Unit 2: Selection Vocabulary 4

The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already—it had not been light all day—and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air.

It was the voice of Scrooge’s nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the first intimation he had of his approach.

"...If I could work my will,” said Scrooge indignantly, “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”

“There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,” returned the nephew.

Becoming immediately sensible of the impropriety, he poked the fire, and extinguished the last frail spark for ever.

I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute.

That whole mess with the visitors’ bleachers and Mr. Bridges and the cops had pushed the game past the four o’clock barrier.

Antoine faked a run to the right and lofted a pass into the left corner of the end zone that some mud-covered Seagull receiver caught for a touchdown.

For a split second he was a parallel line three feet above the ground.

Dad continued talking in this manner throughout dinner, pounding home his theme to Erik—that Erik had contributed big-time to the victory, that Erik had actually made victory possible by being the decoy.

The lead story on channel 2 was the revolt of the Cypress Bay fans and their brief takeover of the condemned visitors’ bleachers.

He was hot-tempered
and had to have his own way,
but they loved him nonetheless,
and so did I.

But my mother and elder brothers
coaxed me to his door

Love, my mother really knew,
was like these islands
formed in part
by tidal waves and hurricanes
and the eruptions of volcanoes,
which suddenly appear
and just as suddenly go away.