The London Eye Mystery: Chapters 20–30

by Siobhan Dowd
Ted and Kat watch their cousin Salim board the London Eye, a famous Ferris wheel. When the ride ends, Salim is nowhere to be found — but Ted and Kat are determined to solve the mystery.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–19, Chapters 20–30, Chapters 31–41
35 words 121 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. cyclone
    an atmospheric system in which air circulates rapidly
    I put the photo back in its hiding place, between the chapters on cyclones and anticyclones.
  2. hemisphere
    half of the terrestrial globe
    That’s if you’re in the northern hemisphere.
  3. torso
    the body excluding the head and neck and limbs
    I tried to look in between the torsos with x-ray eyes.
  4. murky
    dark or gloomy
    But it was grey, murky shadow, tiny dots, nothing more.
  5. ajar
    slightly open
    The livingroom door was ajar and I could hear Aunt Gloria’s voice.
  6. lurk
    lie in wait or behave in a sneaky and secretive manner
    She lurks in the hallway when Mum and Dad are talking about serious matters such as school reports, and if I tell her it is wrong to do this, she hisses at me to get lost.
  7. deduction
    reasoning from the general to the particular
    The right hand side is for logical deduction and analytical thinking and the left hand side is for creative thought, and I think it is this side that inspiration comes from.
  8. prediction
    a statement made about the future
    It tells meteorologists what’s happening and can help them to understand the approaching weather systems and make predictions.
  9. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    A design or motto to go with the college name.
  10. wail
    a cry of sorrow and grief
    The last six words came out in a wail that grew louder until the ‘you’.
  11. hazardous
    involving risk or danger
    She took her by the elbow and they went to stand out in the back garden and I saw Mum handing Aunt Gloria her packet of cigarettes and her lighter, which was very strange because my mother is a nurse and nurses know all about how smoking is hazardous for human health.
  12. magma
    molten rock in the earth's crust
    I slumped to the hall carpet and a feeling like molten magma churned in my belly.
  13. vortex
    a powerful circular current of water
    My foot banged up against the skirting board, my hand shook itself out and my brain went into a whirling vortex of bad feelings.
  14. divert
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
    It wasn’t very interesting, and while the grown-ups’ attention was diverted, I decided it was a good time to take action.
  15. steward
    someone who manages property or affairs for someone else
    We supply stewards, ticket collectors, body-searchers and guards with two-way radios.
  16. celebrity
    the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed
    Whether you’re hosting a celebrity party, a firework show, a popular concert or an exhibition, we can meet all your requirements.
  17. syndrome
    a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
    She smiled at me, but it reminded me of the way Mum smiled at me the time I asked her about miracle cures and whether I could get one for my syndrome if I prayed hard enough.
  18. asthma
    respiratory disorder characterized by wheezing
    First it’s a young girl who’s looking for the friend of her older brother - she’s got a picture of him, but she doesn’t know what he’s called, and she’s desperate, because he’s left his asthma inhaler in her house.
  19. tangential
    of superficial relevance if any
    The speed that you don’t realize you are doing is your tangential velocity.
  20. dyslexic
    having impaired ability to comprehend written words
    I’m a dyslexic geographer.
  21. glower
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    It hung down from a glowering sky behind London’s tower blocks.
  22. sequence
    serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order
    Because it’s a topological map, you are in a universe where the spaces between points don’t matter and all that counts is the sequence of stops and where the lines cross.
  23. graffiti
    unauthorized drawings or writing on walls in public places
    Some graffiti was scratched onto the glass window opposite: NO WAY.
  24. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
    Hail was bouncing off the corrugated station roof.
  25. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    I made my way up the station stairs, veering slightly to the right as I did so.
  26. loom
    appear very large or occupy a commanding position
    Through bouncing hail, which was on average about twelve millimetres in diameter, across a busy road, loomed a big building with a banner
    plastered over it: MOTORCYCLE AND SCOOTER SHOW.
  27. scour
    examine minutely
    I scoured the faces of the guards at the entrance, but the strange man wasn’t among them.
  28. petrol
    gasoline
    Everywhere was the smell of petrol and polish.
  29. combustion
    a reaction of a substance with oxygen to give heat and light
    A terrific drone of an internal combustion engine started up.
  30. bellow
    make a loud noise, as of an animal
    Her eyes opened wider, then scrunched up, and her face folded up small and mean and she bellowed so loud in my ear it hurt.
  31. tranquil
    free from disturbance by heavy waves
    Why, I wondered, couldn’t we have tracked the strange man to somewhere more tranquil?
  32. erupt
    release suddenly and often violently something pent up
    She does that when she’s about to erupt like a super-volcano.
  33. contradiction
    opposition between two conflicting forces or ideas
    There’d been another thing, a contradiction.
  34. revert
    go back to a previous state
    By now she was reverting to mean, mad Miss Katastrophe and our minds were at polar extremes.
  35. clench
    squeeze together tightly
    Kat clenched her fists and banged them on her thighs like she was a boxer fighting herself.
Created on Mon Nov 03 20:29:21 EST 2014 (updated Tue Sep 04 16:36:42 EDT 2018)

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