4000 Essential English Words 6 » Unit 8: Watch Out!

Word List
  • congested [kənˈdʒestid] adj.
    If something is congested, it is full or blocked.
    → Tom didn’t get home until after dark because the road was so congested.
  • courier [ˈkuriər] n.
    A courier is someone who takes and delivers mail or packages.
    → Before trains, most couriers used horses to travel.
  • deform [diˈfɔːrm] v.
    To deform something means to change it from its correct or original shape.
    → The computer program deformed the building’s picture into an unreal sight.
  • etiquette [ˈetiket] n.
    Etiquette is the group of rules about how to be polite.
    → When in Asian countries, bowing is a form of etiquette.
  • exclusive [iksˈkluːsiv] adj.
    If something is exclusive, it is expensive and only for rich people.
    → The golf course was so exclusive that most people hadn’t even heard of it.
  • freight [freit] n.
    Freight is a set of items carried on a train, boat, or airplane.
    → Trade ships only carried valuable freight like silk and spices.
  • garment [ˈgɑːrmənt] n.
    A garment is a piece of clothing.
    → The business man had all of his garments cleaned before the important meeting.
  • insomnia [inˈsɒmniə] n.
    Insomnia is a condition in which a person has difficulty sleeping.
    → Nate’s insomnia prevented him from getting enough rest.
  • intuitive [inˈtjuːitiv] adj.
    Intuitive is knowing about something without naturally having support or proof.
    → Rhonda had an intuitive feeling that Shane wasn’t coming to school today.
  • liable [ˈlaiəbəl] adj.
    If something is liable to happen, it is very likely that it will happen.
    → During the summer months, hikers in the forest are liable to see deer and elk.
  • obsess [əbˈses] v.
    To obsess about something means to think about it all of the time.
    → After watching the Star Wars movies, Ike obsessed about becoming a Jedi.
  • overboard [ˈouvərbɔːrd] adv.
    When something is overboard, it is over the side of a boat and in the water.
    → Tom and Gary slipped on the wet floor and fell overboard.
  • premium [ˈpriːmiəm] n.
    A premium is a payment that is higher than average.
    → Tony paid for premium gas because it made his car run the best.
  • privilege [ˈprivəlidʒ] n.
    A privilege is a special right given to only a certain person or group of people.
    → Only the best employee had the privilege of parking in that spot.
  • propel [prəˈpel] v.
    To propel something means to push or move it somewhere.
    → The strong wind propelled the leaf through the air and across the street.
  • socialize [ˈsouʃəlaiz] v.
    To socialize is to have a good time with people.
    → I like to socialize with my classmates after school.
  • suppress [səˈpres] v.
    To suppress something means to prevent it from happening.
    → She suppressed her urge to scream because she didn’t want to be noticed.
  • tram [træm] n.
    A tram is a vehicle like a streetcar that runs on electricity above ground.
    → I took the tram to Eighth Avenue.
  • unsettle [ˈʌnˈsetl] v.
    To unsettle someone means to make them anxious or worried.
    → The dark clouds in the sky unsettled Beth.
  • warp [wɔːrp] v.
    To warp means to become bent into the wrong shape.
    → The woman put the clock above the fireplace, and the heat warped it.
Exercise 1

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

  1. congested
    • a. normal
    • b. crowded
    • c. distinct
    • d. hostile
  2. exclusive
    • a. limited
    • b. ancient
    • c. inexpensive
    • d. unruly
  3. unsettle
    • a. bring
    • b. intend
    • c. increase
    • d. worry
  4. garment
    • a. clothing
    • b. equipment
    • c. criticism
    • d. unplanned action
  5. propel
    • a. avoid
    • b. push
    • c. capable
    • d. toughen
Exercise 2

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

  1. The meeting of the citizens’ group was prevented from happening by the police.
    ____________
  2. The warm weather had changed the ice sculptures into strange shapes.
    ____________
  3. Dad says drinking milk before going to bed helps with a disorder that makes it hard to sleep.
    ____________
  4. After I saw the scary movie, walking home in the darkness upset me.
    ____________
  5. After school, I’m likely to go visit my friend at her house.
    ____________
  6. Dylan believed it to be his special right to be treated as superior to all the others.
    ____________
  7. A gust of wind blew her scarf over the edge of the boat while she was sailing.
    ____________
  8. He didn’t know what the proper set of rules about being polite was for returning a gift.
    ____________
  9. The train was full of clothes that were to be sold overseas.
    ____________
  10. The wax candle twisted and formed a different shape because it was left in the sun.
    ____________
Exercise 3

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

WORD BLANK
congested exclusive suppress premium
etiquette courier socialize obsessed
warp tram    

The club was very 1___________ and didn't have many members.
The members had to pay a 2___________ just to join.

