4000 Essential English Words 6 » Unit 1: The North Star

Word List
  • alleviate [əˈliːvieit] v.
    To alleviate pain or suffering means to make it less intense or severe.
    → She needed something to alleviate the pain in her back.
  • astrology [əsˈtrɒlədʒi] n.
    Astrology is the study of the stars in the belief that they influence people’s lives.
    → Jack, who studies astrology, believes that the stars can predict the future.
  • differentiate [difəˈrenʃieit] v.
    To differentiate things or people is to show the difference between them.
    → It was hard to differentiate between the identical twins.
  • disrupt [disˈrʌpt] v.
    To disrupt something or someone is to prevent them from working.
    → The loud crash disrupted the class lecture.
  • equation [iˈkweiʒən] n.
    An equation is a math operation to determine the value of something.
    → I used the Pythagorean theorem to solve the equation.
  • err [əːr] v.
    To err means to make a mistake.
    → The pilot erred in his estimate of the time it would take to make the trip.
  • erroneous [iˈrouniəs] adj.
    When something is erroneous, it is incorrect or only partly correct.
    → The child held the erroneous belief that time machines were real.
  • frantic [ˈfræntik] adj.
    If people or things are frantic, they behave in a wild way because they are frightened.
    → The cat became frantic when I tried to give it a bath.
  • hull [hʌl] n.
    The hull of a boat or tank is the main body of it.
    → Afterthe wreckatsea, the ship’s hull was the last part to sink.
  • inadvertent [inədˈvəːrtənt] adj.
    When an action is inadvertent, it is done without realizing what you are doing.
    → She made an inadvertent error when she knocked over the nail polish.
  • improvise [ˈimprəvaiz] v.
    To improvise something is to do it with whatever is available or without planning.
    → There was no meat for the pizza, so we improvised with what was in the fridge.
  • latitude [ˈlӕtətjuːd] n.
    The latitude of a place is its distance from the equator.
    → The device was able to tell the traveler his exact latitude.
  • mariner [ˈmærənə:r] n.
    A mariner is a sailor.
    → The old mariner used his telescope to find the shore.
  • multitude [ˈmʌltitjuːd] n.
    A multitude of things or people is a very large number of them.
    → A multitude of people were waiting at the airport.
  • nuisance [ˈnjuːsəns] n.
    A nuisance is a person or thing that is annoying or causes a lot of problems.
    → The teenager considered her noisy little brothers to be quite a nuisance.
  • permanence [ˈpəːrmənəns] n.
    The permanence of something is its ability to last forever.
    → Poor results will threaten the permanence of the new teaching system.
  • revolve [riˈvɒlv] v.
    To revolve around something is to keep it as the main feature or focus.
    → My life revolves around sports.
  • soothe [suːð] v.
    To soothe means to calm someone who is angry or upset.
    → The mother soothed her crying baby by rocking him in her arms.
  • stranded [ˈstrændid] adj.
    If someone is stranded, they are prevented from leaving a place.
    → When the plane left, my sister and I were stranded in China.
  • volatile [ˈvɒlətil] adj.
    When something is volatile, it is likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly.
    → The volatile volcano might explode at any moment.
Exercise 1

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

  1. He chose to paint a picture on the main body of the boat.
    ____________
  2. When the plane crashed on the island, the passenger knew he was prevented from leaving.
    ____________
  3. I admired the very large number of stamps in his collection.
    ____________
  4. I took some aspirin to make less my back pain.
    ____________
  5. The countries were concerned about the treaty’s ability to last forever.
    ____________
  6. Australia’s distance from the equator is less extreme than I imagined.
    ____________
  7. I’m still not sure if the math operation I did was correct.
    ____________
  8. When the rats got out of the cage, the girl was behaving in a wild way because of fear.
    ____________
  9. The incorrect or partly correct information gave us the wrong idea about the president.
    ____________
  10. When he forgot his rope at home, he had to make one using whatever was available.
    ____________
Exercise 2

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

WORD BLANK
nuisance latitude soothed multitude
mariners frantic hull erroneous
volatile stranded    

When the heat was turned off, we became quite 1___________.
When it finally came back on, our concerns and fears were 2___________.

The iceberg caused severe damage to the ship’s 3___________.
The motor stopped working, and the ship became 4___________.

