Angie 10

In June 1778, after that horrible winter, Washington attacked the British army, now under the command of General Henry Clinton, at the Battle of Monmouth. Neither side won the fight, which was the last _________ battle in the northern colonies.

major

General George Washington's troops held the British captive in Boston for nearly a year. He also sent forces to invade Canada to prevent the British from _________ there and sending forces south into New York. The Patriots captured Montreal but failed in their attack on Quebec.

landing

While these are all extremely dangerous to bees, researchers decided that none were the cause of CCD, so their investigation turned to farming _________

practices

Some historians think Douglass helped inspire the renowned Gettysburg Address and a Lincoln inaugural address. Douglass also convinced Lincoln to allow Black soldiers to fight for the North. The Union Army's 54th Massachusetts Regiment was the first to be _________ of Black soldiers, including two of Douglass's sons.

comprised

CCD scientists surveyed beekeepers and took samples of wax, pollen, and live and dead bees (when they could find them). The samples were shipped to laboratories to be studied. When scientists dissected the bees, they found that the bees had many diseases. It seemed that their immune systems were _________— but why?

compromised

That evening when the robbers returned to their cave to stash more plunder, they were perplexed to find Cassim's body missing. Fury clouded the leader's eyes as he exclaimed, "Now we can be certain that someone else knows about the cave." Incensed, he turned to one man. "You, find out the identity of the man we killed. We must learn who his _________ is!"

accomplice

The Jews were loaded onto trucks or wagons, driven to the border, and left there. Soon after, the army arrested 30,000 German Jews and placed them in Nazi _________ camps. The camps were a kind of prison where enemies of Hitler were sent to live and work as punishment.

concentration

Even after they found the burial site, almost nobody expected the archaeologists to find a skeleton inside, not even the archaeologists themselves. By some ancient _________, Richard's body hadn't been buried at all—but had instead been thrown in the River Soar after being paraded through the streets of Leicester.

accounts

The moon was high when Ali came home. Vashti looked up from her tea. "Have you found him?" she asked. Ali replied in a low voice, "Vashti, he has departed this life for the next." Ali took Vashti back to her home that night, where her dedicated maid, Morgiana, awaited. Once Morgiana put Vashti to bed, she brought Ali a cup of tea with her _________.

condolences

Everything ancient history could tell the researchers suggested that this skeleton belonged to Richard III. Now they turned to modern science for _________.

confirmation

On February 22, 1732, George Washington was born to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. From the time he was three, George and his family lived at Mount Vernon, their estate in Virginia, where George's father worked as a farmer. The elder Washington died when George was just eleven years old. Luckily for young George, his older half brother Lawrence looked _________ him and raised him.

after

Paleontologists use different procedures to determine how old a fossil is—that is, to learn when the animal captured as a fossil lived. Because sediment _________ year after year, fossils found in deeper sediment are older than fossils in sediment closer to Earth's surface. Scientists obtain their best estimates of a fossil's age by analyzing certain chemicals in the rock that contains the fossil.

accumulates

Hitler's attempt to destroy all Jews is known as the Holocaust. In all, six million Jews were murdered in the camps, including more than a million children. Millions of non-Jews were also murdered there. The _________is one of the most horrible crimes in all of human history.

Holocaust

To find families for the children, Winton placed _________ in newspapers and talked with churches. He printed or sent pictures of the children all over the country. He hoped that once families saw the children's faces, they would want to help.

ads

"I'll never forget the _________ expression on my parents' faces that morning," said Gissing in 2002.

anguished

Sir Nicholas Winton died on July 1, 2015, the 76th _________ of a train journey that carried the largest number of children from Prague—241.

anniversary

In October 2006, an American beekeeper arrived at one of his _________, or beeyards, in Florida to pick up 400 hives. Three weeks before, the hives had appeared healthy, but now he found the hives nearly empty. Food, baby bees, and a few queens were all that remained. The beekeeper kneeled down, looking for dead bodies, but 20 million bees had disappeared.

apiaries

Animals that live in the wild sometimes get ill, just as people do. Unlike humans, they can't go to a doctor or clinic. Instead, they have found ways to treat themselves, either by eating certain plants or _________ing minerals. Observing animal behavior might provide people with clues about treatments for human sicknesses.

apply

In June 1776, the Continental Congress selected a committee to write a statement about the colonists' right to be self-governing. Thomas Jefferson was chosen as the actual writer. The Continental Congress _________ the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Once passed by each of the thirteen colonies, the Declaration of Independence created the United States of America.

approved

During the winter, Patriots used cannons they captured from the British to attack British soldiers in Boston. On _________ 17, 1776, the British soldiers and thousands of colonists loyal to Britain left Boston, leaving Washington's troops to march triumphantly into the city.

March

We may never know for sure. What we do know is this: In 1483, Richard's older brother, King Edward IV, died, probably of pneumonia. Richard had always been _________ to his brother, so before Edward died, he named Richard to be the royal protector of his eldest son, who in time would have become Edward V of England.

loyal

After the war, Winton went back to banking, got married, and had a family. He never spoke of the children he had worked so hard to save. Then in 1988, his wife, Grete, discovered her husband's secret _________. One day she found a dusty leather briefcase in the attic. She opened it to find a worn old scrapbook filled with pictures of the children. The scrapbook also contained letters and other papers describing the work Winton had done.

by accident

One major conflict Washington faced in his second term was the Whiskey Rebellion. The new government was taxing colonial makers of whiskey, and people felt that was unfair. When a group of people in Pennsylvania began to revolt, President Washington ordered that state's militia to _________ the unrest.

calm

President Washington had a lot to do. After all, no one had ever been president before. It was up to him to set numerous _________. He set about establishing three branches of government: executive (overseen by the president), legislative (Congress), and judicial (the Supreme Court).

precedents

Engineers designing the Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, copied the termite mound system to help keep the building comfortable without using _________ air conditioning. The building was made with heat- resistant materials and special vents at the top. Because of this design, the structure uses only 10 percent of the energy another building the same size would use.

costly

This technique could also be used to send brain signals from one person to another. In early experiments, one person's "brain signal" for finger movement traveled over the Internet to another room. There, a special device _________ the signal to a second person. His finger moved—following instructions from another brain.

delivered

In high school, media sensation and basketball superstar LeBron James led his team to three Ohio state championships. Immediately after graduating, he was picked to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he broke records as the youngest player in NBA history to be _________ of the Year and score ten thousand career points.

Rookie

The war brought a sudden end to Winton's rescue mission, so he looked for other ways to help. First he worked for the Red Cross _________. Later, he joined the Royal Air Force and became a pilot.

relief organization

Elephants have impressive intelligence as well. Scientists consider elephants to be among the brightest animals. This is evident in the way they cleverly create and use tools to scratch themselves, and _________ to solve problems. They also work together to protect their calves. They can remember locations of faraway places to find food and water. Some experiments have even discovered that elephants can recognize their own reflections, which only the most advanced animals can do.

collaborate

Do You Know? Special firefighters called smoke jumpers get into extremely remote areas of large wildland fires. They parachute from airplanes into the hearts of fires to _________ the flames.

combat

The colonists' ultimate victory wouldn't come until 1781, when, supported by the French army and navy, they surrounded the British at Yorktown, Virginia. The British were _________ to surrender.

compelled

In 1936, Hitler began by taking back land that had been given to France. Two years later, Hitler took control of Austria, then the Sudetenland. Next, Hitler ordered the army to gather up Jews born in Poland or Russia and _________ them from Germany.

remove

Paleontologists have unearthed numerous fossils of extinct prehistoric birds. The earliest known bird fossils are of a primitive reptile-like bird called Archaeopteryx (AHR- kee-OP-tuhr-ihks), which lived approximately 150 million years ago. These fossils offer _________ evidence that birds descended from reptiles.

compelling

Seth and Uncle Jasper repeated this argument continuously during our trek, and hearing it again _________.

sets my teeth on edge

The quartz family is the most common of all crystals. Quartz is found all over the world, in all colors of the rainbow. Most quartz is so common that anyone can _________ it. The largest quartz crystal ever found was about 6 meters (20 ft) long. It weighed more than 44,000 kilograms (48 tons)— more than a loaded eighteen-wheeled truck. The most valuable quartz is a multicolored stone called opal. Opals shimmer with white, blue, and red-orange colors. They are most often found in Australia.

afford

While some animals have eyes that reflect light, other animals' eyes _________ light. A moth's eyes, for example, are designed to reduce reflection to keep them from shining and attracting the attention of predators.

absorb

Ali quickly agreed, and Morgiana suggested that their first step be making Cassim's fate seem _________ so as not to draw attention. The next day, Morgiana went to the marketplace to spread the news that a donkey had kicked Cassim in the head and he had died.

accidental

"What's she holding?" I ask. "In her mind, it's baby Sarah in all her wiggling pink cuteness," Thomas says. "Why don't we see a baby?" "Because she's so far into the illusion that Mother only has to keep _________ maintenance to satisfy her. Often, people see what they want to see to keep from facing the truth. It's easier to stay in a world of fantasy than deal with the pain of reality." "What do we do now?" I ask. "How do we snap her out of it?" "I know a way," Uncle Jasper says.

a modicum of

Maya Moore loved basketball as a child, and she was a star player in high school and college. She led her college team to win a record-breaking ninety consecutive games. In the WNBA, she quickly became a top scorer and attracted _________ as one of the best female athletes in the sport. She helped her team win four championships and has played basketball all around the world.

acclaim

There are basketball leagues all over the world. A global basketball championship called the FIBA Basketball World Cup is held every four years, and the game has been a highly competitive event featured in the Olympic Games since 1936. In China, India, Australia, and especially the Philippines, basketball has been wildly popular for about one hundred years. In fact, the largest basketball venue in the world is the Philippine Arena, which can _________ fifty-five thousand fans. The next largest venues are in the United States, Serbia, and Canada.

accommodate

They continued on in the direction the arrows had been leading them but saw no more boulders. The arrows led them _________ toward a stream. "What should we do?" Poloma asked. "I suppose we should cross the stream. It looks very shallow, so if we tiptoe from stone to stone, perhaps we'll find another arrow on the other side. Hold my hand tight; we'll cross together."

abruptly

"Sure, except all that light is going to make our job more difficult," Uncle Jasper grumbles. "It seems quiet, so we should make our move now." A few moments later, we're running down the hill, crouching as low as we can, trying to stay silent. Even Odie picks up on the tension and becomes almost like a shadow—_________ a shadow with a cephaloid on its back.

albeit

Setting a precedent that would remain in place for nearly 150 years, Washington decided to end his presidency after two terms. Before he was finished, however, he offered some advice to the young nation he loved so much. In his Farewell Address, Washington, ever conscious of military matters, urged caution when making _________ with other nations since he believed such friendships could lead to war. He also warned against forming too large an army, which might also encourage military conflicts. Most important, Washington felt, was for the American people to stand united as one nation.

alliances

As female calves grow up, they prepare for their own offspring by helping care for younger calves. Studies show that these _________s increase the chances that young elephants will survive.

allomother

Vera Gissing remembers the day her parents sent her away from Czechoslovakia in hopes of saving her life. It was July 1939, just before her eleventh birthday. _________ dozens of other Jewish children, she was dressed in her best clothes, a numbered tag hanging around her neck. At Prague's main train station, the steam from the engines rose around the families. Parents hugged and kissed their children, whispering words of love and hope.

along with

"Can we use it to find out how old our arrow is?" Poloma asked. "Possibly—someone could date the plants in the cracks nearest to the carving," Papa told her. "But let's try an _________ method. Let's study the arrow and its environment for more clues."

alternative

Not every colonist wanted to be independent from Britain. So while George Washington headed to Concord and Lexington near Boston to lead his new troops, the Continental Congress continued to try to make _________ with Britain's Parliament. The delegates sent a petition to King George III asking him again to grant the colonists rights and to proclaim the colonists as loyal English subjects. King George refused to even read the petition, and declared that the colonists "had proceeded to open and avowed rebellion."

amends

In 1774, colonists chose delegates from the colonies to attend a secret meeting, called the First Continental Congress, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Washington supported a plan to take military action against the British if they continued. Desire for revolution was already rumbling, and in April 1775 colonial armies fired the first shots of the American Revolution. The next month, the delegates held the Second Continental Congress, at which Washington and the delegates agreed that it was time to fight. Washington was appointed commander in chief of the new Continental Army on July 3, 1775. During his first months as leader, he strengthened his army with more _________ and won early battles against the British. Washington's first major military action was in March 1776, when he drove the British army out of Boston and into New York. The break from Britain became official on July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

ammunition

On the night of June 16, 1775, Patriot soldiers dug trenches into Breed's Hill, working all night. By morning, soldiers and trenches covered the hill. The British soldiers moved by ship across the Charles River with cannons blasting. The minutemen were at a disadvantage: they weren't trained well and were fighting Britain's professional soldiers. The Patriots also had very little gunpowder. In order to conserve their _________, Patriot officers told their soldiers to make every shot count by waiting until the British were very close before firing: "Wait until you see the whites of their eyes."

ammunition

Whether the game is on a professional level or with friends in the neighborhood, basketball is a thrilling game that challenges players to be lightning fast, both mentally and physically. In any _________, the game is focused on one endlessly fun goal: getting an orange ball to go through a hoop.

arena

Morgiana told the soldiers about the thieves. The soldiers laughed at first, but then they opened one of the barrels and found a confused, and dizzy, robber _________. As one group of soldiers set about arresting the robbers, Morgiana led the captain and his men to the mansion.

armed to the teeth

Composition, or framing, is how you _________ what's in your picture. If your subject is a person, you want to fill the frame, but leave a little room around the person's head and shoulders. Keep your subject between the lines in the viewfinder or you may cut off the top of his head.That might be good for an "arty" look—or if you don't like him! Don't get too close, or the image may turn out fuzzy.

arrange

Interviewer: How do you feel about people who cause wildfires? Todd: It's a shame—especially this year, when we had two fires that were intentionally set by firefighters. Whatever the reason they might have, it's a real shame, and it puts a black mark on firefighters who are out there working hard, who love what they do. We put our lives on the line to save people's homes and property, and the _________ are out there setting fires on purpose. They're not very well liked.

arsonists

Douglass began to speak at antislavery meetings. With his firsthand account of life as an enslaved person and of his bold escape, he became the voice of the abolition movement. His very existence countered the enslavers' argument that enslaved people lacked the intellect to function as free American citizens. Yet Douglass was so _________ that some white people refused to believe he had ever been enslaved.

articulate

Engineers studied lotus leaves and found a way to use this idea in house paint and roof tiles. The paint and tiles mimic the bumpy surface of the leaves. _________, every time it rains, the outsides of houses with these paints and tiles are cleaned.

as a result

Earvin "Magic" Johnson became famous on the court with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Olympic Dream Team. He amazed fans with his all- around mastery of the game, particularly his ability to pass the ball in surprising and skillful ways—almost _________ it was magic!

as if

"I'm afraid you'll have to read them to me." Papa stood up slowly, rubbing his knees. "Glaucoma and rheumatism aren't the best _________ for would-be explorers. I'll never be able to read those tiny marks with my poor eyesight, and my joints are aching from all this crawling around in the brush."

assets

One feature that can occur in both rubies and sapphires is an _________, or star. An _________ is a bright star-shaped pattern within the stone caused by titanium oxide that reflects light very brilliantly. Star sapphires and star rubies are highly valuable and some of the most sought- after gems in the world.

asterism

Covey almost succeeded in breaking his spirit. After enduring six months of abuse, though, sixteen-year-old Frederick fought back. Later, he wrote, "We were at it for nearly two hours. Covey _________ let me go, puffing and blowing at a great rate, saying that if I had not resisted, he would not have whipped me half so much. The truth was, that he had not whipped me at all."

at length

The brain stem is sometimes called the lizard brain. That's because it does pretty much the same thing in lizards as in you: controls body processes that are essential for survival. Day and night, your brain stem keeps your breathing, digestion, heartbeat, and other _________ body processes running smoothly.

automatic

Today, fans of Richard III believe that the discovery of his skeleton may cause people to change their opinions about this medieval king. They believe he had strong sympathy for the rights of the common people and that he established many principles of modern law. These include the ideas that defendants must be considered innocent until proven guilty, that defendants have a right to _________, and that all laws must be known and published.

bail

"May I see the master of the house?" the leader asked. Ali Baba came to the door and said, "I am the brother of Cassim. How can I help you?" "I have oil for sale." The merchant gestured to the many _________ loaded on carts in the street. Morgiana looked at the _________. Something about them and these men made her uneasy.

barrels

That's why Frederick had made friends with poor white boys in the city—they had been allowed to attend school. First he'd tease them, saying, "I bet I know more of the alphabet than you do!" He'd write a few letters in the dirt, the other boys would write what they knew, and Frederick would learn to write those new letters. Now, he was _________ food for proper lessons in reading and writing. Up ahead, Frederick saw one of his friends waiting to give him a lesson and hurried to join him. Frederick would give up his lunch every day to learn!

bartering

Lotus plants grow in ponds and rivers. They are surrounded by mud, yet their leaves appear clean most of the time. The secret lies in the leaves' surface. Although it looks smooth, it actually has tiny bumps that cause water to _________ up and roll off, carrying bits of dirt and dust with it.

