Open Court U4L2 Vocabulary

San Francisco was a bustling city, and city life was not what John Muir wanted.

What is the meaning of the word 'bustling'?

• slow and uneventful

• quiet and peaceful

• empty and deserted

• busy and full of activity

Just four years earlier, President Abraham Lincoln had named Yosemite as a Land Grant. Under the terms

of the grant, the valley belonged to the state of California and was set aside for the enjoyment and use of the people.

Choose the correct synonym for the word 'grant':

• give

• deny

• sell

• reserve

The mill owner, James Hutchings, resented the attention Muir’s writing received.

What does the word "resented" mean?

• a) To feel happy about something

• d) To feel angry or upset because

• b) To forgive someone for a mistake

• c) To enjoy spending time with someone

The great valley itself, together with all its domes and walls, was brought forth and fashioned by a grant combination of glaciers, acting in certain directions against granite of peculiar physical structure.

What does the word 'peculiar' mean?

• common or ordinary

• strange or unusual

• boring or uninteresting

• familiar or typical

In time, Muir

also became enamored with Dr. Strentzel’s daughter Louie, and in 1879,

asked her to marry him. If someone is 'enamored with' something, what does it mean?

• They are afraid of it.

• They are indifferent towards it.

• They have a deep hatred for it.

• They have a strong liking or admiration for it.

Muir is credited with

the discovery of Glacier Bay, a 65-mile-long inlet filled with glaciers. What is the opposite of the word 'credited'?

• blamed

• honored

• acknowledged

• praised

Muir lobbied Congress to designate Yosemite as a national park, and on October 1,

1890, Yosemite became the third national park in the United States. What does it mean to lobbied for something?

• To engage in a friendly conversation

• To try to influence or persuade someone

• To engage in physical exercise

• To engage in a legal battle

In 1893, they traveled together to study the forests of the American West. Their goal was to evaluate

the problems facing these areas. Wh at does it mean to 'evaluate' something?

• To calculate its cost or price

• Assess or determine worth or value

• To measure its physical dimensions

• To determine its color or shape

Their adventure started at Mariposa Grove, a stand of huge Sequoia trees that were hundreds of years

old. What is the meaning of the word 'stand' in the sentence:

• a group or collection of trees in one place

• an argument or disagreement between people

• a small wooden platform used for standing on

• a temporary booth for selling goods

Pinchot believed that “trees could be cut and the forests preserved, at one and the same time.” He was determined to show the country how this could be done. What does the word 'preserves' mean?

• destroy or ruin

• consume or eat

• keep or maintain

• ignore or neglect