tr11_u3_dick_wu.fm Page 154 Thursday, September 22, 2005 8:53 PM Poems by Emily Dickinson Vocabulary Warm-up Word Lists Study these words from the selections. Then, complete the activities. Word List A absorb [ab SORB] v. to suck up; to take in and incorporate; to assimilate It took us hours to absorb all the information from the lengthy chapter. assignable [uh SYN uh buhl] adj. able to be given away In her will, she left the assignable parts of her estate to her favorite niece. keepsakes [KEEP sayks] n. souvenirs; mementoes; heirlooms Mother has a trunk full of keepsakes in the attic. leisure [LEE zhuhr] n. free time; relaxation Timothy uses much of his leisure for reading. onset [ON set] n. approach; beginning A tickling in my throat signaled the onset of a cold. portion [POR shuhn] n. part; section The dessert was so large that I could eat only a portion of it. quivering [KWIV uhr ing] adj. shivering When the dog barked loudly, the cat retreated, quivering with fear. wrung [RUNG] v. squeezed; compressed I wrung out the shirt I had washed, squeezing all the water from it. Word List B befel [bee FEL] v. happened (modern spelling befell) What fate befell the hero in that novel? finite [FY nyt] adj. limited; able to be calculated or reckoned Although the speed of light is unbelievably fast, it is still finite. immortality [i mor TAL i tee] n. eternal life The heroes of ancient epics often had immortality as their goal. majority [muh JOR uh tee] n. greater part or larger number; more than half the total The majority of voters did not agree with the governor, and he was not re-elected. strove [STROHV] v. tried very hard; struggled Each team strove hard for victory, but the outcome of the game was a tie score. surmised [suhr MYZD] v. guessed; made an inference From his remarks, we surmised that Keith was not in favor of our proposal. unveil [un VAYL] v. to uncover; to reveal The museum director planned to unveil a dramatic new painting. valves [VALVZ] n. gates or devices regulating the flow of a liquid The valves in that automobile engine need regular lubrication. Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation © Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 154 tr11_u3_dick_wu.fm Page 155 Thursday, September 22, 2005 8:53 PM Name Date Poems by Emily Dickinson Vocabulary Warm-up Exercises Exercise A Fill in the blanks, using each word from Word List A only once. Elaine had promised herself that, when she had a day of [1] _____________________, she would do some gardening. All winter, she had tried to [2] _____________________ all the tips she could from gardening magazines. She had carefully charted each [3] _____________________ of the ground, calculating what part was [4] _____________________ to rose bushes and how much for vegetables and herbs. On Saturday morning, she gathered her gardening tools, some of which were [5] _____________________ left her by her grandmother. The weather was sunny and still: not a leaf was shaking or [6] _____________________ on the trees. Elaine worked all day long—digging, planting, and watering. With the [7] _____________________ of twilight, she had the work done. She felt happy but [8] _____________________ out with fatigue. Exercise B Revise each sentence so that the underlined vocabulary word is logical. Be sure to keep the vocabulary word in your revision. Example: Because the work was so arduous, we completed it quickly and easily. Because the work was so arduous, we had a hard time completing it. 1. Two setbacks befell James, and he was relieved to have avoided them. 2. Because our resources are finite, we can pledge any amount of money for that cause. 3. The immortality of the Greek gods was one way in which they resembled humans. 4. The election was close, and the loser received a very small majority of votes. 5. In all his undertakings, Tom strove hard, putting in minimum effort. 6. Unwilling to use an educated guess, Phil surmised the ending from hints in the story. 7. In favor of concealing the new painting, the museum director prepared to unveil it. 8. Valves are used to heat the water in those pipes. Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation © Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 155 tr11_u3_dick_wu.fm Page 156 Thursday, September 22, 2005 8:53 PM Name Date Poems by Emily Dickinson Reading Warm-up A Read the following passage. Pay special attention to the underlined words. Then, read it again, and complete the activities. Use a separate sheet of paper for your written answers. Cathy often finished her homework early. Most nights 1. Underline the words in this she had an hour or two of leisure before dinner. Some- sentence and the previous one times she played with her baby sister Betsy or read sto- that give a clue to the mean- ries to the little girl—usually fairy tales that left Betsy ing of leisure. Use the word leisure in an original sentence. quivering with delight. At other times Cathy would write in her journal. She 2. Circle the words in this sen- always reserved a portion of each journal page for notes tence that give a clue to the about subjects for poems. She would fill this section with meaning of quivering. What is a synonym for quivering? ideas she had trained herself to absorb during the day, such as sensory images she’d accumulated on the school 3. Underline the words in this bus, in the cafeteria, or on the playing field. Cathy also sentence and the next that got ideas for poems from short stories she read in give a clue to the meaning of English class. She felt that each fictional character she portion. What is a synonym encountered in a story should be assignable to a poem. for portion? Perhaps she might use the character in a story poem. 4. Circle the words that offer a Maybe she would write a lyric poem using the character clue to the meaning of absorb as the speaker. here. What are two synonyms Now that it was late fall, with the onset of winter not for the word absorb? far off, Cathy wanted to increase the rate at which she 5. Circle the words in this sen- wrote notes. During the winter, when the weather was tence and the next two sen- bad, she would stay indoors upstairs at her little desk, tences that offer clues to the depending on the notes to create poetry. meaning of assignable. What Cathy had heard from her mother that her grand- are a verb and a noun related mother, Hetty Pierce, had followed this same system. to this adjective? Some of Hetty’s poems, scribbled on old envelopes and 6. Underline the words in this the back of shopping lists, had survived and were trea- sentence that give a clue to sured in the family as keepsakes. These poems dated the meaning of onset. What from the days of the Great Depression and World War II, are two synonyms for onset? a difficult time when Hetty had wrung beautiful verse out 7. Circle the words in this sen- of the challenges of her life experience. Cathy felt as if tence that give a clue to the she were following in Hetty’s footsteps. She knew that meaning of keepsakes. Use poetry would always be a close companion, wherever her the word keepsakes in an life might lead. original sentence. 8. Underline the words in this sentence hinting at the meaning of wrung. What is a synonym for wrung? Unit 3 Resources: A Growing Nation © Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 156 tr11_u3_dick_wu.fm Page 157 Thursday, September 22, 2005 8:53 PM Name Date Poems by Emily Dickinson Reading Warm-up B Read the following passage. Pay special attention to the underlined words. Then, read it again, and complete the activities. Use a separate sheet of paper for your written answers. In her poetry, Emily Dickinson strove to create a dis- 1. Underline the words in this tinctive style, and most readers will probably agree that sentence that give a clue to she succeeded brilliantly in this effort. What is the hall- the meaning of strove. Use mark of this style? In the majority of Dickinson’s poems, the word strove in an original sentence. it is the use of surprise. There are very few Dickinson poems that are entirely predictable. 2. Circle the word in this sen- Surprises in Dickinson come in a number of forms. By tence and the next that hint combining slant or approximate rhyme with exact rhyme, at the meaning of majority. Use a word meaning the for example, she keeps the reader guessing about the opposite of majority in a sound of the poem. Another important Dickinson tech- sentence of your own. nique is sudden changes in rhythm. Try reading “Water, is taught by thirst” aloud, for example. If you think you 3. Underline the words in this have surmised or inferred how the poem ought to unfold, sentence hinting at the you may be surprised by the unexpected variations meaning of surmised. What is a synonym for surmised? Dickinson uses to hold the reader’s attention. Dickinson also uses surprising word choices, such as the noun 4. Underline the words in this valves in the next-to-last line of “The Soul selects her sentence and the next that own Society.” This word suggests mechanical devices, as give a clue to the meaning of if the soul had water spigots or faucets that could be valves.