MRW, Look It Up! P.398

 Pre-Reading Vocabulary:

Note: Hi Ana.  I hope you are doing well in your classes this session.  There are a lot of good and challenging vocabulary words here! :) 

1. perched: sitting somewhere (usually at the top of something)

2. perusing: reading in careful detail 

3. sifting through: examining carefully 

4. diligent: hardworking 

5. mundane: uninteresting 

6. sublime: something of great excellence that gets admiration 

7. at the helm: in a leadership position 

8. on the precipice: about to do a very big decision 

9. gall: bold or brave behavior 

10. I took the plunge: I went and I did the thing 

11. duplicate: copy 

12. knack: tendency 

13. inquisitive: curious 

14. repertoire: daily routine or things a person does 

15. resilience: the ability to keep going even in difficult circumstances 

Describing a person:

I had a teacher, and he had the strongest personality of anyone I met.  When he began talking, everyone’s eyes were focused on him.  His voice was as loud as a lion.  Sometimes when we made him angry, he roared at us like a lion.  He was very demanding in the classroom.  He made us write until our hands felt like they were going to fall off.  Sometimes when he was angry, his face turned red like a giant tomato.  We thought a volcano was going to erupt on us! 

Students trembled when he spoke.  Their hearts were pounding like a giant hammer coming down again and again.  He had the ability to frighten you like that. 

Description: An aggressive teacher

I had a teacher, and he was the gentlest soul I have ever known.  His voice was soft, like a gentle breeze on a cool summer night.  It was so relaxing that often students felt sleepy, but not because he was boring, but because his gentle voice was comforting like a soft blanket. 

Description: A gentle teacher