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Reading Comprehension · Meaning in Context

PrepTest 129 · Section 4 · Question 21

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type
Meaning in Context
The one idea it tests
The phrase means what it does in that sentence, not its dictionary-first meaning.
The basic logic
Reread the sentence and the one around it. Ask what job the phrase does there (here: why something can be handed to a machine). Put your own word in its place, then match.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “as used”
  • “since”
  • “always”

Playground logic

Owen could program the game because the splitting rule was 'spelled out completely.' In context, that means stated so clearly there is nothing to guess about.

Step 2 · The kid passage

This question belongs to Passage 4 (Questions 20–27). Read its kid passage and structure guide first: Split Tag →

Step 3 · Try the model question

In the second paragraph, the phrase 'spelled out completely' most nearly means

Choices

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 129, Section 4, Question 21 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Open Question 21 in your official copy and answer it first.

Find the sentence in your copy and cover the phrase with your thumb. Read the sentence and the next one, and say in your own word what must fill the gap for the logic to work. Then pick the choice closest to your word. Ignore choices that fit the word in some other setting but not this one.