Question Bank / Reading and Writing / Words in Context
Words in Context SAT question
Reading and Writing · Craft and Structure · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.
The following text is from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby.
[Jay Gatsby] was balancing himself on the dashboard of his car with that resourcefulness of movement that is so peculiarly American—that comes, I suppose, with the absence of lifting work in youth and, even more, with the formless grace of our nervous, sporadic games. This quality was continually breaking through his punctilious manner in the shape of restlessness.
As used in the text, what does the word “quality” most nearly mean?
ExplanationShow
Choice C is the best answer. “This quality” refers to Gatsby’s “resourcefulness of movement,” which is described as a characteristic or trait of his.
Choice A is incorrect. This isn’t what “quality” means in this context. Here, “this quality” refers to Gatsby’s “resourcefulness of movement,” which is described as a characteristic or trait of his. “Standard” is a synonym for a different definition of “quality”: the degree of excellence of something. Choice B is incorrect. This isn’t what “quality” means in this context. Here, “this quality” refers to Gatsby’s “resourcefulness of movement,” which is described as a characteristic or trait of his. “Prestige” would suggest a high status or an admirable reputation, which doesn’t match that description. Choice D is incorrect. This isn’t what “quality” means in this context. Here, “this quality” refers to Gatsby’s “resourcefulness of movement,” which is described as a characteristic or trait of his. “Accomplishment” would suggest an achievement, which doesn’t match that description.
Drill this skill on Aceit
Adaptive practice, a daily plan, and score tracking take a free account so we can save your work.
More Words in Context questions
- Artist Marilyn Dingle's intricate, coiled baskets are ______ sweetgrass and palmetto palm. Following a Gullah technique that originated in West Africa, Dingle skillfully winds a th
- The following text is adapted from Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1837 story "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment." The main character, a physician, is experimenting with rehydrating a dried flower.
- Rejecting the premise that the literary magazine Ebony and Topaz (1927) should present a unified vision of Black American identity, editor Charles S. Johnson fostered his contribut
- Some economic historians ______ that late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century households in the United States experienced an economy of scale when it came to food purchases—the
- The following text is from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The narrator is being driven in a carriage through a remote region at night. The baying of the wolves sounded nearer a
- Economist Marco Castillo and colleagues showed that nuisance costs—the time and effort people must spend to make donations—reduce charitable giving. Charities can mitigate this eff