If you are astounded, you are very surprised.
I was astounded that Monica won the art competition.- An attribute is a characteristic of a person or thing.
He isn’t very clever, but he does have some other positive attributes. - If someone is bilingual, then they can speaktwo languages.
Since you already know English, after learning French you’ll be bilingual. - A clone is an identical copy of a living creature.
Scientists recently made a clone of a sheep. - Colloquial describes informal words that are more suitable for speech than writing.
I find it difficult to understand people if they use colloquial language. - Cosmetics are substances that make the face and skin more beautiful.
Girls often look nicer when they don’t use so many cosmetics. - To dash means to run or move quickly.
Helen dashed up the stairs, so she wouldn’t be late for her appointment. - Disgust is a feeling of distaste and anger caused by something rude or unpleasant.
He felt disgust toward his date because she had such terrible eating habits. - If something is fluorescent, it is such a bright color that it seems to give off light.
She highlighted the key words in the document with a fluorescent yellow pen. - If you are furious, you are extremely angry.
My father was furious when he read my bad school report. - A gulf is a gap between people who do not understand each other.
There has been a gulf between James and Tony since their parents died. - Humanities are subjects which analyze human ideas, such as history and literature.
Jennifer has always been more interested in humanities than science. - A knot is made when you tie the ends of rope or cord together.
He tied a knot in his shoelaces, so they wouldn’t come off during the race. - A linguist is someone who studies languages.
Tony is a good linguist and speaks four different languages. - A participant is someone who joins in a social event or competition.
There were thousands of participants in this year’s marathon. - If something is plausible, it is reasonable or possible.
It is plausible that Jack isn’t here today because he is sick. - A ritual is a formal custom that people do regularly.
Ken was very interested to learn about the religious rituals of the natives. - A sibling is a brother or sister.
Jane has two siblings, an older brother and a younger sister. - If someone is skinny, they are extremely thin.
Polly is very skinny. I think she needs to eat more. - If something is vague, it is not clear, and it gives very few details.
I asked him about his mother’s health, but he was very vague about it.
The Twins
Katie and Alice were twins. They were so alike that few people could tell the siblings apart. They were almost like clones. They even used the same colloquial language as each other. They were best friends. But the twins’ attributes were not all identical. Alice liked humanities, and Katie was a good linguist. One summer, Katie decided to be a participant at a summer camp in France. Alice wasn’t interested in the French language, so she didn’t go. But she felt angry that Katie wanted to spend the summer away from her. Two months later, Katie returned.
Alice dashed to the airport to greet her sister. But when Alice saw Katie, she was astounded. Katie was now bilingual, and she looked completely different! She was wearing nice clothes, cosmetics and looked skinnier. Alice felt very messy next to her. She was just wearing a fluorescent t-shirt, and her hair had knots in it. When Alice asked Katie about France, Katie was vague and didn’t say much. It made Alice furious and filled her with disgust because in the past they’d always told each other everything. Now there was a huge gulf between them. Over the weeks, the sisters spoke even less. Two months later, it was the twins’ birthday. All their lives, they’d had a ritual. Before their birthday, they’d talk all night long. That night, Alice came into Katie’s bedroom. “I’m sorry I haven’t spoken much lately,” Katie said.
“I understand. You have new friends now,” said Alice, angrily. Katie said, “My French friends don’t write much nowadays. For a while, I thought they were more exciting than my friends at home. But I was wrong. You’re my sister, and you’ll always be my best friend.” Alice said, “I’m sorry, too. I wanted our relationship to stay the same forever. But it’s totally plausible for twins to have different interests. We can still be best friends without being together all the time.”
