Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
15 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
|
disdain (verb)
|
to despise; to consider between oneself self
|
"Who else but a bookworm, prowling the libraries and disdaining the normal youngster’s propensity for play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway?”
|
|
|
propensity (noun)
|
inclination; a tendency
|
“Who else but a bookworm, prowling the libraries and disdaining the normal youngster’s propensity for play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway?”
|
|
|
ardent (adjective)
|
passionate
|
“I tried desperately to explain to my students that the image they had of me as an ardent devotee of books and homework during my adolescence was a bit out of focus”
|
|
|
compulsory (adjective)
|
enforced; required
|
“I hated compulsory education with a passion. I could never quite accept the notion of having to go to school while the fish were biting”
|
|
|
cynical (adjective)
|
negative; skeptical; mocking
|
“A sign in the window announced that the store was offering the first volume of a set of encyclopedias at the introductory price of 29 cents. The remaining volumes would cost $2.49 each, but it was no time to be cynical”
|
|
|
erudition (noun)
|
intellect; sophistication
|
“I would become chief egghead in English II and sweep the princess off her feet with a surge of erudition”
|
|
|
sidle (verb)
|
to creep; to edge
|
“A few days later, during a fire drill, I sidled up to her and asked, “Ever been to the Aleutian Islands?”
|
|
|
subsist (verb)
|
to survive
|
“They [Aleuts] subsist on fish, and they trap blue fox, seal, and otter for their valuable fur”
|
|
|
expatiated (verb)
|
to speak at length
|
“Naturally, the more I read, the more my confidence grew. I expatiated freely on such topics as adenoids, air brakes, and arthritis”
|
|
|
amorous (adjective)
|
romantic
|
“And so I went, that glorious, amorous, joyous sophomore year”
|
|
|
voracious (adjective)
|
ravenous; consuming large amounts of food
|
“The albatross is a very voracious eater” (Brody, Steve. “How I Got Smart”)
|
|
|
disgorge (verb)
|
to empty
|
“The revelation hit me hard, and for a while I felt like disgorging and forgetting everything I had learned”
|
|
|
concur (verb)
|
to agree
|
“How could she lead me on like that-smiling and concurring and giving me the impression that I was important”
|
|
|
dire (adjective)
|
terrible
|
“I felt only hurt, but betrayed. Like Agamemnon, but with less dire consequences…”
|
|
|
fleeting (adjective)
|
passing quickly
|
“The next year Debbie moved from the neighborhood and transferred to another school. Soon she became no more than a fleeting memory”
|
