A Tale Of Two Cities

Front 1

T2C - 1
epoch

Back 1

a period of time marked by specific events

Front 2

2
...it was the _____ of belief, ...

Back 2

epoch

Front 3

3
superlative

Back 3

most; of the highest quality

Front 4

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...in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the _____ degree of comparison only.

Back 4

superlative

Front 5

5
mere

Back 5

simple; easy to understand

Front 6

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_____ messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to the English Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America...

Back 6

Mere

Front 7

7
adjacent

Back 7

next

Front 8

8
.....in the rough outhouses of some tillers of the heavy lands _____ to Paris...

Back 8

adjacent

Front 9

9
contraband

Back 9

goods imported or exported illegally

Front 10

10
...musketeers went into St. Giles's, to search for _____ goods, and the mob fired on the musketeers, and the musketeers fired on the mob, and nobody thought any of these occurrences much out of the common way.

Back 10

contraband

Front 11

11
atrocious

Back 11

horrible

Front 12

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...taking the life of an _____ murderer...

Back 12

atrocious

Front 13

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myriads

Back 13

a very great number of persons or things

Front 14

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Thus did the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five conduct their Greatnesses, and _____ of small creatures -- the creatures of this chronicle among the rest -- along the roads that lay before them.

Back 14

myriads

Front 15

15
lumber

Back 15

to move clumsily, heavily

Front 16

16
The Dover road lay, as to him, beyond the Dover mail, as it _____ up Shooter's Hill.

Back 16

lumbered

Front 17

17
He walked up hill in the ____ by the side of the mail, as the rest of the passengers did...

Back 17

mire

Front 18

18
relish

Back 18

desire

Front 19

19
... not because they had the least _____ for walking exercise..

Back 19

relish

Front 20

20
mutiny

Back 20

an overthrow of authority

Front 21

21
...the horses had three times already come to a stop, besides once drawing the coach across the road, with the _____ intent of taking it back to Blackheath.

Back 21

mutinous

Front 22

22
*capitulate

Back 22

to surrender unconditionally

Front 23

23
...the team had _____ and returned to their duty.

Back 23

*capitulated

Front 24

24
tremulous

Back 24

trembling and wavering

Front 25

25
With drooping heads and ______ tails, they mashed their way through the thick mud...

Back 25

tremulous

Front 26

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flounder

Back 26

to struggle clumsily

Front 27

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..._____ and stumbling between whiles, as if they were falling to pieces at the larger joints.

Back 27

floundering

Front 28

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forlorn

Back 28

sad

Front 29

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it had roamed in its _____ up the hill, like an evil spirit, seeking rest and finding none.

Back 29

forlornness

Front 30

30
clammy

Back 30

cold and wet

Front 31

31
A _____ and intensely cold mist, it made its slow way through the air in ripples ...

Back 31

clammy

Front 32

32
hardihood

Back 32

strength, sturdiness

Front 33

33
If any one of the three had had the _____ to propose to another to walk on a little ahead into the mist and darkness, he would have put himself in a fair way of getting shot instantly as a highwayman.

Back 33

hardihood

Front 34

34
canter

Back 34

an easy gallop

Front 35

35
I say a horse at a _____ coming up, Joe.

Back 35

canter

Front 36

36
cessation

Back 36

stopping

Front 37

37
The stillness consequent on the _____ of the rumbling and labouring of the coach, added to the stillness of the night, made it very quiet indeed.

Back 37

cessation

Front 38

38
yonder/yon

Back 38

there; over there

Front 39

39
A despatch sent after you from over _____.

Back 39

yonder

Front 40

40
bridle

Back 40

part of a horse harness: headstall, bit, and reins

Front 41

41
After standing with the _____ over his heavily-splashed arm he turned to walk down the hill.

Back 41

bridle

Front 42

42
mire

Back 42

mud

Front 43

43
unfathomable

Back 43

immeasurable; incomprehensible

Front 44

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No more can I look into the depths of this ... water, ...

Back 44

unfathomable

Front 45

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submerge

Back 45

to sink under water

Front 46

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I have had glimpses of buried treasure and other things _____.

