120 Words Every 12th Grader Should Know: List 1

His misery is so much more abject than mine. The Sun Is Also a Star

“Many voters across the state availed themselves of the opportunity to participate in early voting,” Ms. Clarke said. New York Times (Jan 5, 2021)

The rest of Europe was overrun and defeated, or they capitulated. Washington Post (Oct 19, 2021)

The watchman replied that a search was routine, and he looked through the bag in a cursory way, not even disturbing the clothing. Long Walk to Freedom

Everyone treated me with the deference accorded only to the school’s top athletes. The Glass Castle

Crime, on the other hand, isn’t a single discrete thing, but a word used to describe an almost impossibly varied and complicated set of behaviors. The Tipping Point

Unlike our ephemeral weather features on Earth, Jupiter's storms last years, even centuries. Salon (Sep 28, 2021)

Often in trouble at school, he was assigned to do maintenance at the baseball field one day when an errant javelin from track practice landed nearby. Washington Post (Jun 3, 2021)

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power decided that the most expedient solution was to refill a large portion of the lake. Nature (Nov 11, 2018)

While Latifah loves action and fighting, she doesn’t go in for gratuitous violence. Seattle Times (Jan 27, 2021)

Nothing is more inimical to a respectful, rational and informative discussion than allowing the opponents to interrupt and speak over each other. New York Times (Aug 29, 2020)

“I was joking, Mom. That was just an attempt to add a little levity.” The Great Santini

No neighbor or friend ever knocks in such a peremptory way, and I knew immediately that it was the security police. Long Walk to Freedom

But all the while her heart beat in rhythm to the poignant sadness of the song the children sang while walking around in a ring with hands joined. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A scam PAC is a political action committee that purports to be working toward a political goal but instead operates for personal profit or some ulterior motivation. Washington Times (Apr 19, 2021)

He surprised himself, as he spoke in that way, for he was a reticent, even a severe man. I'm the King of the Castle

He was strikingly tall for a full-back and formidably built, with a sinewy frame and thighs made of oak. The Guardian (May 15, 2018)

J. S. Bach was probably the cleverest composer who ever lived, but he gave his performers almost no detailed instructions as to how they might play his sublime music. The Story of Music

The sudden spike in hostilities last month underscored the tenuous nature of the cease-fire that exists along the 279-mile front in the Ukraine war. Seattle Times (Nov 15, 2021)

Never once had he imagined Dumbledore’s childhood or youth; it was as though he had sprung into being as Harry had known him, venerable and silver-haired and old. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows