Chapter 5

Question 1

pretext

Answer 1

A reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason.
e.g
On every kind of pretext she would run away from work and go to the drinking pool, where she would stand foolishly gazing at her own reflection in the water.

Question 2

blithely

Answer 2

In a way that shows a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper.
e.g
One day, as Mollie strolled blithely into the yard, flirting her long tail and chewing at a stalk of hay, Clover took her aside.

Question 3

hedge

Answer 3

A fence or boundary formed by closely growing bushes or shrubs.
e.g
One of Mr. Pilkington’s men was standing on the other side of the hedge.

Question 4

prance

Answer 4

(of a horse) move with high springy steps.
e.g
“He didn’t! I wasn’t! It isn’t true!” cried Mollie, beginning to prance about and paw the ground.

Question 5

galloped

Answer 5

(of a horse) go at the pace of a gallop.
e.g
she took to her heels and galloped away into the field.

Question 6

shafts

Answer 6

A long, narrow part or section forming the handle of a tool or club, the body of a spear or arrow, or similar.
e.g
She was between the shafts of a smart dogcart painted red and black, which was standing outside a public-house

Question 7

manifestly

Answer 7

In a way that is clear or obvious to the eye or mind.
e.g
It had come to be accepted that the pigs, who were manifestly cleverer than the other animals, should decide all questions of farm policy, though their decisions had to be ratified by a majority vote.

Question 8

ratified

Answer 8

Sign or give formal consent to (a treaty, contract, or agreement), making it officially valid
e.g
It had come to be accepted that the pigs, who were manifestly cleverer than the other animals, should decide all questions of farm policy, though their decisions had to be ratified by a majority vote.

Question 9

acreage

Answer 9

An area of land, typically when used for agricultural purposes, but not necessarily measured in acres.
e.g
If one of them suggested sowing a bigger acreage with barley, the other was certain to demand a bigger acreage of oats, and if one of them said that such and such a field was just right for cabbages, the other would declare that it was useless for anything except roots.

Question 10

canvassing

Answer 10

Cover with canvas.
e.g
Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times.

Question 11

crucial

Answer 11

Decisive or critical, especially in the success or failure of something.
e.g
It was noticed that they were especially liable to break into “Four legs good, two legs bad” at crucial moments in Snowball’s speeches

Question 12

controversies

Answer 12

Prolonged public disagreement or heated discussion
e.g
But of all their controversies, none was so bitter as the one that took place over the windmill.

Question 13

dynamo

Answer 13

A machine for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, typically by means of rotating coils of copper wire in a magnetic field.
e.g
After surveying the ground, Snowball declared that this was just the place for a windmill, which could be made to operate a dynamo and supply the farm with electrical power.

Question 14

primitive

Answer 14

Relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something.
e.g
the farm was an old-fashioned one and had only the most primitive machinery

Question 15

incubators

Answer 15

An enclosed apparatus in which premature or unusually small babies are placed and which provides a controlled and protective environment for their care.
e.g
Snowball used as his study a shed which had once been used for incubators and had a smooth wooden floor, suitable for drawing on.

Question 16

publican

Answer 16

A person who owns or manages a pub.
e.g
A fat red-faced man in check breeches and gaiters, who looked like a publican, was stroking her nose and feeding her with sugar.

Question 17

dispute

Answer 17

A disagreement or argument.
e.g
This arrangement would have worked well enough if it had not been for the disputes between Snowball and Napoleon.

Question 18

liable

Answer 18

Responsible by law; legally answerable.
e.g
It was noticed that they were especially liable to break into “Four legs good, two legs bad” at crucial moments in Snowball’s speeches.

Question 19

bide

Answer 19

Remain or stay somewhere.
e.g
Napoleon produced no schemes of his own, but said quietly that Snowball’s would come to nothing, and seemed to be biding his time.

Question 20

conjured

Answer 20

Cause (a spirit or ghost) to appear by means of a magic ritual.
e.g
The animals had never heard of anything of this kind before (for the farm was an old-fashioned one and had only the most primitive machinery), and they listened in astonishment while Snowball conjured up pictures of fantastic machines which would do their work for them while they grazed at their ease in the fields or improved their minds with reading and conversation.

Question 21

aloof

Answer 21

Not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant.
e.g
Only Napoleon held aloof.
He stayed aloof from the bickering.