bead

After days of trudging silently through nearly pitch-black forests and avoiding the mutated cephaloids, this beacon of beauty and civilization is a wonder to _________. Even as we watch from the underbrush at the edge of the trees, the building changes.

behold

Monocultures present bees with other complications, too. Because pests love monocultures, farmers must spray chemical pesticides to eliminate them. In American agriculture, a large portion of the food we eat is treated with pesticides. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than a billion pounds of these chemicals are used on our crops annually. It's challenging for farmers to find chemical pesticides that kill harmful insects but leave the _________ ones, such as bees, alone.

beneficial

Vera Gissing was at that emotional reunion. She has since written a _________ of Winton and a book about her own experience as a child who lived through the war.

biography

The next morning while Fatima was out, Cassim pushed open the door to Ali's shack. Grabbing his brother by his tunic, Cassim roared, "Tell me, Ali Baba! Do not keep secrets from your brother!" He threw the gold coin at Ali and spat, "I know all about your gold. You can _________ your foolish wife for that."

blame

Elephants use their massive trunks for multiple purposes. They breathe through them, use them to grasp food and other objects, and make _________ trumpetlike noises by blowing air through them. An African elephant can suck up 2 gallons (7.5 L) of water with its trunk and swoosh the water into its mouth for a drink or spray it across its body for a cooling shower. Afterward, it can pick up dust and blast it over its wet skin for protection from pesky insects and the Sun.

blaring

Unlike an EEG, which measures electrical activity, an fMRI identifies active brain regions by measuring _________ flow. This gives an indirect measurement of brain activity because electrically active neurons require more oxygen. Since _________ is your body's oxygen delivery system, brain areas with more _________ flow generally have more electrically active neurons.

blood

The earliest cameras took hours to record one _________, black-and-white image. In the 1830s, a French inventor, Louis Daguerre, created a way to make sharp-looking pictures in less than thirty seconds. His images, called daguerreotypes (dah-GARE-oh-types) after their inventor, became the first popular form of photography.

blurry

In all, 669 children were carried away to safety. Most went to live with families. Many others went to live at a Czech _________ in Wales.

boarding school

"What other choice do we have?" I interrupt, my frustration _________ing over. "Do you have something that would get us in any faster? I could go up and knock on the front door." Uncle Jasper is quiet for a while as he looks at the ground. Finally, he says, "Okay, but we go after dark."

boil

The British won control of the two hills at the cost of many British lives. More than 1,000 British soldiers were wounded or killed, while the Patriots lost 441 men. The Patriots gained a big _________ in morale even though they lost a battle because they could fight and win a war against professional soldiers. Although most of the action was seen on Breed's Hill, the battle has come to be known as "The Battle of Bunker Hill."

boost

Fossils prove that many of the main types of birds we know today had developed by about 35 million years ago. These included birds that _________ resemblance to modern chickens, doves, ducks, parrots, penguins, owls, and songbirds.

bore

The main chemical technique that paleontologists use to estimate the age of fossils is called radioisotope dating. This method is based on the fact that chemicals called radioactive isotopes _________ to form other chemicals at a known rate over time. By comparing the amount of radioactive isotopes left in a fossil with the amount of their breakdown products, scientists can calculate how long this decay process has been going on. That calculation, in turn, tells scientists how long ago the fossil formed.

break down

For years, Frederick had lived in the city. At fifteen, he was sent to work on a farm as a field hand for Edward Covey, a _________ man who beat enslaved people into obedience. Loaning Frederick to Covey may have been Auld's way of punishing Frederick for trying to educate other enslaved people as well as himself.

brutal

Interviewer: Describe a typical day in the life of a wildland firefighter. Todd: Well, it depends. Usually it's pretty quiet around here, but during the Rodeo Fire, the first few days were absolutely _________. We spent 43 hours on the fire line without sleeping. I'd get up at about five o'clock every morning and go to the morning briefing with the forest service to find out what was going on and where everybody was going. We'd go out on the fire lines and spend all day cleaning up around houses, setting back burns, and doing what needed to be done to help work on the fire.

brutal

After the war, Hitler helped form the Nazi Party, a group that wanted to restore Germany's power in the world. In time, Hitler and the Nazis became so powerful that he was named Germany's leader. He took control of the government and then started to _________ the military. He also planned to take back the land Germany had been forced to give away after losing World War I.

build up

Professional photographers use such tools as light meters, flood lamps, and light-reflecting screens to help them get the correct exposure. Or they may use a flash to make a sudden burst of light, brightening a dim scene. On simple cameras, the flash is _________, and some activate automatically whenever light levels are low.

built in

Unlike African elephants, Asian elephants have big, round _________ on the tops of their heads that are often the tallest points on their bodies. Their backs are flat or have a slight arch, while African elephant shoulders and hips are equally tall, often with a clear dip between them.

bumps

Interviewer: What is life with the crew like? Todd: You spend a lot of time at the station and working with your crew—they're very much like a family. One guy put it cleverly; he said that fifty years ago, firefighting was a brotherhood. Now, with so many female firefighters, it is more like a family, with men and women working closely together toward the goal of controlling fire. When we get off a shift, there is always a lot of_________. We eat lunch together, we eat dinner together, and "families" are always together on fires.

camaraderie

On the same day the Second Continental Congress met, the Colonist soldiers scored a victory over the British at Fort Ticonderoga. A rough, tough farmer named Ethan Allen and his backwoods friends had formed a group called the Green Mountain Boys. The Congress asked the Green Mountain Boys to _________ the British fort on Lake Champlain in New York. Another soldier named Benedict Arnold also was ordered to attack Fort Ticonderoga. Both Arnold and Allen wanted to be the leader of the attack, so they argued all the way to Ticonderoga, but they managed to conquer the fort together on May 10, 1775.

capture

"Well, there are many ways. Remember the cave paintings we saw last summer, and the ancient fossils and bones we saw at the natural history museum? Scientists use a method called _________ to figure out how old those things are."

carbon dating

By studying the bones, scientists soon learned that they came from a man around the age of thirty-two—Richard's age when he died. They could also tell that the skeleton's owner had enjoyed a high-protein diet rich in meat and ocean fish. In the fifteenth century, only the wealthy (a king, for instance) ate that well. Finally, by using _________ tests on two ribs, they learned that the skeleton belonged to someone who died between 1455 and 1540. Richard died in 1485.

carbon dating

Calcium _________ is also an important ingredient in a building material humans use: cement. Scientists found a way to pump carbon dioxide through seawater to turn the gas into _________. Now people use it to make things, just as the coral does.

carbonate

Poloma was flinging her new ball high into the air when she made her unexpected discovery of the first arrow in the forest. That particular Mississippi morning, she was aiming for the Sun, launching the ball higher and higher, when it came down and bounced away. The fast-moving ball _________ off a tree trunk and ricocheted off a log, eventually coming to rest near a large, moss-covered boulder.

careened

Suddenly, an opening appears on the wall and becomes a large window. From the top, what looks like shimmering liquid glass _________ down. Without a word, the four of us bolt through the opening and into the castle.

cascades

The idea behind this science is simple. Scientists, researchers, and engineers study how living creatures navigate the _________ of life. These experts then look at human _________ that are similar to see if people can adopt the same approaches in dealing with their problems.

challenges

Richard died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field, a few miles from Leicester. After leading a direct _________ toward his enemy, Henry Tudor, Richard lost his horse on slippery ground, was overrun by Henry's soldiers, and lost his life. His crown fell alongside his body.

charge

Scientists have turned to green plants for a better way to convert sunlight to energy. Green plants use _________ to absorb light, which they then turn into food. A new type of solar cell uses natural dyes that mimic how _________ works. These new cells may perform just as well as the old cells, without the cost and waste.

chlorophyll

After his secret came out, Winton spoke often about why he worked to save the Czech children. He _________ that he did nothing special or heroic. "I just saw what was going on and did what I could to help," he once said.

claimed

With the recovery of Richard's bones, some people were delighted that the long-lost king could now be reburied with traditional honors. But where to bury him? Within twenty-four hours of DNA confirmation, two towns _________ his body.

claimed

Some scientists actually _________ birds as living dinosaurs. So the next time you see a songbird singing outside your window, might you really be watching and listening to a dinosaur?

classify

Growing frantic, he yelled, "Open, cinnamon! Open, paprika! Open, rice!" Still, nothing happened. Cassim panicked and _________ at the cave door like a tiger imprisoned in a cage.

clawed

By the time they were back on the other side of the stream, the Sun had disappeared. Poloma stopped and scanned the sky. "Are you looking for the Drinking Gourd?" her grandfather asked. "There it is!" Poloma was pointing to the bright _________ of stars in the sky. "Shall we follow it?"

cluster

"I convinced Sarah and Jake to trust me and brought them to Mother, expecting... I don't know what I expected. Once she had the two of them in her _________, she walked away from me like I was nothing—again. She has more power than ever, and she made no effort to save my brothers and sisters in your world."

clutches

Scientists found evidence that systemic pesticides exist in beehives that have had CCD, and the timing of the introduction of these new pesticides _________ with the appearance of CCD. They cannot, however, state conclusively that these pesticides cause the disease. Still more factors must be considered.

coincides

Over time, the disagreements between the two groups only increased bad feelings and violence. Britain's King George III tried to gain control over the colonists, but failed. A series of events led to a _________ on April 19, 1775, between British soldiers and colonists at the towns of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Shots were exchanged on the village green in Lexington—no one knows which side fired first. That first shot became known as "the shot heard 'round the world," signaling the beginning of war between Britain and its thirteen colonies.

confrontation

A tower transforms into an arched walkway between two other towers. A wall extends outward, creating a new room as windows appear, grow, and fill with glass. The roof of the main building seems to disintegrate, then _________ itself into another story.

congeal

Another player who always made a big difference for his teams was Kareem Abdul- Jabbar. After he won seventy-one _________ games with his high school team, perhaps it was no surprise that he turned out to be the all-time leading scorer in the NBA.

consecutive

"I won't lie. I did bring you all here, but not entirely for the reasons you think," Thomas sighs. "This is my world. I'm part of it, but I was trapped on the other side of the door—we all were. You see, for you to cross into our world, it requires very little energy because reality for you is solid and _________. Something like me requires an incredible amount of energy, not only to cross over but also to maintain my existence."

consistent

Doctors studied Gage's case for many years. Then, in 1914, World War I began. Large numbers of soldiers suffered brain injuries, and the injuries to certain brain regions _________ caused the same symptoms. With this information, doctors were able to begin creating maps of brain regions and their functions. Trying to learn about the brain by studying brain injuries was much like trying to learn about cars by studying broken engines: scientists could identify essential brain regions, but that was about it.

consistently

Instead, Richard ascended the throne and began to _________ power for himself. He imprisoned his brother's two sons, Edward and Richard, in the Tower of London. The young princes were never seen again.

consolidate

"What does 'Follow the Drinking Gourd' mean?" Poloma asked. "The Drinking Gourd is the _________ of seven stars now called the Big Dipper, which can always be found in the northern sky of the United States. Slaves followed the Drinking Gourd from safe house to safe house, until they finally reached freedom."

constellation

Just over fifty years later, in 1538—as a direct result of who lost and who won that day—the abbey at Greyfriars was destroyed and, in time, covered over as the town grew. When modern researchers went looking for Richard, the church had been buried for nearly as long as he had. They _________ old maps, but in the centuries that followed the abbey's destruction, street names had changed. It took some detective work to locate the precise burial site.

consulted

"I wonder if these letters were used in a war, too," Poloma pondered. Papa _________ that. He paced for a very long time, and then he halted beside his granddaughter and cleared his throat. "I think I remember something," he said. "As you may recall, a great war took place right around here." "The Civil War—right, Papa?" Poloma asked.

contemplated

Douglass remained married to Anna for forty- four years, until she passed away in 1882. Two years later he married Helen Pitts, an advocate for civil rights. Their marriage caused _________ since Pitts was a white woman, but as Douglass asked in a letter to a friend, "What business has the world with the color of my wife?"

controversy

The group _________ below a tree that had a large, craggy boulder at its base. Their leader was obvious because he stood taller and looked crueler than the others. Ali heard him utter a strange phrase—"Open, sesame!"

convened

"We were to find people with strong imaginations that Mother could _________ to help her maintain her world here, and once she was strong enough, she would bring us back.

convince

An obvious clue to identifying an elephant is its ears. African elephants' ears are much bigger than those of Asian elephants—often twice as large. Scientists think this is because African elephants live in hotter climates and flap their ears to _________ themselves. The blood vessels throughout the ears are close to the surface, so flapping them _________s the blood and lowers body temperature.

cool

In the center of the room, a woman sits in a creaking rocking chair, holding a bundle of blankets. The woman _________ and sings a sweet song. She pulls her black hair streaked with gray away from her face, and Uncle Jasper gasps, "Anna." "She can't hear you," Thomas explains. "She's so lost in the illusion that it's become her reality. We're like ghosts to her." "She looks so happy," Uncle Jasper says. "She would. To her, everything here seems perfect and wonderful."

coos

Basketball has come a long way since its simple beginnings. Media _________ of the sport keeps fan interest peaked all year, and with basketball courts available in neighborhood parks, schools, and even in some driveways around the world, anyone who is interested in learning the game will find it easy to do. Schools and basketball clubs in communities everywhere supply options for practicing the sport or joining a team. Who knows where the next great basketball stars will come from?

coverage

The burial spot was strange, but then so was the spine, for two reasons. First, the spine was _________, with a striking S curve. Second, this particular spine belonged to a famous king.

crooked

I thought the massive wall I created when the creatures were chasing Uncle Jasper, Seth, Odie, and me was impressive. Now, as we witness the intricacy, complexity, and delicacy of the Queen's palace, my wall seems _________—the difference between a child scribbling with crayons and the Mona Lisa.

crude

The first _________ camera was invented around ad 1500.It could only project an image onto a screen or a piece of paper, like the pinhole camera in the project on the next page.

crude

Natural pearls are strangely shaped and extremely rare. It takes an oyster many years to create a pearl from a tiny bit of sand. Almost all of the beautiful round pearls in jewelry stores are _________, or made by people. Pearl farmers insert a round shell bead into an oyster's shell. The oyster covers the bead with nacre, creating a perfectly round pearl. Cultured pearls come in every color of the rainbow, from creamy white to pink to yellow to green and even black.

cultured

Taking photographs nowadays is a snap. With inexpensive disposable cameras, basic "point-and-shoot" compact cameras, and digital cameras, all you need to do is aim and click away. That wasn't so in the early days of photography, when taking pictures required expensive, _________ equipment, knowledge of chemistry, and lots of patience. And even though most people today use digital cameras, learning about film photography can help anyone who wants to take great photos.

cumbersome

Because of the complexity of CCD, scientists have yet to find an undeniable cause or _________ for the disorder. However, there is still hope for honeybees. By making a few changes, humans can begin to create honeybee-friendly environments.

cure

A gem is any beautiful stone that can be used in jewelry. Most gems have beautiful colors or sparkle, and they are hard enough to hold up to _________. There are three major types of gems. The first two, crystals and stones, are made of minerals—the natural, nonliving substances that make up ordinary rocks. Crystals are very pure minerals that form in tight shapes and neat patterns. Stones are mixed minerals that have beautiful colors and patterns, but do not have strict shapes. The third group, organic gems, comes from substances made by living things.

daily wear

The ability to detect brain signals raised another question: is it possible to decode these signals? If a computer could _________ a brain's electrical signals, people might learn to control an artificial limb or a robot through a brain-computer interface.

decipher

"You forgot the spaces," he said. "Read the letters again, and don't forget the spaces between the words." Poloma read the letters again. This time she was careful to pause whenever she saw a space. g p m m p x u i f e sj o l j o h h p v se As she was repeating the letters, she remembered something that she had noticed in codes she had _________ before. Most sentences contained at least one short common word, and this one was no exception.

deciphered

Natural designs are not just simple and effective, but are also good for the environment. People often forget the impact discarded materials have on other living things. Products that are made to last don't _________ quickly. Many are of little use to other living things and may in fact harm them.

decompose

In Shakespeare's play Richard III, Richard is depicted as a hunchback with a raised right shoulder, something a crooked spine would cause. In the play, this _________ is more a cause for scorn than sympathy. In real life, it's another matter.

deformity

Washington's friend and fellow Virginian James Madison asked him to attend a government meeting with more than fifty other _________ in Philadelphia. At that meeting, called the Constitutional Convention, America's Founding Fathers worked toward creating a plan for a new government. However, they needed someone to lead it. Not surprisingly, they turned to George Washington.

delegates

Diamonds form very deep in the earth as a result of huge amounts of pressure and high temperatures. Most diamonds form 140 to 190 kilometers (90 to 120 miles) beneath the Earth's surface. Magma brings the diamonds close to the surface through volcanic pipes. In a few instances, diamonds have also been found in _________ left behind by melting glaciers. The diamonds that reach the Earth's surface may be up to 3 billion years old.

deposits

As many as 5,000 people are now _________ of the 669 children who rode Winton's trains to safety in 1939. Although those children are now old, many still call themselves "Winton's Children."

