Vocabulary StudySeaglass Summer

By: Anjali Banerjee

For Mrs. Green’s Summer Class

Chapter Map

seaglass

Seaglass is created when broken pieces of glass tumble around in the ocean until it becomes smooth and frosty.

Dr. Dolittle

Dr. Dolittle is a character in books written in 1920!Later, movies were made.

Dr. Dolittle can speak to animals and that makes him an awesome veterinarian.

ferryboats

Ferryboats are large boats that carry people and their vehicles across small distances.

People pay to ride a ferry, just like taking a cab.

Monsoon floods

Monsoon season in India happens every year from June to September.

Water can get very high and make travel and life more difficult.

Monsoon floods do not happen all at once. Rather it rains and floods over many days or weeks.

sigh

A sigh is a noise we make when we know we have to do something even though we don’t want to.

clinic

A clinic is a medical office.

The clinic in our story is an animal clinic.

Clinics are usually places you can get care even if you have little money.

queasy

Queasy is a feeling you get when something makes your stomach upset.

“frog jumping in my throat”

This is a figure of speech.

You do not literally have a frog in your throat.

This idiom means that you find it difficult to speak because you are nervous or sad.

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“a bump in the road”

This is a figure of speech.

There is not literally a bump in the road.

It means that you have a problem that you have to go around.

buoy

A buoy is a marker in the water that guides ships and tells depth.

twitches

Your nose twitches if you think something is gross or cute.

bungalows

A bungalow is a small house located near the beach.

uncharted wilderness

Uncharted wilderness is a term people use to describe a place not many people have been before.

stride

When you stride you walk with confidence.

garbage gut

Garbage gut is a sickness an animal can get when it eats garbage.

suffocating

You feel like you are suffocating when it is hard to breathe.

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scramble

To scramble out of the truck means to get out quickly.

wade

When you wade through water it is usually knee-deep.

solid gear

When Uncle Sanjay speaks of “island gear” and “solid gear” he means clothes and shoes that will stand up to rough weather and hard work.

lips pressed together

You may have lips pressed together to keep from laughing.

Witless Cove

Coves are often small spaces cut into the land. Narrow beach.

Madrone branches

Flowering plants that grow in warm temperate climates.

littered

When you litter, you throw garbage around.

When the beach is littered with rocks and driftwood, it looks like they are just thrown around with no pattern.

denim overalls

Made of jean material, denim overalls are considered solid gear.

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smog

Smog is pollution in the air.

Some countries have agencies that regulate how much pollution can be released.

“wake with the sun and sleep with the moon”

This means to work in daylight hours.

The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

aphids

Aphids are small insects that destroy plants.

mucky

When your clothes and shoes are mucky, they are muddy.

Mucky and muddy are synonyms.

chutney

Chutney is a sauce in the Indian cuisine.

It can be made of many different things.

parka

A parka is a very large coat that keeps you warm.

“nah?”

Uncle Sanjay says, “nah?” at the ends of his sentences.

This is like how we say, “you know?” when we want people to agree with us.

improvised

When you improvise, you make do with what you have.

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tears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF5sICiUrJw

sliver

A sliver of the moon is like the size of a fingernail.

steady hands

When you have steady hands you can do “close point” work.

gourmet

Gourmet food is expensive because it is made with the best ingredients.

imported

Goods that are imported are shipped in from another country.

ambush

You ambush someone when you jump out unexpectedly.

indispensable

Something that is indispensable is something you can’t live without.

“do the honors”

It is polite to let your guests “do the honors” of. . .

A small job done for social reasons.

“jumping the gun”

Jumping the gun is a figure of speech.

It means that you are going too fast.

waivers

A waiver is a legal document that you sign so that you can’t sue someone else.

submissive

Submissive means that something or someone else is in control.

phony

Something phony is fake, not real.

Phony and fake are synonyms.

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strawlike

Hair is strawlike if it is rough like hay.

disbelievingly

Disbelieving looks show that you do not believe someone.

“My face is hot.”

When you are embarrassed you blush and your cheeks feel hot.

boarding

Boarding your pets is something you do when you go on a trip.

tumor

A tumor is a growth of abnormal cells. It can make you sick if it is not removed.

suites

Operating suites are rooms that are “sterile” and ready for medical operations.

relief

When you get relief, you get rest.

neutered

When an animal is “fixed” it can not have babies.

roundworms

Roundworms are parasites that can infect people or animals. They live in the intestines.

larvae

Larvae are fly eggs that grow into maggots.

spiffy

Uncle Sanjay’s hair was “spiffy”

Spiffy and fancy and neat are synonyms.

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