Vocabulary - Chinese Cinderella

Below are vocabulary words in the context of the book and in other
contexts. First, see if you can discern/deduce/conjecture the words'
meanings from the contexts in which they are found. If you cannot, then
feel free to look up the words in your dictionary, on the Meriam-Webster
Online Dictionary or dictionary.com. Look at the sentences below to see how
each word is used in context. It will help you to evaluate what part of
speech the words are: nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs. Practice
using the words by creating new sentences of your own.

1. discriminate

"They discriminated against me and made me feel unwanted all my life" (xi).

It is illegal to discriminate against anyone on the basis of his or her race,

religion or gender. If you break that law, you could be sued for
discrimination.

2. permeate

• Stories "can sometimes permeate your inner life and become part of you"
(xi).
• "An eerie silence now permeated the house" (115).
• "The heady smell of incense permeated the air" (186).

3. transcend

• Adeline Yen Mah's (the author's) message is "to transcend your abuse and
transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion" (xii).
• The goal of Buddhist meditation is transcendence: losing consciousness of
the physical world and achieving a higher mental state.

4. nonchalant, nonchalance, nonchalantly

• "Big sister nonchalantly straightened her uniform and ordered him to run
faster because she was hungry" (15).
• "I watched him toss sausage rolls, chicken sandwiches and chestnut cake with
nonchalance to a delighted Jackie, who jumped to catch the morsels between
his powerful jaws" (103-04).
• "I shrugged and tried to give her a smile of thanks, but something in her eyes
suddenly made it impossible for me to feign nonchalance" (116).
• "I envied his privilege and freedom as he nonchalantly positioned her finger
this way and that, trying to catch the sun's rays" (158).

5. deign

• "I felt honored that Big Brother had deigned to play with me all afternoon"
(30).
 • The snob did not deign to associate with people she considered her
"underlings," so she didn't even greet them in the hallway.

6. admonish

• "'Next time you go anywhere for the first time,' he admonished as he handed
me a map of Shanghai from the glove compartment of his car, 'read this map
and find where you are and where you wish to go. This way you'll never get
lost again'" (30-31).
• He admonished me to be an extra-careful driver, and he admonished me
when I forgot to put my blinker on as I prepared to turn left.

7. austerity

• "Though Father sent us to expensive missionary schools, he and Niang

instituted an austerity program to teach us the value of money" (36).
• The classroom was very austere: no decorations hung on the plain beige
walls;

8. contrite

• "Come to us and apologize. Tell us from now on you will behave differently.
We'll give you the tram fare only if you're truly contrite" (39).
• In my prayer of contrition, I wept and asked God's forgiveness for my sins.

9. allegiance

• "We told each other we would always be loyal to Ye Ye. If necessary, we

intended to walk to school forever (or at least until graduation) to show our
allegiance to him" (39-40).
• "She has allegiance to Niang written all over her face" (50).
• "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America . . ." (Pledge
of Allegiance)

10. alacrity

• "I obeyed with alacrity, happy to be included" (44).

• I was surprised at the alacrity with which he completed the task; I thought it
would take him much longer.
• On the PSAT, you have to work with accuracy and alacrity.

11. obsequious

• "She is so slimy and obsequious, smiling and bowing all the time" (44).
• "I know you hope for a good grade," the teacher said, "but please don't be
obsequious."

12. volatile
 • "'You're always so impulsive and volatile!' Big Brother exclaimed critically.
'Just like that rash general Zhang Fei in the Three Countries War. We've got to
be more subtle and patient" (46).
• In Chemistry, you will learn about combining volatile chemicals.
• Don't marry anyone with a volatile temper!

13. subterfuge

• "We've got to be more subtle and patient. Diplomacy and subterfuge are
always superior to confrontation" (46).
• The boss preferred that her employee speak freely if he disagreed with her,
rather than undermine her through subterfuge.

14. disdain

• "Ashen-faced and petrified, he stared dumbly at our stepmother without fully

closing the door while she looked down at him disdainfully" (46).
• The disdain in her voice made it clear she disdained me.

15. construe

• "Could his absence be construed as a deliberate warning to the others that

something was afoot?" (47).
• Don't misconstrue what I am saying and start a misleading rumor!

16. incriminate

• "Slowly but methodically, we set about destroying all the draft copies of the
incriminating 'anonymous' letter of appeal to Father" (47-48).
• Because of the incriminating color of my lips and tongue, my mom knew it
was I who ate the green lollipop she left on the counter. It was the green color
that incriminated me.

17. stoic

• "When the dinner bell rang, we trooped downstairs stoically to face the
music, telling each other we were in this together and would resist with a
united front" (48).
• "For the last few months, I had taken the blows as they came, with stoical
fortitude" (137).

18. apprehension

"Once again, we began to feel sick with apprehension, but there was
nothing we could do but wait" (48).

• "After a sleepless night, I walked to school the next morning feeling

apprehensive and ashamed" (118).

19. fawning
 • "Big Sister would scurry around to Niang at every opportunity to list her
grievances against her former allies, fawning on those in favor and gossiping
about those fallen from grace" (49).
• Fawning is demeaning (see "demean" below).

20. credible

• "She is the only one capable of disguising her handwriting to write a credible
anonymous letter to Father in Chinese" (50).
• "Aliens stole my homework" is NOT a credible excuse! It is incredible.

21. demean

• "It made me ill to watch her sucking up to the wily little squirt! Groveling and
demeaning herself like that!" (50).
• Fawning is demeaning (see "fawning" above).

22. feigning

• "I saw Big Sister with her arm around you yesterday asking you questions.
Beware of her! She is an expert at feigning affection. Don't trust her or tell
her anything!" (51).
• I know a student who feigns illness whenever there is a big assignment due.

23. precedence

• "Niang's wishes always took precedence . . . she had to demonstrate

caution, submission and humility at every turn" (51).
• The first to arrive were given precedence in choosing seats.

24. ensue (verb)

• "A quarrel ensued between us, each one enraged because the other had
used her name in such a fashion" (53).
• "A battle ensued" (62) between Big Brother and Cook about making an
omlette.
• "During the ensuing commotion, Ye Ye signaled me to leave the room with
him" (148).

25. impending (adj. or verb)

• ". . . my mind was racked with anxiety and constantly burdened by an

impending sense of doom" (54-55).
• Prepare for the impending rain showers by bringing an umbrella with you.

26. prowess (noun)

• "She had strength, agility, coordination and amazing prowess at all types of
physical games, especially Ping-Pong, badminton and volleyball" (57).
• She was humble about her academic prowess.