descendants

Scientists also considered DNA, the information in our cells that determines many of our traits. Less than 2 percent of the English population carries the particular type of DNA they took from the skeleton. When they took DNA samples from two modern-day _________ of Richard's sister, Anne of York, the samples matched.

descendants

Washington, however, was still being challenged farther south. General Howe captured the colonial capital city of Philadelphia on September 26, 1777. Washington and his men had no choice but to retreat to nearby Valley Forge. They endured a cold, harsh winter without enough food or supplies. Some three thousand men _________ Washington's army.

deserted

Opinions are divided about what sort of man Richard was. We know that he met a violent end, but did Richard _________ what he got?

deserve

This proved to be true. The more books and newspapers Frederick read, the clearer his own thoughts about slavery became, the more he _________ slavery, and the more dejected he was.

despised

Vashti was suspicious about how the _________ Ali Baba and Fatima would have enough grain to measure with a scale, so she placed a bit of suet underneath the scale. Whatever they were weighing would stick to the suet. Later, when Fatima returned the scale, the astonished Vashti discovered a gold coin stuck to the bottom.

destitute

Unlike electrical signals, changes in blood flow can be _________ed deep inside the brain. An fMRI allows scientists to _________ the precise brain regions used when you sing, laugh, or watch a scary movie—with far more detail than an EEG can provide.

detect

Papa traced his finger back and forth over the carving. "I can't say for certain," he said. "It's a very old carving, but it's hard to estimate how old. It's a difficult and complicated process to _________ how old a carving is." "How do people know?" Poloma asked.

determine

Nature is filled with many plants and animals that have _________ special ways to live and survive. For years, humans have studied these ways to learn more about how they work. Now a science called biomimicry teaches us how to use what we learn from nature in our own lives.

developed

It wasn't until the introduction of the Kodak® box camera in 1888 that photography became an affordable hobby. The Kodak camera was lightweight, inexpensive, and easy to operate. Best of all, amateur photographers did not have to go through the long, often painstaking process of _________ the film. Like modern film cameras, the box camera recorded images on a roll of film. People sent the film, along with the camera, back to the company, where prints were made, and the camera was returned with a new roll of film inside.

developing

Without honeybees to pollinate the flowers of these plants, our _________ would be very bland and boring. In fact, one in three bites of the food you eat is thanks to honeybees.

diets

As herbivores, elephants eat plants—a lot of them. They spend 80 to 90 percent of their time eating, with each elephant consuming up to 300 pounds (136 kg) of food a day. However, much of it passes right through them. Elephants only _________ about 44 percent of the grass, leaves, branches, tree bark, seeds, and fruit that they eat.

digest

Compsognathus was one of the smallest dinosaurs that ever lived—some of these creatures were only the size of a chicken. Compsognathus had a long, thin neck and tail and long hind legs. On each of its short front legs, it had only two claws—an unusual feature for a dinosaur. Like other coelurosaurs, Compsognathus hunted by running after insects, lizards, and other _________ animals and grabbing them with its razor-sharp claws and teeth.

diminutive

If this sounds like science fiction, think again: experimental mind-controlled devices already exist! Electrodes detect the brain signal, which is decoded by a computer. The information can be used to control a mechanical device. Researchers hope this technology can be used to help people with _________ move and communicate better.

disabilities

In nature, however, nothing is wasted. Any waste becomes a resource for another organism. A dead tree, for example, becomes food, shelter, and energy for hundreds of living things. One species' trash is another species' treasure, as everything _________ contributes to the well-being of the ecosystem. People can take their cue from nature and do their part by being careful about what resources they use and considering what happens when they're finished with them.

discarded

The next day, the robber, pretending to be a holy man, went to the marketplace asking the names of families who had suffered the loss of a loved one. _________ing the deaths of unlikely people, he focused on one man named Cassim.

dismiss

Solar panels turn sunlight into electricity and are considered a cleaner fuel source than fossil fuels. While the panels produce no harmful gasses, they are costly to manufacture. Making them creates waste products that are hard to _________ safely.

dispose of

Most crystals form deep within the earth under very special conditions. Some, such as diamonds, form when the mineral is squeezed under layers of rocks. The squeezing forces the atoms to arrange themselves until they are in the smallest shape possible. Others, such as sapphires, form when a mineral gets so hot inside the earth that it melts. As it slowly cools, the atoms fall into place to make a regular crystal pattern. And still other gems, such as opals, form when minerals _________ in water. As the water evaporates very slowly, the mineral left behind forms a crystal.

dissolve

Two years into Richard's reign, the battle for control of England—between Richard's forces and the followers of Henry Tudor—took place at Bosworth Field. Betrayed by men he thought were his supporters, Richard was killed while fighting desperately on foot after losing his horse. His crown was picked up from where it had fallen, and Henry Tudor was crowned king of England on the battlefield, becoming King Henry VII. Years later, in 1534, Henry's son, Henry VIII, broke with the Catholic Church and _________ the monasteries. This act led to the destruction and loss of Greyfriars Priory, where, centuries later, Richard's skeleton was uncovered.

dissolved

By the Civil War, Douglass was the most admired Black man in the United States. In 1863, he served as President Lincoln's advisor during the _________ of the Emancipation Proclamation, an order that freed the majority of enslaved people. Yet the abolition of slavery wasn't a stated goal of the war, though Douglass repeatedly urged Lincoln to make it one.

drafting

Ali spoke the magic words, "Open, sesame," and the door to the cave slid open. After a moment of shock, Cassim ran inside. With a shake of his head, Ali headed home. Inside the cave, Cassim rolled around on the luxurious carpets, tossed handfuls of gold coins in the air, and _________ himself in silk robes. He filled his bags with loot. When he was ready to leave, he paused and said, "What was that phrase again? Oh, yes, 'Open, barley.'" Nothing happened. "I could have sworn those were the words Ali spoke to open the cave. Was it a different grain, or was it a spice?" he wondered aloud. "Open, ginger," he cried. Again, nothing happened.

draped

Players constantly try to position themselves where they can either shoot the ball or pass it to a teammate with a chance of a good shot. Opposing players try to block shots or steal the ball. The ball can only be moved while _________ or by passing.

dribbling

Typically, an animal that becomes immortalized as a fossil is buried in sediment— such as mud or sand— immediately after it dies. This is more likely to happen in or near rivers, the sea, or other bodies of water. Water that carries minerals, such as calcium, then soaks into microscopic spaces inside the bones of the body. As more and more of the bone tissue dissolves and decays away, increasing amounts of minerals take the place of the bone. In time, a rocky _________ of the animal's skeleton is left.

duplicate

In the 1960s and 1970s, Wilt Chamberlain, at 7 feet 1 inch (216 cm), earned the top records in scoring, rebounding, and _________. He is considered to be one of the most outstanding players in NBA history.

durability

Spiderwebs are made of sticky silk that is also quite strong. A thread of spider silk is about three times as strong as a steel thread of the same size. Scientists have analyzed spider silk so that they can create a similar material. The human-made silk could be used to create all sorts of _________ materials, from bandages to fences.

durable

Winton's work has _________ him many honors from the governments of both Great Britain and the Czech Republic. In 2002, Winton was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II. This award is given to people for acts of bravery, service, or success.

earned

When Douglass returned to the United States in 1848, he founded a newspaper. He also penned thousands of speeches and _________ calling for social justice. "I expose slavery in this country," wrote Douglass, "because to expose it is to kill it. Slavery is one of those monsters of darkness to whom the light of truth is death."

editorials

Everything you do—running, singing, thinking, and more—begins with tiny _________ signals in your brain. An EEG measures these signals through electrodes placed on the head's surface. Researchers can "see" brain activity when you walk, talk, read, and more.

electrical

There are only a few nerve-racking seconds left on the clock. The game is tied. A player dribbles the ball downcourt, looking for an opening. Suddenly he passes the ball into the hands of a teammate near the opposing team's hoop. That player jumps high and slam-dunks the ball through the hoop—just as the buzzer blasts and time runs out! The standing, _________ crowd roars! This basketball game is over!

electrified

At the same time, the book included details that could have led to Douglass's arrest as a fugitive. In order to avoid capture, Douglass went abroad for two years on a speaking tour of Ireland and England. An _________ speaker, he was a star overseas, and fans there raised the money for Douglass's freedom, a purchase called manumission.

electrifying

Hesperornis (hes-pur-OR-niss) and Ichthyornis (ik-thee-OR-niss) were two kinds of aquatic birds that lived approximately 90 million years ago. Fossils of Hesperornis show that this bird looked like a large loon, with big webbed feet to assist it in swimming. It also had a beak lined with tiny teeth to enable it to catch fish. However, Hesperornis had only rudimentary wing bones, so it could not fly. Ichthyornis resembled a gull, with _________ pointed wings. It was probably an excellent flyer that dived into the sea to capture fish.

elongated

Douglass wrote the first of three autobiographies, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. When it was published in 1845, critics charged that the book, like Douglass, was fake: no on who had been enslaved could write so _________, they argued. Yet the book was an instant success and persuaded many people that someone who had been enslaved could possess a great mind.

eloquently

They crossed the stream, holding hands, stepping carefully. When they reached the other side, they nearly toppled over the next boulder. It was almost entirely obscured by a grove of old pine trees at the top of an _________.

embankment

Most mineral gems are found deep within the earth. Humans must dig mines to get them. Because gems are so small and rare, mining is often still done by hand. Miners must chip and cut at the rock, looking for individual stones _________ within it. It takes a lot of work to find gems, and work costs money. The rarer the gem and the harder it is to find, the more valuable it is.

embedded

Humans are the second cause of wildfires. Unfortunately, this year humans have been the cause of almost all the major wildfires in Arizona. _________ blow from unattended illegal campfires, setting fire to an area.

embers

One of his most famous speeches was "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" When he delivered the speech on July 5, 1852, Douglass surprised his audience by posing questions about what Independence Day meant for enslaved people and those once enslaved. "What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, _________ in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us?"

embodied

Stephen Smith, a scientist who studies the brain at Stanford University Medical School, says that neurons form a network with more than 125 trillion connections. Your brain contains more neuron connections than there are stars in 1,500 Milky Way galaxies! This complex wiring system _________ your brain to act as the control center for your entire body.

enables

Adult elephants are too hefty and powerful to be threatened by other wild animals. But humans are increasingly _________ into elephant habitats. Humans build roads, plant crops, cut down trees, and construct houses in territories where elephants once roamed freely. At one time, elephants lived in nearly every part of Africa and across South Asia. Today, they are restricted to a small fraction of that territory.

encroaching

Then there are intentionally set fires, like the Rodeo Fire, which was set by a firefighter. He hadn't had much work this season, so he wanted to set a fire and create a job for himself. But the fire got out of control and _________ other firefighters and people's homes. The Madera Canyon Fire was actually started by a helicopter that flew too low and clipped a power line.

endangered

Understanding that education and freedom went hand in hand, he began giving lessons to other enslaved people until _________ stopped his Sunday school. He earned a reputation among enslaved people as a leader—and among _________ as a troublemaker.

enslavers

The onlooking crowd cheered _________. George Washington was now officially the president of the United States of America.

enthusiastically

Trunks are also important for elephant communication. Scientists study how elephants use infrasound—sound that is too low for humans to hear—to communicate. Friends and relatives _________ their trunks together to say hello, and young elephants use them to wrestle and play. A mother elephant is extremely affectionate with her youngster, and might stroke her calf with her trunk to comfort it—but she can also use her trunk to give the calf a slap if it's misbehaving!

entwine

Fossils show how new kinds of species developed over _________. For example, scientists have discovered fossils that lead them to believe that birds developed from reptiles more than 150 million years ago; those reptiles may have been dinosaurs.

eons

Poloma and her grandfather were at the boulder now. They knelt down, and Poloma pointed to the roughly carved arrow. Wind and rain had _________ the arrow's edges so that it was nearly invisible to anyone who was not carefully examining the stone. "What do you think it means?" she asked.

eroded

Basketball quickly became popular within the United States, particularly in schools, because all that people needed to play was a ball, a basket, and a court. Later on, the bottom was removed from the peach baskets, and the baskets were replaced with metal hoops. The sport became popular worldwide after the end of World War II. In 1949, the American National Basketball Association (NBA) was _________ and became key to the tremendous growth of basketball as a professional sport.

established

Ali Baba and Fatima discussed what they should do with their newfound wealth. They couldn't spend it freely without raising suspicions. They would bury it in their garden, but they decided to weigh it first to _________ its worth. So Fatima went to Vashti and Cassim's mansion and asked to borrow a scale to weigh grain.

estimate

In a side-by-side comparison, it's _________ that African elephants are the larger of the two species. Some adult males measure 13 feet (4 m) tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 14,000 pounds (6,350 kg). Females are shorter and lighter, at around 9 feet (2.7 m) tall and up to 10,000 pounds (4,540 kg).

evident

Fossils found in rock sediments from millions of years ago can teach us a lot about life on Earth. According to the fossils of elephant remains, the two main species of elephants—African and Asian—both originated in Africa. After Asian elephants migrated out of Africa, they _________ to adapt to their new environment.

evolved

"Many of us were lost in your world for a long time, unable to pull ourselves together enough to even be seen, but over time we learned that if we were around certain people with _________ imaginations, we could manifest.

exceptional

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully _________ the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

execute

All of these traits are similar to those of birds. Since fossils _________ these attributes, it's logical to conclude that coelurosaurs developed into birds.

exhibit

Arrange a group of people so they're all about the same distance from the camera. Otherwise, the ones closer to the camera may look washed out and those in the back may look dark. _________ with composition, and don't be afraid to try things and make mistakes. Position your subject in the middle of the frame, and then off to the side. Shoot through a window or an archway. Look for interesting shapes and contrasts, such as a jagged fence against the curves of a hill.

experiment

It took a few hundred years and a series of scientific discoveries before people figured out how to make permanent images. First, they discovered that certain chemicals turn dark when _________ to light, and then they found a way to use other chemicals to keep the image from fading.

exposed

_________ is the amount of light that falls on the film. The word "photography" comes from Greek words meaning "to draw with light. " Light is the photographer's best friend—and worst enemy! _________ to too much light, called over_________, will make a picture look washed out, while _________ to too little light, called under_________, will result in a too-dark picture.

exposure

Scientists have learned that female elephants are social animals that form close relationships with others of their herd. In the wild, female elephants spend their entire lives in the company of related females and their young. Each herd is an _________ family group led by a matriarch— usually the oldest female elephant with the most experience surviving in the wild. The entire herd might descend from the matriarch, including her adult daughters and their calves.

extended

Most crystal gems are cut into flat surfaces called _________. Facets show off the gem's color and pattern, and allow it to sparkle with reflected light. Lapidaries cut different gems using several different cutting styles.

facets

At the same time, Winton was working to get the German and British governments to let the children enter England. When the governments moved too slowly, sometimes Winton and a small team of helpers created _________ permits. "We just speeded the process up a little," Winton said.

fake

Since 1892, only a year after Dr. Naismith invented basketball, women have been active in the sport. Today, with superstar basketball players such as Carol Blazejowski, Ann Meyers, and Lynette Woodard, and with the formation of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), women's basketball has acquired a much larger _________.

fan base

Today, many people play basketball. Men, women, boys, and girls in almost every nation enjoy the sport. In the United States, the NBA is the biggest and most famous professional basketball organization, with 30 teams. College basketball _________ about 336 teams nationally, with the largest organization being the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). Today, almost every high school has a basketball team.

features

In Leicester, officials wanted to bury the bones barely 100 yards from where they were found, in Leicester Cathedral. They wanted to open a visitors' center dedicated to Richard. Richard _________ from the northern city of York, though, 100 miles north of Leicester. Some insisted that Richard would have wanted to be buried there.

hails

In October 1776, Patriot Benedict Arnold's gunboats were defeated at Lake Champlain in Canada. However, the Patriots fought so fiercely that the British were concerned. Conquering the rebels might not be as easy as they'd thought. On December 24, 1776, George Washington and his men _________ across the Delaware River to Trenton, New Jersey. The Patriots won a battle there in less than an hour! A few days later, Washington defeated the British at Princeton, New Jersey. These victories rejuvenated the Patriots' morale.

ferried

As the bee brushes against the anthers on the inside of a flower, the bee's body picks up pollen grains from that flower. When the bee lands on another flower, the pollen on its fur brushes off onto the pistil inside that flower. This leads to _________, a process that will eventually result in a seed.

fertilization

Without _________, plants can't reproduce, and when the plants are gone, the species that depend on them for survival also disappear.

fertilization

"You've discovered something special," he said softly, stretching awake, while his granddaughter took a seat on the swing next to him. "You're absolutely _________ with excitement."

fidgeting

The word biomimicry comes from two words: bio, meaning "life," and mimic, meaning "to copy." This new _________ of study is also known as biomimetics. Both names mean the same thing: the science of copying life.

field

Interviewer: What is Nomex? Todd: Nomex is a special fabric that is _________, so if I put a match to it, it won't catch on fire. It's a big lifesaver because if we wore normal clothing, there's a good chance that all the sparks flying around would light it on fire.

