LESSON 37 ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS

 

ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL WORDS LESSON 37

 

1 heir (er) person who has a right to someone’s property after that one dies; person who inherits anything a Though Mr. Sloane is the heir to a gold mine, he lives like a miser.* b The monarch* died before he could name an heir to the throne. c It is essential* that we locate the rightful heir at once. 2 majestic (məˈdʒestɪk) grand; noble; dignified; kingly a The lion is the most majestic creature of the jungle. b In Greek mythology,* Mt. Olympus was the majestic home of the gods. c The graduates marched into the auditorium to the music of the majestic symphony. 3 dwindle (dwin' dl) become smaller and smaller; shrink a Our supply of unpolluted* water has dwindled. b With no visible* signs of their ship, hopes for the men’s safety dwindled with each passing hour c After the furious tempest,* the dwindling chances of finding the raft vanished* entirely.     Picture It Which of the words studied in this lesson is suggested by the picture?   Words in Use Read the following passage to see how the new words are used in it. Listen to Smokey the Bear At one time the United States was heir to great riches, for more than half of our country was covered with forests. Now the majestic woodlands have dwindled to the point where we have no surplus of trees. Of course, only a traitor to the beauties of nature would deliberately set a forest fire, but careless citizens are the vandals who are responsible for much of the destruction. In time of drought especially, scorching* fires started by careless smokers can reduce a beautiful forest to acres of blackened stumps. Theodore Roosevelt understood that we cannot abide the continual loss of our precious forests but we must learn to live in harmony* with nature. In 1905 he appointed* Gifford Pinchot to head the Forest Service which promptly* began to unify efforts in caring for our national forests. The modern forest rangers, from the “lookouts” stationed on mountain summits to the “smokejumpers” who parachute from airplanes to fight fires, ask us to heed the advice of Smokey the Bear, who has become their symbol.* Smokey says, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”   Fill in the Blanks Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below. 1 The exhausted* regiment ________ down to a few troops. 2 Secret documents* listed the ________ to the large fortune. 3 Iris made a ________ attempt to ignore* their biting comments. 4 The ________ of waste materials has polluted* our rivers. 5 Charles blundered* off in the wrong direction without ________ my warning cries. 6 Lincoln tried in vain* to keep the North and South ________ . 7 It did not take long before the unruly* crowd turned into a mob of howling ________ . 8 The confirmed* bachelor* could not ________ having anyone touch a single utensil* in his home. 9 If the ________ does not end soon, I can predict* a famine. 10 The population* rise will reach its ________ in a few years and then it will level off. 11 Lt. Jenkins lost every morsel* of self-respect and became a ________ to his flag. 12 The loyal* captain, ________ in defeat, won the sympathy* of the people.   Antonyms (Opposites) Circle the word that most nearly expresses the opposite meaning of the word printed in orange type.   1 vandal 5 majestic 9 traitor a repairer a fertile* a addict* b arsonist b theatrical b amateur* c captive* c courteous c bachelor* d adolescent* d harsh d patriot* e informer e ordinary e lunatic* 2 abide 6 drought 10 head a discard* a ambush* a abuse* b dispute* b flood b ignore* c deprive* c hardship* c hinder* d provide d earthquake d discard* e summon e windstorm e vaccinate* 3 summit 7 unify 11 heir a tempest* a separate a evil sinner b beneficiary b redeem* b accurate reporter c duplicate c abuse* c double dealer d base d confine* d fair judge e finance* e compress e disinherited son 4 surplus 8 deliberate 12 dwindle a scarceness a unintentional a ignore* b harmony* b subsequent* b illustrate* c hindrance c reassuring c arrest d assistance d comprehensive* d mumble e rejection e ingenious* e increase   Spotlight On drought—Yes, the gh is silent as in “might” and several other English words. Why? Well, drought was an old English word with the gh sound pronounced. When the French invaded and conquered England, they brought (there it is again) their language and it had no gh sound in it. Eventually their influence was so great that English words containing gh took on French pronunciation.

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