The phrase 'standing ovation' is an example of an adjective–noun collocation. Identify two other similar examples from the poem.
Two examples of adjective–noun collocations from the poem are gold medals and beaming faces.
In the phrase gold medals, the word 'gold' acts as an adjective modifying the noun 'medals', indicating the type or colour of the medals. Similarly, in beaming faces, the present participle 'beaming' functions as an adjective describing the noun 'faces', showing the athletes' joy.
Other valid examples from the poem include young boy and Special Olympics. In young boy, the adjective 'young' describes the noun 'boy', and in Special Olympics, the adjective 'Special' modifies the proper noun 'Olympics'.
Explanation
An adjective-noun collocation is a pair of words where an adjective habitually modifies a noun. In the poem's final stanza, 'gold medals' and 'beaming faces' perfectly fit this criterion, as 'gold' describes the medals and 'beaming' describes the faces. Other acceptable pairs from the provided text include 'young boy' and 'Special Olympics'.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Understand that an adjective-noun collocation consists of an adjective modifying a noun that habitually appears together.
Step 2: Scan the poem lines provided in the context for adjective-noun pairs (e.g., in the line 'with nine gold medals' and 'nine beaming faces').
Step 3: Identify two clear examples, such as 'gold medals' and 'beaming faces', and explain how the adjective modifies the noun in each pair.