Question

read the excerpt from the hot zone. she took up a scalpel and slit the monkeys abdomen, making a slow and gentle cut, keeping the blade well away from her gloved fingers. the spleen was puffed up and tough, leathery, like a globe of smoked salami. she did not see any bloody lesions inside this monkey. she had expected that the monkeys interior would be a lake of blood, but no, this monkey looked all right, it had not bled into itself. which strategy would be most helpful in determining the meaning of the word “scalpel”? replacing \scalpel\ with the nearby synonym \blade\ substituting the word \object\ for the word \scalpel\ using context clues \away from her gloved fingers\ becoming familiar with prefixes, roots, and suffixes

Explanation:

The text mentions "making a slow and gentle cut, keeping the blade well away from her gloved fingers" right after introducing "scalpel". The nearby use of "blade" as a related term helps in understanding the meaning of "scalpel". Substituting with "object" is too general. The context clue "away from her gloved fingers" is not as direct in defining the word as the synonym. Knowledge of prefixes, roots, and suffixes is not as immediately helpful as the synonym in this case.

Answer:

replacing "scalpel" with the nearby synonym "blade"