- [Instructor] Let's take a look at question four.
As used in line 33, plastic most nearly means blank.
So this is a words in context question.
We wanna find the closest meaning
to the word that's used in the passage.
So the word here is plastic.
Let's find where that is in the passage
and then cross it out.
All right, so line 33.
I'm going to show you two ways to do this question.
The first way is that we're gonna read the sentence
and make a prediction in our own words
about what we think the answer is.
So we know that the human brain is highly plastic,
neurons and synapses change as circumstances change.
And I'm gonna cross out plastic and try again.
What fills in the blank?
We know that the human brain is highly blank,
neurons and synapses change as circumstances change.
I'm just gonna say changeable.
You don't have to write in your test.
I'm just writing it here
so that it's easier for you to see my thought process.
And the reason I said changeable
is because the word change is staring us in the face
in the rest of the sentence.
Neurons and synapses change, circumstances change.
And we know that the human brain is highly changeable.
Neurons and synopsis change as circumstances change.
And now let's take that prediction back to our choices,
which word means something similar to changeable?
Okay, as used in line 33,
plastic most nearly means, A, creative,
that doesn't mean changeable.
B, artificial.
That doesn't mean changeable.
C, malleable.
That were does indeed mean changeable.
In particular malleable means
that something can be molded or shaped.
For example, clay is malleable.
So this is almost certainly our answer.
I'm gonna make a little star.
Sculptural.
No, that doesn't mean changeable.
So choice C matches our prediction.
And even if we didn't know the word malleable,
we were able to eliminate the other choices
because they didn't match.
Okay, so that was plan A.
We crossed out the word in the passage
and we made a prediction before we looked at the choices.
And then we found a match based on that prediction.
But let's say you're having trouble
with making a prediction.
So let's head to plan B.
Instead, let's take the choices
and plug them into the sentence.
So let me erase my work.
So I'm gonna do the same thing.
I'm gonna cross out plastic
and then we're gonna start substituting in the choices.
So we know that the human brain is highly,
okay, creative, artificial, malleable, sculptural.
We know that the human brain is highly creative.
Neurons and synapses change as circumstances change.
That's plausible sounding,
although it doesn't necessarily make logical sense.
What do brain parts changing have to do
with the brain's creativity?
Choice B, we know that the human brain is highly artificial.
Well, that just sounds wrong to me.
It's a brain, it's made of natural stuff.
That can't be an option.
Choice C, we know the human brain is highly malleable.
I know what that word means
but maybe in this scenario you don't, and that's fine.
It could be right.
Let's leave it in and move on to the next choice.
And finally choice D.
We know the human brain is highly sculptural.
The brain is like a sculpture on display?
This word looks like the word sculptable
meaning able to be sculpted and that might actually work,
but it isn't sculptable, it's sculptural,
meaning like a statue, so it can be crossed out.
So that leaves us with these two, creative and malleable.
And I wanna point out that this method
isn't quite as effective as plan A.
Without a firm prediction from context,
we weren't able to cross out as many choices.
So at this point, I'm gonna have to lean
on the context itself,
specifically on this semi-colon.
Semi-colons are super helpful
because they connect closely related independent clauses.
In other words, they often indicate
that an author is about to say the same thing again
in a slightly different way.
Neurons and synapses change as circumstances change.
Now, this is telling us we need a word
that is really close to changey.
Creative doesn't mean changey, so we can cross it off.
And we're left with malleable,
which means precisely that, moldable, just like plastic.
So those are your two pathways to success
for these questions.
If you can make a prediction and match it to the choices,
that's your best bet.
If you can't make a prediction,
then try plugging in the choices
and pick the one that makes the most sense.
Good luck out there.
You've got this.