Vocabulary 1

When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.

inhabited means...

• lived in

• empty

• built

• lazy

When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.

weary means...

• excited

• angry

• tired out

• proud

"“What else can we do?” asked the chief builder. “Nothing about this endeavor is certain."

endeavor means

• person

• attempt to achieve a goal

• dream

• people

When she grew old, and her time as mayor was up, she explained about

the box to her successor, who also kept the secret carefully, as did the next mayor.

successor means

• cousin

• next in-line replacement

• enemy

• friend

When she grew old, and her time as mayor was up, she explained about

the box to her successor, who also kept the secret carefully, as did the next mayor.

successor means

• cousin

• next in-line replacement

• enemy

• friend

So the first mayor of Ember was given the box, told to guard it carefully, and solemnly sworn to secrecy.

solemnly means

• realistically

• jokingly

• seriously

• wishfully

But the seventh mayor of Ember was less honorable

than the ones who’d come before him, and more desperate. He was ill—he had the

coughing sickness that was common in the city then—and he thought the box might hold a secret that would save his life.

desperate means

• hard working and determined

• happy and hopeful

• evil and twisted

• hopeless and distressed