Back 46

submerged

Front 47

47
inexorable

Back 47

unyielding; unalterable

Front 48

48
it is the _____ consolidation and perpetuation of the secret that was always in that individuality, and which I shall carry in mine to my life's end.

Back 48

inexorable

Front 49

49
alienate

Back 49

to remove; take away from; dispossessed of

Front 50

50
As to this, his natural and not to be _____ inheritance, the messenger on horseback had exactly the same possessions as the King, the first Minister of State, or the richest merchant in London.

Back 50

alienated

Front 51

51
evince

Back 51

show clear; give evidence of

Front 52

52
The messenger rode back at an easy trot, stopping pretty often at ale- houses by the way to drink, but _____ a tendency to keep his own counsel, and to keep his hat cocked over his eyes.

Back 52

evincing

Front 53

53
*perplex

Back 53

to confuse

Front 54

54
His message _____ his mind to that degree that he was fain, several times, to take off his hat to scratch his head.

Back 54

*perplexed

Front 55

55
shy

Back 55

to start back or aside in fear

Front 56

56
The horse _____ at every shadow on the road.

Back 56

shied

Front 57

57
opiate

Back 57

narcotic; soporific' anything that causes the effects of opium

Front 58

58
....like the presence of pain under an _____.

Back 58

opiate

Front 59

59
emaciated

Back 59

thin, to the point of starvation

Front 60

60
Pride, contempt, defiance, stubbornness, submission, lamentation, succeeded one another; so did varieties of sunken cheek, cadaverous colour, _____ hands and figures.

Back 60

emaciated

Front 61

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spectre

Back 61

ghost

Front 62

62
A hundred times the dozing passenger inquired of this ____.

Back 62

spectre

Front 63

63
contradictory

Back 63

to state the contrary of

Front 64

64
The answers to this question were various and ______.

Back 64

contradictory

Front 65

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discourse

Back 65

speech; conversation

Front 66

66
After such imaginary _____, the passenger in his fancy would dig.

Back 66

discourse

Front 67

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wretched

Back 67

poor; unfortunate

Front 68

68
...to dig this _____ creature out.

Back 68

wretched

Front 69

69
accost

Back 69

to confront boldly; approach

Front 70

70
Out of the midst of them, the ghostly face would rise, and he would _____ it again.

Back 70

accost

Front 71

71
admonish

Back 71

to chastise; reprove, scold; to warn against

Front 72

72
Dig -- dig -- dig -- until an impatient movement from one of the two passengers would ______ him to pull up the window...

Back 72

admonish

Front 73

73
speculate

Back 73

guess; gamble

Front 74

74
an impatient movement from one of the two passengers would admonish him to pull up the window and _____ upon the two slumbering forms.

Back 74

speculate

Front 75

75
yoke

Back 75

apparatus that joins two animals together

Front 76

76
There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where it had been left last night when the horses were _____.

Back 76

unyoked

Front 77

77
loiter

Back 77

to stand around

Front 78

78
Consequently, another drawer, and two porters, and several maids and the landlady, were all _____ by accident at various points of the road between the Concord and the coffee-room...

Back 78

loitering

Front 79

79
sonorous

Back 79

a deep resonant sound

Front 80

80
Very orderly and methodical he looked, with a hand on each knee, and a loud watch ticking a _____ sermon under his flapped waistcoat...

Back 80

sonorous

Front 81

81
longevity

Back 81

length of life

Front 82

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levity

Back 82

lightness of character or mind

Front 83

83
evanescence

Back 83

the tendency to vanish, fade away

Front 84

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as though it pitted its gravity and ______ against the ______ and ______ of the brisk fire.

Back 84

longevity...levity...evanescence

Front 85

85
flaxen

Back 85

the color of flax; blond

Front 86

86
He wore an odd little sleek crisp _____ wig.

Back 86

flaxen

Front 87

87
filament

Back 87

a fine thread, wire

Front 88

88
...looked far more as though it were spun from ______ of silk or glass.

