Unit 11: The Lydian King

4000 Essential English Words 6 » Unit 11: The Lydian King

Word List

advocate [ˈædvəkeit] v.

To advocate a plan or idea is to support or suggest it in public.

→ The group advocated increased spending on education and schools.
authorize [ˈɔːθəraiz] v.

To authorize something means to give permission for it.

→ The mayor authorized the construction of a new statue in the park.
civilian [siˈviljən] n.

A civilian is someone who is not in the military.

→ It was Todd’s job to keep civilians from entering the army facility.
commodity [kəˈmɒdəti] n.

A commodity is something that can be bought or sold.

→ Fran’s uncle made most of his money trading commodities.
conquest [ˈkɒŋkwest] n.

A conquest is an event by which one country takes over another country.

→ After the conquest, the people of the small city had no freedom.
disclose [disˈklouz] v.

To disclose something means to tell it to someone else.

→ John came home late, so he had to disclose his activities to his wife.
dynamics [daiˈnæmiks] n.

The dynamics of a situation are the way that parts of it affect each other.

→ A good psychologist needs to know a lot about the dynamics of brain disorders.
enroll [enˈroul] v.

To enroll in something is to put one’s name on a list as a member of a group.

→ The students had to enroll in the class one semester in advance.
envious [ˈenviəs] adj.

When someone is envious, they want something that another person has.

→ They were envious of their neighbor’s front yard.
euphoria [juːˈfɔːriə] n.

Euphoria is a feeling of extreme happiness.

→ The athlete felt euphoria after he won the important game.
festive [ˈfestiv] adj.

When something is festive, it is happy and related to a party or celebration.

→ Dean’s favorite part of Christmas is the festive clothing that people wear.
jolly [ˈdʒɒli] adj.

When someone is jolly, they are cheerful and happy.

→ My grandmother’s jolly attitude always made me smile.
lentil [ˈlentil] n.

Lentils are very small beans that people cook and eat.

→ Danni made her special soup with lentils when her husband was sick.
marshal [ˈmɑːrʃəl] v.

To marshal a group means to assemble them in order.

→ The students were marshaled outside and put into groups.
morale [mouˈræl] n.

Morale is the amount of hope that people have during a difficult situation.

→ To improve our family’s morale, mom suggested going on a picnic.
prophecy [ˈprɒfəsi] n.

A prophecy is a prediction about what will happen in the future.

→ Some people believe that prophecies are actually true.
sage [seidʒ] n.

A sage is someone who is very wise.

→ Hal always visited the local sage for help with love.
senate [ˈsenət] n.

A senate is a part of the government in some countries.

→ Everybody liked Caroline and chose her to speak for them in the senate.
sentiment [ˈsentəmənt] n.

A sentiment is an opinion based on your feelings.

→ Tess told everyone at the table her sentiments about eating meat.
unrest [ʌnˈrest] n.

Unrest is a state of anger about something among the people in a place.

→ High taxes caused much of the unrest that led to the Revolutionary War.

Exercise 1

Choose the answer that best fits the question.

Who is a person with the power to authorize a war?
- a. A teacher
- b. A guard
- c. A chef
- d. A president
Which of the following might give you euphoria?
- a. Winning a great prize
- b. Falling off your bike
- c. Having your jacket stolen
- d. Cutting your finger
What best describes a sage?
- a. Alert
- b. Intelligent
- c. Heavy
- d. Unreliable
Which of the following is a valuable commodity?
- a. Oil
- b. Mountains
- c. Rainwater
- d. Grass
What might cause unrest at a school?
- a. Students receiving lunch for free
- b. Students getting rewarded for good grades
- c. Students having daily tests
- d. Students being told to go home early

Exercise 2

Choose the one that is opposite in meaning to the given word.

authorize
- a. make easy
- b. reinforce
- c. declare
- d. reject
conquest
- a. combination
- b. liberation
- c. eliminate
- d. shortage
disclose
- a. conceal
- b. support
- c. dry out
- d. show as guilty
euphoria
- a. measurement
- b. suggestion
- c. depression
- d. untruthfulness
unrest
- a. no planning
- b. peace
- c. early stage
- d. generosity
sage
- a. fool
- b. stubborn
- c. gloomy
- d. praiseworthy
civilian
- a. traditionalist
- b. salesman
- c. preacher
- d. soldier
festive
- a. honest
- b. penniless
- c. unhappy
- d. unchanging
enroll
- a. quit
- b. imply
- c. enlist
- d. make better
advocate
- a. fallen
- b. sinner
- c. antisocial
- d. oppose

