I Survived the Hindenburg Disaster, 1937: Chapters 1–8

by Lauren Tarshis
In this thirteenth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Hugo Ballard is on the German airship that is about to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey, when an explosion knocks him off his feet.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–17
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. smolder
    burn slowly and without a flame
    It would crash to the ground in a heap of twisted metal and smoldering ash.
  2. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    Frantic people fell on top of him, and he was nearly crushed.
  3. molten
    reduced to liquid form by heating
    Red-hot drops of molten metal rained down, burning through his clothes and sizzling against his skin.
  4. searing
    extremely hot
    The searing heat blistered his hands and knees.
  5. flammable
    easily ignited
    “It’s just because the Hindenburg is powered by hydrogen gas. It’s very flammable.”
  6. zeppelin
    a large airship designed to carry passengers or bombs
    The Germans have a perfect safety record with their zeppelins.
  7. grisly
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Of course, there had been some grisly accidents on military airships over the years—fiery explosions and deadly crashes.
  8. slight
    small in quantity or degree
    Hugo really didn’t have the slightest worry about the Hindenburg.
  9. dirigible
    a steerable self-propelled aircraft
    Some people called them airships or dirigibles, he explained, but he liked the word zeppelin. The word was actually the name of the brilliant man who figured out how to get these huge airships to fly, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
  10. cockpit
    compartment where the pilot sits while flying an aircraft
    That was the control car, the Hindenburg’s cockpit, where the captain and his crew steered the ship.
  11. malaria
    a disease caused by parasites transmitted by mosquito bite
    It turned out Gertie had a bad case of malaria, a disease that came from mosquitoes.
  12. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    And the sight of those men gave Hugo a bad feeling—dark and shadowy—like when he saw hippos lurking in the waters of the Thika River near their farm.
  13. fiendish
    extremely evil or cruel
    The little mutt had a bark so strange and ferocious that he could scare away the most fiendish beast.
  14. petrified
    struck with fear and unable to move
    Even now Hugo could still picture the petrified snake as it practically flew out of the room.
  15. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    It loomed over them like a silver mountain.
  16. sleek
    having a smooth, gleaming surface reflecting light
    The sleek bunk beds were made with thick blankets and silky sheets.
  17. mural
    a painting that is applied to a wall surface
    On the wall was a hand-painted mural of the world, with zeppelins zipping across the sky.
  18. anchor
    a mechanical device that prevents a vessel from moving
    The men on the airstrip let go of the anchor ropes and leaped backward, away from the zeppelin.
  19. streak
    move quickly in a straight line
    And then, vroom, the four engines rumbled to life, and they began to streak forward through the sky.
  20. tender
    easy to cut or chew
    The tender steak practically melted on his tongue.
  21. elegant
    refined and tasteful in appearance, behavior, or style
    He was pretty sure the elegant Miss Crowther wouldn’t like being compared to an enormous screeching bird.
  22. queasy
    feeling nausea
    “I’m usually sick as a dog on a ship,” boomed Mr. Merrick, a British man with red hair and a pointy chin. “But I haven’t been the least bit queasy.”
  23. quarters
    housing available for people to live in
    “We are staying in the officers’ quarters in front,” the Nazi replied with a sharp German accent.
  24. fascinated
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    “I am most fascinated by snakes.”
  25. relief
    the feeling that comes when something unpleasant is removed
    Everyone at the table seemed to exhale with relief as the Nazis left the dining room.
  26. hatch
    devise or invent
    “Someone stole a top secret document from the Nazis,” Mr. Merrick continued. “It contains a list of Nazis living secretly in America hatching dangerous plots against the United States. The spy has smuggled this paper onto the Hindenburg so he can take it to the American government.”
  27. wryly
    in a humorously sarcastic or mocking manner
    “Perhaps there’s a ghost on the Hindenburg, too,” she said wryly.
  28. flare
    become widened, usually at one end
    But this time Panya wasn’t there to chase it away, and the cobra grew and grew, its angry hood flaring into a pair of enormous, slithery wings.
  29. hideous
    so extremely ugly as to be terrifying
    The hideous snake smiled at Hugo with yellow fangs dripping with venom.
  30. gauge
    an instrument for measuring and indicating a quantity
    When Hugo walked in, he had no idea where to look first—at the five men in crisp blue uniforms, at the rows of spinning dials and gauges and levers and buttons, or at the dazzling view of the ocean stretched out as far as he could see.
  31. girder
    a beam used as a main support in a structure
    Thousands of metal beams and girders and wires jutted in every direction.
  32. jut
    extend out or project in space
    Thousands of metal beams and girders and wires jutted in every direction.
  33. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    And all around them were huge tan bags—the gas cells filled with hydrogen. They billowed softly, as if they were breathing. If the metal beams were the Hindenburg’s bones, these bags of gas were its lungs.
  34. ballast
    any heavy material used to stabilize a ship or airship
    The water was used as ballast, extra weight to keep the ship on the ground.
  35. clatter
    make a rattling sound
    Up front in the passenger area, they could barely hear the engines. But back here, the clattering roar hammered against Hugo’s eardrums.
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:13:18 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Oct 27 12:19:09 EDT 2023)

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