fire retardant

Interviewer: Can you describe some of the gear you use on a fire? Todd: The most important gear firefighters have is their Personal Protection Equipment, or PPE, which is the clothing they wear. PPE consists of a Nomex shirt, Nomex pants, and _________ soles on our boots. We have to wear leather boots because we can't have any fabric or cloth that can catch fire or melt.

fire-retardant

When it comes to their habitat, elephants are more _________ than many other animals. As long as these colossal, brainy beasts can find enough food and water, they can thrive in a variety of environments.

flexible

The Sun was beginning to set, and tiny slivers of light were _________ through the branches. Poloma took her flashlight from her backpack, turned it on, and took her grandfather's hand.

flickering

Uncle Jasper shakes me awake, and I rub my eyes and stretch. Just beyond the tree line, the night sky spreads overhead, but the stars are nothing compared to the shimmering beauty of the palace. It's as if each window has a _________ flame behind it, and each piece of stone is covered with shifting, reflective scales. "It's beautiful," I say.

flickering

Gems as a whole are valuable for two reasons: they are beautiful and they are rare. The prices of gems _________ over time. Certain gemstones have been regarded as "precious" throughout the ages and in many cultures. For example, although diamonds have always been regarded as valuable, their value has dramatically increased in the last century. This increase has occurred even though the supply of diamonds has grown substantially during the same period of time as a result of several large finds in South Africa. Diamonds have become more valuable in the last century partly because of the increasing popularity of diamond engagement rings around the world. Higher prices are also a result of global marketing efforts by companies that sell diamonds.

fluctuate

The scientists investigated the usual suspects that might damage honeybees' immune systems. These included several parasites, such as a mite that feeds on bee blood, transmits viruses, and lays eggs in the same hive cells as baby bees. They looked at fungal bacteria that make it difficult for bees to eat and leave them too weak to _________. Scientists also found a virus that causes paralysis in a large number of CCD hives.

forage

_________ indicates how pure and tightly structured the mineral is in a gemstone. It tells how well a gem will hold up to daily wear. A geologist named Friedrich Mohs developed a scale to test the _________ of gemstones. He simply scratched one gem with another. A gem can only scratch other gems that are softer than it is.

hardness

After the Battle of Lexington, in which "the shot heard 'round the world" started the first battle of the American Revolution, the British soldiers, led by Major John Pitcairn, had retreated to Boston. The colonist soldiers camped outside Boston, gathering forces. Around 16,000 Patriot troops eventually surrounded Boston, cutting off supplies to the British. With Patriot troops surrounding Boston, British General Thomas Gage worried enemy troops might _________ the hills across the Charles River from Boston— Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill in Charlestown.

fortify

Yet England had strict rules about bringing the children into the country. Besides finding a family to take each child, the British government said Winton must pay a fee. The money would pay the costs of bringing the children home when they could return to Czechoslovakia. At fifty pounds per child, such a fee back then was a small _________.

fortune

George Washington's many astounding accomplishments ranged from a superior military career to helping _________ a new nation. As commander of the Continental Army, he led the United States to independence from Britain. As America's first president, he set an example that every president since has tried to follow. He led with courage and confidence, and his style and personality demonstrated great personal character. The nation admired him then, and the world admires him today. Described by a congressman at the time as "first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen," George Washington truly was the Father of His Country.

found

Historical accounts of the battle mention the fatal blows that struck Richard. The skeleton under the parking lot showed similar signs of injury: ten blows, with eight to the skull. The wound that killed him was likely a large skull _________ behind his left ear. He was the last English king to fall in battle.

fracture

Often, wildfires are simply too large to put out, so wildland firefighters try to control the fires by forcing them to move in a certain direction. They clear _________ away from the fire's path, either by moving it out of the fire's way and creating a firebreak or by burning it away using a small, controlled back burn.

fuel

Frederick sent for Anna to join him, and they were married in 1838. Since Frederick was a _________ who could be caught and forced back into slavery, they took a new name: Douglass. The newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Douglass settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and had five children together.

fugitive

Gage had lost a portion of his frontal lobe, a part of the cerebrum that governs emotions and attention. His injury gave scientists one of the first clues that specific brain regions control specific brain _________.

functions

We also have an IA (Initial Attack) pack, which is basically a backpack that carries quite a bit of water. We also carry other things in the pack, usually one change of clothes and some _________s, which are ignition devices kind of like very hot flares. One of the ways firefighters try to save themselves from entrapment is to use a _________ to light another fire to burn all the fuel in an area. A firefighter can get into the black area that has already been burned, which is what we call a safety zone.

fusee

Yet honeybees are vanishing around the world, and the reasons have puzzled scientists for a long time. Scientists have evidence, however, that the disappearance might _________with humans.

have everything to do

We carry a ton of things. We always have to have a pair of gloves with us because we're dealing with heat and flames and wood, so we have to have hand protection. Each firefighter will usually carry one hand tool, either a Pulaski, which is a combination ax and hoe, or a pick or scraper. There are so many, I can't even think of them all. So basically the requirements are a fire shelter, helmet, water, and Nomex. The rest of the _________ that you have depends on the job you're doing. We're carrying a minimum of fifty pounds (23 kg) of _________ on our backs.

gear

"They don't make sense as words from any language I've ever seen," she said. "I'll say them to you, but it looks like _________ to me." Poloma read each letter out loud, very slowly. g p m m p x u i f e s j o l j o h h p v s e When she was finished, she said, "Maybe they're a code. Do you think they could be a code, Papa?"

gibberish

Ali Baba remained in the tree until he felt it was safe to move again, and only then did he _________ climb down and stand in front of the hidden rock door. Feeling as though he had just sprinted through the forest, sweat dripped down Ali's face, soaking his tunic.

gingerly

British forces captured Savannah, Georgia, in December 1778. Then they attacked and captured Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1780. They won yet again at Camden, South Carolina, in August 1780. Many colonists in the southern colonies were Loyalists. Although Britain was winning the South, the Patriots would not _________.

give up

Researchers copied this design to make computer screens that absorb light and reduce _________. This design helps prevent eyestrain in people who work or play on computers.

glare

The number of fans and players has continued to grow _________ in women's and men's amateur and professional basketball. According to the International Basketball Federation (Fédération Internationale de Basketball in French, or FIBA), at least 450 million people play basketball worldwide.

globally

"And where is this amazing arrow that excites you so much?" Poloma told her grandfather about the bouncing ball, the boulder, and the arrow that was carved near the base of the rock. "Do you think the arrow is a _________ like the ones in my code books?" Poloma asked. "Maybe it's a Mayan hiero_________ic; the Mayans used tiny pictures instead of words and letters. Maybe the Mayans carved the arrow," Poloma guessed.

glyph

The minerals in stones do not form orderly patterns, and they may have other minerals mixed in. Stones often form in layers that make streaks and lines, called the _________. _________ gives stones beautiful patterns and surfaces.

grain

Douglass's writing and speaking helped end slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment, passed after the Civil War ended in 1865. Three years later, the Fourteenth Amendment _________ citizenship to people once enslaved, and shortly after that, in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment _________ every male citizen, including those once enslaved, the right to vote.

granted

Do You Know? _________, or pencil lead, is exactly the same mineral as diamonds. In _________, the atoms are arranged in loose layers. This makes _________ very soft—so soft that if you rub it on a piece of paper, the atoms break off, leaving a pencil mark. In diamonds, those same atoms have been squeezed together so tightly that nothing except another diamond can scratch them off.

graphite

Winton _________ the group himself in London with open arms. The trip came a few months after he celebrated his 100th birthday.

greeted

Sharks have been swimming in the ocean since before the time of the dinosaurs. Their bodies are well adapted to moving through the water. Sharkskin has tiny _________ scales that help these animals glide smoothly and quickly.

grooved

During the winter of 2006-2007, roughly 750,000 of the estimated 2.4 million colonies in the United States had vanished. On average, U.S. beekeepers lost 38 percent of their colonies. In 2008, the largest known disappearance occurred in the almond tree _________ of California— 2 billion bees vanished.

groves

Like puzzle pieces falling into place, Morgiana realized that the oil merchant was a thief, and the other thieves were hidden inside the barrels! Morgiana and the other servants silently glued the barrels closed. Then they rolled the barrels down the hill to where the city soldiers stood _________.

guard

For two weeks, those 600,000 acres (242,811 ha) of blooming trees are a busy and beautiful sight. For the other fifty weeks of the year, those groves are terrible _________ for bees—there's nothing to eat.

habitat

Adult elephants are too _________ and powerful to be threatened by other wild animals. But humans are increasingly encroaching into elephant habitats. Humans build roads, plant crops, cut down trees, and construct houses in territories where elephants once roamed freely. At one time, elephants lived in nearly every part of Africa and across South Asia. Today, they are restricted to a small fraction of that territory.

hefty

In order to swim faster, competitive swimmers tried swimsuits that mimicked the design of sharkskin. The new suits did seem to _________, as 80 percent of the swimmers who wore those suits at the 2000 Sydney Olympics won medals.

help

"Yes, we will take a few barrels," Ali said. "Thank you, kind sir." "May I make another request?" the leader asked. "May we stay here tonight and store our wares in your yard?" Ali, feeling bound by the rules of _________ and interested in the stories of an oil merchant, ignored Morgiana's concerned expression as he replied, "You may stay here, my friend."

hospitality

With their _________ bodies, legs like massive columns, and thick, wrinkly gray or brown skin, elephants don't resemble any other animals alive today. Most unusual of all are elephants' long, flexible trunks, which function as their nose and upper lip combined.

hulking

Shaw went on to invent the Cat's Eye—highly reflective spheres set into the center of roads. The design has changed over the years, but the _________ remains the same—using reflected light to guide people safely home.

idea

If you could look inside your head, you'd see that the cerebrum is divided into two halves, called hemispheres. A bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum connects the hemispheres and carries messages between them. The hemispheres control opposite sides of the body. Your left hemisphere sends the signal to raise your right hand; your right brain is in control when you shake your left foot. Although some tasks can be done by either hemisphere, the two are not _________. The right brain usually controls creativity, artistic skills, and interpreting what you see. The left brain generally controls speech, writing, and math skills.

identical

Scientists can grow gems in the lab that are _________ to the finest natural gems but cost a thousand times less. In the future, created gems might help fill our desire for gemstones' beauty while preserving Earth and its people.

identical

That night, the robber who had posed as the holy man led the group to Cassim's street. He stopped abruptly in his tracks. Now all the front doors had an X. Which house had he been to earlier? Frustrated, the leader declared that he would have to find another way to _________ the accomplice.

identify

Scientists named the problem colony collapse disorder (CCD) and quickly determined the symptoms. CCD happens in a matter of weeks when what seems to be a healthy hive collapses, yet few, _________, dead bees can be found. The only bees remaining are the very young and the queen—members of the colony that normally would never be left alone.

if any

Vehicles start wildland fires too, such as when somebody blows a tire and sparks fly to the side of the road, _________ dry brush or grass. That's happened a couple of times this year.

igniting

Think of your favorite fruit. Now _________ a world in which that fruit— or any other fruit, or many nuts, vegetables, or flowers—is extremely rare.

imagine

Biomimicry is a great way to help people solve problems and make the things they need. Instead of trying to figure out how to do or fix something, people can look to nature to find ways that already work. Most of nature's designs are surprisingly simple and easy to _________, such as the hooks on a burr or the bumps on a lotus leaf.

imitate

With their _________ presence, elephants have drawn humans' attention for centuries. Today, we know many fascinating things about these super- sized beasts. Scientists are learning more and more about just how intelligent elephants are, as well as how complex their relationships are.

imposing

Some fossils are simple marks that an animal produced while moving, such as footprints or trails left in the ground. Others are hollowed-out _________ of an animal's entire body made in rock. Still others are preserved remains of an animal's body, such as bones or shells.

impressions

When the body decays completely away, _________ of an animal's body form—showing such features as feathers or scales. All that then remains is the hollow space where the animal's body was, surrounded by sediment.

impressions

The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. This is where most high-level brain activity takes place, including thought, speech, learning, and emotions. The cerebrum also interprets information from the senses. Sensory information reaches the brain as electrical signals, which the cerebrum interprets as sounds, images, and other sensations. It compares the results with your stored memories and attaches meaning. A stream of electrical _________ becomes a purple bus or a crowing rooster.

impulses

Poloma peered at the arrow for a long time. Suddenly, she had an idea. "I know!" she shouted. "Maybe we should explore where the arrow is pointing?" The arrow was pointing toward another boulder nearby. Poloma and Papa followed it and found the second arrow almost immediately. The second arrow was pointing in the same direction as the first so they followed that one, too. It led to another boulder, and another arrow, which led to yet another, and then another arrow. There were six arrows _________.

in all

After their confrontation, Frederick began to plan his escape _________. He tried once and was caught. Still, Frederick continued to dream of freedom and work on his literacy, even joining the East Baltimore Mental Improvement Society, a debate club. It was there that Frederick met Anna Murray, a free Black woman.

in earnest

Many years ago in a small town in Persia, a father divided his belongings equally between his two young sons, Cassim and Ali Baba. Although their property was equally divided, _________ would fortune treat them alike.

in no way

Despite the fact that systemic pesticides are widely used in Australia, the honeybees there haven't seen the same problems as others around the world. It could be because Australian winters are short and mild. Perhaps it's because Australia doesn't move its bees from one monoculture to the next. So far, the mite that feeds on honeybees hasn't _________ to Australia, either.

made it

George Washington had been a farmer, a military officer, and an army general, and now he was about to be _________ as president of the United States.

inaugurated

When Frederick first came to the Aulds, Sophia Auld helped teach him the alphabet. She gave him several lessons before her husband forbade her. Education and slavery were _________, he said—an enslaved person who learned to read would become dissatisfied with their condition and desire freedom.

incompatible

When a miner finds a gem, it looks very different from the one you see in a ring or necklace. The gem often has rough edges. Its surface looks dull. Its shape is bumpy. Gems often have cracks, dark marks, bubbles, and other flaws. Gem cutters, called _________, cut gems into regular shapes that show off their best qualities and cover their flaws. Gem cutters once used diamond-edged saws and polishers, but recently they began using lasers to cut gems.

lapidaries

In order to work on a fire, you also have to carry a folded-up fire shelter. A fire shelter looks like a one-person tent made of aluminum and fiberglass. It's the _________ you have to save your life.

last chance

"What do you think it means, Papa?" Poloma asked as she ran her finger over the sixth arrow. "I think it means we should look for the next arrow," Papa laughed. "The arrows are sending us somewhere for some _________ reason, and I'm champing at the bit to see where and why."

inexplicable

The takeover of the Sudetenland turned out to be part of a secret plan by Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler. Once an army soldier, Hitler was angry that Germany had lost World War I in 1918. He blamed the failure in part on the Jews, whom he believed were an _________ race.

inferior

Neurons connect the brain to the rest of the body, delivering instructions to muscles and bringing back _________ from your senses. They also connect the three main parts of the brain: the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebrum. Each brain part controls specific body activities.

information

As part of his war effort, Hitler decided in 1941 that all Jews must be killed. Millions were forced into concentration camps to work until they grew so weak that they died. Once the Nazis decided that people died too slowly in the camps, they began killing them _________.

instead

"The Queen would know the moment you used your power," Uncle Jasper sighs. "Then we'd be trapped, and she'd take Sarah, Jake, and Anna somewhere else. If we had the other cephaloids, we could create a distraction." Seth snorts and says, "I'm not the one who scuttled in the opposite direction and then had the girl construct an _________ wall between us and them."

insurmountable

The next of the four Cs, color, is one of the major reasons why gems are considered beautiful. Unlike regular rocks, gems have bright, pure, _________ colors. The stronger and purer the color, the more valuable the gem is. Often, the same mineral can form different-colored gems. Red rubies and blue sapphires both contain the same mineral. The different colors come from tiny bits of other chemicals mixed with the main mineral. It only takes one different atom in a thousand to change the color of a gem.

intense

Players can also score points by making foul shots. A referee can award free throws to a player who has suffered a foul, which occurs when another player accidentally or intentionally breaks the rules or makes unfair physical contact. The referee blows his or her whistle and uses hand signals to indicate what foul was committed. The referee may award between one and three free throws, or foul shots, to a player depending on the type of foul committed. The shots are worth one point each and are taken from behind the free throw line without _________ from the defending team. Free throws can often mean the difference between winning and losing a game.

interference

Many of the photos of Jews from World War II show men, women, and children wearing six-pointed stars on their clothing. Often made from two _________ triangles, the six-pointed star is also known as the Star of David. It has been used as a symbol of Judaism for thousands of years. During World War II, the Nazis decided that all Jews should wear the stars so that they could be easily identified by non-Jews. The stars were meant as a badge of shame and something to encourage discrimination against Jewish people. The rule applied to all Jews over the age of six who lived in any country controlled by Germany.

interlocking

Beside himself with shock, Ali started telling Cassim about the hidden cave. Cassim _________ him and barked, "Take me there now."

interrupted

Winton had plans for an eighth train. It was set to leave Prague on September 3, 1939, carrying 250 more children. But on that day, Hitler's army _________ Poland and closed all German-controlled borders. The train disappeared, and the children were never seen again.

