Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning of the italicized vocabulary word.

Jody estranged herself from her family when she...

Below is a pair of reading passages followed by several multiple-choice question. Carefully read the passages and choose the best answer for the question.

The following passages describe circumstances surrounding the lives of two different young rulers. Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Britain and Empress of India, ruled from $1837$ until $1901$. Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, constructed the largest western empire of the ancient world during his reign, which was from $336$ to $323$ B.C.

First passage

In $1792$, the French overthrew King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, which sparked three decades of bloodshed under the new French Republic and more of conquest because of the imperial designs of Napoleon. After Napoleon was finally silenced at the battle of Waterloo in $1815$, the Congress of Vienna restored the monarchy in France. Meanwhile, King George III, $5$ the "mad king" of England, neared the end of a sixty-year reign, the latter part of which was marked by bouts of insanity. When Queen Victoria was born in $1819$, the continent of Europe was breathing a sigh of relief.

Victoria grew up during the reigns of her uncles, King George IV and King William IV; however, her protective mother, who scorned the sybaritic lives of William and George, ensured $10$ that Victoria had little exposure to the courts of the two monarchs. Victoria was a kept child, never out of her mother's company, and interacted only with the host of private tutors who provided her with a thorough classical education. Having endured a childhood of isolation and strict control, the eighteen-year-old Victoria found herself Queen when William died in $1837$. Knowing that her mother had merely wanted to become regent before Victoria came of age, she quickly shrugged off $15$ her mother's domineering influence; however, Victoria had but a fraction of the power of previous English monarchs: by the time of Victoria's reign, the role of a monarch in the creation of policy was little more than that of an advisor who was capable of swaying public opinion if necessary. Reform acts, starting in $1832$, granted suffrage to legions of formerly unrepresented working-class voters, further diminishing the power of the aristocracy.

The Reform Acts, combined with Victoria's image of honesty and modesty, helped to protect England from the types of upheavals that plagued the rest of Europe at the time. The French revolted in $1830$ and then again in $1848$, the same year in which revolution wracked Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Communist Manifesto appeared, also in $1848$, and the philosophy therein served as the inspiration for revolts around the world for the next century.

England enjoyed a period of relative stability, while revolutionary passions ran their course through the rest of the world. In $1840$, Queen Victoria married her cousin Prince Albert, and Albert introduced a conservative tone into English politics and society. Albert insisted upon a strict code of conduct in court, and he urged Victoria to voice her opinions among members of the executive cabinet. Under Albert's guidance, Victoria, protecting her dwindling rights as monarch, demonstrated increasingly conservative politics during an era that saw the birth of tradition-challenging ideas such as nationalism, liberalism, democracy, and socialism. She also retained the propriety and restraint inculcated in her youth, demonstrating the values which, emulated by English society, are cataloged today as distinctly Victorian. In the meantime, the British Empire exploded in size, adding ten million square miles of territory and hundreds of millions of subjects. The Empire engaged in no fewer than fifteen wars of varying scale during Victoria's reign.

By the time Queen Victoria died in $1901$, the British Empire had added India to its territorial holdings and survived the turmoil and bloodshed concomitant with the revolutions and the creation of two new nations, Germany and Italy, on the European Continent. The anxieties of a teenage queen could easily have sent the British public into a panic, but Victoria's inborn strength and aplomb brought stability and security to her nation, and her subjects revered her.

Second passage

The father of Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon, had conquered all of Greece before his assassination in $336$ B.C. When Philip died, he left twenty-year-old Alexander with the small task of conquering the Persian Empire. Like a flare that burns with an intense, white-hot flame, Alexander the Great lived fiercely but died young, at the age of thirty-two; however, in his twelve $5$ years as king, Alexander built an empire that stretched from Egypt to China.

One may wonder what type of childhood and adolescent influences must have been at work to create such a powerful ruler. At first glance, Alexander was anything but a charismatic leader-he is described as having been of average appearance and of nervous temperament. His one outstanding feature is said to have been his piercing gaze.

