Of Nightingales That Weep
Introduction

Vocabulary

Learn the meaning, part of speech, and usage of each word.  Write a new sentence for each, at least ten words long, beginning each sentence with a different grammar pattern.  Specific requirements will be given each week.

 Ch. 1-4
CA standards
Project Directions
 Ch. 5-9
Rubric
Cultural Research Ch. 10-14
Themes
Reading Questions
 Ch. 15-17
Vocabulary
Team Meeting Notes Directions for Sentences
This Week in Core



Of Nightingales That Weep, ch. 1-4

1. malleable
 (adjective) easily influenced or molded
(p. xiii)  In feudal Japan, it was customary for the emperor to retire so that a younger, more malleable man could rule.
2.
 foment
 (verb) to incite, to stir up (trouble)
(p. 4)  "I have come to say farewell, my child, for there is rebellion fomenting in the north."
3.
 don
 (verb, transitive) to put on, to show off (clothing)
(p. 5)  ... he should be donning his armor and his great horned helmet and riding out to victory.
4.
 injunction
 (______) an order, mandate, command
(p. 8)  Takiko, armed with her father's injunction to take care of her mother, eavesdropped on the two women whenever possible.
5.
 insolent
_________
 		(adjective) ___________________________________________________
(noun)
(p. 11)  The servants were always forgetting their place, the insolent wretches.
6.
 dote (on)
 (verb, transitive) to be overly attentive to, to spoil (a child)
(p. 11)  Even her aunt, who seemed to dote on her, was now apparently glad to push her out of sight now that her father was dead.
7.
 irreverently
 (_______) disrespectfully, in a manner that does not show honor
(p. 13)  "Pooh," Choko replied irreverently.  "What could an old man like that do against Yoritomo?"
8.
 sullenly
 (adverb) in a gloomy, stubborn, and passive manner, refusing to participate
(adjective) _______________
(p. 19)  But Takiko sat sullenly before the small table with her lips pinched tightly together.
9.
 interfere
interference
 (verb) ___________________________________________________
(_____)
(p. 21)  She was powerless to interfere.  So though in her manner and words she sought to comfort the child, she knew there was no escape for Takiko.
10.
 obscure
obscure
 		(verb) to make dim, indistinct, or unclear
(_____) dim, indistinct, or unclear
(p. 26)  There was a silence between them which the noisy chattering crowd did not obscure.

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Of Nightingales That Weep, ch. 5-9

1.
 reluctant
_________
reluctance
 (_____) holding back from acting; lacking the will to do something
(adverb)
(_____)
(p. 40)   They were reluctant to let her go because they would miss her.
2.
 arrogance
arrogant
 (_____) an offensive attitude of superiority
(_____)
(p. 49)   The Retired Emperor was a tall man, with even more of an air of arrogance than his brother.
3.
 naive
naively
 (_____) inexperienced or ignorant, and thus easily deceived
(_____)
(p. 51)   The meaning of the couplet was self-evident; even a person as naive to court life as she, understood the poet's intent.
4.
 desolate
desolation
 (_____) without hope or life; abandoned
(_____)
(p. 58)    And when the desolate King told her that there was no monkey liver to make her well, she said: 'then I'll just have to get well without it.'  And she did."
5.
 abruptly
_________
 		(_____) so suddenly as to seem rude or unexpected
(adjective)
(p. 59)    Takiko was abruptly aware of a rough male voice.  The carriage had stopped.
6.
 relentless
relent
 (_____) mercilessly severe or persistent; never stopping
(_____)
( p. 65)   When the Heike nobles dared think of it, dread beat on their hearts like the relentless summer rains.
7.
 obstinacy
obstinate
_________
 (noun) stubborn behavior; unwillingness to submit
(adjective)
(_____)
(p. 70)    Mother – how often I hurt you with my childish obstinacy.
8.
 muted
_________
 (adjective) muffled; not showing its brightness or loudness
(verb)
(p. 81)    The cries of battle seemed muted as the first fury settled into the work of war.
9.
 melancholy
_________
 (adjective) in a mood of thoughtful sadness or depression
(noun)
(p. 84)    Then came the wisteria, falling in white and violet showers from the trellises about the house, filling the air with its melancholy sweetness.
10.
 savor
savory
 		(verb) to enjoy the taste
(____)
(p. 86)    She held her hand high above the strings for a moment, savoring the court's anticipation.

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Of Nightingales That Weep, ch. 10-14

1.
 haughty
haughtiness
haughtily
 (_____) _______________________________________________________
(_____)
(_____)
(p. 97)    Takiko stared straight into the haughty face and tossed her shining hair.
2.
 illusion
illusory
 (_____) a mistaken idea; a misleading sight taken for real
(_____)
(p. 100)  She hardly dared open her eyes for fear that it would be another cruel illusion.
3.
 opaque
 (adjective) of a material that light cannot pass through
(p. 104)  Through the opaque screen she could see a small figure.
4.
 self-righteous
___________
___________
 (_____) overly convinced of one's own moral excellence
(_____)
(_____)
(p. 107)  How unfair he was! ... self-righteous and cruel.
5.
 implication
imply, implied
 (_____) probable or indirect meaning; inference
(_____)
(p. 109)  If he was no longer needed as a spy here – but the implications of his leaving were not clear to her.  She only knew that he was gone.
6.
 morale
 (noun) emotional level of a group; the degree of its dedication to a goal
(p. 117) They must retire to Kyushu at once before Yoshitsune called up his reserves, and more was lost than morale.
7.
 incoherently
__________
 (_____) in a way that is not logical or making sense
(adjective)
(p. 119) When Goro reached them, his son was chattering joyfully and incoherently, his three-year-old vocabulary unequal to the feelings he was compelled to share.
8.
 lucidity
lucid
 (noun) clear-mindedness; ability to be logical. 
(_____)
(p. 121)  "Tell Takiko we saved the koto," she said once with such lucidity that it startled Goro.
9.
 invincible
__________
 (_____) ___________________________________________________
(_____)
(p. 128)  The invincible Yoshitsune had fallen for their trick.
10.
 grotesque
__________
 (_____) ugly because out of proportion; distorted
(_____)
(p. 135)  The great ugly face was flushed a deep red, and the huge comic nose, even redder than its setting, appeared more grotesque than ever.

