4000 Essential English Words 1 » Unit 15: The Big Race

Word List
  • across [əˈkrɒs] prep.
    To go across something is to go to the other side of it.
    → He walked across the board to the other side.
  • breathe [briːð] v.
    To breathe means to let air go in and out of your body.
    → We need strong healthy lungs to help us breathe well.
  • characteristic [karəktəˈrɪstɪk] n.
    A characteristic is something that shows what a person or a thing is like.
    → One characteristic of tigers is their black stripes.
  • consume [kənˈsjuːm] v.
    To consume something means to eat or drink it.
    → Jack consumed a whole plate of spaghetti.
  • excite [ɪkˈsʌɪt] v.
    To excite someone means to make them happy and interested.
    → I heard about the school dance on Friday. This excited me.
  • extreme [ɪkˈstriːm] adj.
    If something is extreme, it is in a large amount or degree.
    → His workout was so extreme that he was sweating heavily.
  • fear [fɪə] n.
    Fear is the feeling of being afraid.
    → I have a great fear of skateboarding.
  • fortunate [ˈfɔːtʃ(ə)nət] adj.
    If you are fortunate, you are lucky.
    → I was fortunate to get a seat.
  • happen [ˈhap(ə)n] v.
    If someone happens to do something, they do it by chance.
    → I happened to meet some new friends at school today.
  • length [lɛn(t)θ] n.
    The length of something is how long it is from one end to the other.
    → The length of the floor is three meters.
  • mistake [mɪˈsteɪk] n.
    A mistake is something you do wrong.
    → My boss always yells at me when I make a mistake.
  • observe [əbˈzəːv] v.
    To observe something is to watch it.
    → Brian observed the sun rising over the mountains.
  • opportunity [ɒpəˈtjuːnɪti] n.
    An opportunity is a chance to do something.
    → I had an opportunity to take pictures in the jungle.
  • prize [prʌɪz] n.
    A prize is something of value that is given to the winner.
    → I won a prize for getting the best grade on my science test.
  • race [reɪs] n.
    A race is a contest to see who is the fastest.
    → Paul is a fast runner, so he easily won the race.
  • realize [ˈrɪəlʌɪz] v.
    To realize is to suddenly understand.
    → After I left my house, I realized that I left the light on.
  • respond [rɪˈspɒnd] v.
    To respond is to give an answer to what someone else said.
    → When the teacher asked the question, we all responded.
  • risk [rɪsk] n.
    A risk is a chance of something bad happening.
    → I took a risk and climbed the snowy mountain.
  • wonder [ˈwʌndə] v.
    To wonder is to ask yourself questions or have a need to know.
    → The young mother wondered if she’d have a boy or a girl.
  • yet [jɛt] adv.
    Yet is used to say something has not happened up to now.
    → We can’t go out yet; we’re still eating.
Exercise 1

Choose the right word for the given definition.

  1. something of value that is given to the winner
    • a. opportunity
    • b. prize
    • c. risk
    • d. happen
  2. lucky
    • a. extreme
    • b. across
    • c. fortunate
    • d. yet
  3. to eat
    • a. consume
    • b. breathe
    • c. realize
    • d. observe
  4. the feeling of being afraid
    • a. length
    • b. fear
    • c. happen
    • d. characteristic
  5. to do by chance
    • a. respond
    • b. realize
    • c. excite
    • d. happen
  6. how long something is
    • a. length
    • b. characteristic
    • c. wonder
    • d. mistake
  7. to let air in and out of your body
    • a. observe
    • b. breathe
    • c. consume
    • d. excite
  8. something you did wrong
    • a. happen
    • b. fear
    • c. mistake
    • d. risk
  9. up to this point
    • a. extreme
    • b. length
    • c. across
    • d. yet
  10. to understand
    • a. realize
    • b. breathe
    • c. respond
    • d. observe
Exercise 2

