Word List. Unit 10
To accumulate something is to collect a lot of it over time.
The mail accumulated in their mailbox while they were on vacation.- When something is aerial, it relates to being in the air or flying.
The aerial photographer took pictures from the air balloon. - An apparatus is a device used for a particular purpose.
The campers had an apparatus that showed them their exact location. - An avalanche is a large amount of snow, ice, and rock falling off a mountain.
The avalanche destroyed the mountain village. - Consistency is the state of always behaving in the same way.
Her consistency in archery meant that our team had a chance to win. - Convection is the flow of hot air through gas or liquid.
The weather changed because of convection in the atmosphere. - To discharge someone is to allow them to leave from a place, usually a hospital.
I was discharged from the hospital after three days. - When something is intact, it is complete and not damaged.
Despite being over ten years old, my father’s model ship is still intact. - When a person is mortal, they cannot live forever.
All people are mortal. - An omen is a sign of what will happen in the future.
He thought that seeing a black cat in the street was an omen of bad luck. - When the sky is overcast, it is full of clouds and is not sunny.
The sky was overcast in the morning, but by noon it was bright again. - When something is poignant, it causes a very strong feeling of sadness.
The girls cried at the end of the poignant movie. - A ranger is a person who protects the forest or parks.
Peter wanted to be a ranger because he liked spending time outside. - Rubble is piles of broken stone and wood created after a building is destroyed.
There was rubble all over the city after the earthquake. - To seclude someone means to keep them away from other people.
She was secluded on an island for over a year. - If something moves sideways, then it moves to or from the side.
jim turned sideways in order to slow down and stop his snowboard. - To sob is to cry loudly.
I sobbed when my youngest daughter got married. - When something or someone is sober, they are serious and calm.
After the funeral, everybody felt very sober. - A speck is a very small mark or amount.
A speck of blood appeared where the mosquito bit him. - An upbringing is the way that someone is taught to behave by their parents.
He had a strict upbringing and was never allowed to watch television.
The Avalanche
Randy was a forest ranger. Because of his job, he was secluded in a cabin in the wilderness. One day, the radio reported, “Convection in the atmosphere is causing a lot of clouds to form. A serious storm …” Suddenly, the radio went silent. The signal was lost. He went outside and looked at the overcast sky. Anybody else would have taken the dark sky as an omen of a very bad storm, but not Randy. His upbringing had taught him consistency. He had done this job foryears, and nothing could stop him. Besides, he thought nothing could hurt him.
Today, he had a very important task to do. The snow was starting to pile up high on the mountain. If too much accumulated, it could cause an avalanche. But Randy had an apparatus to get rid of the snow. It used dynamite to shake the snow and make the top layer of snow come down. As the snow started falling, he thought about returning to the office until the storm stopped, but he decided not to. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise behind him. It was an avalanche!
He started to run, but within seconds, he was knocked sideways and buried by the snow and rubble from an old cabin that had been destroyed. An aerial rescue team came quickly. Randy was just a speck amongst the great pile of snow, but the team found him thanks to his brightly colored jacket. They quickly took him to a hospital. After a few hours, Randy woke up in the hospital. He looked at the sober faces of the doctors and saw his wife sobbing. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He didn’t remember what had happened. “You were almost killed!” his wife said. “You broke several ribs. But the rest of you is still reasonably intact. You are really lucky to be alive,” the doctor said. After five days, Randy was discharged from the hospital. The experience had taught him a poignant lesson: he was a mortal, and nature was much more powerful than him.