4000 Essential English Words 2 » Unit 12: The Mean Chef

Word List
  • abuse [əˈbjuːz] v.
    To abuse someone or something means to hurt them on purpose.
    → The mean man abused his dog when it barked too loudly.
  • afford [əˈfɔːrd] v.
    To afford something means you have enough money to pay for it.
    → I’ve been saving my money, so I can afford to buy a new bike.
  • bake [beɪk] v.
    To bake means to cook food with heat.
    → My sister is a good cook. She bakes delicious cakes.
  • bean [bi:n] n.
    A bean is a plant seed that is good to eat.
    → There are many different kinds of beans to eat.
  • candle [ˈkændl] n.
    A candle is a stick of wax that is lit on fire for light or heat.
    → When the lights went out, we lit some candles.
  • convert [kənˈvəːrt] v.
    To convert something means to change it into something else.
    → The man converted his messy field into a garden of flowers.
  • debt [det] n.
    A debt is an amount of money that a person owes.
    → I have not paid my gas bill. I owe a debt to the gas company.
  • decrease [ˈdiːkriːs] v.
    To decrease something is to make it less than it was before.
    → Hiring more police officers has decreased crime in the city.
  • fault [fɔːlt] n.
    A fault is a mistake.
    → It is my fault that the cat ran away. I left the door open.
  • fund [fʌnd] n.
    A fund is an amount of money that people have.
    → We all put money into our club’s fund.
  • generous [ˈdʒenərəs] adj.
    When someone is generous, they like to give things to people.
    → The generous man donated several new computers to our school.
  • ingredient [ɪnˈgriːdɪənt] n.
    An ingredient is something that is part of a food dish.
    → The main ingredients in cake are eggs, sugar and flour.
  • insist [ɪnˈsɪst] v.
    To insist means to be firm in telling people what to do.
    → I insist that you try some of these cookies.
  • mess [mes] n.
    A mess is a condition that is not clean or neat.
    → Heather’s room was a complete mess.
  • metal [ˈmetl] n.
    Metal is a strong material people use to build things.
    → Steel is a common metal that is used to build buildings.
  • monitor [ˈmɒnɪtər] v.
    To monitor people or things is to watch them closely.
    → The teacher monitors the students when they take tests.
  • oppose [əˈpəʊz] v.
    To oppose something means to dislike it or act against it.
    → I want to be a police officer because I oppose crime.
  • passive [ˈpæsɪv] a.
    If a person is passive, they do not take action to solve problems.
    → Marcie is so passive that she never solves her own problems.
  • quantity [ˈkwɒntətɪ] n.
    A quantity is a certain amount of something.
    → I have a small quantity of milk in my glass.
  • sue [su:] v.
    To sue someone is to take them to court for something wrong they did.
    → I sued the company after I slipped on a banana peel in their hallway.
Exercise 1

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

  1. a certain amount
    • a. ingredient
    • b. quantity
    • c. metal
    • d. fault
  2. to make less
    • a. decrease
    • b. oppose
    • c. insist
    • d. abuse
  3. to watch closely
    • a. bake
    • b. monitor
    • c. mess
    • d. afford
  4. a plant seed
    • a. sue
    • b. passive
    • c. bean
    • d. fund
  5. money you owe
    • a. convert
    • b. debt
    • c. candle
    • d. generous

Part B: Circle two words that are related in each group.

    • a. debt
    • b. fund
    • c. bean
    • d. abuse
    • a. fault
    • b. abuse
    • c. monitor
    • d. sue
    • a. afford
    • b. bake
    • c. insist
    • d. ingredient
    • a. fault
    • b. decrease
    • c. quantity
    • d. convert
    • a. debt
    • b. monitor
    • c. afford
    • d. generous
Exercise 2

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

  1. To make sure the door was built strong, _________.
    • ____ a. it was made out of metal
    • ____ b. it was monitored to the floor
  2. I was treated unfairly by my company, so _________.
    • ____ a. we decreased the table
    • ____ b. I decided to sue them in court
  3. I went to the grocery store. _________.
    • ____ a. I converted the milk
    • ____ b. I got a small quantity of eggs
  4. When your friend borrows money from you, _________.
    • ____ a. he owes you a debt
    • ____ b. he opposes you
  5. The man wants to cook noodles. _________.
    • ____ a. He will get the ingredients
    • ____ b. He will insist the water
  6. I have enough money. _________.
    • ____ a. My fund is too small
    • ____ b. I can afford to buy the shirt
  7. When the oven was hot enough, _________.
    • ____ a. it baked the potato
    • ____ b. it made a mess in the kitchen
  8. In case the power goes out, _________.
    • ____ a. you should keep candles at home
    • ____ b. you will be generous
  9. When the girl became hungry, _________.
    • ____ a. she became passive and decided to do something about it
    • ____ b. she cooked some beans
  10. My homework was not turned in. _________.
    • ____ a. I abused it at home
    • ____ b. It was all my fault
Answer Key
Exercise 1
Part A
  1. b
  2. a
  3. b
  4. c
  5. b
Part B
  1. a, b
  2. a, d
  3. b, d
  4. b, c
  5. a, c
Exercise 2
  1. a
  2. b
  3. b
  4. a
  5. a
  6. b
  7. a
  8. a
  9. b
  10. b
Answer Key
The Mean Chef

Once there was a chef, who was mean to his cooks. He was mean to the people who came in to eat. He charged too much for meals. Many people were not able to afford the cheapest bean dish. When his metal oven broke, he did not have it fixed. So everything baked in it burned. The only light was from candles, and the whole place was a mess. Sometimes, he didn’t pay his waiters. Since they had no funds, they had many debts.

The chef behaved this way all the time. He monitored the cooks and yelled if they did not do things his way.

One day, the cooks decided that they were tired of the abuse and that they would not be passive anymore. Everyone opposed the chef. At first, they thought about suing him. Instead, they tied up the chef with rope. Now, they controlled the restaurant! They decreased the price of food. They used the best ingredients and made large quantities of food. They turned on the lights. The restaurant was converted into a happy place. For the first time, many people came to eat.

The chef realized that the restaurant’s problems were his fault. The chef learned an important lesson. The new, generous chef insisted on giving the customers a free meal.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. How a mean chef was converted into a generous man
    • b. Why metal ovens bake food until it bums
    • c. Why waiters’ funds are not enough to pay their debts
    • d. How simple beans brought a large quantity of customers
  2. Why could people not afford to eat at the restaurant?
    • a. The chef insisted they take free food.
    • b. The chef made prices too high.
    • c. The chef monitored the cooks.
    • d. The chef got tied up.
  3. What did the chef learn at the end of the story?
    • a. Electricity was better than using candles.
    • b. It was his fault that the restaurant did so well.
    • c. The waiters and cooks took over his restaurant.
    • d. Behaving in a nice way is better than being mean.
  4. According to the passage, all the following are true of the waiters and cooks EXCEPT_________.
    • a. they decreased prices
    • b. they used good ingredients
    • c. they were replaced by robots
    • d. they opposed the abuse of the chef
  5. Why did the chef insist on giving his customers a free meal at the end of the story?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. a
  2. b
  3. d
  4. c
  5. He gave customers free meals to celebrate his big change.
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