Back 88

filament

Front 89

89
suppress

Back 89

do away with; keep in; repress

Front 90

90
A face habitually _____ and quieted, was still lighted up under the quaint wig by a pair of moist bright eyes ...

Back 90

suppress

Front 91

91
immemorial

Back 91

an uncounted amount of time

Front 92

92
According to the ______ usage of waiters in all ages.

Back 92

immemorial

Front 93

93
*perplexity

Back 93

confusion

Front 94

94
...rifting and knitting itself into an expression that was not quite one of ______, or wonder, or alarm...

Back 94

*perplexity

Front 95

95
absurd

Back 95

illogical; nonsense

Front 96

96
As if they had any help for anybody in their ______ baskets!

Back 96

absurd

Front 97

97
muse

Back 97

to think about or meditate in silence

Front 98

98
He watched her as she ______...

Back 98

mused

Front 99

99
ward

Back 99

a person under the control or a guardian

Front 100

100
...you have been the _____ of Tellson's House.

Back 100

ward

Front 101

101
pecuniary

Back 101

of or pertaining to money

Front 102

102
"Feelings! I have no time for them, no chance of them. I pass my whole life, miss, in turning an immense _____ Mangle'" (Dickens).

Back 102

pecuniary

Front 103

103
mangle

Back 103

a machine for smoothing or pressing clothes, household linen, etc., by means of heated roller;
to ruin, destroy

Front 104

104
"Feelings! I have no time for them, no chance of them. I pass my whole life, miss, in turning an immense pecuniary _____'" (Dickens).

Back 104

mangle

Front 105

105
consign

Back 105

to hand over or deliver

Front 106

106
..."'for instance, the privilege of filling up blank forms for the _____ of any one to the oblivion of a prison for any length of time; if his wife had implored the king, the queen, the court, the clergy, for any tidings of him, and all quite in vain...'" (Dickens).

Back 106

consignment

Front 107

107
compassion

Back 107

a strong feeling of sympathy or sorrow for someone's troubles

Front 108

108
"'For the truth. O dear, good, _____ sir, for the truth!'"

Back 108

compassionate

Front 109

109
bawl

Back 109

to cry or wail lustily

Front 110

110
"'Why, look at you all!' _____ this figure, addressing the inn servants. 'Why don't you go and fetch things, instead of standing there staring at me?'' (Dickens).

Back 110

bawled

Front 111

111
disconcerted

Back 111

disturbed, as in one's composure or self-possession; perturbed; ruffled

Front 112

112
"Mr. Lorry was so exceedingly _____ by a question so hard to answer, that he could only look on, at a distance, with much feebler sympathy and humility..." (Dickens).

Back 112

disconcerted

Front 113

113
cask

Back 113

barrel

Front 114

114
"A large _____ of wine had been dropped and broken, in the street" (Dickens).

Back 114

cask

Front 115

115
countenance

Back 115

appearance, esp. the look or expression of the face

Front 116

116
"And now that the cloud settled on Saint Antoine, which a momentary gleam had driven from his sacred ______, the darkness of it was heavy -- cold, dirt, sickness, ignorance, and want, were the lords in waiting on the saintly presence..." (Dickens).

Back 116

countenance

Front 117

117
modicum

Back 117

a small amount

Front 118

118
Hunger was repeated in every fragment of the small ______ of firewood that the man sawed off...

Back 118

modicum

Front 119

119
meagre

Back 119

deficient in quantity or quality; lacking fullness or richness; scanty; inadequate

Front 120

120
The butcher and the porkman painted up, only the leanest scrags of meat; the baker, the coarsest of _____ loaves.

Back 120

meagre

Front 121

121
glower

Back 121

to look or stare with sullen dislike, discontent, or ange

Front 122

122
The people rudely pictured as drinking in the wine-shops, croaked over their scanty measures of thin wine and beer, and were _____ confidential together.

Back 122

gloweringly

Front 123

123
gaunt

Back 123

extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated

Front 124

124
For, the time was to come, when the ______ scarecrows of that region should have watched the lamplighter, in their idleness and hunger, so long, as to conceive the idea of improving on his method, and hauling up men by those ropes and pulleys, to flare upon the darkness of their condition.