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Of Nightingales That Weep, ch. 15-17

1.
 envision
vision
 (verb)   to form a picture of something in your mind
(noun)
(p. 140) What fate Yoritomo might envision for him was too horrible to contemplate.
2.
 deftly
_______
 (_____) in a neat and skillful way
(adjective)
(p. 144)  Takiko quickly and deftly tied up the kerchief and handed it to her.
3.
 symmetry
________
 (noun)   a regularity and balance in arrangement
(adjective)
(p. 147)  Goro despised absolute symmetry, she knew.  But this strange cup looked as though the potter had tried to wring it like a piece of laundry.
4.
 haphazardly
haphazard
 (_____) in a way that shows no plan or order
(_____)
(p. 147)  and the brilliant black glaze had been smeared on haphazardly so that the grays and yellows of the original clay broke through.
5.
 precious
 (_____) valuable because it is scarce; so valuable that a suitable price is hard to estimate
(p. 152) Day after day she stood in the rain with a short hoe in her hand, at war with every weed or blade of grass that dared invade the precious territory.
6.
 incredulity
incredulous
incredible
 (noun)    the state of mind of someone who cannot believe
(______) unable to believe
(______) not believable
(p. 155) Goro turned, the white-hot poker in his hand, a look of incredulity on his face.
7.
 revulsion
repel
repulsive
 (_____) __________________________________________________________
(_____)
(_____)
(p. 160) Her fingers flew to her cheek.  She was not sure whether his eyes betrayed revulsion or fear.
8.
 distress
distress
 (_____) a feeling of suffering, worry about serious trouble
(_____)
(p. 163)  She could read the distress and questions in Kamaji's face when they met.
9.
 meager
 (_____) thin, sparse, not sufficient in supply
(p. 165)  After a meager meal of bean curd and root tea, Takiko was taken to the tumbledown temple for prayers with the nuns.
10.
 anguished
anguish
 (adjective) full of torment, physical or mental pain
(_______)
(p. 169)  He turned, revealing a face so anguished that suddenly all Takiko's plans and playfulness dissolved into weeping.

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Directions for Vocabulary Sentences

This assignment is intended to help you master vocabulary AND improve your writing style.
Basic Directions: 
  • Use each vocabulary word in a sentence of your own.
  • Highlight or underline the vocabulary word you are using.  See example 1.
  • Each sentence must be at least ten words in length. Names and numbers count as one word.
  • Begin every sentence with a different word.  Branch out beyond "I" and "The"!
  • You may use a derivative of the word.
    • Nouns may be plural (lamentation, lamentations).  See example 2.
    • Verbs may be any tense (lament, were lamenting, lamented, etc.).  See example 3.
    • If you change the part of speech (adjective to adverb, for example), list the original word and its part of speech, then your derivative and its part of speech.  See example 4.
  • Use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Special Directions for improving your writing style and variety:
  1. Give the part of speech of the vocabulary word. (noun, verb, adjective, adverb)
  2. Give the definition of the vocabulary word.
  3. Use only action verbs, no linking verbs (be, is)
  4. Begin each sentence with a prepositional phrase.  See example 5.
  5. Begin each sentence with a subordinate clause.  See example 6.
  6. Use an adverb in every sentence.  See example 7.
  7. Begin each sentence with a different part of speech:
    • Common noun (e.g. butterflies)
    • Proper noun (e.g. Charlemagne)
    • Pronoun (I, my)
    • Article (a, the)
    • Adjective (arrogant)
    • Adverb (inevitably)
    • Preposition (under, in, for)
    • Conjunction (because, although)
    • Participle, a verbal adjective (seeing, riding) See example 8.
    • Gerund, a verbal noun (seeing, riding) See example 9.
    • Any question word (do, where, who)
Examples:

  1. The mourners at the funeral sang a lamentation for the fallen hero Beowulf.
  2. All the lamentations at the funeral filled the air with a melancholy mood.
  3. Victims of the hurricane were lamenting the tragic loss of their homes.
  4. lament, verb.  lamentably, adverb.  Lamentably, King John had little compassion for his overtaxed subjects.
  5. Across the river, the hobbits were safe from their relentless pursuers.
  6. Although the war was over, the desolate landscape held little promise of a bountiful harvest.
  7. Takiko began singing shyly, but soon gained confidence.
  8. Skidding off the trail, the snowboarder kicked up a cloud of snow.
  9. Walking a tightrope requires careful balance and coordination.
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