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ACT Reading 1.9 Humanities Passage. Based on its context in the passage, which of the following is the best definition for the word "maledictions"?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Claudius. Who proudly drinks his coffee

00:07

from a mug reading, "World's Worst Uncle."

00:40

Based on its context in the passage, which of the following is the best definition for

00:44

the word "maledictions" in line 43?

00:51

Before we even start analyzing the context of line 43 as the question suggests, we see

00:55

some clues in the word "malediction," itself.

00:59

First of all, the prefix "mal" basically means "bad" and almost always comes before

01:03

a word with a negative connotation.

01:05

For example, malicious means mean, and malformed means badly formed or misshapen.

01:12

In the other half of the word "malediction," we see "edict," which refers to a statement

01:17

or a pronouncement of some kind.

01:19

So put the two halves together, and we know we're looking for some kind of "bad statement."

01:25

Now that we've sorted all that out, we can take a glance at line 43 to see what we can glean from the context.

01:30

Words like "contempt" and "hatred" confirm that we were on the right track earlier

01:34

and give us a sense of just how strong a word "malediction" must be.

01:38

Now that we've got all this background, we can take (C) and (D) out of the running.

01:42

The root word "mourn" might fit in the negative world of "mal words," but it

01:47

expresses sadness and regret—not contempt and hatred.

01:50

Let's take a look at (B) and (A), which both seem to be in the right ballpark.

01:55

Though "complaint" might almost make sense, "curse" strikes us as the better answer.

02:00

Curses fit more with the idea of contempt and hatred, since they usually are spoken

02:05

when somebody wants to totally destroy somebody else. Choice (A) is the correct answer.

02:10

We like to save our maledictions for those who really deserve them...

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