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

  1. I had to walk to the other side of the school to get to my next class.
    acr_ _ _
  2. Brad chose not to give an answer when I asked about his weekend.
    resp_ _ _
  3. Sarah ran around the park to get ready for the contest where people run against each other.
    ra_ _
  4. Michael saw the accident that occurred today.
    obs_ _ _ _ _
  5. Renee knew there was a chance of something bad happening when she went swimming in the ocean.
    r_ _ _

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

    • ____ a. Being tall is a characteristic of many trees.
    • ____ b. I was fortunate because I received some useless gifts.
    • ____ a. Because he left work early, Carl had an opportunity to go to the concert.
    • ____ b. I could feel the length of the air outside.
    • ____ a. Angela felt fear when she got a good grade on her test.
    • ____ b. Our team won. We were fortunate.
    • ____ a. Jeremy thought his hair was just the right length.
    • ____ b. Michelle left her characteristic at my house.
    • ____ a. Theresa found an opportunity on the ground outside.
    • ____ b. Billy feels fear when he has to talk in front of people.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. b
  2. c
  3. a
  4. b
  5. d
  6. a
  7. b
  8. c
  9. d
  10. a
Exercise 2
Part A
  1. across
  2. respond
  3. race
  4. observed
  5. risk
Part B
  1. a
  2. a
  3. b
  4. a
  5. b
Answer Key
The Big Race

A dog saw a group of animals across the road. He walked over to meet them. “What are you doing?” he asked them.

“I just sold them tickets to a race between the rabbit and the turtle,” the duck responded.

This news excited the dog. He felt fortunate that he happened to be there. “I don’t have anything to do today,” the dog said. “I want to buy a ticket, too.”

The dog sat down to observe the race. The race would be extreme. It would be many kilometers in length. The rabbit and the turtle stood next to each other. They waited for the race to start. The dog wondered why the turtle agreed to run against the rabbit. Being fast was not a characteristic of turtles. The rabbit was going to win easily.

Suddenly, the race began. The rabbit ran extremely quickly. The turtle walked slowly. After a minute, the rabbit looked back. He saw that the turtle was far behind him and was breathing quickly because he was so tired. The rabbit smiled and slowed to a walk.

A minute later, the rabbit said, “I’m winning, so I’ll take a rest.” He sat and began to consume some grass. Then, he let his eyes close. He wasn’t the winner yet. But there was no risk of him losing the race. He went to sleep.

Hours later, a loud sound woke him. All of the animals were yelling and looking at the field. He felt fear for the first time. The turtle was almost at the finish line. Now, the rabbit realized his mistake. But the race was over. He gave the turtle an opportunity to win, and the turtle took it. The duck handed the turtle his prize. It was the happiest day of the turtle’s life.

The dog was happy for the turtle. “He isn’t fast,” the dog thought. “But he tried his best and did something great.”

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. A race between a rabbit and a turtle
    • b. The risk of running in a race
    • c. The extreme speed of rabbits
    • d. How to observe a turtle
  2. What did the duck do for the other animals?
    • a. He told them the news.
    • b. He gave them a prize.
    • c. He responded to their questions.
    • d. He sold tickets to them.
  3. Why did the dog think the turtle had no opportunity to win the race?
    • a. The turtle hadn’t won a race yet.
    • b. The turtle couldn’t walk across such a length.
    • c. Being fast was not a characteristic of turtles.
    • d. The turtle was not fortunate.
  4. What did the rabbit do after he woke up?
    • a. He consumed some grass.
    • b. He realized his mistake.
    • c. He breathed quickly.
    • d. He excited the animals.
  5. What did the rabbit see to make him feel fear?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. a
  2. d
  3. c
  4. b
  5. The rabbit saw the turtle almost at the finish line.
Favorite Books
4000 Essential English Words 2

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 2: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 3

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 3: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 4

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 4: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 5

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 5: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more
4000 Essential English Words 6

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 6: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Read more