Question

Read this sentence and answer the questions below:

I ran at a fast pace when the trail was flat, but when it started climbing uphill and getting rocky, I had to compensate by going much slower.


Which phrase gives the most helpful clue to the meaning of compensate?

Answer 1

“By going much slower” because it shows you had to change what you were doing in order to complete the activity (which is basically what compensate means)

Answer 2

Answer: by going much slower.

Explanation: Context clues are hints that an author gives to help the readers understand a difficult or unusual word within a sentence or paragraph. In the given sentence, the context clue that is most helpful to understand the meaning of "compensate" is "by going much slower" because compensate means reduce or counteract by exerting an opposite force or effect (he was running fast, and then he had to go much slower).