Vocab

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• Abrade (v)

  • Wear away; rub hard or scrub

• Aperture (n)

  • A device that controls amount of light admitted; a natural or man-made opening

• Bellicose (adj.)

  • Having or showing a ready disposition to fight

• Cadaverous (adj.)

  • Very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold; emaciated, gaunt, haggard

• Citadel (n)

  • A stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle

• Constrict (v)

  • Squeeze or press together; become tight

• Decamp (v)

  • Leave a camp; run away; leave suddenly

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Reading

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Read the gift of magi.

Vocab

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• Dilettante (n)

  • An amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and pretends to have knowledge; (adj) showing frivolous of superficial interest

• Eligible (adj.)

  • Qualified for or allowed or worthy of being chosen

• Evasion (n)

  • A statement that is not literally false but avoids an unpleasant truth; failing to pay money; escaping from something

• Foible (n)

  • A behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to and individual: idiosyncrasy; the weaker part of a sword’s blade

• Gratify (v)

  • Make happy or satisfied

• Ignominious (adj.)

  • Conduct or character deserving or bringing disgrace or shame; disgraceful, shameful

• Incarcerate (v)

  • Lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

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Reading

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Read a bio of O’Henry, the author of the story you just read.

Irruption (n) a sudden violent entrance; a sudden sharp increase in the relative numbers of a population Ludicrous (adj) broadly or extravagantly humorous; resembling farce; so unreasonable as to invite derision Oratory (n) addressing an audience formally Quandary (n) a situation from which extrication is difficult; state of uncertainty especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options Succulent (n) a plant adapted to arid conditions; (adj) tender and full of juice Virtuoso (n) someone who is dazzlingly skilled in a field; (adj) having or revealing supreme mastery or skill

Reading/Writing

Answer one of the first two study questions. (above Author Information)

• Three times in the story, the narrator mentions the chops that the Youngs will be having for dinner. Are the chops significant in any way?

  • Yes. Della uses the chops to distract Jim from the hair she cut and sold to afford his gift. The chops are significant as Della may have reacted differently if the chops weren’t there to distract Jim.

• Porter refers to the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon in Paragraph 8. Who were they?

  • The queen of Sheba was best known for testing King Solomon’s wisdom.