Name ____________________________________ Date
__________ Period ____
Vocabulary Annie John
EXERCISE 1: Context Clues Practice
*COMPLETE THIS BEFORE YOU LOOK UP ANY DEFINITIONS! THEN CHECK YOUR ANSWERS by looking up the definitions in a dictionary.
Directions: Scan the definitions in COLUMN A. Then think about how the boldface words are used in the sentences in COLUMN B. To complete the exercise, match each definition in COLUMN A with the correct vocabulary word from COLUMN B. Write the letter of your choice on the line provided; then write the vocab word on the line preceding the def.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
_____1. word: ______________________: (A) Have you ever had a friend who bolstered your self-esteem
adj. not capable of being touched; not just by thinking you were special?
material; vague or not easily defined
_____2. word: ______________________: (B) In Kincaid’s story, “The Red Girl,” the young narrator
adj. characteristic of a particular language admires a rebellious, red-haired girl. The red-haired girl
eventually reciprocates the narrator’s admiration, and the
_____3. word: ______________________: two become friends.
n. an oath or exclamation, usually profane;
a word with no meaning of its own, used to (C) The narrator, Annie John, comes from a strict family and
complete the patterns of a phrase or isn’t allowed to play with children who act improperly. For
sentence. example, her mother probably wouldn’t let her hang around
with someone who uttered rude expletives.
_____4. word: ______________________:
adj. using few words; brief in speech or (D) Annie John’s mother would respond with furor if she caught
expression Annie John playing with the Red Girl, who shoots marbles
and doesn’t brush her teeth.
_____5. word: ______________________:
n. a long, narrow pillow; anything used as a (E) The Red girl probably would consider the clothes and jewelry
support; v.to prop up, support, or reinforce that interest some girls her age to be tawdry; she doesn’t
seem to care at all about such items.
_____6. word: ______________________: (F) She doesn’t have to wash every day or comb her hair. But
v. to give, do, or take in return; to move with even more important, than these concrete facts, the Red Girl
a backward-forward motion has an intangible air of freedom that Annie John envies.
_____7. word: ______________________: (G) Annie John has a wistful desire for the sort of freedom that
adj. full of longing; yearning; wishful the Red Girl enjoys.
_____8. word: ______________________: (H) Because Annie John can’t openly associate with the Red Girl,
n. frenzied anger; rage; a public uproar or she resorts to subterfuge so that she can play marbles with
outburst of indignation; great enthusiasm her new friend.
for
_____9. word: ______________________: (I) Kincaid’s laconic, precise description captures the character
n. a trick, excuse, or deception used to of the Red Girl in just a few paragraphs.
escape something unpleasant
_____10. word: ______________________: (J) Annie John’s idiomatic, everyday way of talking helps
adj. gaudy; showy and cheap characterize her, as well.
EXERCISE 2: Sentence Completion
Directions: For each of the following items, circle the letter choice that best completes the meaning of the sentence or sentences.
11. You don’t need to know West Indian dialects to understand Jamaica Kincaid’s ______ expressions. But a brief, or ______ history of the West Indies might help you appreciate the stories.
(A) idiomatic…bolstered
(B) tawdry…wistful
(C) idiomatic…laconic
(D) wistful…idiomatic
(E) laconic…intangible
12. After leaving a West Indian island, you might feel ______ remembering the ______ atmosphere of the place.
(A) laconic…furious
(B) wistful…intangible
(C) intangible…wistful
(D) tawdry…iconic
(E) bolstered…idiomatic
13. Europeans began settling the West Indies in the 1500s. The islands’ agricultural riches soon ______ the European economy.
(A) made tawdry
(B) made wistful
(C) reciprocated
(D) made intangible
(E) bolstered
14. A ______ resulted when the French tried to seize Santo Domingo from the Spanish. The Spaniards ______ with a counterattack.
(A) subterfuge…bolstered
(B) furor…reciprocated
(C) tawdriness…reciprocated
(D) furor…bolstered
(E) idioms…bolstered
15. The West Indies inspired ______ longing in European monarchs. Because the spices and sugar from the islands were so valuable, no ______ was too underhanded in the battle for control.
(A) furious…expletive
(B) wistful…subterfuge
(C) tawdry…bolster
(D) laconic…reciprocation
(E) reciprocated…wistfulness
16. No doubt the native inhabitants of the islands remembered with ______ the era before Columbus’s landing.
(A) idioms
(B) bolstered
(C) intangibility
(D) tawdriness
(E) wistfulness
17. By a busy port, a visitor to the West Indies may be surrounded by the sounds of dockhands hurling spicy ______ at one another. Just a few blocks on, the visitor may come across a peaceful seaside shrine.
(A) bolsters
(B) expletives
(C) subterfuges
(D) furors
(E) intangibilities
18. Movies often present ______ images of West Indian life. These films exaggerate the showy aspects of the culture.
(A) laconic
(B) bolstered
(C) wistful
(D) tawdry
(E) intangible
19. The complexity of Caribbean cultures can’t be captured in a brief description. Writers like Jamaica Kincaid have devoted whole books to explaining that ______, undefinable quality of the West Indies.
(A) tawdry
(B) laconic
(C) intangible
(D) idiomatic
(E) reciprocal
20. If you’re interested in ______ your knowledge of West Indian language, you can learn some ______ expressions from reading West Indian writers.
(A) bolstering…intangible
(B) reciprocating…intangible
(C) reciprocating…wistful
(D) bolstering…idiomatic
(E) reciprocating…idiomatic
“Exercise 3”- Detach from the packet. Cut the cards out. Write the correct definitions on the back of each card. Use to study! J
bolster
laconic
expletive
reciprocate
furor
subterfuge
idiomatic
tawdry
intangible
wistful
Vocabulary Annie John
EXERCISE 1: Context Clues Practice
*COMPLETE THIS BEFORE YOU LOOK UP ANY DEFINITIONS! THEN CHECK YOUR ANSWERS by looking up the definitions in a dictionary.
