Word List
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n. An administrator is a person who controls a business, company, or organization.Everyone in the store did whatever the administrator asked them to do.
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adj. If someone is affluent, they are wealthy.People in the city are usually more affluent than people in the country.
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v. To audit means to inspect financial records from a person or business.The government usually audits companies that report lower than usual incomes.
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v. To automate something means to have machines or computers do the work.When the bank automated, it started installing ATM machines.
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v. To bribe someone means to illegally persuade them for a favor with money.The judge was bribed so that she would set the suspect free.
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adj. If someone is corrupt, they break the law for money or fame.The corrupt policemen didn't arrest the man because he gave them money.
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v. To dispose of something means to get rid of it.He disposed of the can by throwing it into the recycle bin.
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n. A headquarters is a building where the bosses of a company work.He took the long route to the headquarters because it was a nice day.
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n. An incentive is what makes a person want to do something.The chance of winning a prize was an incentive to get people to play the game.
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n. An infrastructure is a collection of services needed to run a society or business.Power lines are important parts of a city's infrastructure.
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v. To legislate means to make laws.Senators have to legislate fairly so most people will enjoy the benefits.
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adj. If something is legitimate, then it is acceptable according to the law.She found a legitimate plan to raise extra funds for her vacation.
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v. To manipulate something means to skillfully or unfairly control or affect it.The doctor manipulated the data to make it look like the cure was working.
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n. Merchandise is goods ready to be purchased or sold.The store added more merchandise because there were more shoppers.
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n. Retail is the activity of selling goods to the public, often for personal use.Although cheap to make, once a t-shirt reaches retail, it costs ten times as much.
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n. Revenue is the income made by a company.The new products really increased the business's monthly revenue.
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n. Rubbish is trash or waste.The floor around the garbage can was covered with all kinds of rubbish.
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n. A subsidy is money given by the government to companies to assist them.The official gave the company a subsidy so it could open two new factories.
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n. A transaction is an act of buying or selling something.Because the clerk was new at the job, the simple transaction took a long time.
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v. To violate a law, rule, or agreement means to break it.I was given a ticket because the policeman said I violated a traffic law.
Exercise
A ‣ Circle the one that is similar in meaning to the given word.
- merchandise
- a. stores
- b. money
- c. goods
- d. fame
- corrupt
- a. healthy
- b. bad
- c. angry
- d. nice
- rubbish
- a. trash
- b. power
- c. food
- d. truth
- transaction
- a. meeting
- b. friend
- c. test
- d. sale
- revenue
- a. concert
- b. guide
- c. income
- d. trade
- manipulate
- a. control
- b. explain
- c. decrease
- d. attempt
- infrastructure
- a. education
- b. science
- c. religion
- d. roads
- headquarters
- a. material
- b. base
- c. dream
- d. section
- audit
- a. enjoy
- b. leave
- c. inspect
- d. prepare
- incentive
- a. reason
- b. product
- c. waste
- d. idea
B ‣ Circle the one that is opposite in meaning to the given word.
- violate
- a. borrow
- b. respect
- c. approve
- d. explain
- affluent
- a. smart
- b. quick
- c. poor
- d. evil
- dispose
- a. keep
- b. make
- c. feed
- d. speak
- administrator
- a. singer
- b. student
- c. mother
- d. worker
- legitimate
- a. free
- b. pretty
- c. wrong
- d. alert
C ‣ Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.
- Getting to play with her friends was something to make her want to clean her room. _____
- The act of selling something took place right before the shop closed. _____
- By the end of the meeting, they had made into law the repair of the highways. _____
- She illegally persuaded the guard, so he would let her into the secret meeting. _____
- It was a good year for the banks, but it was a bad year for places that sell things to the public. _____
- The person who controls the company is a very efficient manager. _____
- The papers that she needed were at the building where the bosses worked. _____
- The law-breaking company was stealing money from many of its investors. _____
- Shawn is working for a law-following organization in a bad part of town. _____
- The money made by our company was even better than last year's. _____
The Corrupt Administrator
Mr. Watson is an administrator at a big factory that made different kinds of merchandise. During a meeting at the company's headquarters, his bosses said they wanted the factory to make more money.
"If the factory makes more money, then you will too," his boss, Mr. Johnson, told him. It was a great incentive. Mr. Watson had always wanted to be as affluent as his bosses.
Mr. Watson returned to the factory and started making changes. However, most of his changes were not very nice, and some were not legitimate.
First, he fired all his employees. Then, he automated the entire factory. Machines now made everything, and hs employees had no jobs. Next, he bribed some corrupt senators into legislating special subsidies for the factory. Finally, instead of paying a company to dispose of the factory's rubbish properly, he violated the law by throwing it into the river to save money.
At first, all the changes to the factory's infrastructure created more revenue. But soon many stores could no longer sell the factory's goods at retail. It seemed that the machines couldn't make products as well as the workers. The customers were disappointed with the factory's merchandise.
There were other problems, too. The workers had told their friends and family to stop buying the factory's goods. Officials discovered the factory's rubbish in the river, and when they audited the company, they discovered that Mr. Watson had manipulated the law in order to get more money.
All transactions with Mr. Watson's factory stopped. The factory lost money, and Mr. Watson lost his job. He realized his mistakes too late. He had tried to become rich by saving money any way possible, but the cheapest way is not always the best.
Reading Comprehension
Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.
- _____ Mr. Johnson was an administrator at a big factory that made different kinds of merchandise.
__________ - _____ Some of the changes made to the factory were legitimate.
__________ - _____ Mr. Watson bribed some corrupt senators into legislating special subsidies for his factory.
__________ - _____ Mr. Watson violated the law by disposing of the factory's rubbish in the ocean.
__________ - _____ At first, changes to the factory's infrastructure created less revenue.
__________
Part B: Answer the questions.
- What is the passage about?
- a. Getting incentives
- b. Hiring new employees
- c. Automating factories
- d. Changing operational methods
- According to the officials who audited Mr. Watson's factory, why did he manipulate the law?
_____ - What happened to Mr. Watson and his factory when all transactions stopped?
_____
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