When he has too much to drink, he can become quite 5___________.
His unpredictable behavior is not dangerous, but he is a 6___________.

During our journey, we arrived at the wrong 7___________.
I suppose our calculations were 8___________.

When the ship came in, I was surprised at the number of 9___________.
I thought there would only be a few sailors, but there was a 10___________.

Exercise 3

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

  1. ______ She loves to improvise peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.
  2. ______ Ice packs are sometimes used to alleviate headaches.
  3. ______ This math book is full of equations for students to practice.
  4. ______ The expert in astrology went to work every day to study rocks and soil.
  5. ______ This math problem is tricky, so be careful not to err.
  6. ______ The permanence of the flood was gone in a couple of days.
  7. ______ After months of planning, the inadvertent decision to sell the company was carried out.
  8. ______ The Earth and other planets revolve around the sun.
  9. ______ Two flat tires disrupted our drive to the countryside.
  10. ______ What differentiates Dan from his brother is Dan’s unmatched love of sports.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. hull
  2. stranded
  3. multitude
  4. alleviate
  5. permanence
  6. latitude
  7. equation
  8. frantic
  9. erroneous
  10. improvise
Exercise 2
  1. frantic
  2. soothed
  3. hull
  4. stranded
  5. volatile
  6. nuisance
  7. latitude
  8. erroneous
  9. mariners
  10. multitude
Exercise 3
  1. I
  2. C
  3. C
  4. I
  5. C
  6. I
  7. I
  8. C
  9. C
  10. C
Answer Key
The North Star

Among the multitude of stars in the universe, there are a couple that are of great importance to people on Earth. The sun, of course, is one of them. The other is known as Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is special because it is the only star that always appears to be in the same place in the sky. Therefore, Polaris is a great compass. When people in the northern hemisphere of Earth look toward Polaris, they can be certain that they are facing north. The permanence of Polaris in the north sky has helped countless people find their destinations.

Before the invention of modern navigation tools, mariners relied on Polaris. From the top of their hulls, sailors would look for Polaris to figure out their place at sea. They figured out the angle between the star and the horizon to determine their latitude. As long as the equations weren’t erroneous, the results were very reliable. Polaris also let sailors determine North, South, East, and West. By knowing directions and their location, mariners could easily navigate their ships.

To those who sail at night, volatile storms and dark clouds were more than nuisances. They could disrupt entire journeys by blocking the view of Polaris. A captain could err and make an inadvertent wrong turn. The ship could become stranded at sea, and the frantic captain would have no way to improvise to get the ship back on the right course. The mariner’s fears wouldn’t be soothed until the clouds cleared and Polaris came back into view. Even today, sailors sometimes opt to navigate by using Polaris on clear nights.

It’s not difficult to differentiate Polaris from other stars. The Big Dipper, a constellation that is well known in astrology, appears to revolve around Polaris. The handle of the Big Dipper always points to the North Star. When people get lost, it’s comforting to know that their problems can be alleviated by looking at the sky.

Reading Comprehension

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

  1. _____ Even today, sailors opt to improvise by using Polaris on clear nights.
    • _____________________________________________________
  2. _____ A ship could become stranded if a captain erred and made an inadvertent wrong turn.
    • _____________________________________________________
  3. _____ People who are lost can be alleviated by gazing up at a frantic sky.
    • _____________________________________________________
  4. _____ Volatile storms were more than nuisances because they disrupted entire journeys.
    • _____________________________________________________
  5. _____ It is not difficult to differentiate Polaris from the multitude of other stars in the universe.
    • _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. How did mariners determine their latitude from the top of their hulls?
    _____________
  2. What has the permanence of Polaris done for people?
    _____________
  3. How did sailors figure out latitude?
    _____________
  4. What well-known constellation in astrology revolves around Polaris?
    _____________
  5. On a cloudy night, when would a mariner finally feel soothed?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
Part A
  1. F / Even today, sailors opt to navigate by using Polaris on clear nights.
  2. T
  3. F / Lost people’s problems can be alleviated by gazing up at a starry night sky.
  4. T
  5. T
Part B
  1. They figured out the angle between the star and the horizon to determine their latitude.
  2. The permanence of Polaris in the north sky has helped countless people find their destinations.
  3. By figuring out the angle between the star and the horizon.
  4. The Big Dipper revolves around Polaris.
  5. When the clouds cleared and Polaris came back into view.
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