Much legend has arisen around Alexander's childhood. He is said to have received a group of envoys from Persia on a day when his father was reviewing his troops, and to have made a more favorable impression on them than his father would have-at the age of six!

Alexander's first teacher, Leonidas, ingrained his own ascetic personality in young Alexander. He imparted a strong work ethic to the boy, which gave Alexander the intrinsic self-discipline he $15$ needed to be a good soldier and a young king. When Alexander traveled with his armies, he lived as his soldiers lived, sleeping on the ground and sharing unsavory rations, foregoing extravagant tents, regal vestments, and luxurious meals that had no purpose on the battlefield.

Alexander's second teacher, Lysimacuis, taught Alexander to appreciate the arts of music, poetry, and drama, but his most famous teacher, the Athenian philosopher Aristotle, passed along 20 his knowledge of science, medicine, philosophy, ethics, and politics, all of which contributed to the background that would soon make the thirteen-year-old Alexander a great leader and champion of his people.

One story that demonstrates young Alexander's precocious nature is that of Alexander and his horse, Bucephalus. Philoneicus of Thessaly presented a horse to sell to Philip, but none of Philip's farmhands could handle the wild Bucephalus. Alexander noticed that the animal was afraid of its own shadow, so he wagered $13$ talents-the price of the horse-that he could tame it. Philip accepted the wager, and Alexander quickly collected his prize after leading the horse toward the sun, so that the animal could not see its shadow, then mounting and riding the horse. Not all of the tales associated with Alexander's youth are 'as charming as that of Bucephalus. Philip took several concubines during his reign, one of whom was Cleopatra, the daughter of a Macedonian aristocrat. During the wedding feast, Cleopatra's uncle, Attalus, suggested that Philip and Cleopatra produce a pure Macedonian heir (Alexander's mother, Olympias, was an Albanian who practiced Dionysian rituals that were not commonly condoned in Macedonia; Alexander was not considered to be a pure Macedonian). Alexander took great offense to the suggestion and a brawl ensued, which estranged Alexander from his father until Philip was assassinated in $336$.

Alexander is often described as the ruler who accomplished more in thirteen years than anyone else had accomplished in an entire lifetime. Alexander, like many princes, had a superior education in arts, sciences, and military strategy, but perhaps it was the unconventional education-that which a dysfunctional family presents-that somehow fueled Alexander's ambition. Whatever the deciding factors, Alexander undoubtedly remains among the most powerful military leaders in the history of the world.

Choose the formative element that is central to both Victoria's and Alexander's childhood.

A. foreign wars

B. interaction with peers

C. survival skills

D. superior education

E. language skills

Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning of the italicized vocabulary word.

The relatives all believed they were entitled to a huge inheritance, and internecine fighting almost occurred when...

From the list below, supply the words needed to complete the paragraph. Some words will not be used.

** sybaritic**

maxim

crepuscular

internecine

apocryphal

estrange

servile

When Johnny turned fifteen, he inexplicably began a[n] ______________ war with his parents. The Smiths asked Johnny how he was able to afford his new laptop computer, and Johnny gave them a[n] ______________ story about how it had fallen from the back of a truck. Enraged, they confiscated the computer and ordered Johnny to sit and listen.

"When your luck runs out and you end up in prison, it will ______________ you from your family and friends, and it will limit your options for the future! Your grades are already suffering, and if you make a criminal record for yourself, you'll end up having a low-paying job in which you must be ______________ or be fired, while your successful friends enjoy ______________ lifestyles by comparison. Is that what you want?”

Complete the sentence by inferring information about the italicized word from its context.

Your friends will become estranged from you if...

Complete the sentence in a way that shows you understand the meaning of the italicized vocabulary word.

The antique watch had little material value, but it had enormous intrinsic worth because...