Unit 27: The Duke and the Minister

Word List

n. An apology is what people say to show that they are sorry.

After arguing with her teacher, the girl wrote the teacher an apology.
adj. A bold person is not afraid of doing something.

The bold man climbed the high mountain.
n. A bug is a small insect.

Birds like eating bugs.
v. To capture something is to catch and hold it.

James tried to capture the bubbles in his hands.
n. A duke is a man of high social rank but below a king or queen.

The duke ruled over the land.
v. To expose is to make known something that is hidden.

He took off his shirt to expose his costume.
adj. Guilty people feel bad for something they did.

I felt guilty for taking my sister's cookies.
v. To hire someone is to pay that person money to work for you.

We hired a man to paint our house.
adj. An innocent person is not guilty of a crime.

The judge said that the woman was innocent of the crime.
n. A language is a system of communication.

The reporter spoke a language Sally had never heard before.
n. A minister is an important person in government with many duties.

The minister of education controls the country's schools.
adj. Ordinary means normal, or not special in any way.

Today was just an ordinary day. Nothing unusual happened.
adj. Something permanent lasts for a long time or forever.

We don't know if Aunt Mildred's visit will be a permanent one.
v. To preserve is to protect something from harm.

Dad sprayed a chemical on the house to help preserve the walls.
v. To pronounce is to say the sounds of letters or words.

Young children often have trouble pronouncing words right.
v. To resemble someone is to look like that person.

The baby really resembles his father.
n. A symptom of a bad condition or illness is a sign that it is happening.

Sneezing and a high fever are symptoms of the common cold.
n. Tobacco is a plant whose leaves are smoked, such as in cigarettes.

The tobacco in cigarettes is bad for you.
n. Twins are two children born at the same time.

My sister and I are twins. We look exactly the same.
n. A witch is a woman with magical powers.

People think that witches fly around on broomsticks.

Exercise

A ‣ Match to complete the words. Then write the part of speech.

ex ⬩ ⬩ cent ⇒ _____
wit ⬩ ⬩ pose ⇒ _____
apo ⬩ ⬩ logy ⇒ _____
inno ⬩ ⬩ nounce ⇒ _____
pro ⬩ ⬩ ch ⇒ _____

B ‣ Write the word from the word bank that best fits each sentence.

WORD BANK

permanent
capture
twin
resembles
ordinary

I have a ¹_____ sister who really ²_____ me. When we were kids, we'd ³_____ fireflies in jars on summer nights. We would stand still and wait for them to light up. Then, we'd quickly scoop them into ⁴_____ glass jars and put the lids on. But the jars were never the bugs' ⁵_____ homes. We always let them go before we went inside.

C ‣ Check (✔) the the one that best fits the blank.

It is important that you read the story carefully. _____.
- a. It will help to expose any mistakes
- b. Then, it will capture your dog
Mike and Ike look the same. _____.
- a. They don't resemble their mother
- b. They must be twin brothers
If you want to be understood, _____.
- a. you must be bold
- b. you must pronounce your words clearly
Please keep our city clean. _____.
- a. It helps to preserve its beauty
- b. It makes it ordinary
Children need to learn that _____.
- a. witches are in their schools
- b. tobacco is bad for their health
Don't worry about breaking the glass. _____.
- a. You don't need to give an apology
- b. You think you are innocent
The man was caught stealing the money, _____.
- a. but he insisted he was innocent
- b. but did not know the minister
It would be wonderful _____.
- a. if I had bugs in my bed
- b. if the company hired me
I don't have a baseball glove. _____?
- a. Can I borrow a duke
- b. Can you loan me yours
If you do something bad, _____.
- a. you might feel guilty afterwards
- b. you will be a permanent guest

The Duke and the Minister

A mean duke grew tobacco. The duke's top minister was his twin brother. They resembled each other a lot. One day, the tobacco plants started to die. The duke hired men to watch the fields so they could see who was damaging the plants. Soon, the men brought a woman to him and said, "We captured a witch!"

The duke asked, "How do you know?"

“She sang magic words. I can't pronounce them. She has cursed us. The death of the plants is a symptom of her curse,” the men said.

"I am just an ordinary woman. I was singing a song in a different language," the woman said.

The duke didn't listen. “You are guilty. You will go to jail," he said.

The minister thought that she was innocent. He needed to expose the truth. The minister went to find out what was happening to the plants. He saw hundreds of small bugs eating them! Then, the minister went to the jail and did something bold.

"Let this woman go," he said.

The guards thought he was the duke. They let her go. The minister said to the woman, "I owe you an apology."

"Thank you. I thought my stay in jail would be permanent,” the woman answered. The minister thought the duke would punish him. But he didn't. The duke was too busy trying to preserve his plants.

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

What is this story about?
- a. Why the duke was afraid of witches
- b. How a minister did what was right
- c. Why the duke loaned his brother a plant
- d. How a woman was captured and taken to jail
Why did the duke hire the men to watch the fields?
- a. They had a bold plan to preserve the tobacco.
- b. The tobacco plants were being destroyed.
- c. He needed them to expose the truth.
- d. He wanted permanent guards to watch the farmers.
Who or what was destroying the tobacco plants?
- a. An ordinary woman
- b. Little bugs
- c. A guilty witch
- d. The symptoms of disease
According to the passage, all the following are true EXCEPT _____.
- a. the duke and the minister are twins
- b. the minister pretended to be the duke
- c. the duke gave an apology to the innocent woman
- d. the men said the woman pronounced magic words
Why did the duke and the minister resemble each other?
_____

Answer Key

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