A Long Walk to Water: Chapters 12–18

by Linda Sue Park
A boy named Salva struggles to survive after being separated from his family in war-torn Sudan. A girl named Nya spends hours each day collecting water for her parents and sister. Their lives eventually intersect in this novel based on a true story.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18
15 words 19425 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. clangor
    a loud resonant repeating noise
    The clangor of machinery and hammer greeted Nya each time she returned from the pond — unfamiliar noises that mingled with the voices of men shouting and women singing.
  2. despair
    a state in which all hope is lost or absent
    He felt as though he were standing on the edge of a giant hole — a hole filled with the black despair of nothingness.
  3. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    The rain, which was falling in torrents, added to the uproar.
  4. telltale
    disclosing unintentionally
    Then Salva saw the telltale flick of a crocodile’s tail as it flopped into the water near the young man.
  5. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    Perhaps he was screaming, but Salva could not hear him over the din of the crowd and the rain.
  6. welter
    a confused multitude of things
    The rain, the mad current, the bullets, the crocodiles, the welter of arms and legs, the screams, the blood....
  7. plague
    cause to suffer a blight
    They were traveling through a part of Sudan still plagued by war.
  8. isolated
    remote and separate physically or socially
    Kakuma had been a dreadful place, isolated in the middle of a dry, windy desert.
  9. administration
    the group of people who manage or direct an institution
    One day a notice was posted at the camp’s administration tent.
  10. threadbare
    thin and tattered with age
    He had taken as good care of them as he could, but there were holes in the shirt, and the waistband of the shorts was stretched out and threadbare.
  11. aloft
    high up in or into the air
    Once the plane was safely aloft, Salva stared at the scene outside the small window.
  12. fatigue
    temporary loss of strength and energy from hard work
    Salva said “Hello” and “Thank you” many times, for in his fatigue and confusion, these were the only words he felt sure about.
  13. shanty
    a small crude shelter used as a dwelling
    After many hours of jolting and bumping along the roads in the jeep—after nearly a week of exhausting travel — Salva entered the shanty that served as a recovery room at the makeshift hospital.
  14. contaminate
    make impure
    Years of drinking contaminated water had left Mawien Dut’s entire digestive system riddled with guinea worms.
  15. civic
    of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals
    Salva spoke to hundreds of people — in churches, at civic organizations, in schools.
Created on Wed Mar 26 20:53:30 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Jun 16 18:52:37 EDT 2025)

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