4000 Essential English Words 1 » Unit 25: Joe’s Pond

Word List
  • associate [əˈsəʊʃɪət] v.
    To associate means to connect something with a person or thing.
    → Most people associate birthday parties with having fun.
  • environment [ɪnˈvʌɪrənm(ə)nt] n.
    The environment is the place where people work or live.
    → Keeping our environment clean is important to our health.
  • factory [ˈfakt(ə)ri] n.
    A factory is a building where things are made or put together.
    → We have only one factory in our town.
  • feature [ˈfiːtʃə] n.
    A feature is an important part of something.
    → The cell phone has many features.
  • instance [ˈɪnst(ə)ns] n.
    An instance is an example of something.
    → I have never experienced an instance of hate. Have you?
  • involve [ɪnˈvɒlv] v.
    To involve means to be actively taking part in something.
    → The whole family was involved in playing the game.
  • medicine [ˈmɛdɪsɪn] n.
    Medicine is something you take to feel better or treat an illness.
    → The doctor gave me medicine for my cold.
  • mix [mɪks] n.
    A mix is different things put together.
    → The green mix we made in science class spilled onto the table.
  • organize [ˈɔːɡ(ə)nʌɪz] v.
    To organize is to plan or get ready for an event.
    → Make a list to help you organize the things you need.
  • period [ˈpɪərɪəd] n.
    A period is an amount of time when something happens.
    → In one period in Europe, there were many knights.
  • populate [ˈpɒpjʊleɪt] v.
    If people populate an area, they live there.
    → Billions of people populate the Earth.
  • produce [prəˈdjuːs] v.
    To produce something is to make or grow it.
    → This tree produces apples every year.
  • range [reɪn(d)ʒ] n.
    A range is a number or a set of similar things.
    → I saw a range of cars to choose from.
  • recognize [ˈrɛkəɡnʌɪz] v.
    To recognize something is to know it because you have seen it before.
    → I recognized an old friend from many years ago.
  • regular [ˈrɛɡjʊlə] adj.
    If something is regular, it happens often and in equal amounts of time.
    → Our regular lunch time is around noon.
  • sign [sʌɪn] n.
    A sign is a notice giving information, directions, a warning, etc.
    → The sign indicated that today would be a bad day.
  • tip [tɪp] n.
    A tip is a pointed end of something.
    → The tip of his pen was very sharp.
  • tradition [trəˈdɪʃ(ə)n] n.
    A tradition is something people have been doing for a long time.
    → Marriage is a tradition all over the world.
  • trash [traʃ] n.
    Trash is waste material or unwanted or worthless things.
    → Please take out the trash; it smells bad.
  • wide [wʌɪd] adj.
    If something is wide, it is large from side to side.
    → The door was as wide as my arms.
Exercise 1

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

  1. to remember someone or something
    • a. mix
    • b. range
    • c. populate
    • d. recognize
  2. the sharp end of a stick
    • a. instance
    • b. regular
    • c. tip
    • d. environment
  3. large from side to side
    • a. wide
    • b. period
    • c. produce
    • d. factory
  4. to be an important part of
    • a. sign
    • b. medicine
    • c. involve
    • d. organize
  5. to make or create
    • a. feature
    • b. produce
    • c. associate
    • d. tradition

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

WORD BLANK
produce sign populate
period range  
  1. Large companies can ___________ many products.
  2. I offered her a ___________ of choices from one to ten.
  3. How many people ___________ this area?
  4. Give me a ___________ if you need help.
  5. This ___________ will last for one hour.
Exercise 2

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

    • ____ a. When you mix things, you take them somewhere.
    • ____ b. They make toys in a toy factory.
    • ____ a. A feature of this computer is its small size.
    • ____ b. We populate over the ocean.
    • ____ a. We put the trash outside so it could be taken away.
    • ____ b. We ate chicken once, so now it is a tradition.
    • ____ a. He went to the tip of the school.
    • ____ b. Doing a book report involves reading.
    • ____ a. The garbage truck came and produced some sunshine.
    • ____ b. I associate dogs with good pets.
    • ____ a. You recognize someone whom you have already met.
    • ____ b. Blue is a range of color.
    • ____ a. The sign was open all evening.
    • ____ b. I have a regular schedule. It doesn’t change.
    • ____ a. The tree is very wide because it is small.
    • ____ b. Don’t forget to organize a meeting for next week.
    • ____ a. The clothing store had a sale on medicine.
    • ____ b. Our environment has many plants and animals.
    • ____ a. An instance of kindness is sharing food.
    • ____ b. He had no period to work.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
Part A
  1. d
  2. c
  3. a
  4. c
  5. b
Part B
  1. produce
  2. range
  3. populate
  4. sign
  5. period
Exercise 2
  1. b
  2. a
  3. a
  4. b
  5. b
  6. a
  7. b
  8. b
  9. b
  10. a
Answer Key
Joe’s Pond

Joe made the world a better place. He got the idea to do that at school. He watched a video there. It was about a factory. This factory produced a lot of trash and put it in a river. The trash and water were a bad mix. People populated the area by the river and drank its water. This made them sick. Many of them needed medicine and made regular visits to doctors.

But the video wasn’t all bad news. It showed ways to pick up trash and why it’s important to do this. It said people can make a difference to their environment. The video’s important features made Joe associate trash with hurting people.

One day Joe walked through a park. He recognized some of the problems from the video. One instance of these problems was the trash in the pond. It was full of plastic cups. There was too much trash. Joe didn’t want it to hurt anyone.

He told his grandfather about the park. His grandfather said, “You know, it’s a tradition in our family to help people. That’s why we give food to poor people. Maybe you can help people by cleaning the park.”

Cleaning the park would involve hard work. Joe decided to organize a group to help him. He chose a wide area of the park. It had the most trash. He asked his family and friends to come. On Saturday, he gave everyone a sharp stick. They wondered why. He said, “You use the stick’s tip to pick up trash. This makes it easier.” They worked for six weeks. Different people helped each time, but Joe was always there.

In that period of time, Joe saw a range of results. There was no trash in the water. People could swim in it. Joe knew that was a good sign. He was happy because he helped his environment.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is the main idea of this story?
    • a. A grandfather teaching traditions
    • b. How to recognize signs of sickness
    • c. An instance of videos helping students study
    • d. A boy helping the environment
  2. When did the boy decide to clean the park?
    • a. After he saw a video about a factory harming a river with its trash
    • b. After he went there on regular visits
    • c. After he saw a range of people cleaning it
    • d. After he associated trash with harming people
  3. Why did the people in the video get sick?
    • a. A factory put trash in a river.
    • b. They produced too much trash.
    • c. They populated too many parks.
    • d. They had no medicine for a long period.
  4. Why was it easy to pick up the trash?
    • a. It did not involve hard work.
    • b. Joe did not organize the group.
    • c. They used the tips of sharp sticks.
    • d. The people had a good mix of tools to use.
  5. What did the features of the video make Joe do?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. d
  2. a
  3. a
  4. c
  5. The video’s features made Joe associate trash with hurting people and their environment.
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