Unit 2: The Shepherd and the Wild Sheep

4000 Essential English Words 3 » Unit 2: The Shepherd and the Wild Sheep

Word List

acquire [əˈkwaɪər] v.

To acquire something is to gain possession of it.

→ Tina acquired a strange package yesterday.
awkward [ˈɔːkwərd] adj.

If something is awkward, it is embarrassing and uncomfortable.

→ After dropping his coffee cup, Robbie felt awkward.
caretaker [ˈkɛərteɪkər]

A caretaker is a person who takes care of very young, old, or sick people.

→ My grandmother’s caretaker helps her get around the house.
deceive [dɪˈsiːv] v.

To deceive someone is to make them believe something that is not true.

→ He tried to deceive his friends as they were playing a game.
discourage [dɪsˈkə:rɪdʒ] v.

To discourage someone is to make them feel less excited about something.

→ Mr. Perry discouraged the students from quitting school.
fake [feɪk] adj.

If something is fake, it is made to look real in order to trick people.

→ The model was wearing fake eyelashes.
hatred [ˈheɪtrɪd] n.

Hatred is a strong feeling of not liking someone or something.

→ I have a hatred for the taste of medicine.
hut [hʌt] n.

A hut is a house made of wood, grass, or mud that has only one or two rooms.

→ We all went into the hut to sleep.
inferior [ɪnˈfɪərɪər] adj.

If something is inferior, it is not as good as something else.

→ Cars built a hundred years ago are inferior to ones built today.
lodge [lɒdʒ] n.

A lodge is a house in the mountains, used by people who hunt or fish.

→ During our ski trip, we stayed at a lodge.
neglect [nɪˈglekt] v.

To neglect someone or something is to not take care of it properly.

→ William neglected his room, so it is a complete mess.
newcomer [ˈnjuːˌkʌmə:r] n.

A newcomer is a person who has recently arrived at a place or a group.

→ The students happily welcomed the newcomer to the school.
offense [əfens] n.

An offense is behavior that is wrong or breaks a law.

→ Stealing a car is a very serious offense.
overlook [əuvəˈluk] v.

To overlook something is to not notice it, or to not realize that it is important.

→ Brenda overlooked the last step and had a bad fall.
repay [riːˈpeɪ] v.

To repay is to pay back or to reward someone or something.

→ She repaid her friend for all of his hard work with a small gift.
ridiculous [rɪˈdɪkjələs] adj.

If something is ridiculous, it is silly or strange.

→ Steve looked ridiculous with those huge blue sunglasses.
satisfactory [ˌsætɪsˈfæktərɪ] adj.

If something is satisfactory, it is good enough.

→ Mina often received satisfactory grades since she studied so hard.
shepherd [ˈʃepə:rd] n.

A shepherd is a person who protects and cares for sheep.

→ The shepherd moved the sheep to another field.
venture [ˈventʃər] v.

To venture is to go to a place that may be dangerous.

→ Even though it was dangerous, they ventured up the mountain.
wheat [hwiːt] n.

Wheat is a plant which makes grain. Wheat grain is used to make bread.

→ The field of golden wheat was ready to be harvested.

Exercise 1

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

a strong feeling of not liking someone or something
- a. deceive
- b. repay
- c. offense
- d. hatred
not as good as
- a. inferior
- b. hatred
- c. satisfactory
- d. venture
to get something
- a. overlook
- b. discourage
- c. lodge
- d. acquire
to go to a dangerous place
- a. wheat
- b. venture
- c. newcomer
- d. caretaker
a plant that makes grain
- a. fake
- b. wheat
- c. shepherd
- d. hut

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

satisfactory
- a. to pretend
- b. to care for
- c. good enough
- d. project
newcomer
- a. not comfortable
- b. someone new to a place
- c. not as good as
- d. a glass lamp
repay
- a. to give back
- b. to not pay attention to
- c. a house for hunting
- d. a bad thing that someone does
fake
- a. to fail to notice
- b. not real
- c. to get
- d. to protect
discouraged
- a. high place
- b. to dislike a lot
- c. not real
- d. less excited

Exercise 2

Circle two words that are related in each group.