Question 22

procure

Answer 22

Obtain (something), especially with care or effort.
e.g
How these were to be procured, Snowball did not say.
He persuaded a friend to procure him a ticket.

Question 23

reinstate

Answer 23

Restore (someone or something) to their former position or state.
e.g
t was fully realized that though the human beings had been defeated in the Battle of the Cowshed they might make another and more determined attempt to recapture the farm and reinstate Mr. Jones.

Question 24

promptly

Answer 24

With little or no delay; immediately.
e.g
He said very quietly that the windmill was nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it, and promptly sat down again; he had spoken for barely thirty seconds, and seemed almost indifferent as to the effect he produced.

Question 25

sympathy

Answer 25

Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.
e.g
Until now the animals had been about equally divided in their sympathies, but in a moment Snowball’s eloquence had carried them away.

Question 26

sordid

Answer 26

Involving immoral or dishonorable actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.
e.g
In glowing sentences he painted a picture of Animal Farm as it might be when sordid labour was lifted from the animals’ backs.

Question 27

peculiar

Answer 27

Different to what is normal or expected; strange.
e.g
But just at this moment Napoleon stood up and, casting a peculiar sidelong look at Snowball, uttered a high-pitched whimper of a kind no one had ever heard him utter before.

Question 28

eloquence

Answer 28

Fluent or persuasive speaking or writing.
e.g
Until now the animals had been about equally divided in their sympathies, but in a moment Snowball’s eloquence had carried them away.

Question 29

spurt

Answer 29

Gush out in a sudden and forceful stream.
e.g
Then he put on an extra spurt and, with a few inches to spare, slipped through a hole in the hedge and was seen no more.

Question 30

rear

Answer 30

Bring up and care for (a child) until they are fully grown.
e.g
At first no one had been able to imagine where these creatures came from, but the problem was soon solved: they were the puppies whom Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and reared privately.

Question 31

wag

Answer 31

(especially with reference to an animal’s tail) move or cause to move rapidly to and fro.
e.g
They kept close to Napoleon. It was noticed that they wagged their tails to him in the same way as the other dogs had been used to do to Mr. Jones.

Question 32

expulsion

Answer 32

The action of forcing someone to leave an organization.
e.g
In spite of the shock that Snowball’s expulsion had given them, the animals were dismayed by this announcement.

Question 33

dismay

Answer 33

Cause (someone) to feel concern and distress.
e.g
In spite of the shock that Snowball’s expulsion had given them, the animals were dismayed by this announcement.

Question 34

vaguely

Answer 34

In a way that is uncertain, indefinite or unclear; roughly.
e.g
Even Boxer was vaguely troubled.

Question 35

articulate

Answer 35

Having or showing the ability to speak fluently and coherently.
e.g
Some of the pigs themselves, however, were more articulate.

Question 36

firmly

Answer 36

With little possibility of movement; securely.
e.g
No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal.

Question 37

exaggerated

Answer 37

Regarded or represented as larger, better, or worse than in reality.
e.g
And as to the Battle of the Cowshed, I believe the time will come when we shall find that Snowball’s part in it was much exaggerated.

Question 38

reverent

Answer 38

Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect.
e.g
After the hoisting of the flag, the animals were required to file past the skull in a reverent manner before entering the barn.

Question 39

gruff

Answer 39

(of a voice) rough and low in pitch.
e.g
Napoleon read out the orders for the week in a gruff soldierly style, and after a single singing of ‘Beasts of England’, all the animals dispersed.

Question 40

contrary

Answer 40

Opposite in nature, direction, or meaning.
e.g
On the contrary, it was he who had advocated it in the beginning, and the plan which Snowball had drawn on the floor of the incubator shed had actually been stolen from among Napoleon’s papers.

Question 41

cunning

Answer 41

Having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion.
e.g
That, he said, was Comrade Napoleon’s cunning.

Question 42

interference

Answer 42

The action of interfering or the process of being interfered with.
e.g
Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference.

Question 43

tactics

Answer 43

An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.
e.g
This, said Squealer, was something called tactics. He repeated a number of times, “Tactics, comrades, tactics!” skipping round and whisking his tail with a merry laugh.

Question 44

persuasively

Answer 44

In a persuasive or convincing manner.
e.g
The animals were not certain what the word meant, but Squealer spoke so persuasively, and the three dogs who happened to be with him growled so threateningly, that they accepted his explanation without further questions.