4000 Essential English Words 2 » Unit 27: The Duke and the Minister

Word List
  • apology [əˈpɒlədʒɪ] n.
    An apology is something someone says to show that they are sorry.
    → After arguing with her teacher, the girl wrote the teacher an apology.
  • bold [bould] adj.
    If someone is bold, they are not afraid of doing something.
    → The bold man climbed the high mountain.
  • capture [ˈkæptʃər] v.
    To capture someone or something is to catch them.
    → James tried to capture the bubbles in his hands.
  • cardinal [ˈkɑːrdənl] adj.
    If a rule or quality is cardinal, then it is the most important one.
    → Raising your hand in the classroom before you speak is a cardinal rule.
  • duke [djuːk] n.
    A duke is a man of high social rank but below a king or queen.
    → The duke ruled over the land.
  • expose [ɪksˈpəʊz] v.
    To expose is to make known something that is hidden.
    → He took off his shirt exposing his costume.
  • guilty [ˈgɪltɪ] adj.
    If people feel guilty, they feel bad for what they did.
    → I felt guilty for taking my sister’s cookies.
  • hire [ˈhaɪər] v.
    To hire someone is to pay them money to work for you.
    → We hired a man to paint our house.
  • innocent [ˈɪnəsnt] adj.
    If someone is innocent, they are not guilty of a crime.
    → The judge said that the woman was innocent of the crime.
  • jail [dʒeɪl] n.
    Jail is a place where criminals go to be punished.
    → The thief was caught and sent to jail for ten years.
  • minister [ˈmɪnɪstər] n.
    A minister is an important person in government with many duties.
    → The minister of education controls the country’s schools.
  • ordinary [ˈɔːrdənerɪ] adj.
    If someone or something is ordinary, they are not special in any way.
    → Today was just an ordinary day. Nothing unusual happened.
  • permanent [ˈpəːrmənənt] adj.
    If something is permanent, it lasts for a long time or forever.
    → We don’t know if Aunt Mildred’s visit will be a permanent one.
  • preserve [priˈzəːrv] v.
    To preserve is to protect something from harm.
    → Dad sprayed a chemical on the house to help preserve its looks.
  • pronounce [prəˈnaʊns] v.
    To pronounce is to say the sounds of letters or words.
    → Young children often have trouble pronouncing words right.
  • resemble [rɪˈzembəl] v.
    To resemble someone is to look like them.
    → The baby resembles his father a great deal.
  • symptom [ˈsimptəm] n.
    A symptom of a bad condition or illness is a sign that it is happening.
    → Sneezing and a high fever are symptoms of the common cold.
  • tobacco [təˈbækou] n.
    Tobacco is a plant whose leaves are smoked, such as in cigarettes.
    → The tobacco in cigarettes is bad for your health.
  • twin [twɪn] n.
    Twins are two children born at the same time.
    → My sister and I are twins. We look exactly the same.
  • witch [wɪtʃ] n.
    A witch is a woman with magical powers.
    → People think that witches fly around on broomsticks.
Exercise 1

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

  1. The magical woman in the story had a black cat.
    w_ _ _ _
  2. My sister gave me words that showed she was sorry when she broke my radio.
    an apo_ _ _ _
  3. The man went to a place where criminals go for stealing.
    j_ _ _
  4. People say I look like my mother.
    re_ _ _ _ _ _
  5. Did I say your name correctly?
    p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

WORD BLANK
permanent capture twin
ordinary resembles  

I have a 1 ___________ sister who very much 2 ___________   me. When we were kids, we'd 3 ___________ fireflies in jars on summber nights. We would stand still and wait for them to light up. Then we’d quickly scoop them into 4 ___________ glass jars and put the lids on. But the jars were never the bugs’ 5 ___________ home. We always let them go before we went inside.

Exercise 3

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

  1. It is important that you read the story carefully __________.
    • ____ a. It will help to expose any mistakes
    • ____ b. Then it will capture your dog
  2. Mike and Ike look the same. __________.
    • ____ a. They don’t resemble their mother
    • ____ b. They must be twin brothers
  3. If you want to be understood, __________.
    • ____ a. you must be bold
    • ____ b. you must pronounce your words clearly
  4. Please keep our city clean. __________.
    • ____ a. It helps to preserve its beauty
    • ____ b. It makes it ordinary
  5. Children need to learn that __________.
    • ____ a. witches are in their schools
    • ____ b. tobacco is bad for their health
  6. Don’t worry about breaking the glass. __________.
    • ____ a. You don’t need to give an apology
    • ____ b. You think you are innocent
  7. The man was caught for stealing the money __________.
    • ____ a. and went to jail
    • ____ b. but did not know the minister
  8. It would be wonderful __________.
    • ____ a. if I had bugs in my bed
    • ____ b. if the company hired me
  9. I don’t have a baseball glove. __________.
    • ____ a. Can I borrow a duke
    • ____ b. Can you loan me yours
  10. If you do something bad, __________.
    • ____ a. you might feel guilty afterwards
    • ____ b. you will be a permanent guest
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. witch
  2. apology
  3. jail
  4. resemble
  5. pronounce
Exercise 2
  1. twin
  2. resembles
  3. capture
  4. ordinary
  5. permanent
Exercise 3
  1. a
  2. b
  3. b
  4. a
  5. b
  6. a
  7. a
  8. b
  9. b
  10. a
Answer Key
The Duke and the Minister

A mean duke grew tobacco, and his cardinal rule was to always keep the plants healthy. The duke’s top minister was his twin brother. They closely resembled each other. One day, the tobacco plants started to die. He hired men to watch the fields. Soon, the men brought a woman to him and said, “We captured a witch!”

The Duke asked, “How do you know?”

“She sang magic words. I can’t pronounce them. She has cursed us. The death of the plants is a symptom of her curse,” the men said.

“I am just an ordinary woman. I was singing a song in a different language,” the woman protested.

The duke didn’t listen. “You are guilty. You will go to jail.”

The minister thought that she was innocent. He needed to expose the truth. He asked the duke to loan him one of his plants. He looked at it closely. He saw hundreds of small bugs eating it! Then the minister went to the jail and did something bold.

“Let this woman go,” he said.

The guards thought he was the duke. They let her go. The minister said, “I owe you an apology.”

“Thank you. I thought my stay in jail was permanent,” the woman answered.

The minister thought the duke would punish him. But he didn’t. The duke was too busy trying to preserve his plants.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. Why the duke was afraid of witches
    • b. How a minister did what was right
    • c. Why the duke loaned his brother a plant
    • d. How a woman was captured and taken to jail
  2. Why did the duke hire the men to watch the fields?
    • a. They had a bold plan to preserve the tobacco.
    • b. The tobacco plants were being destroyed.
    • c. He needed them to expose the truth.
    • d. He wanted permanent guards to watch the farmers.
  3. Who or what was destroying the tobacco plants?
    • a. An ordinary woman
    • b. Little bugs
    • c. A guilty witch
    • d. The symptoms of disease
  4. According to the passage, all the following are true EXCEPT ________.
    • a. the duke and the minister are twins
    • b. the minister pretended to be the duke
    • c. the duke gave an apology to the innocent woman
    • d. the guard said the woman pronounced magic words
  5. Why did the duke and the minister resemble each other?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. b
  2. b
  3. b
  4. c
  5. They resembled each other because they were twin brothers.
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