Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Bonus Week A - Day 3

Word List
  • knell [nel]
    sound of a bell
    → “Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven or to hell.” Shakespeare, Macbeth
  • macabre [mə ka´ brə]
    gruesome
    → “The Mardi Gras parade featured rowdy celebrants wearing macabre masks and colorful costumes.” Eliza Berman, Let the Good Times Roll
  • ramifications [ram´ ə fi kā shəns]
    complications
    → “I don’t live in a laboratory; I have no way of knowing what ramifications my actions will have.” Hugh Prather
  • rapacious [ra pā´ shəs]
    greedy, taking by force
    → “Charles V levied fines with rapacious exactness.” James Robertson
  • insurgent [in sur´ jənt]
    rebellious
    → “The insurgents’ improvised explosive devices killed six more American soldiers yesterday.” Michael Ware, CNN TV Broadcast

And then it happened. White in its innocence, a monstrous iceberg smashed into the luxury liner, ripping an ugly gash of 250 feet along the starboard and causing a fatal wound. Within seconds, thousands of cubic feet of water had penetrated the shattered hull. One after another, dominolike, the watertight compartments and bulkhead were flooded. The unthinkable had happened despite the absolute guarantees of the shipbuilders, Harland & Woolf

There followed a macabre scene as the ship’s band, clad in their tuxedos, continued to play show tunes while hordes of terrified passengers, many in nightclothes, rushed toward the lifeboats. The crew called out, “Women and children first,” but their lack of an orderly plan for loading would have profound* ramifications. In fact, some boats that could hold 30 were sent into the Atlantic with only a handful of people—generally first-class passengers.

As panic began to take hold, the realization that there weren’t enough lifeboats exacerbated* the situation, bringing out the worst in a rapacious few. Several insurgent males ignored the crew and jumped into descending lifeboats. It was an act of shame they would have to live with for the rest of their lives.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

  1. The __________ dictator used mustard gas against his enemies.
  2. Additional troops were dispatched to deal with the __________ threat.
  3. When the __________ sounded, the students closed their books and their minds.
  4. Some critics were unhappy about the bloody __________ scenes in the movie.
  5. Heidi was concerned about the __________ of her employer’s new policy.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

  1. a. complications
  2. b. greedy, taking by force
  3. c. gruesome
  4. d. rebellious
  5. e. sound of a bell
  1. knell __________
  2. macabre __________
  3. ramifications __________
  4. rapacious __________
  5. insurgent __________

Answer Key
to cross the Rubicon—a limit that allows for no return (The Rubicon was a river in Italy that Julius Caesar’s army crossed, knowing there was no retreat.)
When I crossed the Rubicon by signing the contract, I knew I could never go back on my commitment.

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