ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by insecure cats. You know one by how many

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times they ask if they look fat in their new collar.

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How would you correct the following underlined portion from the passage? Does it need correcting?

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To figure out whether "secured" is the best word, we have to consider the context

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in which it appears. The writer is trying to say that the best thing to do if we want

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to give a successful kitty-bath is to make the cat feel safe. In the next sentence, the

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writer talks about how he or she used nice stuff like coconut shampoo to make the bath

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as relaxing as possible. (Who knew cats like coconut shampoo? Yay, for learning.)

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Anyway, it's looking like we can nix choice (A). The word "secured" doesn't fit

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because it doesn't have the correct meaning. When something is "secured" that means

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it's been fixed or attached so that it can't move or be lost. The writer isn't gluing

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the cat to the rubber mat; therefore, this doesn't work.

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What the ACT is trying to do here is trick us into thinking we're looking at the word

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"secure," which can be used to describe someone who feels safe and happy. We're

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not falling for it, though. The "ed" ending changes the meaning, so we"re giving (A) the boot.

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Choices (B) and (C) take us down the same road as (A). Both "stationary" and "immobile"

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could work as synonyms for "secured." If the writer wanted these things for the

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cat, however, he or she would put it in a straightjacket or something. We imagine that

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would do the opposite of making the cat feel safe and secure--especially as its being submerged in water.

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Of course, we bet Houdini's cat did this kinda stuff all the time.

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Choice (D) is the correct answer. The word "comfortable" gets across the safe and

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secure feeling that the writer is trying to engender in the cat.

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Next time, maybe the writer and cat should give transcendental meditation a shot.

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