Have you heard it said that people are known

by the company they keep? It is the same with words.

"It is getting dark. Please turn on the ~ "

You can tell the word that belongs in the blank by

the idea carried in the words before and after the blank.

This often happens in your daily reading. You can

frequently read with no hesitation a difficult word that

would puzzle you if it stood alone, just because the

words before and after it suggest what it is.

Sometimes the first letter or a letter in the middle of

the word clears the way.

Try this sentence: "Mr. Ross has a large orchard, and

now he is shipping p-----ch~ to the city." Of course,

peaches is not a difficult word, but you can see how

letters are helpful clues.

You can usually get help from words in this way if

you concentrate on meaning. You will often know a

difficult word in a sentence because it is the word that

fits in with the meaning of all the other words put to-

gether.