Lesson 48: MAN / MANU

Practice 1: Multiple Choice

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

1. She submitted her __________ to several publishers.

a) manual
b) mandate
c) manuscript
d) manufacture

2. The company __________ automotive parts at their factory.

a) manipulates
b) manufactures
c) maintains
d) manifests

3. The pilot executed a difficult __________ to avoid the storm.

a) manicure
b) mandate
c) manuscript
d) maneuver

4. The Lincoln administration sought to __________ enslaved people.

a) manipulate
b) manufacture
c) emancipate
d) maintain

5. Regular oil changes help __________ your car engine.

a) manufacture
b) emancipate
c) manipulate
d) maintain

6. She works in a salon giving __________ and pedicures.

a) mandates
b) manicures
c) manuscripts
d) maneuvers

7. The __________ requires all employees to wear safety gear.

a) manicure
b) manuscript
c) mandate
d) maintenance

8. Read the instruction __________ before assembling the furniture.

a) manifest
b) manufacture
c) manual
d) maneuver

9. Politicians sometimes __________ data to support their arguments.

a) manufacture
b) manifest
c) maintain
d) manipulate

10. Her anxiety began to __________ as physical symptoms.

a) manipulate
b) manifest
c) maintain
d) manufacture

11. As a __________, she oversees twenty employees.

a) manicure
b) mandate
c) manager
d) manuscript

12. The restaurant doesn't need much __________—I can __________ it myself.

a) help / manage
b) managers / manufacture
c) manuscripts / maintain
d) maintenance / manipulate

Practice 2: Fill in the Blank

Use each word from the word bank exactly once.

Word Bank: manual, manufacture, manuscript, manage, manager, manipulate, manicure, manifest, maneuver, mandate, emancipate, maintain

1. The ancient __________ was written on parchment.

2. She scheduled a __________ at the nail salon.

3. The government issued a __________ requiring vaccinations.

4. Skilled workers __________ precision instruments in this facility.

5. The new __________ introduced weekly team meetings.

6. Learning to __________ a car takes practice.

7. Stress can __________ in many different ways.

8. The abolitionists fought to __________ all enslaved persons.

9. Some people try to __________ others for personal gain.

10. Regular exercise helps __________ a healthy weight.

11. __________ transmission requires the driver to shift gears.

12. It's hard to __________ work and family responsibilities.

Practice 3: Reading Passage

When printing was invented, it transformed how knowledge spread. Before then, every book was a manuscript—painstakingly copied by hand. Scribes would maintain careful attention for hours, managing fatigue while they worked.

The printing press changed everything. Suddenly, you could manufacture hundreds of identical copies. Labor shifted from manual writing to mechanical production. A single operator could manage what once required dozens of scribes.

But the hand never fully disappeared from language. We still speak of managing our affairs, manipulating data, maneuvering through traffic. We get manicures. We mandate action. We maintain relationships.

When the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people, it manifested a moral truth: no person should be held in another's hand. That document—handwritten before it was printed—remains a powerful manuscript in American history.

Today's managers handle complexity their predecessors couldn't imagine. But the word "manage" still carries its original meaning: to take things in hand, to control with skill. Every manual we read, every maneuver we execute, every relationship we maintain connects us to that ancient root: manus. The hand.

Questions

1. Before printing, every book was a "manuscript." This means it was:

a) Manufactured in factories
b) Written by hand
c) Managed by teams
d) Emancipated from control

2. Printing allowed people to "manufacture" copies. This means:

a) Write by hand
b) Produce goods in quantity
c) Manipulate text
d) Maintain books

3. "Manual writing" means:

a) Writing by machine
b) Writing done by hand
c) Writing a manual
d) Writing while maneuvering

4. The Emancipation Proclamation "manifested" a moral truth. This means it:

a) Hid the truth
b) Displayed the truth clearly
c) Manipulated the truth
d) Manufactured the truth

5. "To take things in hand" means:

a) To drop them
b) To manage or control them
c) To emancipate them
d) To give a manicure