4000 Essential English Words 5 » Unit 7: Small World

Word List
  • aquatic [əˈkwætik] adj.
    If a plant or animal is aquatic, it lives or grows in water.
    → The dolphin is an aquatic mammal.
  • biosphere [ˈbaiəsfiər] adj.
    The biosphere is the earth’s surface and atmosphere where there are living things.
    → Birds, trees, and worms all thrive in the biosphere.
  • bizarre [biˈzaːr] adj.
    When something is bizarre, it is very strange.
    → My bizarre dreams make no sense to me when I am awake.
  • Celsius [ˈselsiəs] n.
    Celsius is a scale for measuring temperature.
    → Water freezes at zero degrees Celsius.
  • coarse [kɔːrs] adj.
    If something is coarse, that means it has a rough texture.
    → The coarse sweater made my skin itch.
  • companion [kəmˈpænjən] n.
    A companion is a person that someone spends a lot of time with.
    → I always walk to school with my companion Frank.
  • digest [diˈdʒest] v.
    To digest means to swallow food and pass it through the body.
    → Allow some time for food to be digested before going swimming.
  • duration [djuəˈreiʃən] n.
    The duration of an event is the time during which it happens.
    → The girls watched television for the duration of the evening.
  • ecology [i:kɒlədʒi] n.
    Ecology is the study of the environment and living things.
    → We study ecology to learn how to help improve the Earth.
  • feat [fiːt] n.
    A feat is an impressive or difficult achievement or action.
    → The elephant’s standing up on one leg was a feat.
  • infinite [ˈinfənit] adj.
    If something is infinite, it has no limit or end.
    → Many scientists believe that the universe is infinite.
  • nucleus [ˈnjuːkliəs] n.
    The nucleus is the central part of an atom or cell.
    → The nucleus is made up of many tiny particles.
  • parasite [ˈpӕrəsait] n.
    A parasite is a tiny animal or plant that attaches to another animal to get food.
    → The sick dog was covered in parasites.
  • prominent [ˈprɒmənənt] adj.
    When something is prominent, it is important and well known.
    → Queen Victoria was a prominent person in history.
  • repetitive [riˈpetətiv] adj.
    When something is repetitive, it is repeated many times and becomes boring.
    → Working on an assembly line making cars every day is a repetitive job.
  • reproductive [riːprəˈdʌktiv] adj.
    If something is reproductive, it has to do with a living thing producing young.
    → The reproductive system of a plant is simple.
  • temperate [ˈtempərit] adj.
    When a place is temperate, it never gets too hot or cold.
    → In Peru, the weather is temperate and rarely gets too hot or cold.
  • tolerance [ˈtɒlərəns] n.
    Tolerance is the ability to accept something painful or unpleasant.
    → Boxers have a high tolerance for pain.
  • undergo [ˈʌndərˈgou] v.
    To undergo an action means to have it happen to you.
    → The cancer patient undergoes treatments twice a week. gous
  • vulnerable [ˈvʌlnərəbəl] adj.
    When someone is vulnerable, they are weak and without protection.
    → He felt very vulnerable when he was stranded in the desert.
Exercise 1

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

WORD BLANK
temperate companion ecology vulnerable
parasite Celsius aquatic bizarre
biosphere feat    

The climate where I live is very 1___________.
It never drops below 10 degrees 2___________.

I learned about a tiny animal called a 3___________.
Some live on land, and others are 4___________.

The strange old man’s behavior is quite 5___________.
The plastic chicken he takes with him everywhere is his only 6___________.

Jim loves every type of plant and animal in the 7___________.
Therefore, he is going to college to study 8___________.

Without his shield, the sword fighter was 9___________.
Defeating his enemy without protection was an amazing 10___________.

Exercise 2

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

  1. Dogs do not have the ability to bear the pain to high pitched noises.
    ____________
  2. The boring and repeating sounds from a ticking clock can make some people annoyed.
    ____________
  3. My sister is a well-known and important musician.
    ____________
  4. I used my microscope to see the cell’s central part.
    ____________
  5. The rough fur of the gorilla is a defining trait.
    ____________
Exercise 3

Write C if the italicized word is used correctly. Write I if the word is used incorrectly.

