you can determine their
definitions by looking carefully at how they are used
in the paragraph.