The Mark of Athena: Chapters 41–52

by Rick Riordan
With help from Roman demigods, Annabeth must use her wits to retrieve the stolen statue of Athena. Now test your wits against these words from Rick Riordan.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–10, Chapters 11–20, Chapters 21–30, Chapters 31–40, Chapters 41–52

Here are links to our lists for The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan: The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus

And here are links to our lists for the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. advice
    a proposal for an appropriate course of action
    She also kept thinking about Achelous’s advice: If you had made it to Rome, the story of the flood would have served you better. She knew the story he was talking about. She just didn’t understand how it would help.
  2. preview
    a screening for an audience in advance of public release
    A demigod was never supposed to leave her weapon behind, but Piper was fed up with evil visions. She’d rather face her death without any more previews.
  3. speculate
    talk over conjecturally, or review in an idle or casual way
    “Maybe the future has changed,” Jason speculated.
  4. dilute
    lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
    “The horn of plenty,” she said. “We have to overwhelm the nymphs with fresh water, give them more than they can use. If we can dilute this poisonous stuff—”
  5. channel
    direct the flow of
    “I need you both to channel everything you’ve got into the cornucopia,” she said. “Percy, think about the sea.”
  6. twist
    any clever maneuver
    “I’ve got a better idea,” she told the giants. “Why don’t you let us go? That would be an incredible twist. Wonderful entertainment value, and it would prove to the world how cool you are.”
  7. spectacular
    sensational in appearance or thrilling in effect
    “Maybe,” Percy ventured, “you should bring our other friends here. You know, spectacular deaths ... the more the merrier, right?”
  8. choreograph
    plan and oversee the development and details of
    “We can’t let things get out of control,” the giant agreed. “Everything has to be timed perfectly. But don’t worry. I’ve choreographed your deaths. You’ll love it.”
  9. sensible
    showing reason or sound judgment
    “You have no gods with you, and that’s the only way you could hope to triumph. So really, it would be much more sensible to die painfully. Sorry, but the show must go on.”
  10. reflex
    an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus
    Jason had fast reflexes. As Otis threw, Jason rolled. The point sailed over him and Jason flicked his hand, summoning a gust of wind that changed the spear’s direction. It flew across the room and skewered Ephialtes through his side just as he was getting to his feet.
  11. worthy
    having merit or value; being honorable or admirable
    Bacchus smiled lazily. “Juno says she’s assembled a worthy crew of demigods. Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Give me a reason to do more. Being a god has its privileges.”
  12. pawn
    a person used by another to gain an end
    Percy remembered what Luke Castellan had told him years ago, when Percy had come back from his very first quest: Didn’t you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics—being pawns of the Olympians?
  13. scheme
    an elaborate and systematic plan of action
    In the past five years, Percy had been a pawn too many times. The Olympians seemed to take turns using him for their schemes.
  14. dawn
    become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
    Percy tried to think. Dividing was the natural course—fighting the giants one-on-one, but that hadn’t worked so well last time. It dawned on him that they needed a different strategy.
  15. improvise
    manage in a makeshift way; do with whatever is at hand
    Jason poked his head out from behind his improvised bomb shelter of a plastic horse.
  16. brilliant
    having or marked by unusual and impressive intelligence
    “Oh, just another brilliant plan by Leo Valdez. You’d be amazed what you can do with an Archimedes sphere, a girl who can sense stuff underground, and a weasel.”
  17. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
    They quickly decided that their best lead for finding Annabeth was the cryptic advice Bacchus had provided: the Emmanuel Building, whatever that was.
  18. trickery
    the use of cunning actions to deceive someone
    Combat was not the answer. That left trickery and brains.
  19. stall
    deliberately delay an event or action
    Maybe if she stalled for time ... though she wasn’t sure how stalling would help. Her friends wouldn’t be able to reach her, even if they knew where to go. The cavalry would not be coming. Still, stalling was better than dying.
  20. grasp
    understand the meaning of something
    Annabeth’s mind split into two different levels: one carrying on the conversation, the other madly grasping for a scheme to survive.
  21. quality
