Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Brian Leaf, M.A., is the owner and Director of New Leaf Learning Center. In his eighteen years of private teaching and tutoring, Brian has provided SAT, ACT, GED, and SSAT instruction and preparation to thousands of students. In 2008, he was chosen as an English and Mathematics Expert for ExpertVillage.com. He is also the author of Defining Twilight (Wiley).

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Defining New Moon

John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

Callous Prophecy

Find each of the following words on the New Moon page number provided. Based on the way each word is used in the book, guess at its definition.

1. Callous (p. 1) might mean _________________________ ___________________________________________________________

2. Relentless (p. 1) might mean ______________________ ___________________________________________________________

3. Inexorably (p. 1) might mean ______________________ ___________________________________________________________

4. Extraordinarily (p. 2) might mean _________________ ___________________________________________________________

5. Toll (p. 2) might mean ____________________________ ___________________________________________________________

6. Wizened (p. 4) might mean _________________________ ___________________________________________________________

7. Prophetic (p. 6) might mean _______________________ ___________________________________________________________

8. Quantifiable (p. 7) might mean ____________________ ___________________________________________________________

Let's see how you did. Check your answers, write the exact definitions, and reread the sentence in New Moon where each word appears. Then complete the drills on the next page.

1. Callous (p. 1) means insensitive. On page 1 of New Moon, the crowd is insensitively in Bella's way as she rushes to prevent Edward from sparkling like a diamond in the middle of the plaza. The word callous actually comes from the dead insensitive skin of a callus that you might get after a tough field hockey or basketball season. 2. Relentless (p. 1) means endless or constant. Relent means end, and -less means without, so relentless and endless mean without end. Synonyms: ceaseless, eternal, incessant, interminable, perpetual, unremitting. 3. Inexorably (p. 1) means unstoppably. This is a serious high-level vocabulary word-don't you love that your SAT, ACT, GED, or SSAT score will go up just from reading the Twilight saga?! 4. Extraordinarily (p. 2) means very. This is a great word to break apart. Extra- means beyond, like extrasensory (beyond normal senses), extracurricular (beyond the normal curriculum), and extraterrestrial (beyond the Earth, like E.T.). So extraordinarily means beyond ordinary. 5. Toll (p. 2) in this case is a cool word for the ring of a bell, as in Ernest Hemingway's novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. 6. Wizened (p. 4) means wrinkled. As people age, they become wiser ... and they get wrinkles, so there you have it. 7. Prophetic (p. 6) means predicting something, like prophets do in the Bible. For all you Twilight diehards (Twihards), on this page we learn that Bella's birthday is September 13. Synonyms: prescient, visionary. Prescient is an interesting word to break apart. Pre- means before, as in preview, preregister, and pretest; and -scient refers to know, as in science and sentient (aware). So prescient means to know beforehand-to predict! 8. Quantifiable (p. 7) means measurable. In fact, quant- refers to number, as in quantity, and the Spanish word cuanto.

Synonyms: Select the word or phrase whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

1. CALLOUS A. extraordinary B. insensitive C. tolling D. playful E. generous 2. RELENTLESS A. wizened B. temporary C. extracurricular D. impermanent E. endless 3. INEXORABLY A. all-present B. visionary C. prescient D. unstoppably E. relaxed 4. PROPHETIC A. visionary B. quantifiable C. extraordinary D. ceaseless E. extraterrestrial

Analogies: Select the answer choice that best completes the meaning of the sentence.

5. Callous is to insensitive as A. wizened is to tall B. extraordinary is to simple C. quantifiable is to limitless D. prophetic is to visionary E. relentless is to timid 6. Incessant is to constant as A. prescient is to prophetic B. kind is to callous C. quantifiable is to detested D. extrasensory is to immortal E. toll is to vampire

Sentence Completions: Choose the word that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

7. The team progressed ________ toward the goal; the defense could do nothing to stop them from scoring. A. quantifiably B. wisely C. inexorably D. extraordinarily E. prophetically 8. The wizened sage was known for her ________ visions; villagers came from all over seeking her predictions and advice. A. relentless B. prophetic C. incessant D. wrinkled E. false

1. B. Callous means insensitive. Extraordinary means beyond ordinary, and tolling means ringing.

2. E. Relentless means endless. Use the process of elimination-cross out all choices that are definitely wrong. Wizened means wrinkled, extracurricular means beyond the normal curriculum, and impermanent means not permanent. Notice that im- means not, which is why impermanent means not permanent.

3. D. Inexorably means unstoppably. Visionary and prescient mean predicting.

4. A. Prophetic means visionary. Ceaseless means endless.

5. D. Make a sentence with the two words. Ideally, define the first word using the second. For example, "A callous person is insensitive." Then, try your sentence for each pair of words in the answer choices. A. A wizened (wrinkled) person is tall ... no, not necessarily. B. An extraordinary (beyond ordinary) person is simple ... no. C. A quantifiable (countable) person is limitless ... no, that makes no sense. (D.) A prophetic person is visionary ... yes! E. A relentless person is timid ... no, a relentless person never gives up and is not shy.

6. A. "Incessant means constant." (A.) Prescient means prophetic ... yes, they both mean predicting. B. Kind means callous (insensitive) ... no, they are opposites. C. Quantifiable (countable) means detested (hated) ... no, they are totally unrelated. D. Extrasensory means immortal ... no. An immortal like Edward, Alice, or Jasper might have extrasensory abilities,...