Practice Together
Read this passage aloud. Look at each underlined word. Find the prefix and the base word. Put their meanings together to figure out the meaning of the underlined word.
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| in- | not | indoor |
| mis- | wrongly | mistrust |
| over- | too much | overeat |
| re- | again | redo |
| un- | not | unwise |
When explorers first came to the deserts of the Southwest, they found a true monster: the Gila monster. This lizard seemed unreal to them. The creature was truly unbelievable.
Gila monsters come out at night to feed on small animals, birds, and eggs. A Gila monster moves slowly, but if its prey takes one misstep, it will get caught. A Gila monster can quickly overpower its prey with a poisonous bite. However, human deaths from Gila monsters are extremely uncommon.
Try It!
Read this passage on your own. What is the meaning of each underlined word? How do you know?
Scientists caught this young squid in the Pacific Ocean.
You may think that all monsters are fictional. That is untrue. At least one monster, the giant squid, is based in reality.
After trying and retrying to find a live giant squid, researchers in Japan finally succeeded. They caught a 24-foot squid. Although it was attached to a fish hook, the giant squid was not inactive. In fact, it was quite strong. It fought hard to untangle itself from the hook.