4000 Essential English Words 1 » Unit 19: Shipwrecked

Word List
  • alive [əˈlʌɪv] adj.
    If someone or something is alive, they are not dead.
    → My grandparents are still alive even though they are over 90.
  • bone [bəʊn] n.
    A bone is a hard part of the body.
    → I brought home a nice bone for my dog.
  • bother [ˈbɒðə] v.
    To bother is to make the effort to do something.
    → No one bothered to wash the dishes today.
  • captain [ˈkaptɪn] n.
    A captain is the person who leads a ship or airplane.
    → The captain sailed his ship to Australia.
  • conclusion [kənˈkluːʒ(ə)n] n.
    The conclusion of something is the final part of it.
    → At the conclusion of the race, the spectators cheered for the winner.
  • doubt [daʊt] n.
    Doubt is a feeling of not being sure.
    → I have doubt that the story is true.
  • explore [ɪkˈsplɔː] v.
    To explore is to look for new places.
    → He wants to explore the world and see new things.
  • foreign [ˈfɒrɪn] adj.
    If something is foreign, it is from a different country.
    → Mexican food is a popular foreign food.
  • glad [ɡlæd] adj.
    If you are glad, you are happy.
    → I am glad you came to my party.
  • however [haʊˈɛvə] adv.
    However means despite or not being influenced by something.
    → She is a great cook. However, she never had professional lessons.
  • injustice [ɪnˈdʒʌstɪs] n.
    Injustice is a lack of fairness or justice.
    → Putting an innocent person in jail is an act of injustice.
  • international [ɪntəˈnaʃ(ə)n(ə)l] adj.
    If something is international, it involves more than one country.
    → The United Nations is a powerful international organization.
  • lawyer [ˈlɔːjə] n.
    A lawyer works with the law and represents people in court.
    → The lawyer left the courthouse after the judge made her decision.
  • mention [ˈmɛnʃ(ə)n] v.
    To mention something is to talk about it.
    → The doctors mentioned the problems that the patient was having.
  • policy [ˈpɒlɪsi] n.
    A policy is a rule.
    → He told us that his policy was to put customers first.
  • social [ˈsəʊʃ(ə)l] adj.
    If something is social, it is about many people in a community.
    → People should come together and fix the world’s social problems.
  • speech [spiːtʃ] n.
    A speech is something said to a group of people.
    → She gave a speech to the class.
  • staff [stɑːf] n.
    A staff is a group of people working together in a company.
    → My dad has a staff of four people to help him at the office.
  • toward [təˈwɔːd] prep.
    If you go toward something, you go closer to it.
    → Santa walked toward my house with a special tree.
  • wood [wʊd] n.
    Wood is the thing that trees are made of.
    → I put the pieces of wood in a pile.
Exercise 1

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

  1. mention
    • a. to say
    • b. to look at
    • c. to not believe
    • d. to be happy
  2. social
    • a. about many countries
    • b. not dead
    • c. about many people
    • d. about a different country
  3. lawyer
    • a. to be treated unfairly
    • b. a person who works with the law
    • c. leader
    • d. a part of the body
  4. however
    • a. the last part
    • b. part of a tree
    • c. a rule
    • d. despite something
  5. bother
    • a. to look for new places
    • b. to make the effort to do something
    • c. to talk about something
    • d. to not believe

Part B: Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

WORD BLANK
wood toward policy
speech staff  
  1. My new desk is made of ___________.
  2. Students must start class at 9:00 each morning. This is the school’s ___________.
  3. There are over 500 people on the hospital’s ___________.
  4. Go ___________ the river, but stop before you get in the water!
  5. The president gave a ___________ last night.
Exercise 2

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

  1. He gave a talk to a group of people at the meeting.
    spe_ _ _
  2. Did anyone make the effort to do their homework? bo_ _ _ _
  3. The chair is made of the material trees are made of.
    wo_ _
  4. The group of workers helped him with his work.
    s_ _ _ _
  5. He is not dead; I saw him yesterday.
    a_ _ _ _

Part B: Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

WORD BLANK
mentioned however policy
staff speech bothered
conclusion injustice bones
doubt    

My teacher’s name is Mrs. Smith. Yesterday, she gave a 1 ___________ to our class. She said there was a new 2 ___________ about the school diet. No one is allowed to eat cookies anymore! The school’s 3 ___________ decided that their students didn’t eat healthily. They wanted students to improve their eating habits. Everyone will have to drink a cup of milk at lunch. She said milk gives our bodies stronger 4 ___________ . She also 5 ___________ that sugar is bad for us. She said she had no 6 ___________ that we would all feel better. We all thought that it was an 7 ___________ . But at the 8 ___________ of class, she told us one more thing, “It was a joke!” 9 ___________ , no one thought that it was very funny. And no students 10 ___________ to laugh.

Answer Key
Exercise 1
Part A
  1. a
  2. c
  3. b
  4. d
  5. b
Part B
  1. wood
  2. policy
  3. staff
  4. toward
  5. speech
Exercise 2
Part A
  1. speech
  2. bother
  3. wood
  4. staff
  5. alive
Part B
  1. speech
  2. policy
  3. staff
  4. bones
  5. mentioned
  6. doubt
  7. injustice
  8. conclusion
  9. however
  10. bothered
Answer Key
Shipwrecked

Simon Yates was a lawyer. He helped many people. However, he was not a nice man. His policy was to help only rich people. He didn’t bother about social injustice. He made a lot of money, but many people didn’t like him. Even people on his staff didn’t like him. They wanted bad things to happen to him. In fact, they were glad when he got into trouble.

Simon had a very bad day. He did many things wrong and lost his job. Soon, he didn’t have any money. His wife, Mrs. Yates, began to have doubts about him. Simon wanted to start a new life. He planned to leave the country.

He mentioned his plan to the captain of a ship. The captain was exploring the world. The captain felt bad for Simon and said, “I will take you to foreign countries.” They left the next day.

Near the conclusion of their international trip, the weather turned bad. A wave pushed Simon off the boat. But he was alive. He swam toward an island. After a longtime he got there.

At first he was upset. He was lost and alone. “I’ll never go home again,” he thought. He had a lot of problems, but he survived. He built a house in a tree. He lived on a diet offish. He made tools from wood and bones. He made a cup to drink rainwater.

Slowly he learned to be happy on the island. He swam every day. He had trouble sometimes, but he always found a way to fix the problem. Life was simple. He liked it.

Finally, people on a ship saw Simon on the island. They wanted to take him home. But Simon was happy. He gave them a long speech about life. He said he wanted to stay. He liked his new, simple life more than his old life.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. How the captain of a ship explored foreign places
    • b. How a lawyer stayed alive alone on an island
    • c. Why a man and a woman went on an international trip
    • d. Why it is a good policy to worry about social problems
  2. Why does Simon not stay on the boat?
    • a. The staff do not like him.
    • b. He wants to swim toward an island.
    • c. A wave pushes him off the ship.
    • d. He does not like the diet of only fish.
  3. How does Simon stay alive on the island?
    • a. He makes tools from bones and wood.
    • b. He makes clothes from a tree.
    • c. He eats food from the trees.
    • d. He uses a cup to drink seawater.
  4. What did Simon mention in his speech?
    • a. He wanted to see Mrs. Yates.
    • b. He was unhappy to be alone.
    • c. He was glad to be on the island.
    • d. He had doubts about staying on the island.
  5. What happens nearthe conclusion of Simon’s trip?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. b
  2. c
  3. a
  4. c
  5. The weather became very bad.
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