LESSON 19 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 19

 

1 harvest (här' vist) gathering in of grain or other food crops a This year’s harvest was adequate* to feed all our people. b The farmer decided to expand* his fields so that he would get a bigger harvest. c If the harvest is poor, there is always the possibility of a famine.* 2 abundant (ə bun’ dənt) more than enough; very plentiful a It is urgent* that the hospital have an abundant supply of blood. b An abundant harvest* was predicted* by the secretary of agriculture. c In recent* years an abundant number of complaints have disturbed the telephone company. 3 uneasy (un ēz’ ē) restless; disturbed; anxious a Mrs. Spinner was uneasy about letting her son play in the vicinity* of the railroad tracks. b The treasurer was uneasy about the company’s budget.* c Arnold felt uneasy about the meeting even though he tried to act in a casual* manner.     Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. Protecting Our Health Pick an apple, a tomato, a peach—no worms in the harvest. We are familiar with the abundant use of pesticides by farmers, but today’s chemists are becoming uneasy. They calculate that there are 45,000 different pesticides, and all of them can be absorbed by the fruit on which they are sprayed. The chemists estimate that every morsel we eat in the future may contain a deadly quota of pesticide. The tragedy* will come slowly but the threat is real. These government chemists do not suggest that we ban pesticides. They are cautious* and do not easily panic. What is needed, they say, are appropriate, budgeted* doses that will not pollute* our food.     Picture It Which of the words studied in this lesson is suggested by the picture?   Fill in the Blanks Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below. 1 The committee recommended that we ________ all dangerous foods. 2 Dave had his ________ of cookies for the day. 3 You should always make sure that you have an ________ supply of gasoline for a long trip. 4 The rain was ________ into the concrete when it was dry. 5 Is this inexpensive* dress ________ for a formal wedding? 6 How much do you ________ that horse is worth? 7 Helen had an ________ feeling as she went on to the stage for the first time. 8 When you are in trouble the worst thing to do is to ________ . 9 The farmers had a good ________ of corn this year. 10 We ________ all the figures and came to one solid answer. 11 Every________ the cook prepared was tasty. 12 The ________ of snow caused us to change our holiday plans.   Choose the Correct Word Circle the word in parentheses that best fits the sense of the sentence. 1 When the food supply is (abundant, appropriate), there is no reason for anyone to go hungry. 2 Some people believe that the (threat, quota) of nuclear war is a very real danger of the twenty-first century. 3 If you feel (uneasy, appropriate) about being capable of doing this work, please let me help you get started. 4 It is important not to (panic, calculate) in emergency situations. 5 Farmers hope their labors will be rewarded with a plentiful (harvest, morsel). 6 To (calculate, absorb) whether I need an A or a B on my math final, I had to first figure my average to date. 7 It’s difficult to believe that even today there are school boards that (ban, harvest) books such as The Catcher in the Rye. 8 The dish looked so strange and smelled so foul, that I found it difficult to taste a (morsel, quota) of the meal our host had prepared. 9 I can’t possibly (absorb, ban) such an enormous* amount of information in just two hours. 10 Many countries have strict (quotas, threats) on the number of immigrants they admit each year. 11 If my (estimate, quota) is correct, the homes presently under construction will mean about 200 new elementary school students in the district next year. 12 The (appropriate, abundant) behavior for different situations is something we all learn as part of growing up.   Spotlight On calculate—A Roman “taxi” driver used to charge his customers by figuring out, or calculating, the number of pebbles (Latin word–calculus) that dropped into a basket in a given time.

 

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