The Book of Unknown Americans, pages 87 - 115

"I thought it would be very difficult to cross. Everyone had warned me that the security would be high." (page 89)

What does the word cross mean as it is used in the quote above?

• an object made of one long upright piece of wood, with a smaller piece across it near the top

• to put one of your arms over the other one

• to annoy someone by not doing or saying what they want

• to go from one side to the other

"Besides that, I didn't like standing in one place for ten hours. We got only one break for fifteen minutes." (page 90)

What does the word break mean as it is used in the quote above?

• to stop something for a short period of time

• to cause damage to something

• to do something better than the best known record

• to fail to keep a promise

"I mop the floors. I have a wire brush I use to clean the sinks." (page 90)

What does the word sinks mean as it is used in the quote above?

• to cause something to go below the surface of the liquid

• a bowl attached to the wall in the kitchen or bathroom in which you wash your hands

• to cause something to fail or be in trouble

• to hit a ball into a hole, usually while playing golf or pool

"Arturo built a birdhouse and put it one a stake in the girl's backyard so that when she opened her bedroom window, she would hear the songs of warblers and mockingbirds." (page 91)

What does the word stake mean as it is used in the quote above?

• a strong stick or metal bar with a pointed end

• a share or financial involvement in something such as a business

• to risk an amount of money

• a thick, flat piece of meat from a cow

"She had smiled once in Patzcuaro when the three of us were eating ice cream in the square and Arturo's dad had fallen and splattered on the sidewalk..." (page 96).

What does the word square mean as it is used in the quote?

• a shape with four equal sides

• directly; straight

• to multiply a number by itself

• an open area surrounded by buildings in a city

"Maribel swimming in the lake with her friends, coming home with her hair dripping wet, her clothes clinging to her thin frame." (page 96)

What does the word frame mean as it is used in the quote?

• the structure that surrounds a door or window

• a person's body with reference to its size

• to create a plan

• the thing you put a photo inside

"She hammered a row of nails into a board." (page 98)

What does the word hammered mean as it is used in the quote?

• to attack or criticize someone

• defeated in a game or contest

• the act of hitting something, usually with a hammer

• to strike ball very hard

"I must have jerked the ladder. It slid in the mud on the ground from the rain the night before."

What does the word jerked mean as it is used in the quote?

• meat or fish with spices

• to act with mean behavior

• a sudden, quick movement

• in weightlifting, to raise something above your head

"Arturo scrambled down the ladder, jumping off when he was halfway down." (page 101)

What does scrambled mean as it is used in the quote?

• to go quickly

• something jumbled or confusing

• in American football, to run forward with the ball

• to make eggs by beating them into liquid and then cooking

"The other men on the site started running over, asking what had happened, offering to help. Without a word, Arturo cut through them all, cradling Maribel, trying to keep her still..." (page 101).

What does the word cut mean as it is used in the quote?

• to divide into pieces with a knife

• a long, narrow incision in the skin made by something sharp

• to make an opening in something

• to use scissors to create more than one piece