(adjective)
______
2. detract
(verb)
______
3. disdain
(noun)
______
4. divulge
(verb)
______
5. elation
(noun)
______
6. endow
(verb)
______
7. expulsion
(noun)
______
8. mortify
(verb)
______
9. nullify
(verb)
______
10. ominous
(adjective)
______/ * That little boy was once so averse to tomatoes that the very sight of them made him gag.
a. opposed b. accustomed c. opened
* Julius thinks the scar on his cheek detracts form his good looks, but it’s barely noticeable.
* All of the litter on the park detracts from the beauty of the trees and flowers.
a. to result b. to benefit c. to take away
* The snobby waiter in the French restaurant viewed Tanya with disdain because she could not pronounce anything on the menu.
* I was afraid my request to see that senator would be treated with disdain. Instead, the senator’s secretary politely made and appointment for me.
a. pride b. disrespect c. sorrow
* My father would not divulge the type of car he had bought, saying only, “It’s a surprise.”
* It’s against the law to ask people to divulge their age at a job interview.
a. to hide b. to recall c. to tell
* The principle shouted with elation when the school team scored the winning goal.
* Roy had expected to feel elation at his graduation. Instead, he felt sadness at the thought of parting with some of his high-school friends.
a. anger b. confusion c. happiness
* Nature has endowed hummingbirds with the ability to fly backwards.
* Oscar Wilde was endowed with the ability to find humor in any situation. While dying, he said of the ugly wallpaper in his hotel room, “One of us had to go.”
a. to equip b. to curse c. to threaten
* The manager told us we risked expulsion from the theater if we continued to talk during the movie.
* Expulsion form school is intended as a punishment, but some students may consider not being allowed to attend classes a reward.
a. being cancelled b. being forced out c. being embarrased
*It would mortify me if my voice were to crack during my choir solo.
* I doubt anything will ever mortify me more than the stream of toilet paper than clung to my shoe as I returned form the ladies room to rejoin my date in a fancy restaurant.
a. to shame b. to praise c. to delay
* The college will nullify my student ID at the end of the term unless I update it with a new sticker.
* The soft drink company decided to nullify its contract with a well-known athlete because he was convicted of drunken driving.
a. to renew b. to reveal c. to cancel
* To many, cemeteries have an ominous quality, particularly at night or on Halloween, when the threat of ghosts can seem very real.
* The sore’s failure to heal was ominous, a possible sign of cancer.
a. embarrassing b. threatening c. unworthy
Endow / ominous / Divulge / Averse / Disdain
Expulsion / Detract / Nullify / Mortify / elation
expulsion / nullified / divulge / ominous / elation
averse / mortified / endow / detract / disdain
1. People talking in a movie greatly ______from the enjoyment of watching a film.
2. Because of the dark, ______storm clouds, we canceled the softball game.
3. I’m ______to speaking in public because I don’t enjoy making a fool of myself.
4. When he received the college scholarship, my brother felt such ______that he wept with joy.
5. The results of the mayoral election were ______after the townspeople found evidence of voting fraud.
6. The American water shrew is ______ed with feet that have air pockets, enabling the small animal to walk on the water.
7. Some want a law calling for the ______of illegal immigrants. Others want all immigrants to be allowed to stay in the United States.
8. Vinnie’s repeated boasts about his muscle-building backfired. They caused his date to look at him with ______, not admiration.
9. Never trust Ester with a secret. She’ll ______it the minute you turn your back.
10. The reporter was ______when he learned that he had delivered much of his news story facing away from the operating camera.
expulsion / nullified / divulge / ominous / elationaverse / mortified / endow / detract / disdain
I was not (1) ______ed with athletic ability. In a frequent nightmare, I’m still trying to pass my mandatory gym class so that I can graduate from high school. The situation always looks grim. For one thing, the teacher has threatened me with (2) ______from school for refusing to take a group shower. Also appearing in my dream is the terrifying vault horse, the very sight of which (3) ______s from my mental health. I run toward the horse, leap, and nosedive into the mat. Ignoring my despair, the rest of the gym class laughs. Once again, I am (4) ______by my athletic performance.
Next, a single (5) ______rope threatens overhead, where it hangs from the ceiling. I try to contrive some excuse to get out of climbing it. However, my excuses are so incoherent that my teacher says, “I don’t understand anything you’re saying. Get started.” Wondering if anyone has ever died from rope burn, I struggle to climb it. Almost to the top, I sweat so much that I slide back to the floor, landing at the gym teacher’s feet. “What a loser,” the teacher mutters with an expression of total (6) ______.
Because I’ve always been (7) ______to square-dancing, that too appears in the nightmare. Having forgotten my sneakers, I’m forced to dance in my socks. I slip, rather than dance, around the polished floor. During one high-speed turn, I go sliding-- right onto the men’s locker room, where the smell causes me to pass out.
The pleasant part of the dream comes near the end. With amazement and (8) ______, I learn that I will graduate after all. I smile, thinking I’ll never have to face the rigors of gym class again.
But then the principal (9) ______s the terrible truth. I haven’t managed to pass gym. My graduation depends on my agreeing to take four more years of gym when I get to college. If I don’t, my high school diploma will be (10) ______.