Chapter 4

Question 1

mingle

Answer 1

Mix or cause to mix together.
e.g
I'm single and ready to 
mingle.
Every day Snowball and Napoleon sent out flights of pigeons whose instructions were to mingle with the animals on neighboring farms, tell them the story of the Rebellion, and teach them the tune of 'Beasts of England'.

Question 2

taproom

Answer 2

A room in which alcoholic drinks, especially beer, are available on tap; a bar in a pub or hotel.
e.g
Most of this time Mr. Jones had spent sitting in the taproom of the Red Lion at Willingdon, complaining to anyone who would listen of the monstrous injustice he had suffered in being turned out of his property by a pack of good-for-nothing animals.

Question 3

sympathized

Answer 3

Feel or express sympathy.
e.g
The other farmers sympathized in principle, but they did not at first give him much help. At heart, each of them was secretly wondering whether he could not somehow turn Jones’s misfortune to his own advantage.

Question 4

misfortune

Answer 4

Bad luck.
e.g
At heart, each of them was secretly wondering whether he could not somehow turn Jones’s misfortune to his own advantage.

Question 5

adjoined

Answer 5

Be next to and joined with (a building, room, or piece of land).
e.g
It was lucky that the owners of the two farms which adjoined Animal Farm were on permanently bad terms.

Question 6

shrewd

Answer 6

Having or showing sharp powers of judgement; astute.
e.g
Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard bargains.

Question 7

perpetually

Answer 7

In a way that never ends or changes; constantly.
e.g
Mr. Frederick, a tough, shrewd man, perpetually involved in lawsuits and with a name for driving hard bargains.

Question 8

anxious

Answer 8

Feeling or showing worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.
e.g
Nevertheless, they were both thoroughly frightened by the rebellion on Animal Farm, and very anxious to prevent their own animals from learning too much about it.

Question 9

scorn

Answer 9

A feeling and expression of contempt or disdain for someone or something.
e.g
At first they pretended to laugh to scorn the idea of animals managing a farm for themselves.

Question 10

fortnight

Answer 10

A period of two weeks. fourteen nights
e.g
The whole thing would be over in a fortnight, they said. They put it about that the animals on the Manor Farm (they insisted on calling it the Manor Farm; they would not tolerate the name “Animal Farm”) were perpetually fighting among themselves and were also rapidly starving to death.

Question 11

evidently

Answer 11

In a way that is clearly seen or understood; obviously.
e.g
When time passed and the animals had evidently not starved to death, Frederick and Pilkington changed their tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourished on Animal Farm.

Question 12

flourished

Answer 12

(of a living organism) grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly congenial environment.
e.g
When time passed and the animals had evidently not starved to death, Frederick and Pilkington changed their tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourished on Animal Farm. It was given out that the animals there practiced cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common.

Question 13

cannibalism

Answer 13

The practice of eating the flesh of one’s own species.
e.g
When time passed and the animals had evidently not starved to death, Frederick and Pilkington changed their tune and began to talk of the terrible wickedness that now flourished on Animal Farm. It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common.

Question 14

vague

Answer 14

Of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning.
e.g
However, these stories were never fully believed. Rumours of a wonderful farm, where the human beings had been turned out and the animals managed their own affairs, continued to circulate in vague and distorted forms, and throughout that year a wave of rebelliousness ran through the countryside.

Question 15

distorted

Answer 15

Pulled or twisted out of shape; contorted.
e.g
However, these stories were never fully believed. Rumours of a wonderful farm, where the human beings had been turned out and the animals managed their own affairs, continued to circulate in vague and distorted forms, and throughout that year a wave of rebelliousness ran through the countryside.

Question 16

tractable

Answer 16

(of a person) easy to control or influence.
e.g
Bulls which had always been tractable suddenly turned savage, sheep broke down hedges and devoured the clover, cows kicked the pail over, hunters refused their fences and shot their riders on to the other side.

Question 17

devoured

Answer 17

Eat (food or prey) hungrily or quickly.
e.g
Bulls which had always been tractable suddenly turned savage, sheep broke down hedges and devoured the clover, cows kicked the pail over, hunters refused their fences and shot their riders on to the other side.

Question 18

contemptible

Answer 18

Deserving contempt; despicable.
e.g
They could not understand, they said, how even animals could bring themselves to sing such contemptible rubbish.

Question 19

irrepressible

Answer 19

Not able to be controlled or restrained.
e.g
Any animal caught singing it was given a flogging on the spot. And yet the song was irrepressible.

Question 20

trembled

Answer 20

(of a person, a part of the body, or the voice) shake involuntarily, typically as a result of anxiety, excitement, or frailty.
e.g
The blackbirds whistled it in the hedges, the pigeons cooed it in the elms, it got into the din of the smithies and the tune of the church bells. And when the human beings listened to it, they secretly trembled, hearing in it a prophecy of their future doom.

