Unit 6: The Senator and the Worm

Click or select any word to translate.

Word List

  • v. To alert someone is to tell or warn that person about something.
    The fire alarm alerted us that there was a problem.
  • n. A broadcast is a television or radio show.
    We watched the broadcast of the local news on TV.
  • n. bulletin is a news report about very recent and important events.
    There was a live bulletin reporting on the economy of the city.
  • n. A bump is a small raised area on a surface.
    The monkey got a bump on his head because he was hit by a rock.
  • v. To chop something means to cut it into pieces with a tool.
    Mom chopped some vegetables to put into the stew.
  • n. A closet is a small room used to store things.
    Marie has many clothes inside of her closet.
  • v. To console is to give comfort to a person who feels sad.
    When my dog ran away, my dad consoled me.
  • n. A district is a small part of a city, county, state, or country.
    I live in a residential district of Seattle, Washington.
  • n. A drawer is a small part in furniture that is used to store things.
    I put my clothes into the empty drawers.
  • v. To endure means to experience and survive something difficult.
    She had to endure her husband shouting all day long.
  • v. To execute means to kill someone as a legal punishment.
    Some people are executed for serious crimes.
  • v. To grasp something means to hold it.
    He grasped the bag of money tightly.
  • n. The rear of something is the back part of that thing.
    The man loaded the rear of his truck with boxes.
  • n. A senator is someone who makes laws for a state.
    The young senator promised to make laws that would help the people.
  • n. A skull is the hard head bone that protects the brain.
    The brain is protected by the skull.
  • v. To stir something means to mix it using something small, like a spoon.
    Mom stirred the batter until it was smooth.
  • v. To tap something is to hit it lightly.
    He tapped the keys of the keyboard to write a short word.
  • adj. A tremendous thing is very large or very good.
    The Earth's oceans are filled with a tremendous amount of water.
  • prep. Underneath means below or under.
    The roots of a tree are located underneath the ground.
  • n. A worm is a small animal with a long, thin body.
    Worms are often used to help catch fish.

 

Exercise

A ‣ Write the word that best fits each blank.

  1. districts / senator
    The _____ lived in one of the poorest _____ in the country.
  2. skull / tapped
    When he _____ his fist on the top of his _____ , it made a funny sound.
  3. underneath / worm
    If you want to find a _____ , try looking _____ rocks or pieces of wood.
  4. consoled / broadcast
    She _____ her children by watching a humorous _____ with them after school.
  5. executed / tremendous
    She felt _____ sorrow after her husband was _____ for his crime.
  6. endure / bulletin
    He decided to listen to the news _____ because he could no longer _____ the boredom of being home alone.
  7. grasp / stir
    The soup was very thick. He had to _____ the spoon with both hands in order to _____ it.
  8. alerted / rear
    The television news _____ us of the storm. We put the car in the _____ of the house where it would be protected.
  9. chop / drawer
    She looked at all the tools in the _____ but could not find anything to use to _____ the meat.
  10. bump / closet
    The _____ I got from hitting my head on the _____ door was painful.

 

B ‣ Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.

  1. The mother comforted her crying child. _____
  2. Every Sunday, the family watched a television show about animals. _____
  3. I couldn't find my coat in the small room. _____
  4. John left his paper lower than his school books. _____
  5. The person who makes laws sat behind a large desk. _____
  6. In order to get over the wall, the cat had to make a very large jump. _____
  7. Harold slowed the car down as he drove over the small raised part. _____
  8. There is very little rain in my part of the state. _____
  9. Because he committed such a horrible crime, he was killed by the legal system. _____
  10. The cook cut into pieces the vegetables for his soup. _____

 

The Senator and the Worm

A rich senator lived in a big house. He had more money than anyone in his district. One day, he was sitting on a chair listening to a radio broadcast. As he listened to the news bulletin, a worm crawled from underneath the chair and onto his head.

His cook was in the kitchen stirring some spaghetti sauce. Suddenly, a cry from the senator alerted him. He ran to the rear of the house where the senator was sitting.

The cook looked and saw the worm. He tried to console the senator. "I'll take it off right away," he said.

"No!" shouted the senator. "I want you to kill it."

"But it's only a worm," the cook said. "Why should we execute it? It hasn't committed a crime"

The senator could not endure the worm on his head. "Hurry!" he shouted.

The cook looked through several drawers but found nothing. Then he ran to the closet and took out a pipe. He returned to the senator and lifted the pipe over his head. He knew he couldn't just tap the worm. He was going to hit it hard. He grasped the pipe tightly.

"What are you waiting for?" said the senator. "Kill it!"

The cook swung the pipe at the senator's head.

"Oh, no," the worm said. "He's going to chop me in half." It jumped off the senator's head.

There was a tremendous noise. "Owww!" cried the senator.

A bump rose upon his skull. Meanwhile, the worm crawled outside. "That was close," said the worm. "Instead of being nice, he wanted to hurt me. Now, that man has a big bump on his head."

 

Reading Comprehension

Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

  1. _____ The senator had a lot of money.
    __________
  2. _____ The senator was listening to a radio broadcast.
    __________
  3. _____ The senator wanted the cook to kill the worm.
    __________
  4. _____ The cook found a pipe in one of the drawers.
    __________
  5. _____ The cook knew he was going to tap the worm.
    __________
  6. _____ The worm was chopped in half on the senator's head.
    __________

 

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. What was the senator doing when the worm crawled onto his head?
    • a. Listening to the radio
    • b. Watching a broadcast
    • c. Looking in the closet
    • d. Consoling the cook
  2. Why did the senator tell the cook to hurry?
    • a. He was hiding in the rear of the house.
    • b. He knew he had to alert the cook.
    • c. He couldn't endure the worm on his head.
    • d. He had heard a tremendous noise.
  3. After the cook hit the senator, where did the worm go?
    • a. Into the kitchen
    • b. Underneath the chair
    • c. Outside the house
    • d. Onto the cook's head

 

Answer Key

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