Question

Directions for questions 107 to 111: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

The Celts may be taken as a starting point for a study of the long series of people whose arrival and settlement in Britain have contributed to its history. They provide a link between the prehistoric period, at the end of which they had emerged ...

(Passage of 230 words, from "The Celts" by Nora Chadwick, Penguin edition.)

What does the word "relegate" mean?

• A. To make importance
• B. To make less important
• C. Delegate
• D. Give poor treatment

Hint:

Recall "relegate" from its common use in sports, when a team is moved down a division.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

This is a straightforward vocabulary question testing the meaning of the word "relegate" as it would be used in the passage.

1. To make importance: This phrase does not even make clear sense as a definition and reverses the actual meaning of the word, since "relegate" lowers standing rather than raising it.
2. To make less important: "Relegate" means to assign someone or something to a lower rank, position, or level of importance, often pushing it out of the main focus. This matches the everyday meaning of the word closely, for example when a sports team is "relegated" to a lower division.
3. Delegate: "Delegate" means to hand over a task or authority to someone else, a completely different word and meaning from "relegate," even though the two words look similar.
4. Give poor treatment: This describes mistreatment in general, but "relegate" is specifically about lowering someone's rank, position, or importance, not about treatment in a broader sense.

"Relegate" means to make less important or to demote to a lower position, so option (b) is the correct meaning.

Let's summarize:

• "Relegate" and "delegate" are look alike words with unrelated meanings, a common trap in vocabulary questions.
• The core sense of "relegate" is lowering rank or importance.

So the correct answer is "to make less important."