“A Christmas Carol”by Charles Dickens

Dramatized by Frederick GainesVocabulary – List #1

DirectionsRead each sentence using the vocabulary word.Write what you think the underlined word might mean.Replace your definition in the sentence to see if it makes sense!Use the pictures as clues!Good luck!

Transformverb

He takes some coal from the mound and puts it into a small bucket; as he carries it to a corner of the stage, the stage area is transformed from street to office. pg. 253

The prefix trans means – across, beyond, or through

Form means – the shape or appearance

Please watch carefully for the caterpillar will transform into a beautiful butterfly!

Solitudenoun

Scrooge: Why? Why did you get married?Fred: Why, because I fell in love with a wonderful girl.Scrooge: And I with solitude. Good afternoon. Pg.254

Think! Scrooge didn’t want to have anyone in his life. He is saying he enjoys being by himself.

The child was sent to his room, forced to go through the remainder of the day in solitude.

She was so tired of the solitude, she decided to go to a party with friends.

Provisionnoun

At this time of year it is more than usually desirable to make some slight provision for the poor and destitute who suffer greatly from the cold. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir. pg 256

The word comes from the Latin word – “provisio” which means to provide

The women put away the provisions to prepare themselves and their families for winter so that they should not starve of hunger.

Endeavorverb

Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude, a few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. pg. 256

We will always endeavor to get your order shipped to you asap.

The magician endeavored to keep all the pigeons in the cage.

Abundancenoun

We choose this time because it is the time, of all others, when want is keenly felt and abundance rejoices. pg. 256

Be careful – abundance does NOT mean a lot of something in this context. It is a noun!Think about how it is used in these sentences:

The part of the world called Dubai is known for extreme abundance. They have huge palaces, elaborate hotels, and exclusive man-made island resorts.

Holidays are a time to share your abundance with those less fortunate in the world.

Anonymousadjective

In this scene, the gentleman visitor is asking for a donation of money to help the poor and destitute. Gentleman Visitor: May I put you down for something?Scrooge: NothingGentleman Visitor: You wish to be anonymous?Scrooge: I wish to be left alone. p.256I forget to put my name on my paper. My teacher

announced to the class that it was completed by an anonymous student.

The police received an anonymous phone call giving information about possible suspects for the bank robbery.

Surplusnoun

“If they would rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population.” P. 256

Area farmers had a surplus supply of corn, so they made corn meal out of the extra.

During the Clinton years, the United States government had a budget surplus, which meant that some of the debt was paid off.

Emergeverb

The little girl emerges from the shadows. P. 257

Day by day, I could slowly see the young seed emerge from the soil.

If all went according to plan, Janet would emerge from her hiding spot, scaring her brother.

Repulsive **adjective

Scrooge found poor people repulsive. He couldn’t even look at them when he walked past them on the street.

The shelter’s nonperishable food spoiled and the smell was repulsive.

Burt's scratching, belching and chewing with his mouth open was a repulsive experience for his fellow dinner guests.

Wretched **adjective

Ebenezer Scrooge was a wretched, lonely old man because of his stingy, miserly attitude.

No one, including Scrooge, took notice of the prisoners living in wretchedly overcrowded conditions.

Scrooge built up a huge empire by taking advantage of wretched people who had to sell their home or starve.

Be careful! This is a negative word like repulsive but it does NOT mean the same thing!