"The Hitchhiker" Vocabulary

I had stopped the car at a sleepy little junction just across the border into Oklahoma to let a train pass by when he appeared across the tracks – he was leaning against a telephone pole.

junct – Latin root meaning join

Use context clues and the root meaning above to choose the best meaning for the word junction as used in the sentence.

• the act of being joined

• a place where railroads meet, or an intersection with a railroad

• a place to stop and rest on long road trips

• a train station

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.6.4

I repeat: there was nothing sinister about him. He was as drab as a mud fence, nor was his attitude menacing.

Read the sentence above. What word in the sentence has the closest meaning to sinister?

• drab

• attitude

• mud

• menacing

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

I was in excellent spirits - drive ahead, even the loneliness seemed like a lark.

lark – an amusing or mischievous adventure

Read the sentence above and consider the context clues and the word meaning provided. In which sentence below is lark used the same way as in the sentence above?

• The carefree teenage boys seemed to think that all of life was a lark.

• Steven used his time to lark about the museum’s long, wide hallways.

• The birdwatcher spotted a lark high on a branch, but by the time he lifted his camera lens and focused, it was flying away.

• Don missed his friends in Los Angeles, but it was too long of a lark to visit.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

I was just slowing down for one of the tunnels when I saw him standing under an arclight by the side of the road. I could see him quite distinctly – the bag, the cap, even the spots of fresh rain spattered over his shoulders.

distinctly – clearly

Which phrase from the excerpt above explains why the main character can see the hitchhiker distinctly?

• spots of fresh rain

• for one of the tunnels

• under an arclight

• over his shoulders

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.1

CCSS.RL.6.2

Now I knew that he was beckoning – beckoning me to my death.

beckon – to make a gesture to invite or encourage someone nearer

Read the words below. Click three words that are synonyms for beckon.

• summon

• sober

• deter

• lure

• coax

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

Read the excerpt below:

Adams: There was a man there I tell ya! A thin, gray man with an overnight bag in his hand. I was trying to run him down.

Girl: Run him down? You mean kill ’im?

Adams: He’s sort of – phantom. I’m trying to get rid of him – or at least prove he’s real. But you say you didn’t see him back there? You’re sure?

Girl: I didn’t see a soul. And as far as that’s concerned, mister…

What is the meaning of the word phantom as it is used in the excerpt above?

• a confusing topic

• a figment of the imagination

• a lie

• invisible

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

Which phrase from the excerpt best supports your answer to #7?

• “or at least prove he’s real.”

• “as far as that’s concerned, mister…”

• “I’m trying to get rid of him…”

• “You mean kill ‘im?”

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3