- a. discourage
- b. lodge
- c. venture
- d. hut
- a. shepherd
- b. caretaker
- c. repay
- d. wheat
- a. offense
- b. fake
- c. hatred
- d. deceive
- a. acquire
- b. awkward
- c. newcomer
- d. ridiculous
- a. overlook
- b. inferior
- c. neglect
- d. satisfactory

Exercise 3

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

fake / newcomers
- The girl didn’t tike the _______________, so she played a joke on them. She put _______________bugs in their drinks.
acquire / lodge
- Dave hoped to _______________ a new house. The _______________ where he lived was too old.
repay / neglected
- She was eager to _______________ the boy that had helped her repair her bike. While others had simply _______________ her, he was happy to help.
offenses / discouraged
- Going to jail _______________ the man from any _______________ in the future.
shepherd / venturing
- In the middle of the storm, the _______________ looked for his lost sheep by _______________ up the mountain.
deceive / ridiculous
- My little brother tried to _______________ us by dressing in Dad’s clothes, but he just looked _______________.
wheat / hut
- The farmer built his _______________ close to the _______________ field so he could constantly watch it.
awkward / caretaker
- After the _______________ started a small fire in the kitchen, he felt very _______________.
overlook / inferior
- Most shoppers tend to _______________ any products that they think are _______________ to similar things.
hatred / satisfactory
- She had a _______________ for food with tomatoes, but everything else on the menu was _______________.

Answer Key

Exercise 1

Part A

c
a
d
b
b

Part B

c
b
a
b
d

Exercise 2

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

Exercise 3

newcomers / fake
acquire / lodge
discouraged / offenses
shepherd / venturing
deceive / ridiculous
deceive / ridiculous
hut / wheat
caretaker / awkward
overlook / inferior
hatred / satisfactory

Answer Key

The Shepherd and the Wild Sheep

Once there was a shepherd. Every night he counted and gathered his sheep. He was sure never to overlook any of them. One night, he saw some wild sheep had joined his herd. He hoped to acquire the newcomers.

It snowed that night. In the morning, the shepherd couldn’t take his sheep out of his lodge. Instead, he had to feed them inside. He gave a small amount of wheat to his own sheep. But he gave more of the food to the wild sheep. He thought the extra wheat would discourage them from leaving.

It snowed for several days. During that time, the shepherd’s sheep ate very little. The wild sheep, however, ate very well.

At last, the snow melted, and they ventured outdoors. As soon as he opened the door of his hut, the wild sheep started to run away.

“Wait! This is how you repay me? After I treated you so kindly, why do you run away?” the shepherd asked. His voice was full of hatred.

The wild sheep stopped and turned toward the shepherd.

“We’re leaving because you fed us better than your own sheep,” one of the wild sheep replied. “You tried to deceive us with your ridiculous plan. Yesterday you treated us kindly, but tomorrow you might be different. If more wild sheep joined your herd, you would treat us as inferior sheep.”

As the wild sheep ran away, the shepherd understood his offense. He knew this awkward situation was his own fault. He had not been a satisfactory caretaker. He was a fake friend to the wild sheep. Because of this, he had neglected his own herd.

Reading Comprehension

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

_____ The shepherd counted his sheep because he didn’t want to overlook any of them.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The shepherd couldn’t take the sheep outside because it was dark outside.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The shepherd gave a little wheat to the wild sheep. But he gave his own sheep more.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The wild sheep ran away from the shepherd after the snow melted.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The wild sheep thought the shepherd had neglected his own sheep.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The shepherd never knew what he had done wrong.
- _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

What was the shepherd’s hope for the wild sheep?
- a. That they wouldn’t be awkward
- b. That they would feel hatred for him
- c. That he could acquire them
- d. That he could repay them
How did the shepherd hope to discourage the wild sheep from running away?
- a. By giving them extra food
- b. By locking them in his hut
- c. By selling his own sheep
- d. By being their friend
All of the following describe what kind of caretaker the shepherd was EXCEPT _____ .
- a. fake
- b. ridiculous
- c. inferior
- d. satisfactory
What was the shepherd’s offense?
- a. He never acquired the wild sheep.
- b. He trapped the sheep in his lodge.
- c. He hurt the wild sheep.
- d. He did not care for his own sheep.

Answer Key

Reading Comprehension

Part A

T
F / The shepherd couldn't take the sheep outside because it was too cold.
F / The shepherd gave the wild sheep more wheat than his own.
T
T
F / The shepherd realized that he was wrong.

Part B

c
a
d
d

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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