Unit 19: The Magic Pear Tree

4000 Essential English Words 3 » Unit 19: The Magic Pear Tree

Word List

bench [bentʃ] n.

A bench is a long seat for two or more people.

→ Most parks have benches for citizens to relax upon.
confront [kənˈfrʌnt] v.

To confront a hard situation or person is to deal with it.

→ The couple has to confront each other about their problems.
daisy [ˈdeɪzɪ] n.

A daisy is a small flower with white petals and a yellow center.

→ There were a few daisies growing in the field.
dispute [diˈspjuːt] n.

A dispute is an argument or disagreement that people have.

→ Karen and Brian often have disputes about silly things.
horror [ˈhɔ:rər] n.

Horror is a feeling of being very afraid or shocked.

→ The audience screamed in horror when the ghost appeared in the movie.
incident [ˈɪnsədənt] n.

An incident is an event that is usually not pleasant.

→ Mr. Wilson had an incident where he became sick and had to leave.
mist [mist] n.

Mist is water that you can see in the air or on a surface.

→ The forest was covered with mist.
object [ˈɒbdʒɪkt] n.

An object is an inanimate thing that you can see or touch.

→ The shopping cart was filled with objects.
orphan [ˈɔːrfən] n.

An orphan is a child who does not have parents.

→ The orphan frequently cried during the night.
plot [plɔt] v.

To plot is to make a secret plan to do something that is wrong or mean.

→ The group was plotting to ruin the company’s financial reports.
pregnant [ˈpregnənt] adj.

When a female is pregnant, she is going to have a baby.

→ The pregnant woman was shopping for baby clothes.
rage [reɪdʒ] n.

Rage is a very angry feeling.

→ The chef was filled with rage when his helpers ruined the meal.
revenge [rɪˈvendʒ] n.

Revenge is what you do to hurt or punish someone who hurts you.

→ He broke his sister’s doll as revenge after she lost his favorite book.
shame [ʃeɪm] n.

Shame is a bad feeling about things you have done wrong.

→ The boy felt shame about misplacing his clothes.
sigh [saɪ] v.

To sigh is to breathe out loudly and show that you are tired or sad.

→ Molly sighed when she looked at all the information she had to research.
sneak [sniːk] v.

To sneak is to move quietly so that no one hears or sees you.

→ The thief snuck out of the house without anyone noticing him.
spare [spɛə:r] v.

To spare something is to give it because you have more than you need.

→ I wanted to help him but I couldn’t spare a tire.
stem [stem] n.

The stem of a plant is the stick that grows leaves or flowers.

→ The rose had a long thin stem.
supper [ˈsʌpər] n.

Supper is a meal that is eaten in the evening.

→ We usually have supper around 6 o ’clock at my house.
tender [ˈtendə:r] adj.

When something is tender, it is soft and easy to chew.

→ The meat was so tender they didn’t need knives to cut it with.

Exercise 1

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

to deal with a difficult situation
- a. revenge
- b. confront
- c. supper
- d. object
a part of a flower
- a. horror
- b. mist
- c. bench
- d. stem
soft and easy to chew
- a. tender
- b. retreat
- c. steep
- d. summit
feeling of being afraid
- a. incident
- b. pregnant
- c. horror
- d. spare
to breathe air
- a. sigh
- b. daisy
- c. shame
- d. orphan

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

bench
- a. quiet
- b. a seat
- c. no parents
- d. meal
plot
- a. to plan
- b. a flower
- c. to get even
- d. soft
supper
- a. a hard situation
- b. breathe
- c. meal
- d. flower part
dispute
- a. an argument
- b. a shock
- c. flat rock
- d. a baby
incident
- a. water
- b. to feel bad
- c. extra
- d. a bad event

Exercise 2

Choose the answer that best fits the question.

