The Things They Carried

Vocabulary List #3

Read each sentence. Based on the context, write your own definition for the word and
the part of speech in the space beneath.

At a marketplace in South Vietnam, the American soldier paid for the items with 100 piasters.

It was hard to believe that the super-rich rock star was born in a tiny hamlet in India.

The problem with claims of ‘supernatural’ causation for these strange events is that it can never be
proven!

I could hear her gargling in the bathroom, so I assumed she had already brushed her teeth.

Then, without warning, a mortar thundered about 20 feet from our foxhole, and shells began flying.

The sunken ship was hoisted from the sea floor by a large crane.

After watching the tragic movie, I experienced a kind of catharsis. The release of emotion felt good.

A few faithful friends formed the nucleus of the club.

After risking his own life to save ten of his men, the platoon leader was given a medal for valor.

The platoon was made up of 18 soldiers who stuck together throughout the horror of each battle.

The climb to such a great height caused giddiness in many of the soldiers.

All I can do is offer my condolences on the loss of your son, but it doesn’t seem like enough.

The army battalion fought off the approaching enemy from their position on the beach.
The soldiers hid down in the bunker, but remained ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

The little Vietnamese boy emerged from the hooch where he had been living as an orphan.

He botched the job thoroughly, and no one wanted to hire him after that.

The platoon leader tried to establish a close rapport with his soldiers.

His only chance to find his way out of the tunnel was to grope in the dark until he found an opening.

In an attempt to uncover the enemy, they sprayed defoliant on the surrounding plant life.

The engine was out of kilter and would not start.

Establishing the chronology of the bomb attack was essential in determining who might have planted
the device.

As it burned, the stalk of the candle began to taper.

Ted Lavender needed numerous tranquilizers in order to calm his fears.

Frosted window glass is translucent, but not transparent.

Formaldehyde is often used to preserve biological specimens, such as human remains.