Collection 4: "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros and "A Voice" by Pat Mora

10 words 377 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. rattle
    make a series of short, loud sounds
    Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box.
  2. ragged
    being or dressed in clothes that are worn or torn
    Maybe because I’m skinny, maybe because she doesn’t like me, that stupid Sylvia Saldivar says, “I think it belongs to Rachel.” An ugly sweater like that, all raggedy and old, but Mrs. Price believes her.
  3. alley
    a narrow street with walls on both sides
    In my head I’m thinking how long till lunchtime, how long till I can take the red sweater and throw it over the schoolyard fence, or leave it hanging on a parking meter, or bunch it up into a little ball and toss it in the alley.
  4. invisible
    impossible or nearly impossible to see
    I wish I was invisible but I’m not.
  5. unrelenting
    harsh
    Even the lights on the stage unrelenting as the desert sun couldn’t hide the other students, their eyes also unrelenting, students who spoke English every night as they ate their meat, potatoes, gravy.
  6. formal
    adhering to traditional standards of correctness
    In your house that smelled like rose powder, you spoke Spanish formal as your father, the judge without a courtroom in the country he floated to in the dark on a flatbed truck.
  7. patriotism
    love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it
    You liked writing speeches about patriotism and democracy.
  8. democracy
    a political system in which power lies in a body of citizens
    You liked writing speeches about patriotism and democracy.
  9. spunky
    showing courage
    The family story says your voice is the voice of an aunt in Mexico, spunky as a peacock.
  10. hoarse
    deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness
    Their eyes were pinpricks, and you faked hoarseness.
Created on Mon Jun 15 08:34:44 EDT 2020 (updated Wed Jun 17 10:27:19 EDT 2020)

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