4000 Essential English Words 2 » Unit 7: A Beautiful Bird

Word List
  • basis [ˈbeɪsɪs] n.
    To do something on time’s basis is how often you do it.
    → My grandfather gets his hearing checked on a yearly basis.
  • biology [baɪˈɒlədʒɪ] n.
    Biology is the study of living things.
    → We learned about the human heart in biology class.
  • cage [keɪdʒ] n.
    A cage is something that holds an animal so it cannot leave.
    → We put the parrots in their cage at night.
  • colleague [ˈkɒliːg] n.
    A colleague is somebody you work with.
    → My colleague helped me finish the job.
  • colony [ˈkɒlənɪ] n.
    A colony is a country controlled by another country.
    → The USA was at one time a colony of Great Britain.
  • debate [dɪˈbeɪt] v.
    To debate is to seriously discuss something with someone.
    → The husband and wife debated over which TV to buy.
  • depart [dɪˈpɑːrt] v.
    To depart is to leave some place so you can go to another place.
    → The plane departed for Italy at 3:00 this afternoon.
  • depress [dɪˈpres] v.
    To depress someone is to make them sad.
    → The bad news from work depressed the man.
  • factual [ˈfæktjʊəl] adj.
    When something is factual, it is true.
    → John learns about history from factual books.
  • fascinate [ˈfæsəˌneɪt] v.
    To fascinate someone is to make them really like something.
    → The kitten was fascinated by the ball of yarn.
  • mission [ˈmɪʃən] n.
    A mission is an important job that is sometimes far away.
    → The woman’s mission was to help sick people.
  • nevertheless [ˌnevəðəˈles] adv.
    You use nevertheless to show that something goes against a fact.
    → He is usually friendly. Nevertheless, he wasn’t this afternoon.
  • occupation [ˌɒkjʊˈpeɪʃən] n.
    An occupation is a person’s job.
    → My father’s occupation is a dentist.
  • overseas [ˌəʊvəˈsiːz] adv.
    If you go overseas, you go to a country on the other side of an ocean.
    → John often goes overseas for vacations.
  • persuade [pəˈsweɪd] v.
    To persuade someone is to make them agree to do something.
    → The children persuaded their parents to buy them gifts.
  • route [ruːt] n.
    A route is the way you go from one place to another.
    → I saw many new houses along the route to the city.
  • ruins [ˈruːɪnz] n.
    Ruins are old buildings that are not used anymore.
    → I visited some interesting ruins in Greece.
  • scholar [ˈskɒlə:r] n.
    A scholar is a person who studies something and knows much about it.
    → The scholar knew much about art history.
  • significant [sɪgˈnɪfɪkənt] adj.
    When someone or something is significant, they are important.
    → I read many significant novels as a literature major in university.
  • volcano [vɒlˈkeɪnəʊ] n.
    A volcano is a mountain with a hole on top where hot liquid comes out.
    → When the volcano erupted, smoke and heat filled the air.
Exercise 1

Circle two words that are related in each group.

    • a. volcano
    • b. scholar
    • c. colleague
    • d. cage
    • a. persuade
    • b. basis
    • c. mission
    • d. debate
    • a. depress
    • b. colony
    • c. occupation
    • d. overseas
    • a. route
    • b. depart
    • c. cheer
    • d. fascinate
    • a. ruins
    • b. factual
    • c. significant
    • d. nevertheless
Exercise 2

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

  1. He had a very important job that he loved.
    m_ _ _ _ _ _
  2. Linda was happy that she had good people at work.
    col_ _ _ _ _ _ _
  3. Bernie had never taken that way home before.
    r_ _ _ _
  4. This is a true movie about her life.
    fac_ _ _ _
  5. Our country used to have one other country under our control.
    col_ _ _
Exercise 3

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

    • ____ a. Scholars can teach you many things that you didn’t know.
    • ____ b. Some people like to live in cities, while others like to live in ruins.
    • ____ a. Most people fly on a plane when they go overseas.
    • ____ b. You should watch factual movies if you want to laugh.
    • ____ a. Many people feel happy when they depart on a trip.
    • ____ b. Doctors never persuade people to take medicine.
    • ____ a. If you travel overseas, you are still in the same country.
    • ____ b. Seeing new things fascinates most people.
    • ____ a. Some people like to visit ruins to learn about the past.
    • ____ b. Getting something they want often depresses people.
    • ____ a. Some students like biology because they learn about rocks.
    • ____ b. When people debate about something, they have different ideas.
    • ____ a. You should see a scholar if you don’t want to do your homework.
    • ____ b. People who talk about sad things can depress you.
    • ____ a. Some students debate to get their work done faster.
    • ____ b. I tried to persuade my friends to meet me for lunch today.
    • ____ a. If you study biology, you will learn about different animals.
    • ____ b. People fall asleep when a movie fascinates them.
    • ____ a. If you depart late, you can get to school early.
    • ____ b. People who like to know the truth like factual stories.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. b, c
  2. a, d
  3. b, d
  4. a, b
  5. b, c
Exercise 2
  1. mission
  2. colleagues
  3. route
  4. factual
  5. colony
Exercise 3
  1. a
  2. a
  3. a
  4. b
  5. a
  6. b
  7. b
  8. b
  9. a
  10. b
Answer Key
A Beautiful Bird

Dr. Norton’s occupation was a scholar of biology. He learned about all animals on a daily basis. One day he met a sailor from a colony overseas. The man told Dr. Norton about a talking bird! The bird fascinated Dr. Norton, so he told his colleagues about it. They debated with him: no one thought a bird could talk. He tried to persuade them, but they laughed at him. Nevertheless, Dr. Norton believed the bird was real. His new mission was to find it. He wanted factual proof.

The next day he departed for the colony. The sailor he had met told him to look for a man named Jai, who would be able to help him in his search. After a month of sailing, Dr. Norton finally reached the colony where he met Jai.

“I can take you to where it lives. It lives by the volcano,” Jai said. They left the next day. A week later, they arrived at the volcano. Every day they walked around and looked for the bird, but they couldn’t find it. After one month, Dr. Norton could not find the bird, and this depressed him. He decided to go home. On the route back, he walked past some old ruins. He heard someone say, “Hello.”

“Who are you?” he asked. Dr. Norton looked up and saw a bird!

Dr. Norton put the talking bird into a cage. Then he returned home. He had made a significant discovery.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. A route to a new place
    • b. A scholar who finds a talking bird
    • c. How to learn about biology
    • d. Why people debate each other
  2. Why did Dr. Norton go overseas?
    • a. He wanted to depart from his colleagues and start a new life.
    • b. He was on a mission to find the talking bird.
    • c. He wanted to see the volcano.
    • d. He wanted to discover some old ruins.
  3. At the end of the story, we can infer that __________ .
    • a. Jai didn’t like Dr. Norton but nevertheless cheered his discovery
    • b. finding the volcano was also a significant discovery
    • c. the bird would be the factual proof that would persuade his colleagues
    • d. the bird had fascinated people in the colony for a long time
  4. According to the passage, all the following are true EXCEPT __________ .
    • a. Jai fed bread to the talking bird
    • b. Dr. Norton put the bird into a cage
    • c. Dr. Norton took a ship to the colony
    • d. the talking bird was in the ruins
  5. What depressed Dr. Norton?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
  1. b
  2. b
  3. c
  4. a
  5. He could not find the talking bird after looking for one month.
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