Directions: Scan the definitions in COLUMN A. Then think about how the boldface words are used in the sentences in COLUMN B. To complete the exercise, match each definition in COLUMN A with the correct vocabulary word from COLUMN B. Write the letter of your choice on the line provided; then write the vocab word on the line preceding the def.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
_____1. word: ______________________: (A) Have you ever had a friend who bolstered your self-esteem
adj. not capable of being touched; not just by thinking you were special?
material; vague or not easily defined
_____2. word: ______________________: (B) In Kincaid’s story, “The Red Girl,” the young narrator
adj. characteristic of a particular language admires a rebellious, red-haired girl. The red-haired girl
eventually reciprocates the narrator’s admiration, and the
_____3. word: ______________________: two become friends.
n. an oath or exclamation, usually profane;
a word with no meaning of its own, used to (C) The narrator, Annie John, comes from a strict family and
complete the patterns of a phrase or isn’t allowed to play with children who act improperly. For
sentence. example, her mother probably wouldn’t let her hang around
with someone who uttered rude expletives.
_____4. word: ______________________:
adj. using few words; brief in speech or (D) Annie John’s mother would respond with furor if she caught
expression Annie John playing with the Red Girl, who shoots marbles
and doesn’t brush her teeth.
_____5. word: ______________________:
n. a long, narrow pillow; anything used as a (E) The Red girl probably would consider the clothes and jewelry
support; v.to prop up, support, or reinforce that interest some girls her age to be tawdry; she doesn’t
seem to care at all about such items.
_____6. word: ______________________: (F) She doesn’t have to wash every day or comb her hair. But
v. to give, do, or take in return; to move with even more important, than these concrete facts, the Red Girl
a backward-forward motion has an intangible air of freedom that Annie John envies.
_____7. word: ______________________: (G) Annie John has a wistful desire for the sort of freedom that
adj. full of longing; yearning; wishful the Red Girl enjoys.
_____8. word: ______________________: (H) Because Annie John can’t openly associate with the Red Girl,
n. frenzied anger; rage; a public uproar or she resorts to subterfuge so that she can play marbles with
outburst of indignation; great enthusiasm her new friend.
for
_____9. word: ______________________: (I) Kincaid’s laconic, precise description captures the character
n. a trick, excuse, or deception used to of the Red Girl in just a few paragraphs.
escape something unpleasant
_____10. word: ______________________: (J) Annie John’s idiomatic, everyday way of talking helps
adj. gaudy; showy and cheap characterize her, as well.
EXERCISE 2: Sentence Completion
Directions: For each of the following items, circle the letter choice that best completes the meaning of the sentence or sentences.
11. You don’t need to know West Indian dialects to understand Jamaica Kincaid’s ______ expressions. But a brief, or ______ history of the West Indies might help you appreciate the stories.
(A) idiomatic…bolstered
(B) tawdry…wistful
(C) idiomatic…laconic
(D) wistful…idiomatic
(E) laconic…intangible
12. After leaving a West Indian island, you might feel ______ remembering the ______ atmosphere of the place.
(A) laconic…furious
(B) wistful…intangible
(C) intangible…wistful
(D) tawdry…iconic
(E) bolstered…idiomatic
13. Europeans began settling the West Indies in the 1500s. The islands’ agricultural riches soon ______ the European economy.
(A) made tawdry
(B) made wistful
(C) reciprocated
(D) made intangible
(E) bolstered
14. A ______ resulted when the French tried to seize Santo Domingo from the Spanish. The Spaniards ______ with a counterattack.
(A) subterfuge…bolstered
(B) furor…reciprocated
(C) tawdriness…reciprocated
(D) furor…bolstered
(E) idioms…bolstered
15. The West Indies inspired ______ longing in European monarchs. Because the spices and sugar from the islands were so valuable, no ______ was too underhanded in the battle for control.
(A) furious…expletive
(B) wistful…subterfuge
(C) tawdry…bolster
(D) laconic…reciprocation
(E) reciprocated…wistfulness
16. No doubt the native inhabitants of the islands remembered with ______ the era before Columbus’s landing.
(A) idioms
(B) bolstered
(C) intangibility
(D) tawdriness
(E) wistfulness
17. By a busy port, a visitor to the West Indies may be surrounded by the sounds of dockhands hurling spicy ______ at one another. Just a few blocks on, the visitor may come across a peaceful seaside shrine.
(A) bolsters
(B) expletives
(C) subterfuges
(D) furors
(E) intangibilities
18. Movies often present ______ images of West Indian life. These films exaggerate the showy aspects of the culture.
(A) laconic
(B) bolstered
(C) wistful
(D) tawdry
(E) intangible
19. The complexity of Caribbean cultures can’t be captured in a brief description. Writers like Jamaica Kincaid have devoted whole books to explaining that ______, undefinable quality of the West Indies.
(A) tawdry
(B) laconic
(C) intangible
(D) idiomatic
(E) reciprocal
20. If you’re interested in ______ your knowledge of West Indian language, you can learn some ______ expressions from reading West Indian writers.
(A) bolstering…intangible
(B) reciprocating…intangible
(C) reciprocating…wistful
(D) bolstering…idiomatic
(E) reciprocating…idiomatic
“Exercise 3”- Detach from the packet. Cut the cards out. Write the correct definitions on the back of each card. Use to study! J
bolster
laconic
expletive
reciprocate
furor
subterfuge
idiomatic
tawdry
intangible
wistful