My mother is 3___________ with making sure we impress our guests.
For example, she makes sure our 4___________ is perfect.

I stepped onto the 5___________ and couldn’t find a seat right away.
Finally, I made my way through the 6___________ aisle and sat down.

Hannah worked as a 7___________ for an advertising company.
Between making deliveries, she liked to 8___________ with the employees.

The glue couldn’t 9___________ the water from leaking from the pipes.
Since I didn’t clean it up right away, it caused the wooden floor to 10___________ .

Exercise 4

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

  1. ______ Allie could always count on her intuitive powers to know where her cat was. That’s why the cat never got lost.
  2. ______ The weatherman said it was liable to rain over the entire weekend, so we decided to go for a picnic on Saturday.
  3. ______ Jared couldn’t stop obsessing about his grade. When his teacher returned his test, he forgot about it immediately.
  4. ______ Maxine suffers from insomnia. She has seen several doctors, but none have helped her get any more sleep.
  5. ______ Walter didn’t know what to wear to the concert. All of his best garments needed to be washed.
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. b
  2. a
  3. d
  4. a
  5. b
Exercise 2
  1. suppressed
  2. deformed
  3. insomnia
  4. unsettled
  5. liable
  6. privilege
  7. overboard
  8. etiquette
  9. garments
  10. warped
Exercise 3
  1. exclusive
  2. premium
  3. obsessed
  4. etiquette
  5. tram
  6. congested
  7. courier
  8. socialize
  9. suppress
  10. warp
Exercise 4
  1. C
  2. I
  3. I
  4. C
  5. C
Answer Key
Watch Out!

Kevin stepped off the tram and walked toward the ship, holding a package tightly in his hands. He had been hired as a courier for an important broker. All he needed to do was deliver a package to an office in New York City; the ship would take him there.

When he boarded, the ship was congested with people. As Kevin walked to his cabin, he saw the exclusive first-class section. Everybody inside was wearing fancy garments. He would have liked to socialize with the people inside, but it was against proper etiquette. People paid a premium for the privilege to ride in first-class.

Instead, he went to his cabin next to the freight section of the boat. His room smelled bad, and the floorboards were warped and deformed in some areas. He could also hear the motor humming as it waited to propel the ship forward. Suddenly, Kevin was unsettled by something, but he wasn’t sure why.

He took a short walk on the ship’s deck, but he still felt strange. That night, he suffered from insomnia—he couldn’t suppress his obsessing over how strange he felt.

Kevin went back on deck. It was cold and dark outside. He looked overboard, but it seemed that everything was all right. “Just go back inside,” he thought. Then Kevin saw it. A giant iceberg was sticking out of the ocean in the distance!

“ Help!” he yelled.

People looked at him as if he was crazy, but he continued to shout until he saw the captain.

“There’s an iceberg out there,” Kevin said to him. “ If the ship doesn’t move, we’re liable to crash,” he said, pointing toward the iceberg.

The captain saw it and immediately instructed the crew to change the ship’s direction. “Without your help, we would have definitely hit the iceberg. That would have been a terrible disaster!” he said to Kevin.

Kevin felt relieved. Now he knew to always trust his intuitive sense.

Reading Comprehension

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

  1. _____ Kevin took a taxi to the ship.
    • _____________________________________________________
  2. _____ In order to get the privilege to be in the exclusive section, one had to wear fancy garments.
    • _____________________________________________________
  3. _____ Kevin didn’t socialize with the people in the exclusive section because it was too congested.
    • _____________________________________________________
  4. _____ Kevin could not sleep because he had insomnia.
    • _____________________________________________________
  5. _____ If Kevin hadn’t seen the iceberg, the ship was liable to have crashed into it.
    • _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. Describe Kevin’s room next to the freight section.
    _____________
  2. While he was on the ship, what could Kevin hear humming?
    _____________
  3. What did Kevin see when he looked overboard the first time?
    _____________
  4. What did the captain do when he heard the news about the iceberg?
    _____________
  5. What did Kevin learn at the end of the story?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
Part A
  1. F / Kevin took a tram to the ship.
  2. F / In order to get the privilege to be in the exclusive section, one had to pay a premium.
  3. F / Kevin didn’t socialize with the people in the exclusive section because it was against etiquette.
  4. T
  5. T
Part B
  1. His room smelled bad, and the floorboards were warped and deformed in some areas.
  2. Kevin could hear the humming of the motors as he was on the ship.
  3. Kevin didn’t see anything when he looked overboard the first time.
  4. The captain instructed the crew to change the ship’s direction.
  5. Kevin learned to always trust his intuitive sense.
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