Back 124

gaunt

Front 125

125
expostulate

Back 125

to reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done; remonstrate

Front 126

126
In his ______ he dropped his cleaner hand (perhaps accidentally, perhaps not) upon the joker's heart.

Back 126

expostulation

Front 127

127
homage

Back 127

respect or reverence paid or rendered

Front 128

128
The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their ______ by bending her head, and giving them a quick look.

Back 128

homage

Front 129

129
beckon

Back 129

to signal, summon, or direct by a gesture of the head or hand

Front 130

130
The gentleman then ______ to the young lady, and they, too, went out.

Back 130

beckoned

Front 131

131
aspect

Back 131

appearance to the eye or mind; look

Front 132

132
He had no good-humour in his face, nor any openness of ______ left, but had become a secret, angry, dangerous man.

Back 132

aspect

Front 133

133
vile

Back 133

repulsive or disgusting, as to the senses or feelings

Front 134

134
Such a staircase, with its accessories, in the older and more crowded parts of Paris, would be bad enough now; but, at that time, it was ______ indeed to unaccustomed and unhardened senses.

Back 134

vile

Front 135

135
engender

Back 135

to produce, give rise to

Front 136

136
The uncontrollable and hopeless mass of decomposition so ____, would have polluted the air, even if poverty and deprivation had not loaded it with their intangible impurities; the two bad sources combined made it almost insupportable.

Back 136

engendered

Front 137

137
insupportable

Back 137

unbearable

Front 138

138
The uncontrollable and hopeless mass of decomposition so engendered, would have polluted the air, even if poverty and deprivation had not loaded it with their intangible impurities; the two bad sources combined made it almost _____.

Back 138

insupportable

Front 139

139
languish

Back 139

to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade

Front 140

140
Each of these stoppages was made at a doleful grating, by which any _____ good airs that were left uncorrupted, seemed to escape, and all spoilt and sickly vapors seemed to crawl in.

Back 140

languishing

Front 141

141
doleful

Back 141

sorrowful, melancholy, mournful

Front 142

142
Each of these stoppages was made at a ______ grating, by which any languishing good airs that were left uncorrupted, seemed to escape, and all spoilt and sickly vapors seemed to crawl in.

Back 142

doleful

Front 143

143
aspire

Back 143

to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value

Front 144

144
Through the rusted bars, tastes, rather than glimpses, were caught of the jumbled neighborhood; and nothing within range, nearer or lower than the summits of the two great towers of Notre-Dame, had any promise on it of healthy life or wholesome ______.

Back 144

aspirations

Front 145

145
garret

Back 145

an attice, usally a small & wretched one

Front 146

146
There was yet an upper staircase, of a steeper inclination and of contracted dimensions, to be ascended, before the ______ story was reached.

Back 146

garret

Front 147

147
incumbent

Back 147

obligatory

Front 148

148
But, by this time she trembled under such strong emotion, and her face expressed such deep anxiety, and, above all, such dread and terror, that Mr. Lorry felt it ______ on him to speak a word or two of reassurance.

Back 148

incumbent

Front 149

149
admonish

Back 149

to caution, advise, or counsel against something

Front 150

150
With an _______ gesture to keep them back, he stooped, and looked in through the crevice in the wall.

Back 150

admonitory

Front 151

151
render

Back 151

to cause to be or become; make

Front 152

152
______ in a manner desperate, by her state and by the beckoning of their conductor, he drew over his neck the arm that shook upon his shoulder, lifted her a little, and hurried her into the room.

Back 152

rendered

Front 153

153
haggard

Back 153

having a gaunt, wasted, or exhausted appearance, as from prolonged suffering, exertion, or anxiety; worn

Front 154

152
154
Some minutes of silent work had passed: and the ______ eyes had looked up again: not with any interest or curiosity, but with a dull mechanical perception, beforehand, that the spot where the only visitor they were aware of had stood, was not yet empty.

Back 154

haggard

Front 155

155
steadfast

Back 155

firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment

Front 156

156
As he held out his hand for the shoe that had been taken from him, Mr. Lorry said, still looking _____ in his face:
"Monsieur Manette, do you remember nothing of me?"

