| A | B |
|---|
| neither shut nor wide open | ajar (adj) |
| following in an uninterrupted sequence | successive (adj) |
| having thick hardened skin | calloused (adj) |
| exactness or accuracy | precision (noun) |
| The red-tailed hawk pursued his __ for a time and then swooped down for the kill. | quarry 1 (noun) |
| an open excavation from which stone or other material is extracted by blasting, etc. | quarry 2 (noun) |
| a strong cotton fabric, often twilled, that is used to cover mattresses and pillows | ticking (noun) |
| to overcome someone's doubt or disbelief about something | assure (verb) |
| to make a feeling, sense, or desire more keen or intense | whet 1 (verb) |
| to sharpen the cutting edge or blade of a tool or weapon, usually by rubbing it on a stone | whet 2 (verb) |
| to put punctuation marks in written text | punctuate 1 (verb) |
| to interrupt a situation frequently; to do or say something often to add emphasis | punctuate 2 (verb) |
| Rose, who as a witness had to wait outside the courtroom, looked positively ___ during the ordeal. | ashen (adj) |
| Their travel plans were ___ by the important projects that were due at their advertising agency. | constrained (verb) |
| expressing sadness or sounding sad | plaintive (adj) |
| The flavors of the soup ___ together, creating a wonderful taste experience. | mingle 1 (verb) |
| to circulate among a group of people for example a guest at a party | mingle 2 (verb) |
| to confuse or muddle somebody | addle (verb) |
| There were a ___ number of trees that went down in last night's storm. | vast (adj) |
| Animations are the number one way to help students ___ concrete concepts. | visualize (verb) |
| The curse took the ___ of his heart and left his body just a shell. | vitals (noun) |
| a warm, moist substance placed on an aching or inflamed part of the body to ease pain,etc. | poultice (noun) |
| a building where animal skins are converted to leather | tannery (noun) |
| Violet ___ over the death of her apricot-colored Poodle for months before she would allow herself the pleasure of buying a new one. | grieved (verb) |
| The father left the cabin door ______ . It was partially opened. | ajar (adj) |
| The boy started school two _____ Octobers. He started school two years in a row but had to stop going because it was too far to walk. | successive (adj) |
| Sounder whined, but his master had become ____ to his pleading and shut the door in his face. | calloused (adj) |
| The wolf did not just kill his prey; he mutilated it with surgical ____. | precision (n) |
| The great dog closed in on the raccoon, his ____ . | quarry (n) |
| He lay on the straw ____ and imagined all of the wonderful things that he would do tomorrow. | ticking (n) |
| "Cabins built on posts would just float like boats, porch and all," he ___ himself. | assured (v) |
| He ___ his scythe in the summer so that he could cut brambles and young sumac in the fencerows. | whet (v) |
| The rattle of the wheels and the hoof beats on the frozen ground ___ the winter quiet. | punctuated (v) |
| The noise seemed to undo the fearful shock that held the children ___ and motionless. | ashen (adj) |
| We felt ____ at the dance by the presence of the chaperones. | constrained (adj) |
| Sounder was injured and let out a ____ yelp as his master was taken away. | plaintive (adj) |
| There was a large spot on her knee of ____ blood, sand, and shreds of cloth that had to be cleaned before it was dressed. | mingled (adj) |
| His little brother would murmur and be ___ in his sleep tonight. | addled (agj) |
| There just seemed to be nothing else to fill up the __ emptiness of the moment. | vast (adj) |
| He ___ the great tan body of Sounder as he searched for him in the brush. | visualized (v) |
| The soldier fortunately was not hit in the ___; he only had a flesh wound and thus survived his injuries. | vitals (n) |
| The oak leaves make a ____ that draws out the poison and heals the wound with a hard, brown scab. | poultice (n) |
| The ___ was investigated for dumping illegal chemicals into the river. | tannery (n) |
| The boy ___ the loss of his father from the family's daily life. | grieved (v) |
| The farmer lay on the straw ____ in the barn office and waited for the veterinarian to arrive. | ticking (n) |
| On three ____ nights, he drove over to his friend's house to help him with his algebra homework. | successive (adj) |
| Nick the beagle let out a ____ howl after he was left behind by his master. | plaintive (adj) |
| John ____ his scythe and headed out to the hedgerow where he set to work cutting back the bushes to a height of three feet. | whet (v) |
| After his father's death, he ___ for many months and just couldn't seem to get his life back on track. | grieved (v) |
| Great Aunt Janie became ___ as she approached her nineties; as a result we invited her to live with us. | addled (adj) |
| Searching for the ____, Sounder criss-crossed the mountain in hot pursuit but never traveled out of ear-shot from his master. | quarry (n) |
| The students left the cafeteria door ___, and the squirrels took advantage of the situation, attacking the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches left uneaten on the tables. | ajar (adj) |
| During hunting season, the sounds of gunshot ___ the morning quiet. | punctuate (v) |
| After ten hours a day of chopping wood for the past thirty days, Peter's palms were thickly ___ with hard tough skin. | calloused (adj) |
| The Morris Animal Inn ___ the Smiths that they would do whatever was necessary to keep their two Poodles happy and healthy while they were away in Europe. | assured (v) |
| David felt ___ by the regulations of the airlines and opted to take trains instead whenever he had to travel for business. | constrained (adj) |
| There seemed to be a ___ emptiness, a loneliness in the family's house after all their children and grandchildren moved across country. | vast (adj) |
| It took extreme ___ to manuever the narrow steep slope; only an experienced skier could avoid all those trees at such a high speed. | precision (n) |
| Writers use metaphors and similes to help readers ____ the particular passage; they create a picture in the readers' minds. | visualize (v) |
| Jane was annoyed that Richard did not make the effort to ____ at her birthday party; he either sat alone or talked with his girlfriend. | mingle (infinitive) |
| The doctors said that Gale was lucky that none of her ___ organs were damaged during the car crash; if they had been damaged, she might have lost her life. | vital (adj) |
| When she heard about the tragedy, she turned a shade of gray, ______, and had to be helped to the couch for she looked as though she might faint. | ashen (adj) |
| My father argued with me every night at bed time. I wanted to leave my door wide open; he wanted me to leave my door shut. Finally we agreed on leaving my door ____ . | ajar (adj) |
| Super Duck threw his fish at Lex Luther with such ____ that it hit him smack in the mouth. Bulls eye! | precision (n) |
| Sounder closed in on his ___, his prey. But he realized that it was just another dog and gave up the chase. | quarry (n) |
| The spectators at the Westminster Dog Show were ___ by the announcer that this year a dog other than a terrier would win. | assured (v) |
| The breeder applied a _____ to the Chihuahua's rug burn; that's what Chico gets for playing rough! | poultice (n) |
| To Sharon's surprise, Spinner, her English bull dog ___ successfully with the other dogs in the dog park, even the pit bulls. | mingled (v) |
| Olive the curly-coated retriever whined ___ in her crate as her owner talked on the phone. | plaintively (adv) |
