Unit 1: Vocabulary from Readings 4

This list covers "The Treasure of Lemon Brown" and "The Fun They Had."
16 words 55 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. mood
    a characteristic state of feeling
    The dark sky, filled with angry, swirling clouds, reflected Greg Ridley’s mood as he sat on the stoop of his building.
  2. stoop
    small porch or set of steps at the front entrance of a house
    The dark sky, filled with angry, swirling clouds, reflected Greg Ridley’s mood as he sat on the stoop of his building.
  3. suspense
    excited anticipation of an approaching climax
    But the principal had ended the suspense early when she sent the letter saying Greg would probably fail math if he didn’t spend more time studying.
  4. await
    look forward to the probable occurrence of
    He stood to go upstairs, thought of the lecture that probably awaited him if he did anything except shut himself in his room with his math book, and started walking down the street instead.
  5. tenement
    a run-down apartment house barely meeting minimal standards
    Down the block there was an old tenement that had been abandoned for some months.
  6. squint
    partly close one's eyes, as when hit by direct light
    Squinting, Greg could see an old table on its side against one wall, what looked like a pile of rags or a torn mattress in the corner, and a couch, with one side broken, in front of the window.
  7. peer
    look searchingly
    The person who called himself Lemon Brown peered forward, and Greg could see him clearly.
  8. commence
    set in motion, cause to start
    They used to say I sung the blues so sweet that if I sang at a funeral, the dead would commence to rocking with the beat.
  9. bash
    hit hard
    “Throw down your money, old man, so I won’t have to bash your head in!”
  10. ominous
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
    A rush of warm air came in as the downstairs door opened, then there was only an ominous silence.
  11. curb
    an edge between a sidewalk and a roadway
    They saw the men who had tried to take the treasure sitting on the curb near the corner.
  12. mechanical
    relating to or concerned with machinery or tools
    The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.
  13. code
    the symbolic arrangement of data in a computer program
    She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the mark in no time.
  14. superior
    of or characteristic of high rank or importance
    Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes.
  15. dispute
    have a disagreement over something
    Margie wasn’t prepared to dispute that.
  16. nonchalantly
    in a composed and unconcerned manner
    “Maybe,” he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm.
Created on Tue Jan 05 12:42:55 EST 2021 (updated Thu Jan 07 09:16:10 EST 2021)

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