Back 156

steadfastly

Front 157

157
obliterate

Back 157

to remove or destroy all traces of; do away with; destroy completely

Front 158

158
As the captive of many years sat looking fixedly, by turns, at Mr. Lorry and at Defarge, some long _______ marks of an actively intent intelligence in the middle

Back 158

obliterated

Front 159

159
spectre

Back 159

ghost

Front 160

160
...with hands which at first had been only raised in frightened compassion... which were now extending towards him, trembling with eagerness to lay the ______ face upon her warm young breast, and love it back to life and hope.

Back 160

spectral

Front 161

161
cohere

Back 161

to stick together, esp. logically or reasonably

Front 162

162
He formed this speech with his lips many times before he could utter it. But when he did find spoken words for it, they came to him ______, though slowly.

Back 162

coherently

Front 163

163
entreat

Back 163

to beg, plead for something

Front 164

164
But she sat perfectly still in his grasp, and only said, in a low voice, "I _____ you, good gentlemen, do not come near us, do not speak, do not move!"

Back 164

entreat

Front 165

165
frenzy

Back 165

extreme mental agitation; wild excitement or derangement

Front 166

166
His hands released her as he uttered this cry, and went up to his white hair, which they tore in a ______.

Back 166

frenzy

Front 167

167
desolate

Back 167

deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited

Front 168

168
"If, when I hint to you of a Home that is before us, where I will be true to you with all my duty and with all my faithful service, I bring back the remembrance of a Home long ______, while your poor heart pined away, weep for it, weep for it!"

Back 168

desolate

Front 169

169
implore

Back 169

to beg

Front 170

170
And if... you learn that I have to kneel to my honored father, and ______ his pardon for having never for his sake striven all day and lain awake and wept all night, because the love of my poor mother hid his torture from me, weep for it, weep for it!

Back 170

implore

Front 171

171
strive

Back 171

to exert oneself vigorously; try hard

Front 172

172
And if... you learn that I have to kneel to my honored father, and implore his pardon for having never for his sake _______ all day and lain awake and wept all night, because the love of my poor mother hid his torture from me, weep for it, weep for it!

Back 172

striven

Front 173

173
sagacity

Back 173

wisdom

Front 174

174
Whether he knew what had happened, whether he recollected what they had said to him, whether he knew that he was free, were questions which no ______ could have solved.

Back 174

sagacity

Front 175

175
coerce

Back 175

to compel by force, intimidation, or authority, especially without regard for individual desire or volition

Front 176

176
In the submissive way of one long accustomed to obey under ______, he ate and drank what they gave him to eat and drink, and put on the cloak and other wrappings, that they gave him to wear.

Back 176

coercion

Front 177

177
incommodious

Back 177

uncomfortable

Front 178

178
Tellson's Bank by Temple Bar was an old-fashioned place, even in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty. It was very small, very dark, very ugly, very ______.

Back 178

incommodious

Front 179

179
eminence

Back 179

high station, rank, or repute

Front 180

180
They were even boastful of its _______ in those particulars, and were fired by an express conviction that, if it were less objectionable, it would be less respectable.

Back 180

eminence

Front 181

181
obstinacy

Back 181

stubbornness

Front 182

182
After bursting open a door of idiotic ______ with a weak rattle in its throat, you fell into Tellson's down two steps, and came to your senses in a miserable little shop...

Back 182

obstinacy

Front 183

183
gamut

Back 183

range

Front 184

184
Accordingly, the forger was put to Death; the utterer of a bad note was put to Death; the unlawful opener of a letter was put to Death... the coiner of a bad shilling was put to Death; the sounders of three-fourths of the notes in the whole ______ of Crime, were put to Death.

Back 184

gamut

Front 185

185
purloin

Back 185

to steal

Front 186

186
Accordingly, the forger was put to Death; the utterer of a bad note was put to Death; the unlawful opener of a letter was put to Death; the ______ of forty shillings and sixpence was put to Death...

Back 186

purloiner

Front 187

187
trepidation

Back 187

tremulous fear or alarm

Front 188

188
A woman of orderly and industrious appearance rose from her knees in a corner, with sufficient haste and ______ to show that she was the person referred to.

