| A | B |
|---|
| Ms. Fitzsimmons sighed in ___ when not one of her students remembered to cover his new social studies textbook. | exasperation (n) |
| Andrea created the flower arrangements for the wedding and had the good sense to design them with soft ___ of greenery giving them a soft and flowing effect. | tendrils (n) |
| As Greg transferred the marinated steaks from the platter to the grill top, the biggest one slipped off the ___ of the giant BBQ fork and fell on the muddy patio. | prong (n) |
| Atticus swiped the lamb chop that was dangling off the platter, but Barbara ___ across the kitchen and extricated it from his clenched jaws. | lunged (v) |
| Tommy ___ the baseball bat in frustration; it was his fourteenth consecutive strikeout, and he knew that he would lose his starting position. | flailed (v) |
| When Sheila learned that she had not won the lead role in the spring musical, it was a ___ blow to her self-esteem. | staggering (adj) |
| Martine __ in the offer of a new job at MLB; she had been a baseball fan for years and now would be immersed in baseball for at least ten hours a day for pay. | exulted (v) |
| As Harvey lay on the beach towel, he promised himself that he would try to lose weight; his exposed stomach looked remarkably like a small _____ . | hummock (n) |
| Janet made a ____ pattern of tissue paper for her new prom dress; she was a remarkable seamstress and would for certain be the best dressed at the dance. | crude (adj) |
| Thelma threw leaves into the ___ along the rock-lined coast, enjoying the spiraling and twirling of the gorgeous fall colors. | eddy (n) |
| The problem of no air conditioning lay ____ for many years, but once the two-week long heat wave hit, the district was forced to address the problem. | dormant (adj) |
| Timmy’s ___ scratching only served to inflame and spread the rash that was quickly spreading all over his body. | persistent (adj) |
| Paddy __ the load of marble tiles into the back of the boss’s van; he was the only worker with enough strength to accomplish this task and still have energy to do the cutting and toting when he got to the job site. | hefted (v) |
| The tilers laid the kitchen tile in the front hall and the front hall tile in the kitchen; the owner demanded that this mistake be ____ . | rectified (v) |
| Throw the trout on the grill and _____ the skin before you apply the basting sauce. | sear (v) |
| That was an ___ long tirade about such an insignificant mistake; using the wrong laundry detergent certainly was not a problem that could not be rectified. | unduly (adv) |
| Karen’s game-time anxiety ___ her ability to connect with the ball. | stymied (v) |
| A ___ ensued once the principal told the eighth graders that this year there would be no Washington D.C. trip. | furor (n) |
| Nick had an ____ reaction to sniff any and all substances; breeders have developed a super hunting dog with this breed. | instinctive (adj) |
| _____, Ms. Reznick deleted her entire Quia files for Hatchet and was forced to spend the next three days recreating them. | Unwittingly (adv) |
| In a state of complete ____, Winnie threw down his pencil and declared that he would not write another word. | exasperation (n) |
| Michael shaved his gorgeous blond locks but left one tiny ___ on the left side of his head resembling an errant antenna. | tendril (n) |
| The smoke __ from the chimney and swirled off to the east, a foretaste of the storm that was brewing over the bay. | eddied (v) |
| Frederick's compulsion to bet on the ponies lay __ for many years, but ultimately he returned to the track and lost his fortune on a long shot. | dormant (adj) |
| It was a ___ blow to Bobby's ego; Joey, a less talented singer and performer, won the lead in the spring musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat." | staggering (adj) |
| Jenna, the perky physical therapist, encouraged the geriatrics at Arbor Glenn to squeeze in a few __ to help them strengthen their gluteous maximus. | lunges (n) |
| The large aged chimp __ a stick at the baboon, clearly communicating that the bunch of bananas at his feet were not going to be shared. | flailed (v) |
| In a hurry as usual, Carl bent the ___ on his LCD projector plug, and now he will have to resort to blackboard and chalk for his presentation. | prong (n) |
| It was a ___ copy of the Mona Lisa, but it fooled most of the crowd, who exclaimed over its beauty. | crude (adj) |
| Jada __ the canoe onto her shoulder and walked three miles to the next lake where she put it into the water and paddled away. | hefted (v) |
| His pleading was ___; Randy begged for more candy every time it was doled out, but his mom was strict about the sweets. | persistent (adj) |
| Kara, on her pretty dun pony, jogged up and over the ____ and announced her presence. | hummock (n) |
| The children from a small village in southern Honduras___ in their good fortune; they were offered an opportunity to go to school, something that not many children in their situation were able to do. | exulted (v) |
| Since students have been leaving the building from the wrong doors during fire drills, Mr. Veri decided to ___ the situation; he insisted that teachers practice exiting the building with their students on the first day of school. | rectify (infinitive acting as a noun) |
| The fire __ Allen's skin and left him with a nasty scar. | seared (v) |
| Sharon was ___ pessimistic about her future; she needed to look on the bright side of life. | unduly (adv) |
| A lack of imagination ___ Kiera in her new job at the ABC Advertising Agency. | stymied (v) |
| Ms. MacDonald's ____ understanding of children led her into a successful career as a child psychologist. | instinctive (adj) |
| They were able to find the defendent guilty when he made an ___ admission of guilt during the trial. | unwitting (adj) |
| A ___ erupted when the mayor told the citizens of Whoville that the speck of dust on which they traveled was about to be dropped into a vat of beezlenut oil. | furor (n) |