invaded

Papa pulled himself out of the swing and smiled down at his granddaughter. "That's an extremely good question," he said, "but I doubt that the Mayans carved rocks around here because the Mayans lived hundreds of miles south of here in Mexico and Central America. However, your arrow might indeed represent some strange code, but before we jump to any _________ conclusions, let's conduct a little research to find out."

irrational

After his discovery, de Mestral invented Velcro, a way to temporarily attach two things together using the same method as burrs. He designed two pieces of fabric, one with hooks and the other with _________. The hooks catch the _________ and hold the pieces of fabric together. This system has been used by people at home, at work, and even in space!

loops

Richard's side had lost both the battle and the throne, so claiming his body was probably a brave thing for the monks to do. Signs indicate that he was buried quickly—his skull was _________ upright so he would fit in a grave that was slightly too small to hold his body. There was no coffin, and although the grave was in a position of honor near the church's high altar, it was unmarked and under the monastery floor.

jammed

Winton went into the camps and saw that they were cold, dirty, and _________ with thousands of people. Some aid groups were trying to help Jews find new homes. Yet Winton noticed that the focus was on old or sick people. No one was doing much to help the Jewish children of Czechoslovakia, so Winton decided that he would.

jammed

Every time you move your body, your cerebellum is at work coordinating muscle movements. It adds "targeting instructions" when other parts of your brain send a movement signal using information such as your body's current speed and position. With the cerebellum's guidance, you can touch your nose in one smooth motion. Without it, the movement would be _________, or you might even miss your nose completely!

jerky

The value of an individual gem is determined by the gem's hardness and a system called the "four Cs": cut, carat weight, color, and clarity. Cut refers to how well the gem is cut and polished, or how beautiful the natural gem is. A poorly cut gem may look dull or uneven. Carat weight is the size of the stone. One carat weighs about as much as a _________ of unpopped popcorn.

kernel

At last, Ali Baba made himself say the magic words—"Open, sesame." The boulder slid open, and Ali nearly fell to his _________.

knees

Before that fall day in 2012 when researchers found the bones of King Richard III beneath a parking lot in Leicester (LES-ter), England, he had _________ hidden for more than 525 years.

lain

But how could the researchers know for sure that it was Richard? Ancient history _________ the way, and modern science followed.

led

Uncle Jasper picks up one of the torches, and we follow him, trying not to make noise on the stone floor. The hall curves and bends, seemingly back in on itself, though it never crosses itself. We hear nothing, see nothing, until we come around a bend and suddenly find a fluffy white cat sitting atop a _________ near the ceiling.

ledge

One of the most famous diamonds, the Hope diamond, is not the largest, but it is an intense sky-blue color. Its long history of theft and ownership by royalty and the rich gave it a _________ of being cursed. The largest diamond ever found is the Cullinan diamond, which was discovered in South Africa. It weighed over 3,100 carats and was as large as a pineapple. It was cut into nine gems, one of which, the Greater Star of Africa, weighs 530 carats.

legend

Elephants use their tusks for digging, fighting, and moving things. During times of drought, African elephants dig water holes in dry riverbeds. Asian elephants can find water fairly easily year- round, so with _________ need to dig for water Asian elephant tusks are _________ important. Female Asian elephants have pint-sized tusks or none at all.

less

Together, Anna and Frederick planned his escape. She sent him her savings so that he could buy a train ticket and sewed him a sailor's uniform. Dressed in this and carrying a freedman's passport, he traveled through Delaware and Pennsylvania to New York. The escape took a little _________ than twenty-four hours, but as he later wrote, "I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life."

less

In London, Winton began writing letters to the governments of countries around the world, asking them to take the children. Many countries said no; their laws would not _________ children come without their parents. In the end, only Sweden and Great Britain agreed to help.

let

Transport isn't great for the bees, either. Millions of bees die from the stress each year, and once they're on the road, the bees don't have access to natural food sources. What beekeepers feed them instead, some scientists _________ to junk food. Bringing in bees from different parts of the country (or the world) also spreads pests at a rapid rate. This is just one more piece of the complex puzzle of CCD.

liken

Speaking to audiences years later, Frederick would say, "I appear before you this evening as a thief and a robber. I stole this head, these _________, this body from my master and ran off with them."

limbs

To thank Winton for his actions, some of the people he saved gave him a ring. It includes a _________ from a book of Jewish laws. It reads: "Save one life, save the world."

line

Traveling in a car at night, you may have noticed light reflecting off small plastic bumps _________ the road. These reflective bumps were invented in 1933 by a man named Percy Shaw.

lining

"Before the end of the war," he said, "many slaves longed to escape to freedom in the North. They followed what was called the Underground Railroad, which wasn't _________ a railroad, but instead was a series of routes and directions and safe houses that led the slaves northward. Some slaves who had escaped returned to help other slaves."

literally

Human beings live near wilderness areas, grow crops and _________ in the countryside, and visit wild areas such as national parks. When fire threatens homes, farms, ranches, or parks, wildland firefighters must try to save them.

livestock

Freezing temperatures can be hard on machines and living things. Chemical antifreeze keeps engines and machines running in cold weather. Some kinds of ice fish use natural antifreeze to survive chilly temperatures in Antarctic waters. Unlike chemical antifreeze, fish antifreeze does not harm _________. Scientists are trying to learn more about how the fish make and use natural antifreeze. This information can help researchers create a safe way to keep _________ warm and healthy.

living tissue

Each brain hemisphere has four sections, or _________s, and each _________ has specific jobs. However, scientists didn't realize this until the 1800s, when a doctor recorded the strange story of Phineas Gage.

lobe

Bees live in colonies, which are busy, well-run places where each bee has a job to do, and all the bees in the colony depend on one another. Outside of the colony, a _________ honeybee can't survive for more than twenty-four hours.

lone

The Battle of Saratoga was a turning point in the war because it proved to France and other European countries that the Patriots might win the war. France joined the fight against its _________ enemy Great Britain by sending supplies to the Continental Army. Soon after, Spain would declare war on Britain.

long-standing

Winton's hard work finally paid off on March 14, 1939. That's when the first fifteen children left Prague for Great Britain by airplane. Over the next six months, seven trains full of children left Prague. The children ended their journey in the arms of their new families at a London train station. There, a smiling Winton _________.

looked on

For some time, Frederick struggled to comprehend the word abolition. Whenever an enslaved person ran away or did something an enslaver disliked, abolition was blamed. Frederick tried _________ the word in the dictionary, but it merely said "the act of abolishing." What was being abolished?

looking up

"I think I see some interesting patterns of letters," she said. "Let's say the letters combine to form words. One of the words has three letters. Let's assume that it's a common word..." "... like and?" "Or the," Poloma suggested. "There has to be one common word in a sentence." Poloma and Papa were quiet for several minutes as they considered the three letters. "I don't think it's and," Papa said. "The letters don't _________." "But it could be the," Poloma said. "Maybe the letters uif stand for the in some way."

make sense

Uncle Jasper has a point about my power, though that doesn't help with my desire to imagine the entire palace being pulled apart brick by brick, pane by pane. I take a deep breath, then another one, focusing my mind on absolutely nothing. Over the past days, Seth has been teaching me different techniques to clear and calm my mind because if I focus too much on one thing, it could _________—and alert the Queen.

manifest

African elephants have another identifying feature: two "fingers" at the tip of their trunk. These sensitive extensions help the elephant grab large items as well as objects as small as a blade of grass. Asian elephants have only one finger at their trunk tip to use to _________ objects.

manipulate

The game of basketball was created in 1891 by Canadian-born Dr. James Naismith, a physical education instructor working in Springfield, Massachusetts. He wanted to keep his restless students physically occupied with an indoor sport on rainy or cold winter days. Dr. Naismith created the rules and nailed peach baskets to a balcony rail at each end of a gymnasium. Unlike today's hoops, the peach baskets had bottoms, so balls that made it into the basket had to be removed _________. Also, basketball originally had no dribbling. Players bounce-passed the ball to move it around the court.

manually

In 2009, a trip repeated the journey that Winton's Children made between Prague and London. The train followed the same path and _________ the seventieth anniversary of Winton's last train. On board were many of those Winton had saved.

marked

A short time later, the men and their leader exited the cave. Ali Baba heard the leader call out, "Close, sesame!" and watched as the boulder slid back to _________ the cave's entrance. The men then mounted their horses and galloped away.

mask

An elephant is born weighing around 250 pounds (110 kg) and while able to stand, it doesn't walk very well. Right away, the herd is ready to help the mother care for her calf and protect it from predators such as lions and tigers. These predators won't attack an adult elephant, but they are a more serious _________ for a young calf. The adults cooperate to defend the young calf, driving away any animals that pose a danger.

match

Adult male elephants have different social needs than female elephants. At around ten to fifteen years old, the mature males leave the herd to wander alone or form a so-called bachelor herd with other male elephants, only visiting female herds when they want to mate. Females stay with their mother's herd for the rest of their lives and may eventually become _________ themselves.

matriarchs

While disentangling the ball from the _________ tendrils of undergrowth, Poloma noticed the mysterious arrow carved into the lower part of the massive rock.

matted

Scientists know what this dinosaur ate because one of the fossils of Compsognathus includes the remains of its last _________ in its stomach. The type of lizard seen in the stomach had extremely long legs, so this lizard must have been a fast runner. Thus, Compsognathus had to be quick to capture this prey.

meal

Brain changes usually occur only in regions directly involved with your activity. However, research suggests that some "mental training" may cause broader changes. For instance, research at Harvard Medical School showed that people who practiced _________ for eight weeks had changes in brain regions used for learning, memory, and emotional control.

meditation

Interviewer: What is your favorite thing about being a wildland firefighter? Todd: I love that I get to see some of the most scenic country in the world. Because I have to hike into the most remote areas to get to fires, the countryside is absolutely beautiful. I see a mixture of everything—landscape going from green, lush, gorgeous countryside to flames and burned areas. Many people are _________ by the flames and smoke. I also like the variety, because I never do the same thing two days in a row.

mesmerized

African elephants regularly travel tremendous distances to find food and water. One group of African elephants in the country of Mali _________ across an area of more than 7,500 square miles (20,000 sq km) each year!

migrates

George Washington may have loved being a farmer, but he was also interested in the military. The events of the day would provide him with an opportunity to serve. In the 1700s, each of thirteen colonies was ruled by the British, and each colony had its own _________. Washington served as an officer in the Virginia _________ beginning in 1752. A conflict known as the French and Indian War would soon challenge him.

militia

While driving one foggy night, Shaw saw the eyes of a cat reflecting the beams from his headlights back at him through the mist. He thought if he could _________ the way a cat's eyes reflected light, he could make something to help car drivers keep safe on dark roads.

mimic

"Thomas was the boy who led us through the Hollow and the Cave of the Lost to find you and Anna," I explain to Uncle Jasper. "What happened to you? How'd you get here?" "He was one of those kids?" Uncle Jasper asks. "We can't trust him—he's one of the Queen's _________. Those children lured me and Anna into this world so she could capture us."

minions

Since honeybees are excellent pollinators, moving them into a field while crops are blooming is a great way for farmers to ensure a plentiful crop. Once bees began to live in hives constructed by humans, the hives became _________. Today in the United States, semi-trailer trucks drive hives all over the country. The honeybees they carry annually pollinate $15 billion worth of food in the United States alone.

mobile

"It's your decision. Are we heading north?" Poloma thought about that for a _________. The Drinking Gourd would lead them back across the stream, past the boulder with the cipher, and on to places north. "We need to go south, Papa." Poloma and Papa turned. They moved slowly, like creeping night creatures. The light from Poloma's flashlight led them away from the North Star, past the arrows pointing the other way, out of the woods, and home.

moment

Other people felt strongly that Richard, regardless of his disputed place in English history, should have been reburied in London's Westminster Abbey, along with other British _________. After much consideration and debate, officials finally decided on Leicester Cathedral for the reburial. The tomb was unveiled to the public in March 2015.

monarchs

Finding the king's long-concealed body beneath a city parking lot wasn't an accident. Thanks to historical records, researchers knew that beneath that plain parking lot lay the buried ruins of the Greyfriars Priory, a _________ where Catholic monks lived from 1255 to the late 1530s. A medieval historian recorded Richard as having been buried in the priory after he died in battle at nearby Bosworth Field in August of 1485.

monastery

Once upon a time, farms were small and grew many different crops. Today, most farms are massive and grow a single crop, such as wheat, corn, or soybeans. This arrangement is called a _________.

monoculture

The victory gave the Patriots a _________ boost. It also served as an announcement that war had indeed begun. Colonists were now forced to take sides either as Loyalists, those who wanted to remain part of Britain, or as Patriots, those who wanted independence from Britain.

morale

A basketball game is divided into four quarters, which in the NBA are each twelve minutes long. Two teams of five players play the game on a court shaped like a rectangle. A hoop is _________ on a backboard 10 feet (3 m) above the floor at each end of the court.

mounted

Vashti was in _________, but Morgiana allowed the holy man inside the mansion to say a prayer over Cassim's body. The robber immediately recognized Cassim, and in his excitement (paying no mind to the servant watching him) said a few words before turning to leave.

mourning

121-million-year-old fossil provides evidence that some prehistoric birds—unlike most birds today—could feed themselves immediately after hatching from their eggs. The fossil shows the outline of an egg with a baby bird still curled up inside. The unhatched bird had a complete set of feathers, strong-looking bones, and a large skull. Most birds today are weak and _________ when they hatch and must be fed by their parents.

naked

Interviewer: How do wildfires get started? Todd: Wildfires get started for two main reasons, the first of which is Mother Nature. Lightning strikes are the most common _________ cause. Once in a while a windstorm is strong enough to knock over a power line and cause a spark, which causes a wildfire. But still, most wildfires are caused by lightning.

natural

At the time Richard's spine began to bend— probably between the ages of 10 and 12—doctors may have known the cause, but they certainly wouldn't have known how to help him. As a result, Richard's crooked spine made him stand inches shorter than his true height of five feet eight inches (tall for a medieval man). As an adult, he probably lived with _________ pain.

near-constant

What followed was a horrible military struggle that lasted _________ six years. It drew in nations from around the world and became known as World War II.

nearly

Abolitionists organized a secret _________ to help escapees in the 1800s. This _________ came to be called the Underground Railroad. Places with food, clothing, and shelter were called safe houses or stations. Because many fugitives traveled on foot, people helping them—known as conductors or stationmasters—tried to provide a station every fifteen miles (24 km). Frederick Douglass stayed in safe houses when he first escaped. He himself later became a stationmaster in Rochester, New York. He and Anna helped fugitives escape to Canada.

network

Your brain needs plenty of energy to fuel about 86 billion _________. These brain cells carry the electrical signals needed for thoughts, memories, and feelings. They're the reason you can ride a bike and remember your teacher's name.

neurons

Also during Washington's second term as president, another war between Britain and France threatened to break out. Believing that military action should only be used when necessary, Washington did not want the United States to get pulled into the conflict. He was committed to the idea that the United States would remain _________. It was not a well-liked decision. For the first time in his career, Washington faced unpopularity with both the public and the press.

neutral

At 6 feet 10 inches (208 cm), George Mikan was one of the first "big men" who redefined the sport of basketball in the 1950s. Before that, basketball was thought to be for small and _________ players.

nimble

Biomimicry doesn't involve using living things— it involves learning from them. And the idea of biomimicry is _________. People have been turning to nature to solve problems for hundreds of years.

nothing new

"But who carved the arrows, Papa?" "I'm not sure if we'll ever know that," Papa said. "It might have been a Northern spy trying to help. It might have been a returning slave who had learned the cipher in the North. Or maybe it had _________ the war. Who knows? Maybe some children were playing a game."

nothing to do with

One great-grandchild made some money by showing people the wondrous moving rock, but the _________ soon wore off. He spent the rest of his days living in the empty cave. When he passed on, there was no one left to remember the magic words, and the rock never moved again.

novelty

The biggest problem is that when nature causes wildfires, most of the time the fires are out in the middle of _________. No one sees them to report them in time, and it's too late to control them.

nowhere

The next day, the leader of the thieves posed as an oil merchant, and the robber who had posed as the holy man was disguised as his helper. They spent the day knocking on the doors of all the houses on Cassim's street. When Morgiana answered the door to Cassim's home, the robber _________ the leader.

nudged

"The situation was bad," Winton said in a 2002 film about his life. "These refugees felt and we felt that the days were _________ before the Germans would arrive in [the rest of] Czechoslovakia. But how could they save themselves? What could they do? Where should they go? They were stuck."

numbered

Elephants can live for sixty to seventy years, so it makes sense that they have extra-long childhoods. Calves _________ from their mothers for up to three years and spend several more years learning survival skills from the herd.

nurse

America was not always a country. Over 200 years ago, it was a collection of thirteen colonies ruled by Great Britain. Britain began taxing the colonists and enforcing unpopular new laws. The colonists _________, saying they wanted "no taxation without representation" in British Parliament.

