1. What Do Fish Have To Do With Anything?
By Avi
Vocabulary

2. Threshold
She stopped at the threshold to his mother’s room, not sure if she should enter.

3. Threshold
Noun
a strip of wood, metal, or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossed in entering a house or room.

4. contemplate
He could see his mother by the window. She looked unhappy, and he stopped to contemplate whether he should talk to her now.

5. contemplate
Verb
Think about

6. Urgency
He gently tapped on the open door. When there was no response, he knocked with urgency to get her attention.

7. Urgency
Noun
Important requiring swift action

8. Preoccupied
She turned slowly, obviously still preoccupied, absorbed by an inner conflict

9. Preoccupied
Verb
Lost in thought

10. Inevitably
“May I go outside?” he asked. Inevitably, his mother always told him to do his homework first. Today was no exception.

11. Inevitably
Adverb
To be expected

12. Retort
He swallowed the retort he was about to make. He knew that a snappy response would only upset her more.

13. Retort
Verb
To say in reply