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ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage 1337 Views


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ACT Reading 1.5 Social Science Passage. Based on its context in the passage, which of the following would be the best definition for the word "incongruence" in line 17?

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English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by psychopathological processes. Even psychologists

00:09

have a hard time saying that.

00:33

Based on its context in the passage, which of the following would be the best definition

00:36

for the word "incongruence" in line 17?

00:46

"Congruous" by itself describes something that's totally in harmony.

00:51

But put the prefix "in," which can mean "not," in front of it, and all of a sudden

00:56

the word means "not harmonious."

01:00

With that in mind we can troll through the choices and find the one that fits.

01:03

(A) is the most obviously incorrect. Something that's incongruous would not be "sensible

01:09

or complementary."

01:10

In fact, it would probably be insensible and uncomplimentary. Notice how we busted out

01:14

our prefixes there?

01:17

"Primitive" sounds like the word "primate,"

01:19

which reminds us of monkeys or apes.

01:21

This in turn reminds us that the word can describe something that's not evolved.

01:25

Of course, this doesn't match our definition for "incongruous," so we'll have to

01:28

eliminate (C). Just because something is "incongruous"

01:31

doesn't mean it's not worth our attention.

01:34

Furthermore, if it's ridiculous, we generally like to pay even more attention it.

01:38

Choice (D) is incorrect.

01:40

(B) is best answer. Something that's "incongruous" would definitely be unexpected and out of place.

01:45

But, hey, what fun is life without a few surprises?

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