Exercise 3

Choose the one that is similar in meaning to the given word.

lentil
- a. prize
- b. bean
- c. nut
- d. coin
envious
- a. awkward
- b. sensible
- c. jealous
- d. cowardly
commodity
- a. product
- b. inactivity
- c. genius
- d. act of scolding
dynamics
- a. angry speech
- b. edge of
- c. aspects
- d. enthusiasm
prophecy
- a. comes before
- b. prediction
- c. true story
- d. large amount
morale
- a. goodness
- b. confidence
- c. sympathy
- d. temperature
marshal
- a. assemble
- b. promise
- c. attempt
- d. contain
jolly
- a. inspiring
- b. appealing
- c. merry
- d. rational
senate
- a. nice feeling
- b. aspiration
- c. school
- d. government
sentiment
- a. confidence
- b. effort
- c. acceptance
- d. opinion

Exercise 4

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

______ Janice’s dad was a part of the senate. He fixed cars all day.
______ Damon read about the Roman conquest of northern Africa. He was amazed by all the places that the Romans took over.
______ The teacher understood the dynamics between instructors and students in the classroom.
______ Mariah enrolled the clothes and put them in her drawer.
______ Sheldon was a vegetarian. He advocated for people not to eat meat.

Answer Key

Exercise 1

d
a
b
a
c

Exercise 2

d
b
a
c
b
a
d
c
a
d

Exercise 3

b
c
a
c
b
b
a
c
d
d

Exercise 4

I
C
C
I
C

Answer Key

The Lydian King

King Croesus was once one of the richest kings in the world. He ruled over Lydia, an ancient empire located near modern-day Turkey and controlled a valuable commodity: gold. Many people were very envious of him.

One day, a messenger disclosed some interesting news: political unrest in Persia had weakened the empire. Before then, the Persians had taken over many countries. Many leaders were scared of the Persian conquest. But King Croesus understood the dynamics of war better than most. He decided that it would be a good time to try to beat the Persians while they were weak.

He advocated starting war, but nobody shared his sentiment. Then he asked a wise member of the senate who was visiting from Athens. The sage didn’t say whether he should attack the Persians or not. He only warned him that his good luck wouldn’t last.

Finally, King Croesus sent a messenger to visit the Oracle, a special lady who could see % the future. The messenger gave the Oracle jugs of wine and baskets of lentils in order to make her happy.

When the messenger came back, he was in a festive mood.

“What was the Oracle’s prophecy?” asked King Croesus.

The jolly messenger responded, “She said that if you attack Persia, you will destroy a great empire.”

The news filled Croesus with euphoria. After hearing the Oracle’s prophecy, many civilians enrolled in the Lydian army. The king marshaled his troops and prepared them for a war with Persia. Their morale was high because they were sure they would win. Soon, King Croesus authorized an attack against the Persians.

However, the Persian army was still very strong. After a few months of fighting, it was obvious that the Oracle’s prophecy had come true: by attacking the Persians, King Croesus had destroyed a great empire—his own! King Croesus should have considered the advice more carefully.

Reading Comprehension

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

_____ People were envious of King Croesus because he understood the dynamics of war better than anybody else.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The messenger disclosed that the Persians were in a state of unrest.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The sage man from the senate was the only one that shared the king’s sentiment.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The messenger gave the Oracle jugs of wine and baskets of lentils to make her happy.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ The Oracle’s prophecy was that the Lydian conquest of Persia would be successful.
- _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

Why did King Croesus advocate war against the Persians?
_____________
Why was the messenger in a festive and jolly mood when he returned from seeing the Oracle?
_____________
How did King Croesus feel after he heard the Oracle’s prophecy?
_____________
How did the civilians who enrolled and were marshaled in the Lydian army feel about the war?
_____________
What did King Croesus learn from the experience?
_____________

Answer Key

Reading Comprehension

Part A

F / People were envious of King Croesus because he controlled a precious commodity, gold.
T
F / The sage man said that the king’s good luck wouldn’t last.
T
F / The Oracle’s prophecy was that if King Croesus went to war, a great civilization would be destroyed.

Part B

King Croesus advocated war with the Persians because the Persians were politically weak.
The messenger was in a festive and jolly mood because he thought the Oracle’s prophecy was good for the Lydians.
King Croesus was filled with euphoria after he heard the Oracle’s prophecy.
The civilians who enrolled and were marshaled in the army had high morale because they thought they would win.
King Croesus learned that he should have considered advice more carefully.

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 3

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 3: 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).

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