objected

"Did escaping slaves ever carve directions in trees or rocks?" Poloma asked. "I've never heard of such an _________, but every day people uncover new information about the Underground Railroad. Just recently, someone discovered a hidden tunnel and a secret room in a house in Iowa where slaves hid out on their journey north to Canada. Many escaping slaves traveled all the way north to Canada after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it more difficult for them to find freedom in the northern United States."

occurrence

We stand in what could be a dining hall (if someone wanted to feed the population of a small city) at the end of a table so long it disappears into the distance. Empty chairs sit at regular intervals before extravagant table settings. Somehow, though, everything appears _________, as if the lines and edges don't meet at the right angles, or the wrong things are exaggerated in the decorations. The effect is unnerving.

off-kilter

There are a variety of _________ strategies, which usually involve a player who does not have the ball making a quick dash or change in direction (called a cut) to receive the ball and shoot.

offensive

Interviewer: What personality traits are important for someone in your job? Todd: Probably the most important thing is that you've got to be a team player. You've got to be able to take direction from people and be able to give direction to other people. When you're on a fire line, you've got a whole group of people that you need to be able to work with well. Everybody needs to be _________. So firefighters really have to have the ability to cooperate and help others, as well as lead others. Every firefighter has to have the spirit of teamwork in his or her personality.

on the same page

Coral is made of skeletons left behind by millions of tiny sea creatures called coral polyps. Amber began millions of years ago when sticky sap _________ from trees and hardened. Amber often contains the fossils of insects and spiders that got caught in the sap.

oozed

The popular brilliant-cut style is often used with diamonds, which have more sparkle than color. This style has many facets that reflect light off the gem. Deep green emeralds, in contrast, are often cut into a style called the step cut. This cut, with its rectangular facets, creates a wide, flat top of pure color. The rounded top and triangular facets of another style, the rose cut, are most often found on older gems. The oldest style of cut, the cabochon (KAB-uh-shon), is simply rounded and polished. It is most often used with _________ or patterned stones. Other gems, such as jade and coral, can be carved into small sculptures.

opaque

As the basketball moves up and down the court, each team swiftly switches to defense or offense, depending on whether it has possession of the ball. The two most common defensive strategies are either zone defense, in which players defend a part of the court, or man-to-man defense, in which players guard a specific _________.

opponent

"Thank you," Ali Baba said. They sat in silence for a moment before Ali spoke again. "My brother and Vashti trust you, and so I must, too." With that, he told her the entire story. Morgiana saw an _________. "I will help you," Morgiana said, "but not for free. Will you give me enough gold so that I may go back to my homeland?"

opportunity

Although Washington became a slave owner by marriage, he personally _________ slavery. He wrote in his will that he wanted his slaves to be freed upon Martha's death. When Washington died before Martha, she freed them.

opposed

There were dark days ahead for the Patriots, as they lost battle after battle. A month after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the British, under General William Howe, shipped 30,000 soldiers into New York Harbor. The _________ Patriots lost the Battle of Long Island and retreated south across New Jersey to Philadelphia. The British occupied New York City, and won a battle in which Patriots surrendered Fort Washington.

outnumbered

A panorama is a long, continuous picture that shows a very wide view. It could be a spectacular city skyline, mountain range, beach scene, or simply the view from your front door. Choose.\ an open location without too many objects in the foreground. Imagine the scene broken up into three to five different sections. Practice moving the camera across the view from left to right, or panning, without moving your feet. Take a series of photos so that each section _________ the section before it by about one-third. What you see in the right-hand part of the first shot should be where the left-hand part of the next shot begins. Start at the left side of the scene and work your way toward the right. It's a good idea to take a few shots of each section.

overlaps

A movement of rooftop and backyard beekeepers is growing, too. For a long time, it was illegal to keep bees in New York City, but that ban was _________ in 2010. Cities such as Seattle, Chicago, and San Francisco have also made it legal to keep bees. These beekeepers keep fewer hives and don't truck them around.

overturned

If there are firefighters from several cities working on one fire, they still usually eat with the members of their _________ team. You never see any fights between firefighters.

own

Brain protection is the most important key to brain health. Shock-absorbing fluid and a hard skull guard your brain against injury. If you land on concrete, though, a fall from only two or three feet can crack your skull or bruise your brain. Swelling or bleeding inside the skull quickly cuts off the brain's blood supply—and your brain can survive only a few minutes without _________. Wearing a helmet during sports provides extra protection that may save your brain—and your life.

oxygen

Organic gems, which include pearls, amber, and coral, come from living things. Pearls begin when a grain of sand gets trapped inside an _________'s shell. The _________ covers the grain with layers of smooth nacre, the material it uses to build its shell.

oyster

"Read them again," Papa said. "Maybe I can make some sense of them if you read them again." Poloma said the series of letters again. As she recited them, she could hear her grandfather's footsteps. He was anxiously walking with a measured gait through the dead leaves and pine needles. Papa always _________ when he had something important to mull over.

paced

For a clearer understanding of brain function, they needed a way to study healthy brains. A German scientist created a machine that could measure the electrical activity in the brain. This machine, called an EEG, provided a _________ solution.

partial

His prayer seemed strange to Morgiana, so after walking him back to the front door, she _________ from behind a curtain and watched as the robber drew a giant X on the front door. Morgiana sighed and shook her head. Simple tricks for simple men, she thought. Grabbing some chalk, she ran outside and drew an X on each of the houses on the street.

peered

"I've found an arrow, Papa!" Poloma enthusiastically kicked her feet, sending the swing swaying back and forth like a _________, making a gentle rhythmic sound.

pendulum

Coaches organize their players in a variety of roles, or positions. The point guard is usually the best ball handler. The point guard sets up the team's offensive plays by controlling the ball and making sure it reaches the right player at the right time. The shooting guard takes a lot of long-range shots on offense and guards the other team's best _________ player on defense. The small forward uses his or her speed to make shots close to the basket on offense and to steal the ball on defense. The power forward plays with his or her back to the basket on offense and plays either under the basket or against the opposing power forward on defense. The center uses his or her height to score on offense and to protect the basket on defense.

perimeter

Across the room, we find a thick wooden door held together by iron straps. It opens easily. Uncle Jasper quickly ushers us through, and we're in another hall, this one with low ceilings and burning torches set into the walls. Wooden doors identical to the one we have just come through line the hall at random. An earthy smell _________ everything, reminding me of a cave.

permeates

Phineas Gage was injured in 1848 when an accidental explosion shot a three-foot iron rod straight through his head. Amazingly, Gage survived. The hole in his head didn't affect his memory or his ability to think, but it changed his _________. Gage became rude, thoughtless, and as stubborn as a two-year-old, so different from his old self that his friends said he was "no longer Gage."

personality

Watch the background... keep it simple,. and make sure it doesn't look like something odd is sticking out of your subject's head. Remove clutter in the foreground that might take the focus away from your subject, or move yourself for a new _________.

perspective

Larry Bird started with _________ success on the court as a small forward and a power forward. He set a record as the only person in NBA history to be named Most Valuable Player, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year.

phenomenal

For starters, use it! Exercising your brain helps it grow in the same way that muscles grow with _________ exercise. Take violin players: they learn complicated finger movements for the left hand, and the brain area controlling that hand is larger than in most people.

physical

The scene was Federal Hall in New York City. Robert Livingston, the highest judge in New York, stepped toward Washington with a Bible in hand. Washington _________ his hand on it and recited:

placed

"Will you tell me again, Papa?" Poloma _________. She loved to hear the Code Talker story, even though she'd heard it many times before. She especially enjoyed hearing about the Mississippi Choctaw Code Talkers like her grandfather.

pleaded

_________ing is another challenge. Even though many countries have laws protecting elephants, hunters continue to slaughter them for their ivory tusks. Ivory is especially popular in China, where it's carved into art. Some people believe ivory objects bring good luck, even though methods for getting ivory are tragic for the elephant.

poach

The thought of trucking a million bees down the highway may seem strange, but it makes sense with modern monocultures. Farmers might need bees to _________ one crop in February and another one across the country in April.

pollinate

Poloma crawled closer to the boulder and _________ over the letters. It took her a long time, but she was finally able to read them all.

pored

At dusk, the robbers returned to the cave with more riches. They found a surprise—the desperate Cassim! The leader immediately put an end to him. As a warning to other _________ looters, they left his body inside the cave.

potential

Unless electrodes are surgically implanted inside a person's skull, though, an EEG can only detect signals near the brain's surface. Observing activity deeper in the brain was difficult and _________ dangerous until a test called an fMRI became available.

potentially

Beautiful gems can be found around the world. Many gems symbolize _________ and wealth. For centuries, people have killed and died for them. In some places, such as West Africa and Colombia, the gem trade is still filled with blood and violence. Mining gems with dynamite and strip mines is often dangerous, damaging both humans and the Earth.

power

The cerebellum also stores memories of muscle movement. Muscle memories become stronger with repetition, which is why _________ helps some movements—like playing guitar or skateboarding—become automatic.

practice

Papa was smiling now. "You are a brilliant girl," he said. "What letter _________ u in the alphabet?" "T," Poloma said. "And the letter h comes before i, and the letter e comes before f. This is a substitute-letter cipher, Papa!" "Yes! I remember now! During the Civil War, some Northern spies and soldiers used a code called the advance cipher. They advanced each letter one letter of the alphabet."

precedes

Some of the most famous and expensive gems, including diamonds, emeralds, and rubies, are crystals. Crystals are very pure forms of minerals. Every mineral is made of millions of particles called atoms, which are so small they are invisible to the naked eye. In ordinary rocks, many kinds of atoms are thrown loosely together without any kind of pattern or order. But in crystals, the atoms are arranged very _________ in neat, orderly patterns. Crystals have flat sides, called faces, which form shapes. Different kinds of crystals form in different shapes, some of which are shown below. Some crystals form cubes, while others form long, six-sided columns.

precisely

One of the coelurosaurs that paleontologists understand best from fossils is Compsognathus (komp-SOG-nuh-thus). It is known from two well-_________ fossils, about 145 million years old, which were discovered in Europe.

preserved

As soon as archaeologists found the skeleton, though, they were _________ certain who it belonged to. When the bones expert saw the gash in the skull and then the twisted spine, she said the hair on the back of her neck stood up. This was King Richard III!

pretty

Towers stretch into the atmosphere, seemingly supported by nothing more than tendrils of stone surrounding _________ stained glass windows. The central building sparkles as if covered with precious stones.

prismatic

Emeralds are known for their incredible green color. Gem-quality emeralds are rare and usually small, but people _________ their color so much that emeralds are more valuable than diamonds. The finest emeralds are found in Colombia. Beryl, the same mineral that forms emeralds, also forms a blue-green stone called aquamarine.

prize

After their victory, the colonists began setting up a permanent government for the United States. The colonists wanted their new war hero, George Washington, involved in the _________.

process

Paleontologists have discovered several fossils younger than those of Archaeopteryx that depict other birds. These fossils reveal how birds developed _________ modern traits over time

progressively

A print, also called the positive, is an enlarged copy made from the negative. The developing process is reversed, starting with light _________ through the negative onto light-sensitive photo paper. The paper records the reverse of the negative, so you see the image as originally recorded. Then a chemical "fixer" sets the image, or makes it permanent on the paper. Many professional photographers print photos in their own darkrooms, but you'll probably send your film to your local photo lab, where the process is done by machine.

projected

For the rest of his life, Douglass continued to _________ equality for all Americans. He wanted the United States to reach its potential as a "land of the free" for Black people, women, Native Americans, and immigrants, too. "I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong," Douglass said.

promote

For centuries after his death, Richard was more despised than almost any other English king. Shakespeare's play Richard III depicts him as limping, deformed, and haunted. Yet Shakespeare never knew the king; he wrote the play more than a century after Richard died. Indeed, Shakespeare wrote during the reign of the Tudors—Richard's enemies. Some argue that both the Tudors and Shakespeare wronged Richard III, that he was a victim of their _________, and that what they said and wrote about Richard made him seem worse than he was.

propaganda

Cassim married Vashti, a wealthy widow, and worked managing their inn. While husband and wife were _________, they hardly saw each other in the large mansion they shared in town. Ali Baba, on the other hand, was wed to Fatima, the daughter of a poor shepherd, and was employed as a woodcutter. They lived in a shack but shared a life full of love and happiness.

prosperous

Honeybee scientists from around the country started working on CCD with a simple goal: to find out what's killing the honeybees and stop it. Reaching that goal has _________ far more complicated than anyone expected.

proven

Then the children boarded a train bound for England. As the train _________ from the station, Gissing says she tried to keep her eyes focused on her parents' faces. She didn't know then that she would never see her parents again. She didn't know that her parents—along with most of the other parents at the station—would soon be sent away to die. She also knew nothing of the stranger from Great Britain who opened his heart to save her.

pulled away

Interviewer: What are some of the _________ a person would need to become a wildland firefighter? Todd: You have to be in good shape, and you have to be able to work long hours. You also have to take and give orders well, and you have to love what you're doing. If you don't love it, you won't last long. If firefighting is what you really want to do, you will probably be able to do it if you work hard.

qualifications

Some living things, such as coral, can recycle waste into something useful. Carbon dioxide is a waste gas that in small amounts is usually harmless, but in large _________ can hurt the environment. When carbon dioxide in the air mixes with ocean water, it becomes calcium carbonate. Corals use this mineral to make coral reefs.

quantities

The rest of the story is not so clear. After Henry VII took the throne, rumors _________ about Richard and what might have happened to the two young princes in the Tower. Maybe Richard III ordered their murder. Maybe they lived for the two years Richard reigned as king, but were later killed by the new king, Henry VII, who had killed Richard. Maybe they were smuggled out of the country to safety.

raged

Washington's job as commander of the Continental Army wasn't going to be easy. Washington had a _________ group of farmers, carpenters, and blacksmiths with few weapons and little or no training. These soldiers would be fighting against powerful Britain, with its well-trained and well-supplied army and navy. He expected to fail, telling Patrick Henry, "From the day I enter upon the command of the American armies, I date my fall, and the ruin of my reputation." Although he thought his reputation would be ruined, Washington believed so strongly in the cause of American independence, he took the challenge as its commander and insisted that he not be paid for his services.

ragtag

Frederick was born in February of 1817 or 1818. He never knew the date of his birth, and though he knew his father was white, he never knew who he was. His mother was Harriet Bailey, but Frederick was _________ by his grandmother, Betsey Bailey. When he was eight years old, Frederick was sent to work as a houseboy for some of his enslaver's relatives, the Auld family in Baltimore, Maryland.

raised

Grete got her husband to tell his story, and soon a newspaper _________ a story about Winton. That same year, a British television show called That's Life did a program about him. As a surprise, more than two dozen of the children whom Winton had rescued were present to thank him.

ran

Clarity refers to how flawless the gem is. Gems with dark marks, cracks, and bubbles are less valuable than gems without these flaws. Gems that are cloudy are also less valuable than clearer gems. But clarity is often not as important as the size and _________ of a gem. Emeralds often have many flaws, but because they are so rare, a flawed emerald is more valuable than a flawless diamond.

rarity

What are all those numbers on a roll of film? They tell you the film's width, or format; its length; and most importantly, its speed. Most film is 35 millimeters wide. Its length, typically 24 or 36, tells you how many pictures you can take on that roll. The number you should note, depending on when and where you plan to take pictures, is the film's ISO rating, or speed. The film's speed tells you how quickly it will _________ to light. A higher number means the film requires less light, so 400-speed film is better.

react

Great Britain was upset that the French were expanding their reach in North America. A general sent Washington to _________ them. Eventually a war broke out with the French, who refused to stop. Native Americans joined the French side, adding to their forces. Washington commanded the Virginia militia on the British side and gained a reputation as a fine military commander. At the end of the French and Indian War, the British were victorious.

reason with

When a shooter misses a shot and the ball bounces off the hoop or backboard, players from both teams jump to catch the ball on the _________. A player who is good at recovering _________s can help his or her team keep control of the ball.

rebound

"Yes. About 150 years ago, the Civil War was fought to free the slaves in the South. I think I _________ reading that the soldiers and spies in the North used a special cipher." "Do you remember what it was, Papa?" "It was similar to the Caesar Cipher. Read me the letters again." Poloma read the letters slowly. g p m m p x u i f e s j o l j o h h p v s e Papa shook his head and placed a gentle hand on his granddaughter's shoulder.

recall

As they made their way toward the boulder, Papa _________ the story of the Code Talkers and how they had sent messages that no one else could interpret.

recounted

These events so frightened Jews across Europe that many decided to leave their homes to try to escape the danger. In Prague, Jewish _________ were living in camps set up in the city.

refugees

Physical exercise—especially exercise that raises your heart rate—also has brainwide benefits. Dr. Arthur Kramer is the director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, where he studies how exercise affects the brain. "Exercising is good for your body and your brain," Kramer says. "Research has shown that children who _________ exercise have better memories and attention and often do better on school tests."

regularly

If you don't think elephants are gigantic, think again. They are the most enormous land animals anywhere on Earth. To find bigger animals, you would have to look in the depths of the ocean, where blue whales and a few other whales are larger. On land, though, elephants _________.