  1. ______ The reproductive process in rabbits explains how they hunt for food.
  2. ______ In Biology class, we learned about the different parts of a cell’s nucleus.
  3. ______ It is hard for some people to remain silent for the duration of a long movie.
  4. ______ I could listen to my favorite song all day. I have tolerance for great music.
  5. ______ I will have to undergo through the tunnel to get home.
  6. ______ This blanket is not very comfortable. It would be better if it was not so coarse.
  7. ______ She has exactly twenty jelly beans, which is an infinite amount.
  8. ______ The boy became a prominent figure in town after he saved the woman’s life.
  9. ______ Her new car is bizarre. It has five wheels and no doors!
  10. ______ There is no life on Venus, so researchers study its ecology instead.
  11. ______ The vulnerable lion roared and scared away the zebras.
  12. ______ Fish must live in aquatic environments.
  13. ______ The circus performers were capable of many wonderful feats.
  14. ______ The repetitive sound of ocean waves helps me to fall asleep.
  15. ______ The cake digested the delicious cookies.
  16. ______ The temperate nights were almost too cold to bear.
  17. ______ Parasites are independent forms of life.
  18. ______ I don’t want to go alone. I wish I had a companion.
  19. ______ Will you please Celsius the temperature outside?
  20. ______ The drawing of the earth showed the different elements of the biosphere.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. temperate
  2. Celsius
  3. parasite
  4. aquatic
  5. bizarre
  6. companion
  7. biosphere
  8. ecology
  9. vulnerable
  10. feat
Exercise 2
  1. tolerance
  2. repetitive
  3. prominent
  4. nucleus
  5. coarse
Exercise 3
  1. I
  2. C
  3. C
  4. I
  5. I
  6. C
  7. I
  8. C
  9. C
  10. I
  11. I
  12. C
  13. C
  14. C
  15. I
  16. I
  17. I
  18. C
  19. I
  20. C
Answer Key
Small World

Even though people can’t see me, I’m an important part of Earth’s biosphere. Scientists who study ecology know that I was the first life form on Earth. There is more of my kind than any other plant or animal in the world. Without me, other plants and animals would not even exist, lama protist, and my tiny body is made up of one single cell.

In my small world, things can be absolutely bizarre. Unlike most aquatic plants and animals, I don’t need a temperate climate. I have a very high tolerance for extreme conditions. Right now, I’m swimming around in a bucket of boiling water! The temperature is 150 degrees Celsius, but I feel comfortable. I have coarse hairs called cilia that help me swim around in here. I move my cilia in a repetitive motion for the duration of my swim. I cannot go very fast, though. It takes me about five minutes to swim a distance of just one millimeter!

When I get hungry, I look for tiny, vulnerable parasites. I swim up to one and swallow it whole. I digest things much like people do. I have an organ that works just like a human stomach. After I eat, I release nitrogen gas. Nitrogen is a prominent gas in the earth’s atmosphere. Other plants and animals need my nitrogen to survive.

My reproductive ability is my most unique trait. I don’t need a companion to mate with. Instead, I undergo a process called fission, where my own nucleus splits in half. An exact copy of my nucleus is made, which forms into another protist. It really is an impressive feat. I can create an infinite number of new protists all by myself!

Reading Comprehension

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

  1. _____ Protists have a high tolerance for temperate conditions.
    • _____________________________________________________
  2. _____ Things in an aquatic protist’s world can be absolutely bizarre.
    • _____________________________________________________
  3. _____ A protist splits its companion’s nucleus in fission.
    • _____________________________________________________
  4. _____ Coarse cilia move in a repetitive motion for the duration of a protist’s swim.
    • _____________________________________________________
  5. _____ An infinite number of new protists can be created by the impressive feat of fission.
    • _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. What temperature, in degrees Celsius, could the protist be comfortable in?
    _____________
  2. What do scientists who study ecology know about protists?
    _____________
  3. What prominent thing does a protist release into the biosphere?
    _____________
  4. How does a protist catch vulnerable parasites to digest?
    _____________
  5. What unique reproductive process does a protist undergo?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
Part A
  1. F / Protists have a high tolerance for extreme conditions.
  2. T
  3. F / A protist splits its own nucleus in fission.
  4. T
  5. T
Part B
  1. The protest could be comfortable in water that was 150 degrees Celsius.
  2. Protists were the first life form on Earth.
  3. A protists releases nitrogen gas.
  4. It swims up to one and swallows it whole.
  5. A protists undergoes the reproductive process of fission.
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