If a child loses their parents, what do they become?
- a. A daisy
- b. An orphan
- c. A spare
- d. An object
What would you call someone who can spare time to help you?
- a. greedy
- b. mean
- c. kind
- d. arrogant
What is something that would fill you with shame?
- a. Buying new shoes
- b. Stealing from your grandparents
- c. Eating cake
- d. Buying some books
What would put a person in a rage?
- a. Getting a new job
- b. A bright sunny day
- c. Meeting friends
- d. Someone stealing their car
If you sneak, what are you doing?
- a. Loudly talking
- b. Trying not to be seen
- c. Trying not to be heard
- d. Happily singing

Exercise 3

Choose the word that is the better fit for each blank.

mist / daisy
- She went to the lawn and cut a ____________ from the garden. It smelled good and was covered in ____________ .
dispute / confronted
- The employees had a long ____________ with the owner over their low pay. Eventually, one worker ____________ the owner and was finally able to solve the problem.
bench / sighed
- She looked across the schoolyard, hoping to find an empty ____________ where she could rest. Since they were all full, she ____________ and sat on the ground instead.
incident / horror
- The ____________ of the car accident made him too scared to drive. It wasn’t until three years after the ____________ that he got into a car again.
pregnant / spare
- The ____________ woman couldn’t go to work anymore, so she had a lot of to ____________ with her hobbies.
revenge / plotted
- He wasn’t usually a person who tried to get ____________ . However, when he learned that his classmates had ____________ against him, he changed his position.
stems / rage
- A dog got into the garden and ate all the flowers, leaving behind only the ____________ . When the owner found out, he felt ____________ .
tender / supper
- Mr. Holloway cooked hamburgers and vegetables for ____________ yesterday. Everything was cooked very well. The meat was juicy and the vegetables were ____________ .
sneak / orphan
- The ____________ didn’t have anybody to take care of him. He often had to ____________ into empty houses during the winter just to keep warm.
shame / objects
- A thief had taken several ____________ from the museum. After a few days, however, he felt a sense of ____________ and returned everything.

Answer Key

Exercise 1

Part A

b
d
a
c
a

Part B

b
a
c
a
d

Exercise 2

b
c
b
d
b

Exercise 3

daisy, mist
dispute, confronted
bench, sighed
horror, incident
pregnant, spare
revenge, plotted
stems, rage
supper, tender
orphan, sneak
objects, shame

Answer Key

The Magic Pear Tree

It was a cool morning, and the grass was covered in mist. The market was full of people. A mean farmer named Jack yelled, “ Pears for sale!” He sat on a bench, plotting how he could trick people. Then an orphan came to his cart.

“ Can you spare a pear?” she asked.

Jack felt rage. He replied, “You don’t have any money!”

“ Please, I haven’t had supper in days.”

“ No!” shouted the farmer.

The orphan sighed. However, a pregnant lady heard the dispute and confronted Jack. “ Just give her a pear,” she said. Jack had no shame and said no. Finally, a man bought a pear for the girl.

The girl quickly ate it, but she saved the seed. She wanted to get revenge.

She told Jack, “ I know a way to get hundreds of pears in one day. I’ll show you how.”

He watched the girl dig a hole. She dropped the seed into the ground. Then she spread the dirt over it.

“ Watch closely,” she said. “ In a few minutes, a stem will grow. It’ll turn into a tree that’s full of pears!”

Jack stared at the dirt, but nothing happened. The only objects there were a few daisies. He looked for the girl, but she had snuck away.

Then he looked at his cart in horror. It was empty! He suddenly realized that the orphan had tricked him. While Jack was waiting for the tree to grow, the people had taken the pears from his cart. They all laughed while they were eating the tender fruit. The farmer felt ashamed. The incident taught him to be kinder.

Reading Comprehension

Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

_____ The orphan wanted the farmer to give her a pear.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The farmer didn’t feel shame about being unkind until after the incident.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The people in the marketplace plotted to get revenge against the farmer.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The girl sighed because she was tired of waiting for the tree to grow.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The girl snuck away before the farmer could confront her
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The orphan ate a large supper the night before.
- _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

What object did the girl keep after she ate the pear?
- a. The seed
- b. The stem
- c. A daisy
- d. The cart
What was the dispute between the orphan and the farmer about?
- a. The girl wanted a spare pear.
- b. The farmer felt rage about the girl.
- c. The girl sat on his bench.
- d. The farmer’s pears were too expensive.
What did the girl do immediately after she put the seed in the ground?
- a. She asked the farmer to watch closely.
- b. She ate the pear.
- c. She spread the dirt over it.
- d. She dug a hole.
What happened to the farmer’s pears at the end of the story?
- a. They were stolen by the crowd.
- b. They were all sold.
- c. They were given away.
- d. They were taken by the girl.

Answer Key

Reading Comprehension

Part A

T
T
F / The girl plotted to get revenge against the farmer.
F / The girl sighed because the farmer wouldn’t give her a pear.
T
F / The orphan hadn’t eaten supper for days.

Part B

a
a
c
a

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 2

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 2: 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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