Unit One Chapter 2: Death of the Big Top

Matching Words with Definitions

To hold the full attention of; absorb

• Any subway system that is clean, quiet, and safe deserves acclaim.
• Although Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings are now worth millions of dollars, the artist received little acclaim in his lifetime and died in poverty.

• Because their desks are adjacent, Jeff and Kellie often exchange looks and comments.
• If you keep your dishes in a cupboard that’s adjacent to the dishwasher, you won’t have to walk too far when putting away the clean dishes.

• The movie star’s violet eyes always elicit admiration and wonder.
• The basketball player’s three-point shot to win the game in its final seconds elicited a roar of delight from the excited fans.

• The suspenseful TV movie so engrossed Bryan that he didn’t even budge when he was called to dinner.
• The fascinating single-file march of black ants along the sidewalk engrossed me for several minutes.

• The fight between the two hockey players escalated into an all-out battle among members of both teams.
• “We need to escalate our fund-raising efforts,” the theater manager said. “Otherwise, the company won’t survive.”

• At the turn of the century, factory owners exploited children by making them work in terrible conditions for as many as eighteen hours a day.
• Although Ricky is the English teacher’s son, he refuses to exploit his status. He works as hard as anyone else in the class.

• A methodical way to store spices is to shelve them in alphabetical order.
• Juanita is so methodical about her diet that she classifies the foods in each meal into different nutritional categories.

• Cellphones are so common now that they have made pagers almost obsolete.
• In the United States, the automobile quickly made travel by horse and carriage obsolete.

• The sculptor loved making her ideas tangible by giving them form in metal and stone.
• Corn-chip crumbs, empty soda bottles, and dirty napkins were tangible evidence that a party had taken place the night before.

• As the clock’s hands inched toward 3:00, the students waited impatiently for the bell to terminate the last class before spring vacation.
• The referee should have terminated the boxing match when he first saw the weaker fighter losing the ability to defend himself.