Unit 10

Unit 10 WORD LIST absence n. Absence is the state of something being away. There is an absence of sand in the hourglass. aloud adv. An action done aloud is done so that people can hear it. My father often reads stories aloud to me and my sister. bald adj. A bald person or animal has no hair. My oldest brother is bald. blanket n. A blanket is a piece of cloth that people use to keep warm or to sit upon. I laid a blanket on the ground so that we could have a picnic. creep v. To creep is to move quietly and slowly. The cat slowly crept down the tree. divorce n. Divorce is the process of ending a marriage. Divorce rates have increased in the past twenty years. imitate v. To imitate someone or something is to act in the exact same way. He imitated his favorite superhero by putting on a costume. infant n. An infant is a baby. The infant cried all night. kidnap v. To kidnap someone is to take that person illegally. She was terrified to find out her son had been kidnapped. nap n. A nap is a short sleep, usually during the day. I took a short nap because I had stayed up late last night.

nowhere adv. Nowhere means no place or not existing Unfortunately, water was nowhere to be found. pat v. To pat something is to hit it softly with your hand. I patted some lotion onto my face. relief n. Relief is a good feeling after something bad or challenging ends. I felt a sense of relief when I heard the good news. reproduce v. To reproduce is to make something exactly how someone else did it. The children tried to reproduce their house using toy blocks. rhyme n. A rhyme is writing or speech that has words with the same ending sounds. “ Humpty Dumpty” is an old rhyme that children learn in school. suck v. To suck is to put something in your mouth and try to get something out of it. The baby sucked milk from her bottle. urgent adj. An urgent thing is important and needs to be done now. He had to leave at that moment; it was urgent. vanish v. To vanish is to go away suddenly. All the passengers vanished from the train station. wagon n. A wagon is a cart used to carry heavy things. He used his wagon to carry some of his gifts. wrinkle n. A wrinkle is a line on a person's face that appears as they get old. My grandfather has some wrinkles on his face.

Anna the Babysitter Since her parents got a divorce, Anna has had to help her mother. In her mother's absence, Anna takes care of Grace, the baby. At first, Anna thought it was an easy job. One afternoon, Anna played with Grace. She meowed like a cat, and Grace imitated her. In fact, Grace reproduced every sound that Anna made. Anna then took her sister outside. She put Grace in the wagon, but there was nowhere for them to go. So they went back inside. Anna put the infant on the floor and went into her room. But when she came back, Grace had vanished! Anna locked everywhere, but she could not find her sister. Maybe the baby had been kidnapped! " Where are you?" Anna called aloud. The situation was becoming urgent. She wanted to call her mom, but she didn't want her to think Anna couldn't do the job. Anna sat down. What was she going to do? But then, Anna heard something. It was coming from her room. “ Grace?" She got down on her knees and looked under the bed. She could see Grace's bald head. Grace had followed Anna into her room and crept under the bed. " What a relief! " Anna cried. She picked up her sister and patted her on the head. Her head was soft and had no wrinkles. Grace was sucking on her thumb and looked tired. So, Anna wrapped her in a blanket and sang rhymes for her. Then, she put Grace in bed for a nap. After that afternoon, Anna knew that taking care of Grace was not an easy job. It is a lot of work to take care of a baby!