reign supreme

While you might think a rhino or hippo would be related to an elephant, the hyrax—a small, furry animal that looks a little like an otter—is one of the elephant's closest living _________

relatives

Wildfires are a part of nature. Many scientists have found that certain plants and animals depend on fire to clear the wilderness of dead material, allowing room for new growth on the forest floor. Some species of trees, such as the lodgepole pine, actually need fire to melt the waxy seals on their cones and _________ their seeds. But plants and animals are not the only things that use the wilderness.

release

Japan's Shinkansen train, known as the bullet train, is one of the world's fastest, zipping over the rails at speeds up to 210 kilometers per hour (130 mph). The train's rounded nose, however, created a problem in tunnels. Its shape caused air pressure to build up around the train. When the train left the tunnel, the pressure was _________, making a very loud booming sound.

released

Seth has to restrain Odie's excitement by wrapping tentacles around his muzzle, but the dog's excited whines still emanate. "You're awfully brave," the cat hisses in a voice I recognize but can't place, "or incredibly stupid." "I would hope the former, but the latter could be _________," Seth quips. "Who might you be?"

relevant

Sleep is another key to healthy brain function. According to Dr. Ken Paller, director of the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern University, evidence suggests that your brain _________ memories during sleep. That may help skills and information "stick" in your memory. However it works, it's clear that getting too little sleep decreases your ability to learn and think.

replays

Almond trees, for example, are completely dependent on honeybees for pollination. In California, almond farmers _________ the use of 1.4 million colonies of honeybees. That's about 60 percent of all managed honeybee colonies in the United States. Around Valentine's Day, bees are trucked to the California groves, and when the almond trees start to bloom, they go to work.

require

The fossils of Archaeopteryx show that this crow-sized animal had some characteristics _________ birds and others _________ reptiles. Like modern birds, Archaeopteryx had feathers, wings, and a "wishbone" (a forked bone in the upper chest). However, like a reptile, it had teeth and a long, bony tail. It also had three "fingers" with claws on each wing.

resembling

Interviewer: What is the worst thing about your job? Todd: There are a couple of things I don't like. One of the things I don't like about firefighting is seeing the destruction that fire causes, mainly to property and people's _________.

residences

Life in the British colonies in the late 1700s was challenging. Britain had passed a number of laws forcing the colonists to pay high taxes on goods such as tea and paper. Washington and other colonial leaders were frustrated and decided to make plans to _________.

resist

"There must be more," Vashti said. "Think about it—you only count your money, but he has so much that he has to weigh it. Find out where the _________ of the gold is hidden."

rest

Britain _________ in June 1777, by moving a large army led by General John Burgoyne south from Canada. Burgoyne planned to conquer the Hudson River area, cutting off New England and New York from the other colonies. On the way, Burgoyne recaptured Fort Ticonderoga. However, Patriot soldiers stopped Burgoyne's momentum at the Battle of Saratoga in October, with Burgoyne surrendering around 6,000 men.

retaliated

Relieved to return to Mount Vernon and be a farmer again, a tired Washington began his _________ in 1797. In late 1799, he became ill with a bad sore throat. On December 14 of that year, Washington died.

retirement

As the British soldiers rushed the hill, the Americans held their fire until the last safe moment—the strategy worked and many British soldiers died. More British troops landed and attacked, with the Americans continuing to wait and then shoot. Finally, after the Americans ran out of gunpowder and had to _________, the British captured Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill.

retreat

That summer, Washington's army suffered a humiliating defeat in Long Island, New York. The British captured and killed thousands of Washington's men and forced Washington to _________. However, late in 1776, while the enemy camped in Trenton, New Jersey, Washington led a surprise attack. In the middle of a pitch-black Christmas night, the Continental Army rowed across the Delaware River and won a crucial victory. It was the enemy's turn to _________—all the way back to New York.

retreat

Being a wildland firefighter is not easy. Wildfires are unpredictable; they can change from small, low-to-the-ground brush fires to firestorms that devour the treetops in seconds. Rough terrain can make escape very difficult, and many firefighters lose their lives. Although it is a tough job, firefighting can also be extremely _________. Firefighters save people's homes and jobs, and they often help preserve beautiful wilderness areas. If you love hard work and excitement, wildland firefighting might be for you.

rewarding

Ali Baba's wife, Fatima, watched as he carried stuffed bags into their small shack. These don't look like wood, she thought. Fatima's eyes became wide as Ali emptied the bags into a heap of gold coins and glittering jewels on the floor. "Whom did you _________?" she gasped.

rob

Archaeopteryx probably flew rather poorly. Scientists base that conclusion on the structure of the animal's sternum (breastbone) seen in fossils. The sternum of Archaeopteryx was flat. Modern birds have a sternum with a protruding part where _________ muscles used in flight are attached. Without such a sternum, Archaeopteryx would have lacked powerful flight muscles.

robust

"The Queen may be finished making her modifications by then," Seth warns. "After dark," Uncle Jasper replies firmly, leaving no _________ for argument, and we go about making ourselves comfortable as we wait for the sun to set. I lie down in a tuft of long grass between two tree roots and am soon fast asleep.

room

Many people consider gems to be Earth's most beautiful creations. They are willing to spend thousands of dollars for even a small bit of that beauty. Sparkling gems are worn on the fingers, necks, and wrists of people around the world. Families pass them down through generations. They can be found on crowns worn by _________ and on sacred religious objects.

royalty

Hesperornis (hes-pur-OR-niss) and Ichthyornis (ik-thee-OR-niss) were two kinds of aquatic birds that lived approximately 90 million years ago. Fossils of Hesperornis show that this bird looked like a large loon, with big webbed feet to assist it in swimming. It also had a beak lined with tiny teeth to enable it to catch fish. However, Hesperornis had only _________ wing bones, so it could not fly. Ichthyornis resembled a gull, with elongated pointed wings. It was probably an excellent flyer that dived into the sea to capture fish.

rudimentary

Did you know that a peacock's feathers have little color of their own? The colors we see come from the shape of the feathers, which causes light to bend so they look colorful. Have you ever noticed how flying locusts never seem to _________ each other? One part of their tiny brains notices and reacts to things in front of them much faster than our brains can.

run into

Elephants have been kept and studied in zoos for hundreds of years. However, today many experts argue that zoo environments rarely meet elephants' needs. Their natural family structures are not supported and due to their high intelligence, elephants are likely to be bored and stressed in captivity. Animal welfare activists fight to have zoo elephants moved to _________ where they can live a more natural existence.

sanctuaries

One thing honeybees need is diversity; lots of different wildflowers means lots of forage. To answer this need, honeybee _________ full of blooming plants are springing up. In these places, bees can escape pesticides and find plenty to eat.

sanctuaries

Diamonds are the hardest natural things in the world. Because diamonds can cut anything, including metal and stone, flawed or unattractive diamonds are often put on _________ and drill tips. Most diamonds are almost colorless, but very rare diamonds can be intense yellow, red, or blue. They are most often found in South Africa, Russia, and Australia.

saws

Consider the angle—kneel down and shoot up at your subject to make it look more important. Hold the camera vertically for portraits. Emphasize the foreground (in the front part of the picture), and then try a similar shot emphasizing the background. Shots of scenery often look more interesting when there is a person in the foreground, giving the shot a sense of _________.

scale

That evening, Vashti said to Cassim, "Your poor brother's wife came here to borrow a _________. What could they have to weigh? I stuck some suet to the bottom of the _________ to find out. Guess what I discovered after Fatima returned the _________?"

scale

The softest mineral, talc, which cannot scratch anything else, is a 1 on the Mohs _________. Diamond, the hardest substance on Earth, can scratch anything, but can only be scratched by another diamond. Diamond is a 10 on the Mohs _________. Most gems must be 5 or above to be strong enough for use in jewelry.

scale

One summer afternoon in the forest, Ali Baba was cutting wood to sell. As he swung his axe into the trunk of a tree, the ground began to rumble like an earthquake. Startled, Ali recognized the sound of horses—many horses, by the sound of it, and they were approaching fast! Grabbing his axe, Ali quickly _________ a tree and hid in its leafy foliage. There he watched and waited.

scaled

The arrow looked like a simple carving, but almost immediately Poloma realized she'd made a significant discovery. She scooped up her ball and _________ home to where her grandfather rested on the porch. His eyes appeared closed, and for a moment she wondered if she should disturb him with the news.

scampered

Supplies grew _________ for the Continental Army. Soldiers often lacked food, clothing, and shelter. The Continental Congress needed allies such as France to help supply the troops. George Washington's troops suffered through a cold and hungry winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, before supplies reached them.

scarcer

What becomes of Richard now could change how his history is told. As the saying goes, "History is written by the victors." After losing both his life and throne more than 525 years ago, Richard may have _________ a significant victory after all, from a shallow grave hidden under a parking lot.

scored

"I found something! I found something!" she shouted as she leaned closer to the boulder and _________ off some dried and shriveled moss with her fingers. "Look, Papa! It's not an arrow at all—there's a bunch of letters carved into the bottom of the boulder! I wonder if we can make them out."

scraped

The ancient skeleton lay buried in the middle of town—not in a coffin, or even in a cemetery, but beneath a parking lot. An archaeologist gently _________ away the dirt that hid the skeleton's spine.

scraped

"Do you think there's anything carved on it?" Poloma asked. "Let's take a look," Papa said. They knelt down together, side by side, and examined the boulder. At first they couldn't find an arrow or any other carving, and they were about to give up when Poloma _________.

screeched

You may be surprised to learn that ignoring things is an important part of the cerebrum's job. To understand why, take a moment to notice everything you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. Your senses constantly flood the brain with information! By _________ some things, the cerebrum helps you focus on what remains.

screening out

Lincoln and Douglass didn't always _________. After Lincoln died, though, Douglass gave the keynote address at a memorial honoring him. The crowd gave Douglass a standing ovation, and the president's widow, Mary Todd Lincoln, gave him Lincoln's favorite walking stick in appreciation. The walking stick still rests in Douglass's house.

see eye to eye

Winton's plan was to find safe homes for the children with families outside of Czechoslovakia. Czech families came to him by the hundreds _________ help. After hiring two helpers to work with the families, Winton returned to England. He needed to find places for the children to live and raise money for their travel.

seeking

Another turning point came in 1777 when the colonial forces soundly defeated the British in a series of battles at Saratoga, a city about 180 miles (290 km) north of New York City. The French, _________ after losing the French and Indian war to the British, had been keeping an eye on the conflict. They decided to join forces with the colonists. The help of the French would make a key difference in the war's outcome.

seeking revenge

Elephants _________ to know when they see elephant bones. In one experiment, elephants were shown three large animal skulls. They spent twice as long touching the elephant skull as they did touching either of the other skulls.

seem

Escaping didn't mean that Frederick was truly free. Enslaved people who made it to a free state could live as if they were free, but they could still be _________ and taken back to a slave state.

seized

The word "camera" comes from a Latin word meaning "chamber" or "dark room. " A camera is just that: a dark box with light-_________ film or a chip on its back wall.When you "click" a camera, a shutter opens in the front, letting light into the box for a very short time.That light, reflected off an object, forms the image on the film or chip. The lens of the camera, like the lens of your eye, collects and focuses light onto the film or chip.

sensitive

Ali and Fatima looked at each other. "No," Ali answered. "I last saw him in the forest." Ali knew that Vashti was more concerned about the treasures Cassim was to bring than Cassim himself, but Ali was still loyal to his family, so he _________ for the forest.

set out

The focus, or _________ of the image, is determined by the distance between the camera lens and the subject, and between the lens and the film or chip. Lenses can only focus on objects that are a certain distance away; most simple cameras focus best on objects about 5 feet (1 5 m) away. Advanced compact cameras come with motorized zoom lenses that move out to take close-up pictures or in for wide-angle shots at the push of a button.

sharpness

Both farmers and beekeepers were desperate for science to _________ on the mystery.

shed some light

Interviewer: What was the scariest moment you ever experienced on a fire? Todd: There are lots of scary moments, because dangerous things are always going on all around you. One of the scariest things is entrapment, which is when a fire burns all around you and cuts off your escape route so there is no way out. Firefighters put up their fire _________ and hope the _________ are enough to save them. Entrapment is the biggest fear that firefighters face, because it's how many firefighters lose their lives.

shelters

Once they had cracked the code, it was easy to read the message. "I know what it says, Papa. It says, 'Follow the Drinking Gourd.' But I don't know what the message means. Do you know what it means?" Papa was pacing again now, and Poloma could tell that he was meditating on the _________ of what they had found.

significance

Asian elephants are enormous, but they are _________ smaller than their African relatives. Male Asian elephants can grow up to 10 feet (3 m) tall and weigh 11,000 pounds (5,000 kg) and females can grow to a height of 8 feet (2.4 m).

significantly

Fossils indicate that carnivorous dinosaurs called coelurosaurs (sil-YUR-uh-sorz) were like birds in many ways—though scientists classify them as true dinosaurs. The fossils of the most birdlike members of the coelurosaur group are approximately 155 million to 135 million years old. They show that these animals were small for dinosaurs, most ranging in length from 2 to 10 feet (0.6-3 meters). They ran rapidly on two long, slender hind legs, which each had four, clawed toes. Their bones were hollow and lightweight. They had _________ eyes. Some even had feathers.

sizable

Michael Jordan is often regarded as the greatest player ever in basketball. Along with being one of the best defensive players and holding an impressive number of records, Jordan gained the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness" for his ability to leap into the air doing his famous _________.

slam dunks

Henry Tudor led the triumphant procession that brought Richard back into town, his body _________ over the back of a horse. Richard was left to lie in the town square for two days as proof that he was dead and Henry was now the king. This disrespectful display of his body also revealed his crooked back for all to see.

slung

Your brain may be the most important part of your body. Exercise, get enough sleep, and wear protective headgear to help your brain operate _________ for years to come!

smoothly

Interviewer: What else do you need? Todd: You have to wear a hard hat, because there are _________, such as dead trees or falling branches, that can hit you. There are actually numerous things that can fall.

snags

"Someone who wants to help you," the cat says, though something about the way it licks its lips makes his statement unbelievable. "I've been waiting. We should keep moving forward." With the last sentence, something _________ in my mind and I realize who the cat is: "Thomas?" "Very good, young Qynn," the cat purrs and licks his paw.

snaps into place

Today, many simple cameras use film. Film is a strip of plastic coated with a silver substance that is sensitive to light.When light strikes this silver coating, its chemicals react, forming an image on the film.After you have taken your pictures, they need to go through a multiple-step process to become photographs. First, the film is placed in a chemical _________ called developer that makes the image visible. Next, the film takes a "stop bath" in another chemical _________ that stops the developer before the image becomes too dark. Now you have a negative that shows the reverse of the image; light objects look dark, and dark objects look light.

solution

Pesticides _________trouble for many creatures, bees in particular. So farmers try to spray crops at times when plants aren't blooming and honeybees are less likely to be nearby. Still, scientists found pesticides in the samples they'd collected from hives with CCD, and a new class of pesticides has some scientists particularly concerned.

spell

As Morgiana made dinner that night, her lantern went out. She went to the yard and turned the _________ of a barrel. No oil. She tried the next barrel and was pleased to find oil. As she finished filling her lantern, she heard a cough from inside another barrel.

spigot

"He rescued the greater part of the Jewish children of my generation in Czechoslovakia," Gissing has said. "Very few of us met our parents again: They perished in concentration camps. Had we not been _________, we would have been murdered alongside them."

spirited away

To fix this problem, the train designers looked to a small bird called a kingfisher. The shape of the kingfisher's beak lets it dive for fish without making a big _________ as it enters the water. The designers thought that if the train's nose was the same shape, it would help the train move through tunnels more smoothly without any air pressure buildup. The redesigned nose not only solved the noise problem, but it also helped the train run even faster.

splash

"Eventually, we learned to _________ people's imaginations to make ourselves stronger, and then we brought them over to our world. Jasper, you were not the first—there were others before you. Mother never came to bring us back, but we held on to our hope that someday we could go home." Thomas is silent for a moment, as if lost in memory or sadness, before starting again.

spur

Today, Douglass is often referred to as the father of the civil rights movement. Seventy years after his death, at the height of that movement, the United States Postal Service honored him with his own 1965 postage _________. He changed the way the country thought about slavery and race, and left behind words to continue to inspire Americans, including his newspaper's motto: "Right is of no sex, truth is of no color."

stamp

Some farmers like a monoculture because it's very efficient, but bees can't survive on such a farm for long because once the single plant crop stops blooming for the year, the bees _________ to death.

starve

The cave wasn't gloomy, as he had expected, but instead well lit by a crack in the ceiling. Ali looked around at the bags of gold and silver coins, stacks of fine silk rugs, and chests overflowing with colorful gems. From the amount of treasure in the cave, Ali Baba decided that the robbers must have built up the _________ over generations. They won't notice a few missing bags of gold and jewels, Ali thought.

stash

Have you ever gone running through a field and then found burrs stuck to your pants and socks? That's what happened to Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral and his dog one day in 1941. De Mestral wondered how the burrs managed to _________ so well, so he looked at them under a microscope and saw that parts of each burr had little hooks that would catch onto cloth, fur, and hair.

stick

Washington's presidential style had been formed during his military career. He was not afraid to make a decision and _________ it.

