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Check out these special words used in recent issues of
National Geographic Explorer.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
A
ancient (an CHANT):
from the far past
asteroid (as TROYID):
space rock
asteroid belt (as TROYID buh elt):
area between Mars and Jupiter
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B
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C
caldera (cal DARE uh):
volcanic crater
caterpillar (cat er PILL er):
worm-like young of a butterfly or moth
cleaning station (KLEEN ing STAY shun):
place where shrimps clean fish
compound eye (KAHM POUND I):
eye made up of many smaller eyes
continent (KAHN tin unt):
large land area
cottage (KA tidge):
small house, often with no upstairs
crater (KRAY ter):
large hole in the ground
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D
diurnal (die URN uhl):
active during the day
dusk (DUH sk):
time just before dark
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E
earthquake (irth KWAKE):
sudden shaking of Earth's surface
echo (ECK oh):
sound that bounces off an object
echolocation (eck oh lo KAY shun):
using sound to find things
endangered (in DANE jird):
at risk of dying out
erosion (uh ROW zhun):
when natural forces carry land bits away
exoskeleton (ecks o SKEH luh tun):
hard outer covering
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F
fault (rhymes with
MALT
):
big crack in Earth
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G
geyser (GI zuhr):
natural fountain
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H
habitat (HAB eh tat):
place where something lives
headdress (head dress):
head covering, often with special meaning
hoodoo (WHO do):
pole made of rock
hull (
rhymes with
dull):
main body of a boat
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I
insect (in SEKT):
bug with six legs
island (EYE lind):
land surrounded by water
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J
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K
katydid (katie DID):
bug that eats plants
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L
larva (LAR vuh ):
stage between egg and adult for many insects
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M
magma (MAG muh):
melted rock
mammal (MAM uhl):
animal that feeds its young milk
mantid (man TID):
bug that eats other animals
mucus (MEW kus):
slimy substance made by an animal to wet or protect its body
mural (MUR ul):
painting on a wall
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N
nectar (NECK ter):
sweet juice made by plants
nocturnal (nok TURN uhl):
active at night
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O
oarsman (ORZ muhn):
person who uses an oar to move a boat
odonatologist (o doh NAH TAHL o gist):
scientist who studies dragonflies
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P
planet (PLAN et):
large body in space
plate (rhymes with WAIT):
large piece of Earth's surface
potter (POT er):
person who makes pots and dishes from clay
predator (PRED uh tor):
animal that eats other animals
prey (rhymes with day):
animal that becomes food for another animal
pyramid (peer UH mid):
large building with a square bottom and triangular walls
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Q
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R
rain forest (rane FOR rest):
wooded area that gets at least ten centimeters (four inches) of rain a month
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S
scarlet macaw (SCAR let muh CAW):
kind of parrot
species (SPEE shees):
type of plant or animal
supervolcano (sue PUHR VAHL cane o):
huge volcano
symbiotic relationship (sim bee AH tik rih LAY shun ship):
close link between two different kinds of things
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T
temple (TEM pull):
building used for religion
tentacle (TEN tih kuhl):
thin, arm-like part sometimes used to catch food
tomb (rhymes with room):
place for the dead
tribe (TRY buh):
a group of people with the same way of life
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U
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V
village (VIL idge):
small town
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W
weathering (WETH er ing):
when natural forces break rock into pieces
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X
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Y
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Z
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^
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