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Reading Comprehension · Meaning in Context

PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 2

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
A phrase means what the surrounding sentences make it mean, not what it might mean in general.
The basic logic
Go back to the line. Read the sentence before and after. Ask what the phrase points back to and what job it does in the plan. Your answer must fit that exact spot.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “once”
  • “these”
  • “then”

Playground logic

In the closet passage, 'tune-up cleanout' only makes sense after the pile shrinks: it is the regular planned clear-out that keeps things small.

Step 2 · The kid passage

This question belongs to Passage 1 (Questions 1–6). Read its kid passage and structure guide first: The Great Closet Crash →

Step 3 · Try the model question

In the closing section, the phrase 'tune-up cleanout' points to

Choices

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 147, Section 3, Question 2 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Open Question 2 in your official copy and answer it first.

Find the phrase in the passage and read a sentence on each side. Note the little signal words that link the phrase to earlier ideas, such as 'once' or 'these'. Say in your own words what it points back to. Then pick the choice that fits that exact spot, rejecting ones that match a different part of the passage or the phrase's everyday meaning.