4000 Essential English Words 2 » Unit 11: Dinosaur Drawings

Word List
  • admission [ədˈmɪʃən] n.
    Admission is the act of allowing to enter a place.
    → The admission ticket to the movie was $5.
  • astronomy [əsˈtrɒnəmɪ] n.
    Astronomy is the study of the stars and planets.
    → Harold loved watching the stars, so he decided to study astronomy.
  • blame [bleɪm] v.
    To blame someone for something bad is to say they did it.
    → My mom blamed me for something I didn’t do.
  • chemistry [ˈkemɪstrɪ] n.
    Chemistry the study of and reaction to substances.
    → In chemistry class, the professor taught us about chemical reactions.
  • despite [dɪsˈpaɪt] prep.
    If something happens despite what you do, it happens anyway.
    → We still played the game despite the cold weather.
  • dinosaur [ˈdaɪnəsɔːr] n.
    A dinosaur is a very big animal that lived millions of years ago.
    → I like to see the dinosaur bones at the museum.
  • exhibit [ɪgˈzɪbɪt] n.
    An exhibit is a display of interesting things.
    → There was an animal exhibit at the fair.
  • fame [feɪm] n.
    Fame is reputation one has gained among the public.
    → He had fame and fortune, but he was not happy.
  • forecast [ˈfɔrˌkæst] n.
    A forecast is an idea about what the weather will be like in the future.
    → The forecast says that it will rain all week.
  • genius [ˈdʒiːnjəs] n.
    A genius is a very smart person.
    → Since she was a genius, she easily passed all of her school exams.
  • gentle [ˈdʒentl] adj.
    Someone who is gentle is kind and calm.
    → He is very gentle with the baby.
  • geography [dʒɪˈɒgrəfɪ] n.
    Geography is the study of where things are.
    → I had to draw a map for geography class.
  • interfere [ˌɪntəˈfɪər] v.
    To interfere is to cause problems and keep something from happening.
    → My little sister always interferes when I’m trying to study.
  • lightly [ˈlaɪtlɪ] adv.
    To do something lightly is to not push very hard.
    → Draw lightly so you do not tear your paper.
  • principal [ˈprɪnsəpəl] n.
    A principal is a person in charge of a school.
    → My school’s principal can be very strict with the rules.
  • row [rou] n.
    A row is a line of things.
    → James put all of his toy soldiers into neat rows.
  • shelf [ʃelf] n.
    A shelf is a place on a wall where you put things.
    → I keep my clothes on a shelf in my closet.
  • spite [spaɪt] n.
    If you do something out of spite, you want to be mean.
    → He snuck into his sister’s room and stole her bag out of spite.
  • super [ˈsuːpər] adj.
    Super means really good.
    → My dad said I did a super Job cleaning the house.
  • wet [wet] adj.
    If something is wet, it has water on it.
    → Since my dog was wet, he tried to shake all the water off his body.
Exercise 1

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

  1. Jeff did really well on his spelling test.
    su_ _ _
  2. The idea about tomorrow’s weather doesn’t look good for our outdoor plans.
    for_ _ _ _
  3. Look at how the vegetables are all planted in a line.
    r_ _
  4. I would like to see that interesting display on birds.
    exh_ _ _ _
  5. My brother likes big animals that lived millions of years ago.
    din_ _ _ _ _ _
  6. If you are not careful, you will get water all over yourself.
    w_ _
  7. Permission to enter into the private club is rarely given.
    ad_ _ _ _ _ _ _
  8. Will the school offer a study of stars class next year?
    a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  9. My uncle always gets involved in what my family does.
    in_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
  10. The head of the school decided that all students should wear uniforms.
    pri_ _ _ _ _ _
Exercise 2

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

    • __ a. We learned about grammar in astronomy class.
    • __ b. Do not interfere when I am working.
    • __ a. It was very kind of him to spite his sister.
    • __ b. Which shelf should I put this on?
    • __ a. Do you have a shelf in your yard?
    • __ b. In astronomy class, I learned about the Solar System.
    • __ a. He drank all the milk in the fridge to spite me.
    • __ b. Mrs. Joyner is a strict principal, but she is actually very nice.
    • __ a. The loud music interferes with my concentration.
    • __ b. It is against his principals to be dishonest.
Exercise 3

Choose the word that is a better fit for each sentence.

  1. chemistry / despite
    • Oil and water do not have a good _______________ together.
    • We should go _______________ the weather.
  2. admission / exhibit
    • I wanted to see the bird _______________ at the zoo.
    • My daughter has gained _______________ to an Ivy League university.
  3. geography / dinosaur
    • I wish I could see a real _______________ .
    • I learned about a South American country in my _______________ book.
  4. gentle / lightly
    • Be very _______________ with the old dishes.
    • _______________ push the dirt in around the flowers.
  5. genius / fame
    • I don’t know if I would enjoy _______________.
    • My son is a _______________ .
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. super
  2. forecast
  3. row
  4. exhibit
  5. dinosaurs
  6. wet
  7. admission
  8. astronomy
  9. interferes
  10. principal
Exercise 2
  1. b
  2. b
  3. b
  4. b
  5. a
Exercise 3
  1. chemistry / despite
  2. exhibit / admission
  3. dinosaur / geography
  4. gentle / Lightly
  5. fame / genius
Answer Key
Dinosaur Drawings

It was the worst morning ever. When Carl woke up, he realized that he didn’t do his astronomy and chemistry homework. Also, the forecast called for rain and that would affect baseball practice. Suddenly, his mother yelled, “Take out the garbage right now!” When Carl returned from taking the garbage outside, he was all wet. “What a terrible day,” he said.

He walked to class. He put his umbrella on the shelf and sat in the third row. But the teacher asked why Carl’s umbrella was on the floor. He told her not to blame him. But she sent him to the principal out of spite.

Next, he took a geography test. Despite studying, Carl didn’t know the answers. He started drawing lightly on his paper.

Carl drew a huge dinosaur. What if it were real? He saw it in his mind. Carl’s class said he was a genius for having a dinosaur. It could interfere with math class, too! Soon, Carl’s fame spread through school.

He taught his dinosaur to be very gentle and put it on exhibit. But admission would only be given to those classmates who paid him a fee. His idea was super.

“It’s time to turn in your tests,” the teacher said. Carl looked at his paper. As he was dreaming in class, he hadn’t finished the test!

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. A wet classroom
    • b. A boy who is a genius
    • c. A bell that keeps ringing
    • d. A day that was not super
  2. What does Carl think his dinosaur can do?
    • a. Make money for him on admission fees
    • b. Interfere with taking out the garbage
    • c. Take the blame for failing geography
    • d. Reach things on the top shelf
  3. What did Carl do?
    • a. Break a jar at breakfast
    • b. Draw lightly on his test paper
    • c. Forget his hat on the bus
    • d. Stay after school for being late
  4. Despite Carl studying for his test, what happened?
    • a. His teacher was not gentle with him.
    • b. He had to sit in the last row.
    • c. The exhibit did not earn him any fame.
    • d. He did not do well on his geography test.
  5. Do you think that Carl will have baseball practice after school? Why?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. d
  2. a
  3. b
  4. d
  5. No. It was going to rain very hard that day.
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