1. They appeared to me denizens of a brilliant existence. (“The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant")
   
   

actors

environmentalists

deserters

inhabitants

1. Failing that, I could have surreptitiously dumped the whole outfit overboard, written off the forty or so dollars as love’s tribute. (“The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant")
   
   

happily

slyly

enthusiastically

sorrowfully

1. But since he had called our names at the beginning of the service we were mollified. (from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
   
   

baffled

alerted

calmed

upset

1. We were maids and farmers, handymen and washerwomen, and anything higher that we aspired to was farcical and presumptuous. (from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
   
   

puzzling

too bold

silly

pitiful

1. The ugliness they left was palpable. (from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
   
   

able to be felt

strange

hurtful

imagined