Dragon's Gate: Chapters 20–30

by Laurence Yep
Set in the 1860s, this third book of the Golden Mountain Chronicles focuses on teenage Otter Young, who dreams of saving China from the destructive Manchus and British by joining his father and uncle's Great Work in America.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–6, Chapters 7–10, Chapters 11–19, Chapters 20–30
40 words 14 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sprawling
    spreading out in different directions
    This time when the lash struck, I had no strength in my legs, and its force sent me sprawling on my face.
  2. lacerated
    irregularly slashed and jagged as if torn
    However, the ointment had begun to cool the lacerated flesh, and I kept a sullen silence as Honker bound me up in bandages.
  3. coherent
    marked by an orderly and consistent relation of parts
    I lay there for a long time, unable to sleep because of the pain and yet unable to collect my thoughts into a coherent pattern.
  4. scrounge
    collect or look around for
    When we started to run out of fuel, we began wearing spare shirts and coats or whatever we could scrounge.
  5. tentatively
    in a hesitant manner
    Encouraged by the rest of the crew, Doggy tried a song. As he had implied, his voice was a little on the thin side; and he sang so softly and tentatively that it was difficult to hear him.
  6. helter-skelter
    with inappropriate haste and confusion
    With all the other headmen also shouting orders, we were like ants scurrying around helter-skelter after water had been poured down their colony.
  7. eloquent
    expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
    He gazed at me with new interest, as if surprised at my intuition; and the man who could be so eloquent about American machines struggled to find the right words.
  8. humility
    a lack of arrogance or false pride
    Despite his earlier show of humility, he hadn't given up. The pride was burning so fiercely in him that it almost could have warmed my hands.
  9. intrepid
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation
    Sean had brought two pickaxes as well, and he handed one to each of us. “Just the thing for the intrepid tamer of mountains.”
  10. deftly
    with dexterity; in a dexterous manner
    "Excuse me. May I borrow that?” Sean asked, and deftly lifted a pickax from one of the work crew that had been trying to keep the tunnel mouth clear.
  11. jaunt
    a journey taken for pleasure
    “Though I’ll miss our jaunts together, I’ll see you off the mountain and free of that devil.”
  12. gale
    a strong wind moving 34–40 knots
    When we were ready, Sean began to forge on ahead, tilting forward against the force of the wind with his face almost touching the glass of the compass. Then a regular gale whipped the snow all around, and he became no more than a shadow.
  13. crevasse
    a deep fissure
    Sean must have fallen into some crevasse.
  14. brunt
    the main part, especially of a force or shock
    I had my arms wrapped around myself and I bent my head slightly so that my hat took the brunt of the wind, rather than my face.
  15. contrite
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
    As the sun filled my body and limbs with warmth and I began to thaw, I felt contrite. "You really are a hero.”
  16. cleft
    a long narrow opening
    He pointed toward the wall. Opposite the mound was a cleft. The rocks there were worn down by some stream.
  17. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Shuffling gingerly to the edge, he tested the surface of the pond.
  18. tourniquet
    a bandage that stops the flow of blood by applying pressure
    I tied a length of rope as a tourniquet around his leg.
  19. diminutive
    very small
    The next terrace was smaller than the last. The diminutive pond was almost hidden by snow except for a curving sliver as bright as a diamond smile.
  20. bearing
    the direction or path along which something moves or lies
    Then, shading my eyes, I squinted up at the sun and took a bearing. Facing in the right direction, I started to high-step through the snow carefully, hardly daring to breathe.
  21. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    You play over their conversations many times in your head, looking for nuances and shadings of feelings.
  22. surly
    unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation
    It made up for the fact that Kilroy wouldn't give us any official time to look because we were still behind schedule. In fact, he was downright surly about it, as if he thought I was asking for an unusual favor.
  23. residual
    relating to or indicating a remainder
    Curly lost two toes when his pickax struck a rock that still had some residual oil on it.
  24. default
    loss due to not showing up
    If you keep silent, then you lose by default.
  25. placard
    a sign posted in a public place
    Back home, important news was put on a placard and posted in some prominent place.
  26. poignant
    arousing powerful emotions, especially pity or sadness
    The melody alone was enough to make the tears flow in any guest, but the lyrics were so sad and poignant that it was impossible not to cry.
  27. lilting
    characterized by a buoyant rhythm
    “At night I dream you’re holding me,” he sang in a sweet, lilting voice.
  28. caterwaul
    make a shrill and unpleasant screeching sound
    “Quit that caterwauling. Save your breath for digging,” Kilroy said mechanically.
  29. embellish
    add details to
    Each member of the crew had an elaborate menu planned for his welcome-home banquet—as if he had reflected upon the topic and embellished it for years.
  30. fare
    the food and drink regularly served or consumed
    The dishes ranged from the exotic to favorite but ordinary fare.
  31. bolster
    support and strengthen
    It didn't take much more talking to screw up their courage. By the time I left, they were shouting, “Strike! Strike!"
    With arguments like that, the crew and I bolstered the others.
  32. subsidize
    support, as through grants or other funds
    We wanted five dollars a month more (which still wouldn't bring us up to the westerners' subsidized wages, but it would help).
  33. bluster
    act in an arrogant, overly self-assured, or conceited manner
    Strobridge's hoodlums tried to bluster and threaten; but no one left the camp.
  34. skulk
    move stealthily
    I thought the westerners might next try to take a couple of men and make examples of them as Kilroy had of me; but I think for the first time they realized that there were three thousand of us and only a few dozen of them. Cursing and swearing, they skulked away.
  35. harangue
    address forcefully
    Later the westerners themselves came to the edge of our camp to harangue our headmen, but they didn't try to come inside.
  36. delegation
    a group of representatives
    When even that failed, a delegation of bosses led by Strobridge sat down to negotiate with our strike committee.
  37. heady
    extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic
    The next five days were heady times. During the first week of a revolution, everything seems possible.
  38. sustain
    lengthen or extend in duration or space
    But I had sensed a strength that could sweep across oceans and achieve all of Father and Uncle's dreams, if I could learn how to sustain it.
  39. magistrate
    a lay judge or civil authority who administers the law
    The local magistrate had even started a subscription to build a memorial gate eventually as a testament to her virtue.
  40. cynical
    believing the worst of human nature and motives
    There's even a cynical little song—done to the tune of 'How Blessed We Are'—making the rounds of the village that says that perhaps more Manchus should meet with 'accidents.'
Created on Thu May 09 18:32:41 EDT 2024 (updated Sat May 11 16:08:01 EDT 2024)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.