LESSON 5 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 5

 

1 tradition (tra dish'ən) beliefs, opinions, and customs handed down from one generation to another a The father tried to persuade* his son that the tradition of marriage was important. b All religions have different beliefs and traditions. c As time goes on, we will eliminate* traditions that are meaningless. 2 rural (rur'əl) in the country a Tomatoes are less expensive* at the rural farm stand. b Rural areas are not densely* populated. c The rural life is much more peaceful than the city one. 3 burden (ber' dən) what is carried; a load a The burden of the country’s safety is in the hands of the president. b Irma found the enormous* box too much of a burden. c Ricky carried the burden throughout his college career.     Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. Shape Up at Shaker Each summer at the Shaker Work Group, a special school in rural Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where teenagers learn by working, it has been a tradition to have the teenagers take on the burden of setting their own rules and living by them. Although there are some adults on the campus, teenagers are a majority. One summer the group assembled to explore the topic of lights-out time. There was little debate until 10:30 P.M. was suggested. Why? Everyone at the Shaker Work Group works a minimum* of several hours each morning on one project and several hours each afternoon on another. Since everyone has to get up early, no one wanted to stay up later at night anyway. Few teenagers at the Shaker Work Group try to evade the rules. When one does, the entire group meets to probe the reasons for the “villain’s”* actions. Their aim is to reform the rule breaker. However, at Shaker Village, the theory* is that teenagers who are busy working will have no time to break rules.   Fill in the Blanks Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below. 1 I left the city for a peaceful ________ farm. 2 Professor Dixon liked the atmosphere of the university ________ . 3 He tried to ________ questions he didn’t know how to answer. 4 The ________ of people wanted him to be president. 5 The guests began to ________ for Thanksgiving dinner. 6 Christmas trees are a popular ________ for many people. 7 Making a living for his family was too much of a ________ . 8 I want to ________ all the cities I haven’t visited. 9 If Gene doesn’t ________ , he will get into serious trouble. 10 He had to do research on the ________ of biology for a school report. 11 Historians will ________ the causes of the war in Bosnia. 12 Whether or not eighteen-year-olds should be allowed to vote was in ________ for a long time.   Creativity Exercise Now make up your own sentences, one for each of the new words you have just been taught. 1 ____________________________________________________________________ 2 ____________________________________________________________________ 3 ____________________________________________________________________ 4 ____________________________________________________________________ 5 ____________________________________________________________________ 6 ____________________________________________________________________ 7 ____________________________________________________________________ 8 ____________________________________________________________________ 9 ____________________________________________________________________ 10 ____________________________________________________________________ 11 ____________________________________________________________________ 12 ____________________________________________________________________   Picture It Which of the words studied in this lesson is suggested by the picture?   Spotlight On majority—In the past, we heard politicians talk about the “silent majority,” meaning the average Americans who are decent persons, earn livings, follow the laws of the land, all in a quiet way. Those politicians might have been surprised to learn that when the philosophers and writers of old used the term “silent majority” they were referring to dead people.

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