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"Funny in Farsi" by Firoozeh Dumas

These word lists support the reading of the following texts from SpringBoard English Textual Power, Level 5, Unit 1 "Voices of Modern Culture": poems, more poems, Funny in Farsi, monologues by Debbie Lamedman
20 words 188 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. sorrow
    an emotion of great sadness associated with loss
    I, too, had been sad at Farid's departure, but my sorrow soon faded--not coincidentally, with the receipt of a package from him.
  2. consult
    advise professionally
    My father, Kazem, an engineer with the National Iranian Oil Company, had been assigned to consult for an American firm for about two years.
  3. eloquence
    powerful and effective language
    Having spent several years in Texas and California as a graduate student, my father often spoke about America with the eloquence and wonder normally reserved for a first love.
  4. humble
    of low birth or station
    To him, America was a place where anyone, no matter how humble his background, could become an important person.
  5. facilitate
    make easier
    To facilitate my adjustment, the principal arranged for us to meet my new teacher, Mrs. Sandberg, a few days before I started school.
  6. prestigious
    having an excellent reputation; respected
    My father carefully explained that I had attended a prestigious kindergarten where all the children were taught English.
  7. demonstrate
    give an exhibition of to an interested audience
    Eager to impress Mrs. Sandberg, he asked me to demonstrate my knowledge of the English language.
  8. embarrassment
    some event that causes someone to be humiliated
    Until my first day at Leffingwell Elementary School, I had never thought of my mother as an embarrassment, but the sight of all the kids in the school staring at us before the bell rang was enough to make me pretend I didn't know her.
  9. escort
    accompany
    The bell finally rang and Mrs. Sandberg came and escorted us to class.
  10. precisely
    indicating exactness or accuracy
    Fortunately, she had figured out that we were precisely the kind of people who would need help finding the right classroom.
  11. sole
    not divided or shared with others
    In her era, a girl's sole purpose in life was to find a husband.
  12. attribute
    a characteristic that distinguishes objects or individuals
    Having an education ranked far below more desirable attributes such as the ability to serve tea or prepare baklava.
  13. progressive
    favoring or promoting modern or innovative ideas
    Her father, a fairly progressive man, had even refused the two earlier suitors who had come for her so that his daughter could pursue her dream.
  14. obtain
    come into possession of
    My mother planned to obtain her diploma, then go to Tabriz to learn midwifery from a teacher whom my grandfather knew.
  15. resemble
    be similar or bear a likeness to
    Having spent a year in America as a Fulbright scholar, he had returned with a photo of a woman he found attractive and asked his older sister, Sedigeh, to find someone who resembled her.
  16. incorporate
    include or contain; have as a component
    Clearly, Mrs. Sandberg had planned on incorporating us into the day's lesson.
  17. awkward
    socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner
    After a few awkward attempts by my mother to find Iran on the map, Mrs. Sandberg finally understood that it wasn't my mother's lack of English that was causing a problem, but rather her lack of world geography.
  18. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    Leffingwell Elementary was just a few blocks from our house and my father, grossly underestimating our ability to get lost, had assumed that my mother and I would be able to find our way home.
  19. predicament
    an unpleasant or difficult situation
    As we stood pondering our predicament, an enthusiastic young girl came leaping out of her house and said something.
  20. futile
    producing no result or effect
    After making one last futile attempt at communication, they waved good-bye.
Created on Tue Jul 29 10:06:57 EDT 2014 (updated Thu Jul 31 07:27:20 EDT 2014)

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