The suitors are gone. But Penelope does not run into his arms.
The Odyssey · C2+
Book Twenty-Three: The Olive-Tree Bed
Discreet, penultimate, loath, reticent, pored over, homed in on, complement, forgo, bated breath and wreaked: C2+ vocabulary for the final test, set by the cleverest person in the Odyssey.
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SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Of course not. She has a test.
The story
After Homer’s Odyssey
Penelope was loath to believe it, and reticent with her words. Twenty years of cunning had taught her to be discreet. She had pored over every sign, and now she homed in on the one thing only her husband could know.
“Move our bed out of the bedroom,” she told the servant. Odysseus was furious. “Who has moved my bed? I built it myself, around the trunk of a living olive tree!” It was the penultimate test, and the true one.
Only then did she run to him. His cunning and her patience complemented each other perfectly. The household waited with bated breath as they embraced. She would not forgo that moment for any kingdom, after all the havoc the suitors had wreaked.
Loath, reticent, discreet
PHILO
She was loath to believe it, reticent and discreet.
SOPHIA
loath to + verb = unwilling (not loathe, to hate). reticent = saying little (not simply reluctant). discreet = careful (not discrete, separate).
Pored over; homed in on; penultimate
DEMETRIA
She pored over every sign, and homed in on the one test. The penultimate test.
SOPHIA
pore over (study), not pour. home in on, not hone in. penultimate = second to last, not “very last”.
Complement; bated breath; forgo; wreaked
MARCOS
They complemented each other. With bated breath. She wouldn’t forgo it. The havoc they wreaked.
SOPHIA
complement = complete (not compliment, praise). bated, not baited. forgo = do without. wreak havoc → wreaked, not wrought in careful usage.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| loath / loathe; reticent; discreet / discrete | unwilling / hate; quiet; careful / separate | She was loath to believe it. |
| pore over; home in on | study; focus on | She pored over every sign. |
| penultimate; complement / compliment | second to last; complete / praise | They complemented each other. |
| bated breath; forgo; wreaked havoc | spelling and usage | with bated breath |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose
Choose the correct form.
1. She was ___ to believe it.
2. She ___ over every sign.
3. She ___ in on the one secret.
4. The ___ test was the second to last.
5. Their gifts ___ each other.
6. They waited with ___ breath.
B · Write
Write the missing word or words.
7. She was careful and . (not discrete)
8. She would not that moment. (do without)
9. The suitors havoc on the house. (wreak, past)
10. She was : she said very little.
C · Right or wrong?
Is it correct?
11. “He complimented her on her patience.”
12. “They waited with baited breath.”
13. “She homed in on the answer.”
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