City Spies: Chapters 24–37

by James Ponti
This first book in the series introduces five kids, born on different continents and ranging in age from twelve to fifteen, who are recruited by the United Kingdom's MI6 for their abilities to carry out missions where adult spies cannot succeed.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–10, Chapters 11–16, Chapters 17–23, Chapters 24–37
40 words 13 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. quarry
    a surface excavation for extracting stone or slate
    For hundreds of years, much of Paris was built with limestone mined from nearby quarries to the south.
  2. venture
    proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers
    In many places, the tunnels had been reinforced with massive columns to keep the buildings above from collapsing down into them. And, with the exception of a small area open to tourists, it was illegal to venture into them.
  3. shaft
    a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine
    “Look at this,” Sydney said, pointing toward a shaft that led toward the surface.
  4. stylized
    using artistic forms and conventions to create effects
    Someone had painted a stylized night scene with glowing stars like Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
  5. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    They ran their fingers along the edge, and sure enough, covered by the paint was an old door. It didn’t have a handle, but Paris was able to reach under the bottom and pry it loose.
  6. brusque
    rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
    As always, Reggie was on duty at the check-in desk, and when they reached the door, he greeted them with a brusque, “Shoes!”
  7. trudge
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    “Take off your shoes,” he instructed. “No matter what you think about this hotel, I will not have you trudging all that muck through my lobby into your rooms.”
  8. adrenaline
    hormone secreted by the adrenal gland in response to stress
    Brooklyn was still groggy as they walked from their hotel to Olympus, but by the time they’d gone through security, her adrenaline had kicked in and she was alert and ready to go.
  9. concise
    expressing much in few words
    The answer was concise, specific, and absolutely everything that Brooklyn wanted to say.
  10. vie
    compete for something
    That was all the time that was left for the teams to vie for the top ten spots and advance to the final day of the competition.
  11. stifle
    smother or suppress
    This brought a laugh even from Kat and Rio, which they had to stifle when Charlotte looked up and glared at them.
  12. heady
    extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic
    For Brooklyn this was a heady moment. She was actually talking with Stavros Sinclair, someone who she’d read about and admired for years.
  13. prosthetic
    of or relating to artificial body parts
    We’re developing prosthetic limbs so lifelike, they re-create a person’s fingerprints.
  14. guru
    a recognized leader in some field or of some movement
    Paris was focused on Sinclair when out of the corner of his eye he saw a man enter the room and head toward the tech guru.
  15. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    The team arrived to find Mother already waiting in front of the ornate black-and-gold gates of the Palais de Justice.
  16. necessarily
    in such a manner as could not be otherwise
    “Didn’t they burn in the fire?” asked Brooklyn.
    “Not necessarily,” said Paris. “Two of the men loaded boxes into one of the cars right before the fire started. Those might have held the paintings.”
  17. dexterity
    adroitness in using the hands
    He waited for the movement of the train to jostle them, and when it did, he used his magician’s dexterity to snatch the ID.
  18. impressionism
    a school of late 19th-century French painters
    Both had seemingly endless supplies of wealth and influence. And both were obsessed with art, specifically French impressionism.
  19. dubious
    open to doubt or suspicion
    What Mother hoped to find was more art of dubious origins. If there were other paintings among the collection that came from the black market, then he might be able to match that criminal activity with Le Fantôme.
  20. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    Gilles seemed dismayed but did his best not to appear flustered as he approached a woman supervising them.
  21. din
    a loud, harsh, or strident noise
    He tried to listen to their progress, but it was hard to hear anything above the din of the machines.
  22. downplay
    understate the importance or quality of
    They passed around the bags and retold the story of the hack at Asgard. Although Paris downplayed how close they came to being caught by the security guards.
  23. durability
    permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force
    “They wouldn’t have buried him with it,” said Kat. “It wouldn’t make sense. It’s new and experimental technology. Once he was done with it, Sinclair would want it back to study its durability.”
  24. notable
    a celebrity who is an inspiration to others
    Over the next three hours and forty-seven minutes, there would be a steady stream of pop singers, movie stars, activists, celebrities, and other notables committed to protecting the environment who would take their turn at the microphone.
  25. allotted
    given as a task or a portion
    Each was allotted a specific amount of time, and Amelie had been deadly serious when she told them the microphone would be turned off if they went so much as one second over.
  26. constraint
    a limitation or restriction
    They were given the least amount of time: one minute and forty-five seconds. The combination of the time constraint along with Sydney’s desire to say something significant and inspirational was what had caused her to rewrite her speech so many times.
  27. figurehead
    a leader in name only, without real power or authority
    “If Sinclair Scientifica is a cover for Umbra, they’d need someone to be a figurehead,” he said. “It would have to be someone who’d gone to the right schools and knew how to talk the talk.”
  28. undermine
    weaken or impair, especially gradually
    But for the second day in a row, that chance was being undermined by a series of unexplained computer problems.
  29. unwavering
    marked by firm determination or resolution
    She had unwavering confidence in her computer skills. She was certain that she was better than anyone else in the room.
  30. cornice
    the topmost projecting part of an entablature
    The first step was to make it seven feet up from the window to a small ledge called a cornice.
  31. foothold
    a place that provides support for standing or climbing
    Brooklyn looked for any bricks that didn’t quite fit the pattern and noticed that several were slightly uneven and out of place. Each of these stuck out about half an inch farther than the others. These would become her hand- and footholds.
  32. coarse
    rough to the touch
    The coarse granules of the cement mortar cut into her skin as she grasped for the small ledge just beyond her reach.
  33. override
    counteract the normal operation of
    Charlotte started typing on the electronic keypad.
    “What are you doing?” asked Kat.
    “Overriding the system and locking the door,” she said.
  34. extract
    remove, usually with some force or effort
    He took out a syringe to extract the virus from the vial and inject it into the clear plastic tube that delivered extra oxygen into various rooms each afternoon.
  35. cumbersome
    difficult to handle or use, especially because of size or weight
    He wasn’t used to wearing the spacesuit and found it cumbersome to move around. The thick rubber gloves made it difficult to manipulate the syringe, and the helmet made it hard to hear, which was why he didn’t notice Brooklyn coming up from behind.
  36. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    “Mother’s Peter Pan. Monty’s Tinkerbell. And the FARM is Neverland.”
    “What does that make us?” asked Brooklyn.
    “The Lost Boys,” Kat said with disdain.
  37. mutiny
    open rebellion against constituted authority
    As the tone of the conversation reached near mutiny, Tru held up her hands to silence everybody.
  38. dossier
    papers containing detailed information about a person
    TOP SECRET
    UK EYES ONLY
    Secret Intelligence Service/MI6
    Vauxhall Cross, London, UK
    Project City Spies (aka Project Neverland)
    Dossier prepared by A. Montgomery
  39. resourceful
    adroit or imaginative
    SPECIAL TALENT: Field ops—highly resourceful and creative. She once saved a mission by disabling an Indonesian passenger train using only “some rando stuff I found in the snack bar.”
  40. sleight
    adroitness in using the hands
    SPECIAL TALENT: Street magic—incredible sleight-of-hand skills allowed him to gain access to high-security area at the Russian embassy by picking the pocket of ambassador Anatoly Morozov.
Created on Mon Apr 29 11:13:42 EDT 2024 (updated Tue Apr 30 12:31:28 EDT 2024)

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