LESSON 21 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 21

 

1 plea (plē) request; appeal; that which is asked of another a The employees* turned in a plea to their boss for higher pay. b The president’s plea to release the captives* was denied by the enemy. c In court today, the judge consented* to the lawyer’s plea for a light sentence. 2 weary (wēr’ ē) tired a I am weary of debating* the same topic* all day. b The farmer grew weary of bringing in the harvest* every year for the past forty summers. c Let me rest my weary bones here before the march commences.* 3 collide (kə līd’) come together with force a When the two autos collided, the people in the fragile* smaller car perished.* b Committees are exploring* ways of keeping cars from colliding. c In my estimate* the two bicycles collided at five o’clock.     Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. Safety in the Air The most persistent* plea of weary pilots has always been for a machine that would warn them that they were about to collide with an oncoming airplane. Studies of landing patterns confirm that the number of collisions is increasing each year, and pilots verify hundreds of reports of near misses. Recently a system that would electronically anticipate oncoming airplanes was devised,* and the pilot’s dilemma to dive or to climb, to detour to left or right, may be solved. The system has merit, though, only if every plane is equipped to transmit and receive a signal to and from an oncoming plane. But most aviation experts feel that only a system that watches every airplane in the sky will relieve a problem that tends to baffle every one who attempts to find a solution.     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 first time a message was ________ over a telegraph was in 1840. 2 Can you ________ that this is your handwriting? 3 I took a ________ to avoid traffic. 4 We were all very ________ after the long trip. 5 There is ________ in being a good listener. 6 The judge listened to the burglar’s ________ of not guilty. 7 The runner and catcher were about to ________ at home plate. 8 Tyrone was ________ that he didn’t have any more work to do. 9 When you run a company you have at least one new ________ every day to solve. 10 Did you ________ our reservations at the hotel? 11 We were ________ as to who murdered the wretched* old man. 12 After having been married to Arthur for thirty years, Selma could ________ everything he was going to say. (NOTE: You might have used the same word in Sentences 2 and 10.)   Word Detective From the list of 12 new words that follows, choose the one that corresponds to each definition below. plea merit transmit collide relieve detour verify anticipate weary dilemma confirm baffle   1 a roundabout way ______________________________ 2 that which is asked of another ______________________________ 3 come together with force ______________________________ 4 pass along ______________________________ 5 be too hard to understand ______________________________ 6 goodness; worth; value ______________________________ 7 make easier; replace ______________________________ 8 tired ______________________________ 9 make certain ______________________________ 10 a difficult choice ______________________________ 11 prove to be true ______________________________ 12 expect ______________________________ (NOTE: The same words could be used for definitions 9 and 11.)   Spotlight On dilemma—The sport of bull fighting provides us with a vivid expression—being on the horns of a dilemma—to describe a situation in which we are faced with two choices, each equally unpleasant. It is as if we were asked to choose which horn of a bull we prefer to be gored by.

ANSWER KEY