The Lion of Mars: Chapters 13–20

by Jennifer L. Holm
Bell and his family are colonists on Mars. When a mysterious illness strikes the adults in the colony, Bell and the other children must try to find a cure.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–6, Chapters 7–12, Chapters 13–20, Chapters 21–29
30 words 79 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. croon
    sing softly
    “You like these treats, don’t you, darling?” he crooned as he fed the mouse.
  2. resuscitate
    cause to regain consciousness
    Yesterday at approximately 22:05 hours, Mission Specialist Phinneus Peck was found unresponsive in the algae farm. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.
  3. kin
    a person related to another or others
    Please notify next of kin.
  4. condolence
    an expression of sympathy with another's grief
    “But there’s a nephew, I believe. I’ll send a personal condolence message from all of us.” That sounded nice, but who would send a condolence message to us? Who would tell us how sorry they were that we’d lost a member of our family?
  5. meticulous
    marked by extreme care in treatment of details
    Even though Phinneus had been meticulous about making notes in the Record, there were many things that only he knew.
  6. coax
    influence or persuade by gentle and persistent urging
    Everywhere I looked, there were living things. Algae, vegetables, fruit. All so green and growing, coaxed to life and nurtured by Phinneus.
  7. sprig
    a small branch or stem, usually with leaves or flowers
    “What’s this herb? It doesn’t taste very good,” Albie said, holding out a sprig of green.
  8. critical
    urgently needed; absolutely necessary
    “And shut down noncritical areas so we can preserve power,” he told Eliana.
  9. composed
    serenely self-possessed and free from agitation
    Sai wasn’t his usually composed self. He looked stressed.
  10. dense
    having high compaction or concentration
    The dust storm began. As the days passed, it seemed to get denser much faster than was typical.
  11. ration
    restrict the consumption of a relatively scarce commodity
    Something had happened to our batteries—a bunch weren’t working—so energy had to be strictly rationed. Sai had ordered the heat to be turned lower, and there were no hot showers.
  12. duration
    the period of time during which something continues
    The global dust storm is ongoing. We have instituted standard protocols. Please advise on forecasted duration of storm.
  13. hearty
    providing abundant nourishment
    We were having supper—a hearty stew with potatoes and onions—when Eliana started coughing.
  14. hack
    cough spasmodically
    It was a deep, hacking cough that sounded terrible.
  15. exposure
    vulnerability to the elements
    “Even though she’s in the enviro suit when she goes topside, she has some exposure when she takes it off. Especially with the amount of dust in the atmosphere now.”
  16. skeptical
    marked by or given to doubt
    “Have you been emptying the dust filters completely?” Sai asked me with a skeptical look.
  17. schematic
    diagram of an electrical or mechanical system
    Sai was ignoring his muffin; he was poring over schematics of the settlement.
  18. concede
    be willing to yield
    Albie looked excited. “It could be coming in through the communications room.”
    “Definitely a possibility,” Sai conceded.
  19. flush
    glow or cause to glow with warm color or light
    Trey flushed with happiness.
  20. preen
    pride or congratulate oneself for an achievement
    “It was still a good find,” Trey insisted.
    “Sure,” Albie agreed. “We’ll patch it up tomorrow.”
    Trey preened.
  21. bound
    move forward by leaping
    A blur of fur bounded into the room.
  22. vector
    any agent that carries and transmits a disease
    All rodents should be exterminated, as they are disease vectors.
  23. dispatch
    send away towards a designated goal
    In addition, we are dispatching antiviral medication on an expedited supply ship.
  24. expedite
    process fast and efficiently
    In addition, we are dispatching antiviral medication on an expedited supply ship.
  25. agitated
    troubled emotionally and usually deeply
    “Eight months to get a supply ship here!” she ranted. She was so agitated that I swear her bangs were angry, too. “How’s that going to help us?”
  26. emphasize
    stress or single out as important
    Flossy had coached us on what to say. She told us to keep it simple: tell them that we were from the American settlement and that we desperately needed help. She’d emphasized the “desperate” part.
  27. trundle
    move along on or as if on wheels or a wheeled vehicle
    The train rocked as it trundled along the track.
  28. promptly
    at once (usually modifies an undesirable occurrence)
    The storage units had some foods I didn’t recognize: a strange-smelling dark brown bread and a jar of small black candies. I popped one into my mouth. And promptly spit it out. It didn’t taste like candy: it was salty.
  29. frantic
    excessively agitated; distraught with violent emotion
    “I don’t know!” I couldn’t see him, but he sounded frantic.
  30. scrounge
    collect or look around for
    Once we realized we weren’t going anywhere, we scrounged around the train for supplies.
Created on Sat Nov 06 11:50:07 EDT 2021 (updated Wed Nov 10 09:00:22 EST 2021)

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