4000 Essential English Words 1 » Unit 12: The Crazy Artist

Word List
  • alone [əˈləʊn] adj.
    If someone is alone, they are not with another person.
    → The boy wanted to be alone to think.
  • apartment [əˈpaːtmənt] n.
    An apartment is a set of rooms in a building where people live.
    → She has a nice apartment in the city.
  • article [ˈaːtikl] n.
    An article is a story in a newspaper or magazine.
    → Did you read the article in the newspaper about the soccer game?
  • artist [ˈɑːtɪst] n.
    An artist is a person who paints, draws, or makes sculptures.
    → He went to Paris to become an artist.
  • attitude [ˈӕtitjuːd] n.
    Someone’s attitude is the way they feel and think.
    → John has a bad attitude. He’s always angry.
  • compare [kəmˈpɛː] v.
    To compare means to say how two things are the same and different.
    → If you compare cats and dogs, you’ll see that they’re both good pets.
  • judge [dʒʌdʒ] v.
    To judge something is to say if it is good or bad.
    → The boy was going to judge how his mother’s turkey tasted.
  • magazine [maɡəˈziːn] n.
    A magazine is a regular publication with news, stories, and articles.
    → She likes to read fashion magazines.
  • material [məˈtɪərɪəl] n.
    A material is what is used to make something.
    → Brick is a good material for building houses.
  • meal [miːl] n.
    A meal is a time when food is eaten like breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
    → Breakfast is my favorite meal because I enjoy breakfast foods.
  • method [ˈmɛθəd] n.
    A method is the way to do something.
    → One method to remember things is to tie a string around your finger.
  • neighbor [ˈneɪ bər] n.
    A neighbor is a person who lives near you.
    → I like my neighbor because he’s very friendly.
  • professional [prəˈfɛʃ(ə)n(ə)l] adj.
    If something is professional, it deals with work that uses special skills.
    → If you want to be a pilot, you must have professional training.
  • profit [ˈprɒfɪt] n.
    A profit is the extra money you make when you sell something.
    → I made a small profit from selling my old clothes.
  • quality [ˈkwɒlɪti] n.
    The quality of something is how good it is.
    → The quality of his car is very good.
  • shape [ʃeɪp] n.
    A shape is a simple form like a square or circle.
    → The triangle is my favorite shape.
  • space [speɪs] n.
    A space is an empty area.
    → I don’t have much space for things in my small house.
  • stair [stɛː] n.
    Stairs are the things that are used to go up in a building.
    → You can take the stairs to the second floor.
  • symbol [ˈsɪmbəl] n.
    A symbol is a thing that stands for something else.
    → This symbol tells us that we cannot smoke in this area.
  • thin [θɪn] adj.
    If someone or something is thin, they are not fat.
    → The man was thin because he didn’t eat much.
Exercise 1

Part A: Choose the right word for the given definition.

  1. a person who paints, draws, or sculpts
    • a. magazine
    • b. article
    • c. artist
    • d. alone
  2. to decide that something is good or bad
    • a. neighbor
    • b. judge
    • c. meal
    • d. compare
  3. a way of doing something
    • a. method
    • b. profit
    • c. professional
    • d. attitude
  4. how good something is
    • a. apartment
    • b. thin
    • c. quality
    • d. stairs
  5. something used to make other things
    • a. shape
    • b. symbol
    • c. material
    • d. space

Part B: Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.

  1. I don’t like the person who lives near me.
    neigh_ _ _
  2. I read a regular publication about sports.
    maga_ _ _ _
  3. The doctor gave his expert and qualified advice.
    profe_ _ _ _ _ _ _
  4. He looked at the differences between two books.
    co_ _ _ _ _ _
  5. She has a good way of thinking about things.
    a_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Exercise 2

Check (V) the sentence with the bolded word that makes better sense.

    • ____ a. When you are alone, you are with another person.
    • ____ b. You can read articles in a newspaper.
    • ____ a. If you make a profit, you have more money than you did before
    • ____ b. If you have professional training, you can’t do a difficult job.
    • ____ a. The Earth is a very thin planet.
    • ____ b. If something is a symbol, it stands for something else.
    • ____ a. You can use stairs to go up inside a building.
    • ____ b. Since she is a lawyer, people call my wife an artist.
    • ____ a. There are many apartments in one building.
    • ____ b. Your attitude is the way you look.
    • ____ a. You cannot get information from a magazine.
    • ____ b. If you compare two things, you say how they are different.
    • ____ a. If you judge something, you know if it is good or bad.
    • ____ b. Neighbors are people who live far from you.
    • ____ a. A meal has food and a drink.
    • ____ b. A shape is something you cannot see.
    • ____ a. A symbol is a picture of two different things.
    • ____ b. You must have space to add more things to a room.
    • ____ a. If something has low quality, it is very good.
    • ____ b. A material is used to make something else.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
Part A
  1. c
  2. b
  3. a
  4. c
  5. c
Part B
  1. neighbor
  2. magazine
  3. professional
  4. compared
  5. attitude
Exercise 2
  1. b
  2. a
  3. b
  4. a
  5. a
  6. b
  7. a
  8. a
  9. b
  10. b
Answer Key
The Crazy Artist

Frenhoferwas the best artist in the world. Everyone loved him. The quality of his paintings was very high. He always used the best materials. He made a big profit from his paintings. He had delicious meals with his rich neighbors. He taught art classes. Life was good.

Then his attitude changed. He stopped selling paintings and teaching. He tried a new method of painting. He stayed alone in his apartment all day. He worked all day and all night, rarely eating. Soon Frenhofer became very thin. But he kept working on the same painting for many years. He worked as hard as he could.

Finally, he finished the painting. He was very happy and invited other artists to see it. “I want your professional opinion,” he said. He wanted them to judge it and compare it to other paintings. Everyone was very excited as they went up the stairs to his apartment. Frenhofer was excited to show his painting, and the artists were excited to see it. “They’ll love it,” he thought. But they did not.

They were surprised by his painting. There was no white anywhere. Frenhofer filled the whole painting with lines and colors. There was no space for a normal picture. It was full of strange shapes. It looked bad to the other artists. He used symbols, and they didn’t understand them. They thought it was terrible. “Why did you paint this strange picture?” someone asked. They didn’t understand its beauty.

But after some time, many people began to like his painting. People wrote articles about it in magazines. They said it was his best work. They loved his strange symbols. They loved his strange colors. Frenhofer’s painting reminded everyone that just because something was new didn’t mean that it was bad. He also helped them to realize that sometimes it takes people a little time to understand great things.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. A painter whose neighbors judge his art as poor quality
    • b. An artist who teaches art classes in his apartment
    • c. A man who writes articles for a magazine
    • d. A thin man who eats meals with friends
  2. Why does Frenhofer want the artists to see his painting?
    • a. He wants to sell it to them for a profit.
    • b. He wants them to judge his materials.
    • c. He wants them to give their professional opinion.
    • d. He wants to compare his new method to theirs.
  3. What is true of Frenhofer’s painting?
    • a. It is made with low-quality materials.
    • b. It is full of strange colors and shapes.
    • c. It does not have any symbols in it.
    • d. It is a picture of other artists.
  4. Where do the other artists see his painting?
    • a. It is alone in the space used for art classes.
    • b. They go to Frenhofer’s apartment.
    • c. Frenhofer takes it to their apartment.
    • d. It is on sale at a famous store.
  5. How do the artists feel as they go up the stairs?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. a
  2. c
  3. b
  4. b
  5. His friends felt excited about seeing his painting.
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