Short Stories

Question 1

profusely

Answer 1

1) adverb
2) exhibiting great abundance; bountiful
3) “The flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green”

Question 2

boisterous

Answer 2

1) adjective
2) marked by or expressive of exuberance and high spirits
3) “School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands”

Question 3

reprimand

Answer 3

1) verb
2) to reprove sharply or censure formally usually from a position of authority 3) “School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands”

Question 4

civic

Answer 4

1) adjective 2) of or relating to a citizen, a city, a citizenship, or community affairs. 3) “The lottery was conducted - as were the square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program - by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities”

Question 5

jovial

Answer 5

1) adjective
2) characterized by good humored cheerfulness and conviviality
3) “He was a round faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold”

Question 6

paraphernalia

Answer 6

1) noun
2) items or features typically associated with a particular activity, subject, etc.
3) “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box, now resting on the stool had been put into use ever before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born”

Question 7

perfunctory

Answer 7

1) adjective
2) characterized by routine or superficiality
3) “There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year” (740).

Question 8

Interminably

Answer 8

1) adverb
2) without end or limit
3) “Mr Summers was very good at this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Marting”

Question 9

surly

Answer 9

1) adjective
2) menacing or threatening in appearance.
3) “So me and Sugar leaning on the mailbox being surly, which is a Miss Moore word”

Question 10

ferocious

Answer 10

1) adjective
2) exhibiting or given to extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

Question 11

notion

Answer 11

1) noun
2) an individual’s conception or impression of something known, experienced or imagined.
3) “And Big Butt ain’t got the first notion”

Question 12

recitation

Answer 12

1) noun
2) the act or instance of reading or repeating aloud, especially in public.

Question 13

treachery

Answer 13

1) noun
2) violation of allegiance or of faith and confidence.
3) “Miss Moore is beside herself and I am disgusted with Sugar’s treachery”

Question 14

furtive

Answer 14

1) adjective
2) done in a quiet or secretive way to avoid being noticed
3) “Furtive boys in pink shirts hanging about on washday after school”

Question 15

cowering

Answer 15

1) verb
2) to shrink or crouch especially for shelter from something that menaces, domineers, or dismays

Question 16

doctrines

Answer 16

1) noun
2) a principle or position of the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief
3) ‘Hakim-a-barber said, “I accept some of their doctrines, but farming and raising cattle is not my style.”

Question 17

clabber

Answer 17

1) noun
2) sour milk thickened or curdled
3) “She jumped up from the table and went over in the corner where the churn stood, the milk in it clabber by now”

Question 18

dasher

Answer 18

1) noun
2) a device having blades for agitating a liquid or semisolid
3)’ “Un huh,” she said happily. “And I want the dasher, too.”

Question 19

heritage

Answer 19

1) noun
2) a property that descends to an heir.

Question 20

trifles

Answer 20

1) noun
2) something of little value, substance, or importance
3) “‘Oh well,’ said Mrs. Hale’s husband, with good-natured superiority, ‘women are used to worrying over trifles’

Question 21

disdainful

Answer 21

1) adjective
2) full or of expressing contempt for someone or something regarded as unworthy or inferior

Question 22

Acquiescence

Answer 22

1) noun
2) a passive acceptance or submission
3) ‘”Of course it’s no more than their duty,” said the sheriff’s wife, in her manner of timid acquiescence.’

Question 23

detained

Answer 23

1) verb
2) to hold or keep in or as if in custody

Question 24

shabby

Answer 24

1) adjective
2) clothed with worn or seedy garments

Question 25

indecisive

Answer 25

1) adjective 2) marked by or prone to indecision

Question 26

scrutinized

Answer 26

1) verb 2) to examine closely or minutely

Question 27

apprehensive

Answer 27

1) adjective 2) viewing the future with anxiety or alarm: feeling or showing fear or apprehension about the future. 3) “Again their eyes met--startled, questioning, apprehensive”

Question 28

incisively

Answer 28

1) adjective 2) impressively direct or decisive (as in manner or presentation) 3) ‘"No, Peters," said the county attorney incisively;

Question 29

evasion

Answer 29

1) noun 2) a means of evading (dodging, avoiding, escaping).

Question 30

facetiously

Answer 30

1) adjective 2) joking or jesting often inappropriately 3) ‘"Well, Henry," said the county attorney facetiously, "at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to--what is it you call it, ladies?"’

Question 31

pungent

Answer 31

1) adjective 2) sharply painful

Question 32

solemnity

Answer 32

1) noun 2) formal or ceremonious observance of an occasion or event 3) “I nodded back with equal solemnity”

Question 33

pawn

Answer 33

1) noun 2) one of the chessmen of least value having the power to move only forward ordinarily one square at a time, to capture only diagonally forward, and to be promoted to any piece except a king upon reaching the eighth rank

Question 34

benevolently

Answer 34

1) adjective 2) marked by or disposed to doing good/ organized by the purpose of doing good 3) ‘"Little sister, been a long time since I play with dolls," he said, smiling benevolently. I quickly put the box down next to him on the bench and displayed my retort’

Question 35

retort

Answer 35

1) verb 2) 1. to make a reply to 2. to pay or hurl back

Question 36

prodigy

Answer 36

1) noun 2) a highly talented child or youth

Question 37

malodorous

Answer 37

1) adjective 2) 1. having a bad odor 2. highly improper

Question 38

concessions

Answer 38

1) noun 2) the act or instance of conceding (as by granting something as a right, accepting something as true, or acknowledging defeat) 3) “My parents made many concessions to allow me to practice”