Back 188

trepidation

Front 189

189
circumvent

Back 189

to go around or bypass; avoid

Front 190

190
If I had had any but a unnat'ral wife, and this poor boy had had any but a unnat'ral mother, I might have made some money last week instead of being counter-prayed and countermined and religiously ______ into the worst of luck.

Back 190

circumvented

Front 191

191
rickety

Back 191

likely to fall or collapse; shaky

Front 192

192
I am as ______ as a hackney-coach...

Back 192

rickety

Front 193

193
menagerie

Back 193

a collection of wild or unusual animals, especially for exhibition

Front 194

194
Jerry Cruncher worried his breakfast rather than ate it, growling over it like any four-footed inmate of a ______.

Back 194

menagerie

Front 195

195
foray

Back 195

a quick raid, usually for the purpose of taking plunder

Front 196

196
Jerry took up his station on this windy March morning, with young Jerry standing by him, when not engaged in making _____ through the Bar, to inflict bodily and mental injuries of an acute description on passing boys who were small enough for his amiable purpose.

Back 196

forays

Front 197

197
amiable

Back 197

friendly, sociable

Front 198

198
Jerry took up his station on this windy March morning, with young Jerry standing by him, when not engaged in making forays through the Bar, to inflict bodily and mental injuries of an acute description on passing boys who were small enough for his _____ purpose.

Back 198

amiable

Front 199

199
cogitate

Back 199

to think hard; ponder; meditate

Front 200

200
Having thus given his parent Godspeed, young Jerry seated himself on the stool, entered on his reversionary interest in the straw his father had been chewing, and _____.

Back 200

cogitated

Front 201

201
dogged

Back 201

mulish, inflexible, unyielding

Front 202

202
"Ye-es, sir," returned Jerry, in something of a _____ manner. "I do know the Bailey."

Back 202

dogged

Front 203

203
debauchery

Back 203

excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance

Front 204

204
But, the gaol (jail) was a vile place, in which most kinds of _____ and villainy were practiced, and where dire diseases were bred...

Back 204

debauchery

Front 205

205
pillory

Back 205

a wooden framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used to expose an offender to public derision

Front 206

206
So powerful is use, and so desirable to be good use in the beginning. It was famous, too, for the _____, a wise old institution, that inflicted a punishment of which no one could foresee the extent

Back 206

pillory

Front 207

207
mercenary

Back 207

working or acting merely for money or other reward; venal

Front 208

208
...the whipping-post, another dear old institution, very humanizing and softening to behold in action; also, for extensive transactions in blood-money, another fragment of ancestral wisdom, systematically leading to the most frightful ______ crimes that could be committed under Heaven.

Back 208

mercenary

Front 209

209
tainted

Back 209

a trace of infection, contamination, or the like

Front 210

210
Making his way through the _____ crowd, dispersed up and down this hideous scene of action, with the skill of a man accustomed to make his way quietly...

Back 210

tainted

Front 211

211
demur

Back 211

to make objection, especially on the grounds of scruples; take exception; object

Front 212

212
After some delay and _____ , the door grudgingly turned on its hinges a very little way, and allowed Mr. Jerry Cruncher to squeeze himself into court.

Back 212

demur

Front 213

213
proviso

Back 213

a stipulation or condition

Front 214

214
...then his head will be chopped off, and he'll be cut into quarters. That's the sentence."
"If he's found Guilty, you mean to say?" Jerry added, by way of _____.

Back 214

proviso

Front 215

215
asunder

Back 215

into separate parts

Front 216

216
the immortal creature that was to be so butchered and torn _____, yielded the sensation.

Back 216

asunder

Front 217

217
indictment

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Law. a formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes

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Silence in the court! Charles Darnay had yesterday pleaded Not Guilty to an _____ denouncing him (with infinite jingle and jangle) for that he was a false traitor to our serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, prince, our Lord the King

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indictment

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denounce

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to condemn or censure openly or publicly

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Silence in the court! Charles Darnay had yesterday pleaded Not Guilty to an indictment _____ him (with infinite jingle and jangle) for that he was a false traitor to our serene, illustrious, excellent, and so forth, prince, our Lord the King...

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denouncing