16Hit1600
Craft and StructureEasyWords in context (meaning of a common word)

Craft and Structure practice question

When architect Maya Lin designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she chose a plain design: two long walls of polished black granite engraved with the names of the dead. There are no statues, no columns, and no elaborate carvings—only the names. Some critics at the time wanted something grander, but Lin believed that the memorial's simplicity would keep visitors' attention on the individuals honored there.

As used in the text, what does the word "plain" most nearly mean?

  1. A. Obvious
  2. B. UnadornedCorrect
  3. C. Ordinary
  4. D. Honest

Answer: B. Unadorned

The text immediately explains the "plain" design as having "no statues, no columns, and no elaborate carvings—only the names," and later calls it a "simplicity." "Unadorned" (without decoration) matches exactly. (A) "Obvious" is the sense of "plain" in a phrase like "plain to see"—a common definition swapped in without checking the context, which is about decoration, not clarity. (C) "Ordinary" is another familiar sense of "plain," but the text presents the memorial as distinctive and controversial, not commonplace; the contrast is decorated vs. undecorated, not unusual vs. usual. (D) "Honest" is the sense found in "plain speaking" and describes a person's manner, not the physical design of a monument.

Why the other answers are wrong

A. Obvious
"Obvious" is the sense of "plain" in "plain to see" — a familiar definition swapped in without checking context. Here the surrounding text is about decoration ("no statues, no columns, no elaborate carvings"), not about how clear something is.
C. Ordinary
"Ordinary" is another common sense of "plain," but the text presents the memorial as distinctive and controversial, not commonplace; the contrast being drawn is decorated vs. undecorated, not unusual vs. usual.
D. Honest
"Honest" is the sense in "plain speaking," which describes a person's manner. The word here modifies a physical design, and the text defines that design by what it lacks: ornamentation.

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