Sold: List 4

by Patricia McCormick
Lakshmi's stepfather tells her she must leave their impoverished Nepalese village and work in the city — but when Lakshmi arrives, she discovers that she is a victim of trafficking.

This list covers "Remote Control"–"The Words Harish Taught Me."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
30 words 146 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pore
    direct one's attention on something
    One afternoon, I linger too long in my make-believe school, and the David Beckham boy catches me poring over his storybook.
  2. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
    And so he doesn’t see the older boys—the ones who chase the pariah dogs with stones—waiting across the street from Happiness House.
  3. furtively
    in a secretive manner
    The David Beckham boy looks furtively toward the front door, where Pushpa waits for him on the days she feels well enough.
  4. vexed
    troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
    Monica seems vexed by this request, but it is an act, Shahanna tells me.
  5. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    “She will maim it—cut off a hand, a foot—and sell it to a beggar woman,” she says.
  6. peddler
    someone who travels about selling wares
    Other than the old vegetable peddler, the street boy who sells tea from a wire caddy is the only visitor who comes here during the day.
  7. antic
    a playful, attention-getting act done for fun and amusement
    I am watching his antics today when he turns to me.
  8. paltry
    contemptibly small in amount or size
    Harish had taught me how to say thank you in his language, but it seemed a paltry word for my debt to this man.
  9. filmy
    so thin as to transmit light
    In the days after the hugging man leaves, I consider myself in the mirror. My plain self, not the self wearing lipstick and eyeliner and a filmy dress.
  10. feign
    give a false appearance of
    She came to my room to say good-bye, but I hid under the blanket, feigning sleep so she would not see the envy in my heart.
  11. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
    I open my eyes and see the place where I live now: a dank room with four beds, four dirty curtains hanging from the ceiling, and iron bars on the windows.
  12. unearthly
    suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
    Then comes an unearthly sound. It is a wild sound, an animal sound, a howling, mournful, raging cry, as the sickly woman on the floor claws at the skirts of the fat woman standing over her.
  13. disheveled
    in disarray; extremely disorderly
    Then Harish comes home from school, flushed and disheveled from his game of make-believe soccer.
  14. uncouth
    lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
    He grips my hand in greeting, a strange and uncouth gesture that makes me pull back in alarm.
  15. pummel
    strike, usually with the fist
    I want to pummel this pink-skinned man with my fists.
  16. fervor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
    She squeezes my hands tightly, and her eyes burn with a fervor I have never seen before in my gentle friend.
  17. strew
    spread by scattering
    What I saw next was this: rice and lentils, flour and spices, enough food for a week, strewn about the floor, a pair of rats nibbling on the spoils as the cook fought with them for what remained.
  18. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    He claws his way up the bedsheet, then scrabbles toward the crust of bread Anita must have left on my pillow.
  19. ledger
    a record in which commercial accounts are recorded
    She looks up, astonished. I say nothing. I simply hand her my ledger book.
  20. copious
    large in number or quantity
    She gets out her own ledger book, with entries more copious than mine.
  21. tedious
    so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness
    Some days, the time between when I awake and the time when the customers arrive is so long and dull and tedious, that I can only lie in bed and watch the spinning of the palm frond machine.
  22. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    "The boss,” he says, touching his face gingerly.
  23. revelation
    an enlightening or astonishing disclosure
    Revelation
    Shilpa is alone in the counting room when I get there. I tell her I want to borrow 40 rupees.
    She spits. “You are even stupider than I thought."
  24. bray
    laugh loudly and harshly
    The others cackle and bray.
  25. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    The new boy is slow and surly.
  26. affliction
    a cause of great suffering and distress
    This affliction—hope—is so cruel and stubborn, I believe it will kill me.
  27. pestle
    a hand tool for grinding and mixing substances in a mortar
    It is a simple kitchen sound, the grinding of spices with a wooden pestle.
  28. docile
    easily handled or managed
    But when Mumtaz enters the room, I show her the face of a docile Nepali girl, a girl who will put up no fight.
  29. piteous
    deserving or inciting a feeling of sympathy and sorrow
    Soon I hear a piteous wailing coming from the next room.
  30. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    Then, somehow, I am outside myself, marveling at this pain, a thing so formidable it has color and shape.
Created on Thu Jul 18 11:09:14 EDT 2019 (updated Thu Jul 18 11:29:53 EDT 2019)

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