stick to

That's real tough to _________ because you work so hard to save property that has value to people. When you feel like you didn't have enough time or like you didn't do a good enough job, it's difficult. Sometimes I feel like if I had just done one other thing, maybe I could have saved a home. That is probably the toughest thing about firefighting.

stomach

"I still don't trust you," Uncle Jasper says. "That's understandable," Thomas replies, "since you have no reason to, yet. I was telling the truth when I said I wanted to help you, and to prove it, I'll take you to Anna." With that, Thomas bounds down the hallway, and we follow as fast as we can. After a few minutes, he _________ in front of a door that looks completely out of place. It is white, with four panels and a knob— the kind of door you'd see in any modern house.

stops short

"Do they mean anything to you?" she asked when she was done. "I'm not exactly sure," Papa told her. "But I think it's a cipher, and I think I recognize it." Poloma knew what a cipher was. It was a code that substituted letters or numbers for the real letters in a message. "Ciphers like that one have been used in many wars to conceal _________ information from the enemy," Papa explained. "Reading a message created with a cipher is easy if you know the key to the code."

strategic

In 1831, Frederick read an article about the abolition movement and the people who were _________ to end slavery. Now he understood— some white people wanted to abolish slavery, too! He also learned that Black people were free in some states, and he began dreaming of escape. "Once you learn to read," Douglass wrote later in life, "you will be forever free."

striving

We have many things still to learn about elephants, so it's a good thing that dedicated wildlife groups are _________ to protect them and their habitats. If we protect elephants and respect their habitats, they will be roaming the Earth for many years to come.

striving

Now that you know how cameras work, let's get clicking. First, you need to choose a _________, or something you want to take a picture of. It can be a person, a place, a thing—or all three!

subject

"Did you use a cipher in the war?" Poloma asked. "We used a kind of cipher, substituting Choctaw names of things found in nature for military equipment like tanks and machine guns. I also heard about some very complicated cryptograms used in World War II. The Germans had a very sophisticated device called the Enigma Machine that was a kind of mechanical computer that _________ letters for other letters. But the first substitution cipher was invented by the Roman emperor Julius Caesar more than 2,000 years ago."

substituted

It was clear that they must have obtained the information by _________.

subterfuge

Most of the species of animals that have ever lived on Earth _________ extinction. When the conditions of the environment change, such as when the climate cools or the quantity of food decreases, a species may die out if it cannot adapt to the new conditions. Paleontologists have learned about a wide variety of such extinct organisms from fossils—evidence of prehistoric life preserved in rock or other material.

suffer

Douglass didn't live to see universal _________—the right of every adult to vote—but he fought for it until he died. Eventually, in 1920, the states ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

suffrage

When the vast majority of animals die, the decomposition activities of bacteria and fungi cause their bodies to gradually break down and disappear. However, if conditions are _________, a dead animal may transform into a fossil, leaving behind clues about its physical characteristics and how it lived.

suitable

George was not particularly well educated and learned more from doing things, especially his daily tasks at Mount Vernon. He gained practical life lessons such as how to tend a field of crops. By the time George was twenty years old, he was in charge of Mount Vernon. It was a lot of work, but it _________ him; he loved farming and would farm Mount Vernon for the next twenty years.

suited

This beekeeper was not alone. Reports of other losses began to _________ across the United States, Europe, Argentina, China, and other countries.

surface

If you're entrapped and a fire is going to burn over you, you open the shelter and get in. The temperature inside a fire shelter can get up to 190 degrees (Fahrenheit; 88°C), but it's _________. If you weren't in it, you could get 2,000-degree (Fahrenheit; 1,093°C) flames on you, and you'd die instantly. Or if you inhaled the gases and super- heated air, they would burn and damage your lungs and could kill you. People still die in fire shelters, but the shelters save a lot of lives.

survivable

People who don't keep bees can plant blooming plants. Even monoculture farmers can take a small portion of their land and grow plants that would _________ bees all year long, not just for a couple of weeks each year. They might also use different pesticides, or none at all. We all can make choices that help the honeybee. After all, the honeybee helps us every day.

sustain

The bones and other characteristics of a fossil tell scientists what the animal looked like. These features also enable scientists to compare the animal with species living today. Similarities and differences between the features in the fossil and those of living organisms may reveal how the extinct creature behaved. For example, if the bones in the fossil are similar to bones in bird wings today, maybe the animal was capable of _________ flight. Such traits may also indicate that modern birds are related to this extinct animal.

sustained

Patriot Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet, Common Sense, in which he declared independence to be the only correct choice for the colonists. His booklet sold 150,000 copies in a few months and _________ many Loyalist colonists to the side of independence.

swayed

Do You Know? Firefighters wear heavy gear and clothing, and they work in hot conditions. Their body temperatures can rise dangerously, and they can _________ away up to a liter of water within twenty minutes! It is very important that firefighters drink water constantly. They must carry all that water, which adds to the weight of their gear.

sweat

Gemologists are scientists who study the chemical composition of gemstones. Sometimes gemologists are experts in a particular gemstone, such as diamonds or rubies. Gemologists who work in the laboratory can often identify which area of the world a particular gem came from by studying its chemical composition. They can also tell the difference between natural and _________ gems by studying clues inside the gems themselves that give information about how the gem was formed.

synthetic

These pesticides are _________, which means that the seeds are treated with chemicals that then infiltrate every part of a plant as it grows. A single treatment lasts a long time and kills various crop pests—a seemingly good thing— but the bee losses coincide with the appearance of these new pesticides.

systemic

In 1938, Nicholas Winton was a twenty-nine- year-old banker working in London. Just before Winton was to leave England for a ski holiday in the Alps, his friend asked Winton to join him instead in Prague, the capital city of Czechoslovakia. His friend was working there with groups that were helping thousands of Jewish families. These Jews had fled their homes after Germany _________ a part of northern Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland. "The last thing I thought was that I was going to work," Winton once said.

took over

Pesticides might weaken the bees' immune systems, letting diseases like the paralysis virus _________. Beyond this, though, systemic pesticides target the nervous system. They might affect the bees' ability to learn, remember, and navigate, all of which would contribute to the bees' failure to return to the hive after foraging. If bees can't find their way back to the beehive, they die.

take hold

"In there," Thomas says, almost fearfully. Uncle Jasper hesitantly reaches for the knob, holding me back with his other hand. A gust of fresh air hits us as we look inside to see a room about the size of my bedroom at home. A crib sits in one corner and a bed in the other. The place looks neglected: cracked walls with peeling wallpaper that once held bright balloons, _________ bedding, and a worn floor with piles of sand in the corner.

tattered

Interviewer: What is the other bad part? Todd: The other bad part is just the mop-up. We go out and turn over every rock and ash, take our gloves off, and run the backs of our hands along the ground to make sure there's no heat left. That's just long, hot, _________ work. Plus we've got all our gear on our backs, like a bladder bag (a pump that sprays water) and hand tools. It's a hot, heavy, dirty job.

tedious

In 1792, Washington was elected to a second _________ as president. The position would be filled with more conflict during the next four years.

term

Much has been learned about prehistoric animal life from fossils. Some of the most fascinating fossils ever uncovered prove that, ages ago, there were creatures that had some characteristics of birds and other characteristics of reptiles. Fossils of these organisms lead scientists to _________ that birds developed from dinosaurs.

theorize

"Come," her grandfather said, as he took her hand, "I think we should visit your puzzling arrow, and I'll tell you about the Code Talkers as we walk _________ the woods."

through

Humans and elephants have a long history together. Some studies report that ancient armies used elephants in battle. Asian elephants have been used to move trees and other heavy objects _________ history.

throughout

Your brain is an amazing machine, and, like a machine, it operates best with proper care. How do you keep your brain in _________ condition?

top

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth for more than 150 million years, but they were unable to adapt when environmental conditions changed about 65 million years ago. According to scientists, Earth's climate may have changed dramatically around that time, perhaps as the result of a meteorite impact. Although dinosaurs did not survive this change, birds did. Today, there are more than 9,700 species of birds thriving from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic to the _________ tropics.

torrid

Centuries later, we now know that Richard suffered from scoliosis. When archaeologists found his skeleton, they first lifted the arms, legs, and skull from the gravesite. When they finally reached the _________ and saw the crooked spine, they knew they had found Richard.

torso

Jade is one of the most prized stones. It occurs in lavender, white, and almost every shade of green, which is the most valuable. Jade is incredibly _________ but easy to carve along its grain. Many civilizations, especially in Asia, used jade to make beautiful knives, swords, and axes.

tough

Thomas jumps down from his perch and sits before us, looking each one of us in the eye as he speaks: "We discovered this when Mother sent us over. Mother was already weak from creating us. Sending us to your world took an even greater _________; she didn't have enough will left to bring us back.

toll

Eight-year-old Frederick Douglass grabbed a loaf of bread from the kitchen and slipped out the back door to run errands. Frederick was enslaved, but he was allowed to take as much bread as he liked. He knew he had more to eat than some boys in his neighborhood, so he took food to _________ with them. While he had plenty of bread, the other boys had something he wanted even more—they knew how to write.

trade

Blue-green turquoise comes from the deserts of Iran, Tibet, and the southwestern United States. This stone often has pretty spots and streaks running through it. Much of the world's turquoise is set in silver, as the Navajo Native Americans _________ wore it. The Navajo believed turquoise to be pieces of the sky that had fallen to Earth.

traditionally

Digital cameras work like other cameras, except they don't use film. Instead, reusable light-sensitive microchips store the images. Shots taken with a digital camera can be seen instantly on the screen. Don't like what you see? Delete the image and try again (remember, there is no film to waste). The shots you want can be _________ to a computer, where you can change them electronically. That's when the real fun of digital photography begins. Make the colors richer, put one photo into another, or remove something. (or someone!) you don't want. Retouching, airbrushing, and other improvement tricks once done only by skilled photographers in darkrooms can now be done on a computer. But they still require the same artistic eye and lots of patience.

transferred

Bees have been buzzing around the world for 150 million years, but in the last 10,000 years, the relationship between bees and humans has _________. From hunters of wild honey, humans have become beekeepers. Today, many bees depend on us as much as we depend on them.

transformed

The pound is Great Britain's form of money, or currency. Fifty pounds was considered "a small fortune" in 1939 because back then, fifty pounds was worth a lot. In 1939, what cost 50 pounds would have cost more than $200 in U.S. dollars. In 2014, that _________ to more than $3,400 U.S. dollars.

translates

The thieves were _________ and sent to faraway prisons, where their stories of a magical cave filled with treasure were treated as fairy tales. As promised, Ali Baba gave Morgiana more than enough gold to return to her homeland. She used the gold to start a business that kept her family wealthy for generations.

tried

Rubies and sapphires are made of the same mineral, corundum (aluminum oxide). Rubies, one of the rarest gems on Earth, must be _________ blood-red or pink to be properly classified as rubies. The name ruby comes from the Latin word for red, ruber. The famous red color of rubies is caused by the element chromium. Any other form of the mineral corundum, no matter the color, is considered a sapphire. However, sapphires are most famous for their deep blue color.

truly

On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress met at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The delegates _________ chose George Washington, one of the delegates from Virginia and a former officer in the British army, to command the colony's troops. The Congress voted to call the troops the Continental Army, and declared it would be made up of volunteer soldiers from each of the thirteen colonies.

unanimously

Washington did not want to be the nation's first president, but he felt it was his duty to accept the position. In February 1789, members of congress _________ elected Washington. That spring, he traveled from his home in Mount Vernon to New York City, where he took the oath of office on April 30.

unanimously

Paleontologists theorize that fossils depicting birds with reptile-like characteristics are signs that birds developed from reptiles. Scientists have also _________ fossils of dinosaurs that possessed feathers and other bird-like traits. These fossils provide evidence that dinosaurs were the reptiles from which birds developed.

uncovered

Nature provides important lessons for humans, but there is still much to be learned. By studying the living things around us, scientists can find inspiration for solutions to important problems. The best answers may be right _________, waiting to be discovered through the science of biomimicry.

under our noses

"We spoke into walkie-talkie radios," he explained, "and we only used Choctaw words that would be _________ to outsiders. The Code Talker on the other end received my message and translated it into English for Allied soldiers. If enemies were listening, they wouldn't be able to comprehend any words whatsoever."

unintelligible

Honeybees from a single hive can visit more than 100,000 flowers in a day. Once a bee finds a flower in bloom, it collects pollen for food and nectar to make honey. At the same time, the honeybee performs—_________—one of the most critical processes in nature: pollination.

unintentionally

As Frederick walked down the streets of Baltimore, Maryland, he thought about how _________ it was that he wasn't allowed to read. Just the day before, his enslaver's wife, Mrs. Sophia Auld, had snatched a newspaper away from him as he tried to read it in secret. All Frederick wanted was an education, but that wasn't allowed for enslaved people in the 1820s. In fact, it was against the law.

unjust

The object of the game is to get the highest score. Players score points by shooting the basketball through the opposing team's hoop. Making a shot is most often worth two points, _________ it is shot from outside the three-point line, in which case it's worth three points.

unless

We arrive at one of the palace's outer walls. Both Jasper and I look at Seth with an expression that asks what we should do next. He seems _________, as if he knows what will happen.

unperturbed

From his _________ point, Ali saw forty men on horseback come into view, tie up their horses, and lift heavy saddlebags onto their shoulders. Ali thought they looked like robbers with stolen loot.

vantage

Cassim watched Vashti draw a gold coin from her pocket and immediately snatched it from her hand, holding it up in the candlelight. "My little brother is _________, this much is sure. How did a poor woodcutter manage to acquire a gold piece of such quality?"

up to something

In Africa, elephants live in hot, dry grasslands, rainforests, and even deserts. They can live at _________ elevations, from sea level to high in the mountains. In Asia, most elephants live in tropical forests—some that have lengthy rainy seasons called monsoons and others that have long periods of drought. They also live in swamps and other habitats that provide the shade they need.

varying

Opals form when mineral- rich water evaporates from cracks underground. This leaves a streak of mineral crystal in the rock. Streaks of crystal are called _________. The best opals in the world are found in _________ under the ground in the Australian desert town of Coober Pedy. In the Australian Aborigine language, Coober Pedy means "white man in a hole."

veins

Termites are small insects with big appetites. Some kinds of termites build huge mounds in which to live. The mounds are climate controlled—no matter how hot it gets outside, the air inside the mounds stays cool. The mounds have a complex system of tunnels and _________ that run from the bottom to the top. Hot air rises up out of the top of the mound while cooler air from the ground enters from below.

vents

Poloma's grandfather knew about codes; in fact, he was a _________ who had been decorated for his work with cryptography during World War II. Papa and other Native American Code Talkers had helped the United States and its allies win the war by sending secret messages.

veteran

When you're on the fire line, you have to trust the people you're with. You have to know that whoever is working with you is competent. The training that you've gone through together, the fires that you've fought together, and the experiences that you've had really help, because you know you can trust that person. Your life depends on them and _________.

vice-versa

That same evening, Fatima and Ali Baba ate dinner together. They had argued but soon realized that Cassim was to blame for their quarrel. Vashti burst through the door with a concerned expression clouding her _________. "Is Cassim here?" she asked.

visage

Basketball has had many outstanding players with _________ personalities and record-breaking accomplishments.

vivid

While on vacation, your dad drags you out of bed and down to the ocean for a 5:00 am "whale watch"—yawn. But wait, look at that huge tail rising out of the water! Good thing you brought along your camera. Photographs of whales at dawn, historical landmarks, or family members doing _________ things preserve your amazing or amusing vacation memories forever.

wacky

What _________ only 2 percent of your total body weight but uses more than 20 percent of your energy? Answer: Your most complicated body part—the brain.

weighs

"If she's using this kind of power, we may already be too late," Uncle Jasper whispers. "I'm not giving up on Sarah, Jake, and Anna," I retort, probably too loudly. "I'm not suggesting that, but navigating the castle will be like going through a labyrinth that changes with the Queen's _________." "If I can build the Great Wall of China in a matter of seconds, I can find our friends in there."

whims

"When you, Sarah, and Jake came to the mill, you were so strong that we could all manifest easily. That had never happened before, and so I thought you must be the ones _________ could make Mother strong enough. Then, when you went through the door, I don't know what came over me, but I followed you. To my surprise, I made it, though I was much changed." "That must have been Sarah," I say, and Thomas the cat nods.

who

Ali Baba, Fatima, and Vashti returned to the cave again and again, taking more and more riches. They passed its secret location and the magic words needed to enter it on to their children, _________ lived comfortably enough with what was left of the treasure. By the time their great-grandchildren were born, there was no treasure left.

who

Ali Baba replied, "I am no robber, unless one who steals from robbers is also himself a robber." Fatima raised an eyebrow as he began to tell her the _________ story.

whole

After the war's end, Washington retired to Mount Vernon and married a wealthy Virginia _________ named Martha Dandridge Custis. Martha's family owned thousands of acres of land and more than three hundred slaves.

widow

As soon as the man spoke, the boulder slid to the side to reveal a cave. What kind of magic am I _________ing? Ali thought as he watched the men disappear inside the cave. Ali Baba held his breath as his mind raced: This must be their secret hideaway!

witness