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Space Case: Chapters 16–21

Twelve-year-old Dash Gibson tries to solve a murder mystery on the moon base he calls home.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–15, Chapters 16–21
40 words 64 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. calibrate
    make fine adjustments for optimal measuring
    Well, as you know, there are hundreds of robots at work here, especially at night. They run all sorts of maintenance tasks while we’re asleep: calibrating the evaporators, checking the seals on the exterior of the base for oxygen leaks, cleaning the solar arrays, and so on.
  2. compromise
    expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute
    Children are prohibited from venturing outside MBA unless an emergency has compromised the safety of the base.
  3. insulate
    surround with material to protect from heat, cold, or noise
    Nowadays the suit itself is perfectly insulated, which means the person inside is much less constricted.
  4. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    Several well-trod paths snaked through the moon dust from the air lock. The one we wanted veered right, then branched into two others.
  5. circumvent
    avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
    One of these went directly to the large white dome of the moon-rover garage, while ours continued straight, threading the gap between MBA and the garage, then banked left to circumvent the science pod.
  6. strew
    spread by scattering
    The panel toppled and shattered, strewing glass all over the lunar surface.
  7. digit
    a finger or toe, or a corresponding body part
    Instead of simply trying to squash me flat, the hand suddenly extended its fingers and swooped in sideways. It was like being slapped by King Kong. One of the huge metal digits caught me flush in the chest and I went flying.
  8. trough
    a narrow depression, as between waves
    I skidded across the surface, leaving a deep trough through the moon dust, until I slammed helmet-first into a large rock, which stopped me dead.
  9. divot
    the cavity cut from the ground by a golf club head
    A tiny web of fractures had appeared where I’d impacted the rock, looking like the divot a stone leaves in a windshield. But the cracks were spreading.
  10. fissure
    a long narrow depression in a surface
    A small crack extended from the impact point, spreading across the glass like the fissure of a miniature earthquake.
  11. squander
    spend thoughtlessly; throw away
    On earth the detour would have taken only a few seconds, if that. But it was much harder to change direction on the moon. I skidded in the dust once as I tried to stop my forward momentum, and again as I tried to grab the phone, squandering precious seconds each time.
  12. furrow
    hollow out in the form of a groove
    The fingertips scraped the base hard enough to furrow the wall as they swept past.
  13. wrest
    obtain by seizing forcibly or violently, also metaphorically
    The arm had slammed into the garage so hard the wall had collapsed, and the arm was now tangled in the wreckage. It was jerking about, trying to wrest itself free.
  14. protocol
    code of correct conduct
    “You think that's funny? Well it's not! This is a serious violation of protocol!”
  15. imperative
    requiring attention or action
    In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is imperative to respect the chain of command.
  16. liaison
    a means of communication between groups
    The base commander has had far more training in emergency procedures than anyone else, has studied all possible crisis scenarios, and will be the primary liaison with Mission Control in the event of trouble.
  17. mutinous
    characterized by a rebellion against authority
    Therefore, in a state of emergency, any orders issued by the base commander must be followed immediately. Failure to do so will be considered mutinous behavior and will be punishable upon return to earth.
  18. fawn
    try to gain favor through flattery or deferential behavior
    My parents hugged me tightly and fawned over me, at once relieved to see that I was alive, annoyed that I’d done something so risky, and angry at Nina for how she was treating me.
  19. irrefutable
    impossible to deny or disprove
    “We all know you’re afraid of a scandal here, but there is now irrefutable evidence that there is a killer on the loose at this base! So stop pretending that Dr. Holtz’s death might have been an accident and face the facts!”
  20. bylaw
    a rule adopted by an organization
    “I’m ordering you,” Nina growled. “As is my right as base commander, per the bylaws of Moon Base Alpha, section seventy-eight, subheading A. Anyone who sees fit to violate that order will be locked in the medical bay with Dr. Holtz's corpse and held there until I see fit. Is that understood?”
  21. constraint
    a limitation or restriction
    Given our time constraints, with there possibly being a killer on the loose and all, I only focused on the most recent items stored, figuring those would be the most relevant.
  22. garbled
    lacking orderly continuity
    “Well, the audio’s garbage too,” Nina muttered.
    She was right. What we could hear pitched back and forth between garbled speech and a loud static buzz that sounded like a nest of giant hornets.
  23. coy
    showing marked and often playful evasiveness or reluctance
    “You might have fooled everyone else,” Dr. Holtz said on the video, “but not me. I figured out what you were really here for shortly after we all got to the moon.”
    “And what might that be?” the other person asked coyly.
  24. elation
    a feeling of joy and pride
    Another wave of elation rippled through the control room.
  25. modulate
    vary the pitch of one's speech
    The only person who didn’t seem excited was the other person on the video. Their voice barely modulated, as though Dr. Holtz had just told them something routine, such as “I like bagels.”
  26. defiantly
    in a rebellious manner
    “Well, it’s not your decision,” Dr. Holtz said defiantly. “It’s mine. I’m revealing that I’ve made contact today—and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
  27. disposal
    the power to use something or someone
    I have a lot of people at my disposal down on earth. And at this very moment a team of them is positioned outside your daughter’s home.
  28. fallible
    likely to fail or make errors
    Computers could make mistakes. Despite all the amazing things they were capable of, they were still fallible. The base computer misunderstood and misinterpreted things all the time.
  29. hedge
    avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
    “Who?” they demanded.
    “Well,” I hedged, “I’m not one hundred percent sure—”
  30. meek
    evidencing little spirit or courage
    He no longer looked like the reserved, meek man we knew. That had all been an act.
  31. override
    counteract the normal operation of
    “That’s not possible,” Nina said.
    “It is now,” Mr. Grisan told her. “I overrode the safety protocols. Although I won’t do anything unless you force me to.”
  32. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    Any life from another planet is most likely hostile—and any contact they make with us, no matter how friendly it seems, is most likely a ruse to learn our weaknesses.
  33. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
    Dr. Holtz was just like you: a naive optimist, thinking his alien contact couldn’t possibly be dangerous.
  34. gall
    the trait of being rude and impertinent
    “You’re the one who’s threatening our lives! You’re the one responsible for Dr. Holtz’s death! And you have the gall to accuse the aliens of being monsters? They couldn’t possibly be any worse than you!”
  35. writhe
    move in a twisting or contorted motion
    Dad and Nina were pinning Mr. Grisan down while he writhed angrily and told us what fools we all were.
  36. render
    show in, or as in, a picture
    The brochures for MBA had displayed artists’ renderings of a greenhouse so thick with plant growth it was practically a rain forest. In real life, the greenhouse looked more like the Great Plains after a drought.
  37. straggle
    go, come, or spread in a rambling or irregular way
    All around me straggly bits of greenery struggled to survive.
  38. vie
    compete for something
    There were a thousand questions in my head, all vying to be asked at once.
  39. breach
    a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
    “Yes. It was a serious breach of protocol, but I feared there was no other way to find out. I wanted to know the truth, but no one else here seemed willing to investigate the death—except you. Though I figured you might need a little push.”
  40. shifty
    characterized by insincerity or deceit; evasive
    “I never trusted that guy. He always seemed shiftier than a Neptunian Blorkbeast.”
Created on Thu May 21 11:30:24 EDT 2020 (updated Fri May 29 07:25:51 EDT 2020)

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