Unit 7: A Beautiful Bird

Click or select any word to translate.

Word List

  • n. The basis of something is the main part of amount of it.
    My grandfather gets his hearing checked on a yearly basis.
  • n. Biology is the study of living things.
    We learned about the human heart in biology class.
  • n. A cage is something that holds an animal so it cannot leave.
    We put the parrots in their cage at night.
  • n. A colleague is somebody you work with.
    My colleague helped me finish the job.
  • n. A colony is a country controlled by another country.
    The USA was at one time a colony of Great Britain.
  • v. To debate is to seriously discuss something with someone.
    The husband and wife debated which TV to buy.
  • v. To depart is to leave some place so you can go to another place.
    The plane departed for Italy at 3:00 this afternoon.
  • v. To depress someone is to make that person sad.
    The bad news from work depressed the man.
  • adj. A factual report or message includes true details.
    John learns about history from factual books.
  • v. To fascinate someone is to make that person very interested.
    The kitten was fascinated by the ball of yarn.
  • n. A mission is an important job that is sometimes far away.
    The woman's mission was to help sick people.
  • adv. Nevertheless shows a difference to what is expected or known.
    He is usually friendly. Nevertheless, he wasn't friendly this afternoon.
  • n. An occupation is a person's job.
    My father's occupation is a dentist.
  • adv. Overseas shows an action happens in another country, across an ocean.
    John often goes overseas for vacations.
  • v. To persuade someone is to make that person agree to do something.
    The children persuaded their parents to buy them gifts.
  • n. A route is the way you go from one place to another.
    I saw many new houses along the route to the city.
  • n. Ruins are old buildings that are not used anymore.
    I visited some interesting ruins in Greece.
  • n. A scholar is a person who studies something and knows a lot about it.
    The scholar knew much about art history.
  • adj. A significant person or thing is important.
    I read many significant novels as a literature major in university.
  • n. A volcano is a mountain with a hole on top where hot liquid comes out.
    When the volcano erupted, smoke and heat filled the air.

 

Exercise

A ‣ Fill each blank with another form of a word from the same sentence.

  1. A factual description is based on
  2. Nevertheless is based on three words: _____, _____, _____.
  3. A keen debater likes to _____.
  4. When you make a departure, you _____.
  5. Your occupation is the work that _____ your time.
  6. A ruined building is in _____.
  7. A colonist lives in a _____.
  8. A biologist studies _____.
  9. Someone suffering from depression feels _____.
  10. When something is significantly different, the difference is _____.

 

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

  1. miss    ⬩ ⬩ ual  ⇒ _____
  2. rou   ⬩ ⬩ gue   ⇒ _____
  3. collea   ⬩ ⬩ ion    ⇒ _____
  4. fact   ⬩ ⬩ te  ⇒ _____
  5. colo     ⬩ ⬩ ny     ⇒ _____

 

C ‣ Check (✔) the sentence that makes the most sense according to the bold word.

    • a. Scholars can teach you many things that you didn't know. 
    • b. Some people like to live in cities, while others like to live in ruins.
    • a. Most people fly on a plane when they go overseas.
    • b. You should watch factual movies if you want to laugh.
    • a. Many people feel happy when they depart on a trip.
    • b. Doctors never persuade people to take medicine.
    • a. If you travel overseas, you stay in the same country. 
    • b. Seeing new things fascinates most people.
    • a. Some people like to visit ruins to learn about the past. 
    • b. Getting something they want often depresses people.
    • a. Some students like biology because they learn about rocks.
    • b. When people debate about something, they have different ideas.
    • a. You should see a scholar if you don't want to do your homework.
    • b. People who talk about sad things can depress you.
    • a. A debate involves only one person. 
    • b. I tried to persuade my friends to meet me for lunch today.
    • a. If you study biology, you will learn about different animals.
    • b. People fall asleep when a movie fascinates them.
    • a. If you depart late, you can get to school early. 
    • b. People who like to know the truth like factual stories.

 

A Beautiful Bird

Dr. Norton's occupation was a scholar of biology. He learned all about animals on a daily basis. One day, he met a sailor from a colony overseas. The man told Dr. Norton about a talking bird! The bird fascinated Dr. Norton, so he told his colleagues about it. They debated with him: no one thought a bird would be able to talk. He tried to persuade them, but they laughed at him. Nevertheless, Dr. Norton believed the bird was real. His new mission was to find it. He wanted factual proof.

The next day, he departed for the colony. The sailor he had met told him to look for a man named Jai, who would be able to help him in his search. After a month of sailing, Dr. Norton finally reached the colony, where he met Jai.

"I can take you to where it lives. It lives by the volcano," Jai said.

They left the next day. A week later, they arrived at the volcano. Every day, they walked around and looked for the bird, but they couldn't find it. After one month, Dr. Norton could not find the bird, and this depressed him. He decided to go home. On the route back, he walked past some old ruins. He heard someone say, "Hello.”

"Who are you?" he asked. Dr. Norton looked up and saw a bird! Dr. Norton put the talking bird into a cage. Then, he returned home. He had made a significant discovery.

 

Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

  1. What is this story about?
    • a. A route to a new place
    • b. A scholar who finds a talking bird
    • c. How to learn about biology
    • d. Why people debate each other
  2. Why did Dr. Norton go overseas?
    • a. He wanted to depart from his colleagues and start a new life.
    • b. He was on a mission to find the talking bird.
    • c. He wanted to see the volcano.
    • d. He wanted to discover some old ruins.
  3. At the end of the story, we can infer that
    • a. Jai didn't like Dr. Norton but nevertheless cheered his discovery
    • b. finding the volcano was also a significant discovery
    • c. the bird would be the factual proof that would persuade his colleagues 
    • d. the bird had fascinated people in the colony for a long time
  4. According to the passage, all the following are true EXCEPT
    • a. Jai fed bread to the talking bird 
    • b. Dr. Norton put the bird into a cage
    • c. Dr. Norton took a ship to the colony 
    • d. the talking bird was in the ruins
  5. What depressed Dr. Norton?
    _____

 

Answer Key

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