Question 21

prophecy

Answer 21

A prediction of what will happen in the future.
e.g
The blackbirds whistled it in the hedges, the pigeons cooed it in the elms, it got into the din of the smithies and the tune of the church bells. And when the human beings listened to it, they secretly trembled, hearing in it a prophecy of their future doom.

Question 22

threshed

Answer 22

Separate grain from (corn or other crops), typically with a flail or by the action of a revolving mechanism.
e.g
Early in October, when the corn was cut and stacked and some of it was already threshed, a flight of pigeons came whirling through the air and alighted in the yard of Animal Farm in the wildest excitement.

Question 23

viciously

Answer 23

In a cruel or violent manner.
e.g
All the pigeons, to the number of thirty-five, flew to and fro over the men’s heads and muted upon them from mid-air; and while the men were dealing with this, the geese, who had been hiding behind the hedge, rushed out and pecked viciously at the calves of their legs.

Question 24

manoeuvre

Answer 24

A movement or series of moves requiring skill and care.
e.g
However, this was only a light skirmishing manoeuvre, intended to create a little disorder, and the men easily drove the geese off with their sticks.

Question 25

prodded

Answer 25

Poke with a finger, foot, or pointed object. e.g Snowball now launched his second line of attack. Muriel, Benjamin, and all the sheep, with Snowball at the head of them, rushed forward and prodded and butted the men from every side, while Benjamin turned around and lashed at them with his small hoofs.

Question 26

hobnailed

Answer 26

A short heavy-headed nail used to reinforce the soles of boots. e.g But once again the men, with their sticks and their hobnailed boots, were too strong for them; and suddenly, at a squeal from Snowball, which was the signal for retreat, all the animals turned and fled through the gateway into the yard.

Question 27

triumph

Answer 27

A great victory or achievement. e.g The men gave a shout of triumph.

Question 28

ambush

Answer 28

A surprise attack by people lying in wait in a concealed position. e.g As soon as they were well inside the yard, the three horses, the three cows, and the rest of the pigs, who had been lying in ambush in the cowshed, suddenly emerged in their rear, cutting them off.

Question 29

stallion

Answer 29

An uncastrated adult male horse. e.g But the most terrifying spectacle of all was Boxer, rearing up on his hind legs and striking out with his great iron-shod hoofs like a stallion.

Question 30

vengeance

Answer 30

Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. e.g They were gored, kicked, bitten, trampled on. There was not an animal on the farm that did not take vengeance on them after his own fashion.

Question 31

ignominious

Answer 31

Deserving or causing public disgrace or shame. e.g And so within five minutes of their invasion they were in ignominious retreat by the same way as they had come, with a flock of geese hissing after them and pecking at their calves all the way.

Question 32

sentimentality

Answer 32

Exaggerated and self-indulgent tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. e.g

Question 33

dripping

Answer 33

Fat that has melted and dripped from roasting meat, used in cooking or eaten cold as a spread. e.g

Question 34

exploits

Answer 34

Make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource). | e.g

Question 35

impromptu

Answer 35

Done without being planned, organized, or rehearsed.

Question 36

recovered

Answer 36

Return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.

Question 37

hawthorn

Answer 37

A thorny shrub or tree of the rose family, with white, pink, or red blossom and small dark red fruits (haws). Native to north temperate regions, it is commonly used for hedging in Britain.

Question 38

posthumously

Answer 38

After the death of the originator.

Question 39

sprung

Answer 39

Past participle and (especially in North America) past of spring.

Question 40

artillery

Answer 40

Large-caliber guns used in warfare on land.

Question 41

monstrous

Answer 41

Having the ugly or frightening appearance of a monster. e.g Mr. Jones had spent sitting in the taproom of the Red Lion at Willingdon, complaining to anyone who would listen of the monstrous injustice he had suffered in being turned out of his property by a pack of good-for-nothing animals.

Question 42

neglected

Answer 42

Suffering a lack of proper care. not receiving proper attention; disregarded. e.g One of them, which was named Foxwood, was a large, neglected, old-fashioned farm, much overgrown by woodland, with all its pastures worn out and its hedges in a disgraceful condition.

Question 43

insist

Answer 43

demand something forcefully, not accepting refusal. | e.g

Question 44

skirmishing

Answer 44

Irregular or unpremeditated fighting, especially between small or outlying parts of armies or fleets. e.g However, this was only a light skirmishing manoeuvre, intended to create a little disorder, and the men easily drove the geese off with their sticks.

Question 45

unanimously

Answer 45

Without opposition; with the agreement of all people involved. e.g