    of superior grade
    I’ve completed most of the work, but we need a lot of quality public art. The throne room of the gods, for instance ... I was thinking your work would be perfect to display there. The Olympians could finally see how talented you are.
  22. coherent
    marked by an orderly and consistent relation of parts
    Arachne’s hairy abdomen quivered. Her four eyes glimmered as if she had a separate thought behind each and was trying to weave them into a coherent web.
  23. hypocritical
    professing feelings or virtues one does not have
    “Rather hypocritical,” Annabeth said, “since the gods make fun of each other all the time. I think the trick would be to pit one god against another. Ares, for instance, would love a tapestry making fun of my mother. He’s always resented Athena.”
  24. broker
    act as a businessman who buys or sells for another
    Oh, I’m sure if the Olympians saw your work, they’d realize how amazing you are, and I’d have to broker a bidding war.
  25. agent
    a representative who acts on behalf of others
    “Or ... by letting me be your agent. I could get your work into Mount Olympus. I could arrange an exhibition for the other gods. By the time my mother found out, it would be too late. The Olympians would finally see that your work is better.”
  26. tapestry
    a wall hanging of heavy fabric with pictorial designs
    Um ... as I said, I’d love to take your tapestries to Olympus and hang them everywhere. You could rub your craftsmanship in Athena’s nose for all eternity.
  27. difficult
    requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish
    But the only way I could do that... No. It’s too difficult. You might as well go ahead and kill me.
  28. concede
    admit or acknowledge, often reluctantly
    “I suppose I could pull a few strings,” she conceded.
  29. proposal
    something suggested, as a plan or assumption
    “Yes, but to get your work shown on Mount Olympus, we’d need a proper audition. I’d have to pitch the idea, submit a proposal, put together a portfolio. Hmm ... do you have any headshots?”
  30. audition
    a test of the suitability of a performer
    The audition piece is the most important thing. These tapestries are excellent. But the gods would require something really special—something that shows off your talent in the extreme.
  31. muse
    the source of an artist's inspiration
    She opened her 3-D imaging program. Her last design was still up—the key to Annabeth’s plan, inspired by the most unlikely muse ever: Frank Zhang.
  32. abstract
    not representing or imitating external reality
    That’s why it’s a challenge. It’s outside your comfort zone. A piece like this—an abstract sculpture—is what the gods are looking for.
  33. structure
    a complex entity made of many parts
    Athena said that creating this braided structure would be impossible for any weaver, even her. So if you don’t think you can—
  34. functional
    designed for or capable of a particular use
    Soon, the structure was done. At the feet of the statue lay a braided cylinder of silk strips, five feet in diameter and ten feet long. The surface glistened like abalone shell, but it didn’t seem beautiful to Annabeth. It was just functional: a trap. It would only be beautiful if it worked.
  35. accommodate
    have room for; hold without crowding
    As Annabeth had hoped, the spider’s abdomen fit, but only barely. As she pushed her way in, the braided strips of silk expanded to accommodate her.
  36. variation
    something a little different from others of the same type
    “I forgot to tell you. This piece of art is called Chinese Handcuffs. At least, it’s a larger variation on that idea. I call it Chinese Spidercuffs.”
  37. tangle
    twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
    Too late, she realized what was happening: she was tangled in the spider silk. She should have cut it away immediately. She had thought it was just loose line, but with the entire floor covered in cobwebs, she hadn’t noticed that one of the strands was wrapped around her foot—and the other end went straight into the pit.
  38. demoralize
    lower someone's spirits; make downhearted
    Jason, Hazel, and Frank had returned to the scene of the catastrophe, hoping to dig through the rubble and find a way to save Percy and Annabeth, but they’d come back demoralized.
  39. radar
    measuring instrument using pulses of microwave radiation
    “How can you be sure?” Leo asked. “If that pit really led to ... you know... how could you sense them so far away?” Nico and Hazel shared a look, maybe comparing notes on their Hades/Pluto death radar.
  40. manage
    be successful; achieve a goal
    “I don’t know how they’ll manage it, but Percy and Annabeth will find a way. They’ll journey through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death. When they do, we have to be ready.”
Created on Wed Apr 26 09:28:24 EDT 2017 (updated Wed Sep 12 15:19:34 EDT 2018)

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