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Short Stories Vocabulary Review

Total questions: 40

Worksheet time: 36mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

instigate

a)

the condition of having good fortune

b)

a desire to have something that is possessed by another

c)

mentally quick

d)

to stir up or urge on

2.

Depreciate

a)

A desire to have something that is possessed by another

b)

Mentally agile

c)

To search thoroughly

d)

To lower the value of something

3.

Scrutiny

a)

To make free from confusion or ambiguity (open to more than one interpretation)

b)

Moving quick and lightly

c)

To make more attractive, as by adding ornament or color

d)

A prolonged intense look

4.

Ecstatic

a)

desire strongly or persistently

b)

Characterized by strong enthusiasm

c)

Feeling great rapture or delight

d)

To endure the loss of

5.

Ardent

a)

A prolonged intense look

b)

Characterized by strong enthusiasm

c)

A destructive action

d)

To move hesitatingly, as if about to give way

6.

imputation

a)

something necessary

b)

an accusation

c)

an embarrassing situation

d)

a close call

7.

patent

a)

a falsehood

b)

something evil

c)

evident or obvious

d)

unclear

8.

inconsequential

a)

important

b)

vital

c)

not important or significant

d)

a lasting legacy

9.

prudence

a)

elated

b)

thrilled

c)

cautiousness or judgement

d)

impulsive

10.

parsimony

a)

indulgent

b)

flashy

c)

unwilling to spend money or resources

d)

indulgent

11.

What is the BEST example of irony in the story?

a)

The magi took gifts to Jesus.

b)

Della cut her most prized possession.

c)

Jim's most prized possession was a watch from his grandfather.

d)

Jim expected his wife to have hair in which to wear the combs he bought her.

12.

The narrator compares Della and Jim to the magi because

a)

they gave each other gifts.

b)

they were like "wise men", knowing that their sacrificial love was the most important part of their gift.

c)

They followed a star to Bethlehem.

d)

They took gifts to Jesus.

13.

most common or main dominating thing

a)

instigate

b)

predominant

c)

imputation

d)

truant

14.

huge, very large

a)

gradually

b)

parsimony

c)

mammoth

d)

vanish

15.

changing slowly, step by step

a)

deprecate

b)

gradually

c)

prosperous

d)

vanish

16.

a quality of being careful with money or resources

a)

parsimony

b)

instigate

c)

vanish

d)

ecstatic

17.

someone who avoids doing his or her duty; someone who is skipping school without permission

a)

depreciate

b)

imputation

c)

prosperous

d)

truant

18.
What does savor mean?
a)
in a wild or disorderly way
b)
flexible; springy
c)
to hurry up
d)
to take great pleasure in
19.
Which vocabulary word would best describe the rain lessening and slowing down?
a)
apparatus
b)
tumultuously
c)
resilient
d)
slacken
20.
The rain had fallen in huge, heavy drops for hours, but now it was slackening.
a)
lessening; slowing
b)
springy; quick to recover
21.

Accept something reluctantly but without protest

a)

quest

b)

embitter

c)

detest

d)

acquiesce

22.

a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong; trespasser; intruder

a)

interloper

b)

pious

c)

marauder

d)

dispossess

23.

to deprive someone of or force someone to give up the possession of a house, land, or other property

a)

detest

b)

acquiesce

c)

dispossess

d)

Condolence

24.

a search or pursuit made in order to find or obtain something

a)

acquiesce

b)

precipitous

c)

marauder

d)

quest

25.

an expression of sympathy, especially on the occasion of a death

a)

marauder

b)

condolence

c)

pious

d)

interloper

26.

feud

a)

someone who hates you and wants to harm you

b)

an angry feeling of extreme dislike for someone or something

c)

an angry and often violent fight between two people or groups that continues for a long time

d)

a feeling of comfort when something frightening, worrying, or painful has ended or has not happened

27.

to rotate or revolve quickly; to spiral

a)

gyrate

b)

melee

c)

pedagogue

d)

rambunctious

28.

clamber

a)

to climb using your hands and feet because it is difficult

b)

a clip used to hang on when mountain climbing

c)

to claim what is rightfully yours

29.

The prison inmate was placed in ___________ after he attacked several of his fellow inmates.

a)

seclusion

b)

certitude

c)

arch

30.

After his best friend moved away, Jeff couldn't help but feel a ______, or emptiness in his life.

a)

urgent

b)

void

c)

torrent

31.
Which word means about to happen, hanging over in a menacing way?
a)
Habituate
b)
Personable
c)
Impending
32.

Mounfully

a)

Somber

b)

Indignant

c)

Dubiously

d)

Plaintively

33.

to move forward suddenly

a)

lunge

b)

shriek

c)

slumber

d)

petrified

34.

adornment

a)

love

b)

peace

c)

decoration

35.

She led a quiet, chaste life.

a)

morally pure, modest

b)

Stinginess

c)

expensive

36.

There are one thousand names on this list and putting them all into alphabetical order without the help of a computer is a very ______________ task.

a)

fiddly

b)

problematic

c)

strenuous

d)

laborious

37.

Match the word with its definition: hearth

a)

showing unusual lack of energy

b)

an area near or around a fireplace

c)

the act of consoling

d)

not clearly understood or expressed

e)

not possible to perceive by the mind or senses

38.
obvious; readily visible or intelligible
a)
concepts
b)
patent
c)
motto
d)
indelible
39.

If someone is looking solemn, it means they are

a)

serious

b)

happy

c)

frustrated

d)

weeping

40.
wrested
a)
break
b)
trapped
c)
used
d)
took