Unit 18: The Priest

4000 Essential English Words 2 » Unit 18: The Priest

Word List

ability [əˈbiləti] n.

Ability is the quality of a person being able to do something well.

→ His swimming abilities let him cross the entire lake.
agriculture [ˈægrɪkʌltʃər] n.

Agriculture is the growing of food and animals.

→ The farmer studied agriculture in college.
cartoon [kɑːrˈtuːn] n.

A cartoon is a funny drawing.

→ Sometimes, people draw cartoons for the newspaper.
ceiling [ˈsiːlɪŋ] n.

The ceiling is the top of a room.

→ He painted the ceiling with a special roller.
convince [kənˈvɪns] v.

To convince someone means to make them sure of something.

→ She convinced me to buy the house.
curious [ˈkjʊərɪəs] adj.

When you are curious about something, you want to know more about it.

→ I opened up the clock because I was curious about how it worked.
delay [dɪˈleɪ] v.

To delay means to wait to do something.

→ I was delayed at the airport for over two hours.
diary [ˈdaɪərɪ] n.

A diary is a book in which people write their personal experiences.

→ I do not let anybody read my diary.
element [ˈeləmənt] n.

An element of something is a particular part of it.

→ Tackling an opponent is Johnny’s favorite element of American footbal.
faith [feɪθ] n.

When people have faith in something, they believe in it and trust it.

→ The sick girl had faith in doctors. She knew they would make her better.
grain [greɪn] n.

Grain is food crops such as wheat, corn, rice or oats.

→ The farmer planted two fields of grain this year.
greet [griːt] v.

To greet someone means to meet and welcome them.

→ When my friend came over, I greeted him at the door.
investigate [ɪnˈvestəgeɪt] v.

To investigate means to search for something or learn about it.

→ The detective went to investigate the crime.
joy [dʒɔɪ] n.

Joy is a feeling you get when you are really happy.

→ I love baseball. I feel joy when I play.
label [ˈleɪ bəl] n.

A label is a tag that tells about something.

→ The label on the back of your shirt will tell you what size it is.
monk [mʌŋk] n.

A monk is a religious person who lives a simple life.

→ The monks knew a lot about religion.
odd [ɒd] adj.

When something is odd, it is unusual.

→ Her cat is odd. It walks on two feet.
pause [pɔːz] v.

To pause means to stop doing something for a while.

→ Since she was so hungry, she paused to make a snack.
priest [priːst] n.

A priest is a person trained to perform religious duties.

→ The priest taught us about God.
profession [prəˈfeʃən] n.

A profession is a person’s job.

→ He loved sailing, so he chose to work on ships as a profession.

Exercise 1

Choose the right definition for the given word.

investigate
- a. to search for
- b. to meet
- c. to stop
- d. to make someone sure
element
- a. the top of a room
- b. a funny drawing
- c. a tag
- d. a part of something
odd
- a. a religious man
- b. wanting to know more
- c. not normal
- d. a happy feeling
priest
- a. a private book
- b. a person trained to perform religious duties
- c. food crops
- d. a funny drawing
label
- a. things you do well
- b. a tag that tells about something
- c. your job
- d. a particular part of something
pause
- a. to search for
- b. to meet
- c. to stop
- d. to make someone sure
agriculture
- a. growing food
- b. believing in something
- c. not normal
- d. wanting to know more
diary
- a. a job
- b. food crops
- c. the top of a room
- d. a private book
faith
- a. a happy feeling
- b. things you do well
- c. a tag
- d. belief in something
curious
- a. the business of farming
- b. wanting to know more
- c. a religious man
- d. things you do well

Exercise 2

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

joy / odd
- The boy was full of _______________ when his new brother was born.
- The store was _______________ . It was only open one day a week.
faith / diary
- The girl writes in her _______________ every night.
- The boy _______________ in his father was strong.
cartoons / profession
- The _______________ in this book make me laugh.
- I want to get involved in a _______________ where I am helping others.
convinced / greeted
- I _______________ my new neighbors for the first time.
- She _______________ me that she was right.
label / abilities
- The _______________ on my jacket says “do not wash.”
- The smart child had many _______________ when it came to math.

Exercise 3

Circle two words that are related in each group.

- a. agriculture
- b. label
- c. grain
- d. odd
- a. diary
- b. abilities
- c. monk
- d. priest
- a. faith
- b. curious
- c. investigate
- d. greet
- a. delay
- b. ceiling
- c. joy
- d. pause
- a. greet
- b. curious
- c. profession
- d. odd

Answer Key

Exercise 1

a
d
c
b
b
c
a
d
d
b

Exercise 2

joy
joy
diary
faith
cartoons
profession
greeted
convinced
labels
abilities

Exercise 3

a, c
c, d
b, c
a, d
b, d

Answer Key

The Priest

A young priest was always sad. He was good at his profession, but he still had no joy. He visited a group of wise monks.

When he got to the monks’ house, they greeted him and let him in. The monks asked the priest, “What is the matter?” The priest said, “I should be happy, but I am not. I don’t know what to do.” The wise monks paused for a minute. Then one said, “We are convinced of your faith. You are a very good priest. But to find joy, you have to do more. Above all, investigate the elements of your life that you love.” The priest thought that this answer was odd, but he was curious.

The next day, the priest thought about his abilities. He got a few ideas, and he did not want to delay any longer. He liked to draw, so he made some cartoons. He also liked to write, so he started a diary. He was interested in agriculture, so he planted some grains. He made jam from berries. He made his own labels to put on the jars of jam. He painted his ceiling. The priest learned something. It is not too hard to be happy after all. All one has to do is find things they like doing, and do them!

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

What is this story about?
- a. Why monks have faith in God
- b. How a priest finds joy
- c. How to investigate odd answers
- d. Why a priest did not like his profession
Why did the priest go to the monks?
- a. Because he was convinced that he was a fine priest
- b. Because he wanted to greet them
- c. Because he wanted their help
- d. Because he wanted to tell them how happy he became
After the priest talked to the monks, what did he think about?
- a. His abilities
- b. His curious job
- c. His pauses
- d. His delays
According to the passage, all the following are true of the priest EXCEPT _________.
- a. he painted his ceiling
- b. he tried agriculture and planted grains
- c. he drew cartoons
- d. he forgot to put labels on his jam
Why did the priest get a diary?
_____________

Answer Key

Reading Comprehension

b
c
a
d
The priest got a diary because he liked to write.

Favorite Books

4000 Essential English Words 1

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 1: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 3

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 3: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 4

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 4: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 5

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 5: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 6

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 6: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

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