Porpoises in Peril vocabulary chapters 3, 4 & 5

Rickety (adjective)

He spotted four rickety old-fashioned bikes at the front of the hotel.

• tall and oversized

• made from wood

• poorly made and likely to collapse

• shiny and new

Cluttered (verb)

Stacks of papers cluttered his desk,

• crowded, untidy

• to take over

• to destroy

peculiarly (adverb)

"..we started getting reports from fishermen down on the beach about the porpoises acting peculiarly," he said.

• quickly

• oddly

• happily

• luckily

snorkeling (verb)

Jada and Cam spotted a family returning from snorkeling.

• to find shells on a beach

• to drive a car through the sand

• to swim using a short tube to breathe under water

thermometer (noun)

He used a thermometer to measure its temperature,

• an underwater lab

• a scientific hypothesis

• an instrument for measuring temperature

temperature (noun)

...then he also measured the air temperature.

• the speed of air flow

• a physical quantity that expresses hot and cold

• a physical expression that measures the moisture in the air

vacant (adjective)

They had this vacant look in their eyes

• dark, or covered

• bright, overly excited

• empty, having or showing no intelligence or interest

dredged (verb)

"But that barge that came out of nowhere sure dredged up a mess,..."

• to bring up or clear from a river, harbor, or other area of water

• to tear down or destroy

• to cut free from bondage

depth (noun)

Kate saluted him, flipped backward into the water, and disappeared into the depths.

• a murky veil of substance

• a cold mist

• the distance from the top to the bottom of something

scrutinize (verb)

"Also, I have pictures I want to scrutinize."

• to hide or disguise

• to get rid or or destroy

• to examine or inspect closely