Key terms & definitions

The point of greatest tension or decisive action in a narrative. The Thames pursuit is the action climax of these chapters.

A moment of greatest intensity or a decisive turning point in a narrative.

A significant turning point or moment of heightened tension, drama or discovery in a narrative.

A high point of conflict or tension towards which the narrative builds, leading towards its resolution.

Grasping at experiences, possessions or ideas of oneself as though they could provide lasting security or satisfaction.

An aggregate considered as something that can be grasped at or clung to, sustaining attachment.

A mental health condition involving persistent low mood and/or loss of interest and enjoyment, alongside other symptoms that can affect everyday life.

Medical teaching based on examining and treating patients, connecting medical knowledge with practical care.

Testing a potential medicine in human volunteers or patients.

Testing of a potential drug using healthy volunteers and patients.

A study in which a potential medicine is tested on human volunteers or patients to investigate safety, efficacy or dose.

A method of building a wooden boat in which neighbouring hull planks overlap along their edges, helping to strengthen the hull.

An instrument used to measure the angle of a slope.

Rome’s great sewer, developed from earlier drainage works; Livy describes its construction as an underground tunnel under Tarquinius Superbus.

A device that generates regular electrical pulses to synchronise computer components.

The number of clock cycles per second, measured in hertz (Hz). The CPU’s clock provides timing signals that coordinate its operations.

The direction in which the hands of a clock move.

A mechanism that stores energy in a wound spring and releases it through gears to produce movement.

A decorative technique using thin metal strips to form compartments that hold contrasting materials.

A fertility drug that stimulates the pituitary gland to release more follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone.

Fertility treatment using a drug that increases the release of FSH and LH, encouraging egg maturation and ovulation.

An organism or cell that is genetically identical to another organism or cell from which it was produced.

An organism that is genetically identical to its parent and to other offspring produced by the same asexual process.

A genetically identical copy of another organism. In Never Let Me Go, the students are human clones created to provide organs for other people.

A town whose shopping area is dominated by chain stores and therefore resembles shopping areas in other towns.

Producing a living organism using genetic material copied from another organism. In Never Let Me Go, clones are raised to supply organs to other people.

An operation that finishes access to a file, completes any pending writes and releases the resources used to access it.

Careful examination of particular words, patterns and dramatic choices to explain their meanings and effects.

A cellular plastic whose gas-filled spaces are enclosed by polymer walls, limiting the passage of air and liquids through the cells.

A foam structure containing enclosed pockets of gas, which can help limit heat transfer and water absorption.