Read this excerpt from robert stawell ball’s great astronomers:

though every child may now know more of the actual truths of the celestial motions than ever ptolemy knew, yet the fact that his work exercised such an astonishing effect on the human intellect for some sixty generations, shows that it must have been an extraordinary production. we must look into the career of this wonderful man to discover wherein lay the secret of that marvellous success which made him the unchallenged instructor of the human race for such a protracted period.

based on the context of the excerpt, what does the word protracted most clearly mean?

seeming to be truthful

weighing an excessive amount

extending in a specific direction

continuing for a long time

being exceptional or talented

The answer is letter D) continuing for a long time.

Explanation:

When we do not know the meaning of a certain word, we can try to guess it by analyzing the context in which it is inserted. In this particular case, the word "protracted" accompanies "period". The speaker had already revealed previously that Ptolemy's work influenced sixty generations, which means his work was important and influential for a very long period of time. Thus, when the speaker continues and restates that Ptolemy was a success and the "unchallenged instructor of the human race for such a protracted period," we already know that he means Ptolemy was a success for a very long time. Thus, the best assumption would be letter D) continuing for a long time.

As a matter of fact, protracted is an adjective that refers to something that lasts for a long time or, at least, longer than expected.

every four years the american people choose a new president, and 1988 is one of those years."

as we know, the english language is spoken all over the world by native and non-native speakers and has become the most certain tool when it comes to communicating. businesses, schools, even romantic relationships depend on it to keep thriving. in addition, it is the language of the internet not only because most of the content available is in english, but also because people prefer to use it when talking to others, since it's the language everyone supposedly learns.

yet, there have been some current claims that chinese will soon take over as the most important language in the world. china's magnitude has never been more evident and doing business with the chinese is a gold mine for any country. we now see language schools offering chinese courses as commonly as english.

however - even though we cannot deny china's importance and the advantage it is when someone takes the time to learn the language their business contact speaks-, people in general seem to be ignoring the aspects that seem to keep english as the chosen one of languages. one of them has been mentioned above: it is the language of the internet. also, chinese people are still learning english, since it opens doors in communicating with practically everyone else, from every single country.

note: if this is not the sort of transition you need, let me know. : d