Towers Falling: List 3: Sabeen–Pact

by Jewell Parker Rhodes
In this powerful novel, a Brooklyn fifth grader explores the effects of the September 11th terrorist attacks on her family, friends, city, and country.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1: New School–Principal's Office, List 2: Homeroom–Bogeyman Dreams, List 3: Sabeen–Pact, List 4: Field Trip–The End

Here are links to our lists for other books by Jewell Parker Rhodes: Ninth Ward, Ghost Boys
50 words 197 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. irritable
    easily annoyed
    I didn’t want to be home alone with Pop. He’s been super irritable.
  2. hoarse
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness
    Hoarse, he wheezes and coughs.
  3. trill
    pronounce with a flutter of the tongue
    “No more cavities to fill,” trills Sabeen.
  4. cascade
    rush down in big quantities
    Sabeen swishes off her scarf, and waves and waves of black hair cascade down.
  5. blurt
    utter impulsively
    “What about the cat?” I blurt. I remember seeing it in Sabeen’s picture.
  6. murmur
    speak softly or indistinctly
    Yet I like hearing adults murmuring, feeling the sun through the window, lying on my tummy on a soft carpet, worrying only about jumping checkers.
  7. squawk
    make a harsh, abrupt noise
    “Really?” I squawk, trying to envision the Barneses and Demirs sitting on pillows, chatting, eating with bread and hands.
  8. intersection
    a junction where one street or road crosses another
    Across from us, a rush of people walk, dodging, trying not to hit each other in the middle of the street. Pop clutches my hand like I’m two. But I’m the one pulling, weaving him through the intersection.
  9. concrete
    a strong hard building material made with gravel and cement
    From the front, Brooklyn Collective Elementary is plain, all concrete.
  10. earnest
    devout or heartfelt
    “I’m looking out for you, baby girl.”
    Pop’s expression is earnest, sweet.
  11. spectacle
    something or someone seen, especially a notable sight
    Whisper-whisper. Chatter-chatter-chatter. My fists ball. But my classmates are right. Pop is a spectacle.
  12. unique
    the single one of its kind
    Some histories repeat; some events are unique.
  13. squat
    short and thick
    Mr. Schmidt looks like Yoda—short, squat, wrinkled.
  14. consider
    think about carefully; weigh
    “When asked a question, class, it’s important to consider how it’s framed. Sometimes a question is a door to another question, another way of seeing. Understanding.”
  15. adapt
    make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose
    History changes. Relationships between Americans change. But America's ideals remain strong or adapt and get stronger.
  16. context
    discourse that surrounds and helps explain a word or passage
    Excellent thinking, Dèja. You challenged the context of my question.
  17. fragment
    an incomplete piece
    I feel proud of my essay. The title is better, focused. It’s not perfect. There’re sentence fragments. Lots.
  18. revitalize
    give new life or vigor to
    David and Nelson Rockefeller wanted to revitalize Lower Manhattan.
  19. complex
    a whole structure made up of interconnected structures
    The Port Authority of two states—New York and New Jersey—cooperated to build the World Trade Center, a complex of buildings that included the Twin Towers, then the two tallest buildings in America.
  20. foundation
    lowest support of a structure
    The tall towers needed a strong foundation.
  21. silt
    mud or clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake
    Workers had to dig deep through silt to find firm soil.
  22. weld
    join together by heating
    Trucks haul dirt and pour concrete while men hammer and weld.
  23. acrobat
    an athlete who performs acts requiring skill and agility
    As it grows, the men seem like acrobats, trapeze artists.
  24. trapeze
    a swing used by circus acrobats
    As it grows, the men seem like acrobats, trapeze artists.
  25. crane
    a machine that lifts and moves heavy objects
    As it grows, the men seem like acrobats, trapeze artists. Balancing on beams, hands waving, guiding, positioning steel planks lifted by huge cranes.
  26. symbolic
    serving as a visible sign for something abstract
    “Sixty people died building the Twin Towers, architectural marvels that would forever symbolically represent the strength of America and its principles of democracy and capitalism.”
  27. mock
    imitating something; not genuine
    Our experiment today will test how weight and foundation affect your mock skyscrapers.
  28. whimper
    cry weakly or softly
    “They saw, Dèja,” Pop whimpers.
  29. clasp
    a fastener that is used to hold two things together
    I snap the clasps, opening the suitcase.
  30. mischievous
    naughtily or annoyingly playful
    Pop’s looking straight at the camera, and he looks bright-eyed, mischievous like Ray.
  31. survive
    continue to live through hardship or adversity
    Pop survived 9/11.
  32. outraged
    angered at something unjust or wrong
    “A Muslim can’t read Christian stories? A Christian can’t read about Muslims?” Outraged, Sabeen looks like a puffed cat.
  33. sneer
    express through a scornful smile
    “When I’m at the store by myself, the cashier sneers, ‘Go back to Saudi Arabia.’”
  34. discriminate
    treat differently on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc.
    I knew blacks were discriminated against. Also, poor people, homeless people. I didn’t know Muslims were, too.
  35. hijack
    seize control of
    “Two planes were hijacked by terrorists,” says Ben.
  36. peer
    look searchingly
    Peering, leaning over the phone, we watch.
  37. suffocate
    impair the respiration of or obstruct the air passage of
    People are falling—no, leaping—out windows. Escaping fire, heat. Suffocating heat.
  38. inhale
    draw deep into the lungs by breathing
    I inhale, peering at black clouds, hellish flames raging, roaring inside and out the two towers.
  39. rage
    be violent
    I inhale, peering at black clouds, hellish flames raging, roaring inside and out the two towers.
  40. waver
    pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness
    “My dad’s military.” Ben’s gaze doesn’t waver. Ben’s kind, but he knows a lot.
  41. level
    tear down so as to make flat with the ground
    On the tiny cell screen, the South Tower, floor by floor, falls, leveling, collapsing like an accordion.
  42. accordion
    a portable box-shaped free-reed instrument
    On the tiny cell screen, the South Tower, floor by floor, falls, leveling, collapsing like an accordion.
  43. buckle
    bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat
    “Metal was the building’s bones,” I say, imagining metal sheets and beams buckling, glowing red.
  44. factual
    relating to or characterized by verified information
    Ben sounds like a robot, dull and factual.
  45. clench
    squeeze together tightly
    I clench my hands. I have to learn this. It’s part of my parents’ world. My family’s. Which means it’s part of me, isn’t it?
  46. terrorist
    a radical who advocates violence against civilians
    Al-Qaeda terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
  47. representative
    standing for something else
    We call them terrorists because they are not representative of a single nation.
  48. incapable
    not having the temperament or inclination for
    Here is what that means—ideologues are narrow-minded people, incapable of independent thought and critical thinking.
  49. engaged
    involved in military hostilities
    “So, since 2001, America has been engaged in a new kind of war...a war on terror.”
  50. tumultuous
    characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
    Seconds, mere seconds for the building to squish, squash, layer by layer, with tumultuous roaring, everything and everyone.
Created on Tue Sep 12 15:02:54 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Jun 25 16:36:49 EDT 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.