"Escape to Freedom" Vocabulary

"This was a bleak time for his country. Only three years earlier, Germany had been defeated in World War II."

What does the word bleak mean in the sentence above?

• a type of fence

• bad, and not likely to improve

• a part of a bird

Tags

CCSS.L.5.5C

"During this period of tension, both nations vied for power and control across the world."

What does the word vied mean in the sentence above?

• competed

• flew away

• made perfect

Tags

CCSS.L.3.4D

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

"They told stories that vilified each other. Around the world, fear simmered that these hostilities would erupt into all-out war."

• praised

• recovered

• make someone seem wicked or evil

Tags

CCSS.L.1.6

CCSS.L.3.6

CCSS.L.4.6

CCSS.RL.1.4

"If you were caught breaking a rule, the penalties could be harsh. The Stasi--East Germany's ruthless secret police

force--were always watching."

What does the word ruthless mean in the sentence above?

• perfect

• cruel, heartless, showing no mercy

• useless

Tags

CCSS.L.1.5D

CCSS.L.2.5B

CCSS.L.3.5C

CCSS.L.K.5D

"They listened to phone calls and read personal mail. And they were notorious for their brutality."

What does the word notorious mean in the sentence above?

• famous for being bad

• respected

• daring

Tags

CCSS.L.3.4D

CCSS.L.6.4C

CCSS.L.7.4C

CCSS.L.8.4C

CCSS.L.9-10.4C

"Hartmut had heard about a section of the canal that was not well guarded--a place he could climb in undetected."

What does the word undetected mean in the sentence above?

• divided

• underground

• without being noticed

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

"Today he (Hartmut) works to expose the crimes of the East German regime."

What does the word regime mean in the sentence above?

• a non-democratic government that abuses authority and treats its citizens poorly

• a type of machine

• people who are sympathetic

Tags

CCSS.L.7.6

CCSS.L.8.6

CCSS.W.6.2D

CCSS.W.7.2D

CCSS.W.8.2D

How was the Berlin Wall an example of the power of oppression?

• It made the people of East Germany feel secure.

• People were still able to move about freely between East and West Germany.

• It caused the East Germans to feel there was no escape, and no hope.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.8.5