4000 Essential English Words 1 » Unit 29: How the World Got Light

Word List
  • advertise [ˈadvətʌɪz] v.
    To advertise is to tell people about something on TV, radio, etc.
    → They used a rabbit to help them advertise their product.
  • assign [əˈsʌɪn] v.
    To assign something to someone is to tell them to do it.
    → I assigned the worker an important task.
  • audience [ˈɔːdɪəns] n.
    An audience is a group of people who watch something together.
    → There was a large audience at the game.
  • breakfast [ˈbrɛkfəst] n.
    Breakfast is the first meal of the day.
    → I eat breakfast at 8:00 every morning.
  • competition [kɒmpɪˈtɪʃ(ə)n] n.
    A competition is a contest to see who is the best at something.
    → He won the running competition over the weekend.
  • cool [kuːl] adj.
    If the weather is cool, it is a little bit cold.
    → The weather is cool in the fall.
  • gain [ɡeɪn] v.
    If you gain something, you get more of it.
    → I gained some weight over the summer.
  • importance [ɪmˈpɔːt(ə)ns] n.
    Importance means the quality or condition of being needed or valued.
    → VIPs are people of great importance.
  • knowledge [ˈnɒlɪdʒ] n.
    Knowledge is information that you have about something.
    → A music teacher should have good knowledge of music.
  • major [ˈmeɪdʒə] adj.
    If something is major, it is big or important.
    → I have a major problem. My boss wants me to redo my project!
  • mean [miːn] adj.
    Mean describes someone who is unkind or cruel.
    → My co-worker is a very mean person. He gets angry very quickly.
  • prefer [prɪˈfəː] v.
    If you prefer something, you want it more than something else.
    → I prefer to take the path that will lead me to a bright future.
  • president [ˈprɛzɪd(ə)nt] n.
    A president is the leader of a country.
    → The president of our country made an important announcement.
  • progress [prəˈɡrɛs] n.
    Progress is the act of getting closer to doing or finishing something.
    → Our company made financial progress this year.
  • respect [rɪˈspɛkt] n.
    Respect is a good opinion of someone because they are good.
    → I have great respect for firemen.
  • rich [rɪtʃ] adj.
    Ifyou are rich, you have a lot of money.
    → He’s rich. He can buy anything he wants.
  • skill [skɪl] n.
    A skill is the knowledge and ability that allows you to do something well.
    → A snowboarder must have the right skills to do well.
  • somehow [ˈsʌmhaʊ] adv.
    Somehow means in a way or by some means which is not known.
    → He somehow had to find a way to reach the life preserver.
  • strength [strɛŋkθ] n.
    Strength is the physical power that you have.
    → Exercising will increase your strength and give you more power.
  • vote [vəʊt] v.
    To vote is to officially choose between two or more things.
    → I voted for Billy to be our class president.
Exercise 1

Choose the right definition for the given word.

  1. breakfast
    • a. power
    • b. the first meal of the day
    • c. having a lot of money
    • d. the reason for something
  2. knowledge
    • a. something that you can do
    • b. a good feeling about someone
    • c. to become better
    • d. what a person knows
  3. president
    • a. the leader of a country
    • b. a little bit cold
    • c. to change other things
    • d. to tell people what to do
  4. gain
    • a. to get more
    • b. to tell about
    • c. important
    • d. to want more than something else
  5. audience
    • a. not hard
    • b. the first meal of the day
    • c. having a lot of money
    • d. a group of people watching something
  6. somehow
    • a. unkind or unpleasant
    • b. slightly cold
    • c. in a way not known
    • d. to change something
  7. competition
    • a. a leader
    • b. a game to find the best
    • c. a reason for something
    • d. somethingyou can do
  8. skill
    • a. what you know
    • b. power
    • c. the ability to do something well
    • d. to think someone is good
  9. mean
    • a. not short
    • b. to get more
    • c. big or important
    • d. not kind
  10. assign
    • a. to want more
    • b. give
    • c. to tell someone to do something
    • d. having a lot of money
Exercise 2

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

WORD BLANK
major advertise vote
competition skills  
  1. If you ___________ something widely, everyone will know about it.
  2. If you have a ___________ problem, you might need more help.
  3. I want to be in the ___________ to show that I am the best.
  4. His skiing ___________ are great! He can be a professional.
  5. Next month, our country will ___________ for a new president.

Check (V) the one that suits the blank naturally.

  1. I’m hungry because __________.
    • ____ a. I didn’t eat breakfast
    • ____ b. I don’t have much knowledge
  2. I’m reading a science book. __________.
    • ____ a. I want to be in the audience
    • ____ b. I want to gain some new information
  3. She always does the right thing. __________.
    • ____ a. This makes her rich
    • ____ b. I have a lot of respect for her
  4. I have milk and water. __________?
    • ____ a. Which one do you prefer
    • ____ b. Do you want a president
  5. He works on his project every day. __________.
    • ____ a. He assigned it to me
    • ____ b. He’s making a lot of progress
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. b
  2. d
  3. a
  4. a
  5. d
  6. c
  7. b
  8. c
  9. d
  10. c
Exercise 1
Part A
  1. advertise
  2. major
  3. competition
  4. skills
  5. vote
Part B
  1. a
  2. b
  3. b
  4. a
  5. b
Answer Key
How the World Got Light

The president of Darkland was a pig—a very bad pig. He was a pig of major importance. He was rich, and he had a lot of strength. But he was mean to all the animals in Darkland. He kept all of the world’s light in a bag. He preferred to keep the world cool and dark. He wanted to stop the progress of the city. The animals couldn’t work in the dark. He didn’t have any respect for them. “Light is too good for them,” he said. “Only I should have light.”

But the animals needed light. So they decided to hold a competition. They wanted to find the smartest animal in Darkland. That animal had to steal light from the president. They advertised the competition everywhere. All the animals came.

The animals all showed off their skills. The audience watched and then voted for the animal with the most knowledge. The winner was a tall bird named Raven. They assigned him the job of getting light.

The next morning, Raven ate breakfast and then left his home. “How will I gain light from the president?” thought Raven. He needed to trick the president somehow. Then, Raven had an idea. Raven could make his voice sound like anything!

Raven walked up to the president’s door. He made the sound of a crying baby. He cried very loudly. Soon, the president opened the door.

“Be quiet!” the president yelled. Right then, Raven quickly made his move. He flew by the pig and found the soft bag. He took it outside. The sun was inside the bag!

Raven flew high and put the sun in the sky. The president was very mad. Raven tricked him! But the other animals were very happy. At last, they had light—all because of Raven's smart thinking.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. How a big, tall bird gave light to the world
    • b. A rich president who helped the world stay cool
    • c. How a competition helped animals gain skills
    • d. The importance of gaining the president’s respect
  2. Why did the pig hide the sun?
    • a. To let the people assign a job to Raven
    • b. To bring an audience to see his big house
    • c. To prevent the animals from voting
    • d. To stop progress
  3. What is NOT true of the president?
    • a. He kept the sun in a soft bag.
    • b. He did not like the animals of Darkland.
    • c. He found a baby outside his house.
    • d. He became very angry at Raven.
  4. How did Raven steal the sun?
    • a. He used his strength to fight the president for it.
    • b. He used his knowledge of the area to find it.
    • c. He made a sound like a baby to make the pig open the door.
    • d. He advertised a major competition and won it.
  5. What was inside the soft bag?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. a
  2. d
  3. c
  4. c
  5. The sun was inside the bag!
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