THE VOCABULARY DETECTIVE
The postcard detour
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approximate
precise
route
destination
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The art club’s postcard sale was about to begin, but its box of cards was stuck in the community arts center’s public lobby. The driver called from Market Street. “They say deliveries go somewhere else.”
On his map, a broad circle gave an approximate location. It covered most of the building’s block rather than one particular door. The club secretary had also written a precise address, naming a street number, an entrance, and a desk. That instruction was attached to the delivery record, not the driver’s map.
Road work had forced the driver to change his route. He had traveled along Pine Road instead of Oak Road. A student wondered whether the new path had also changed their destination—the place where the journey was supposed to end.
The club opened the delivery record and compared the two paths. What should they tell the driver so the sale could start?