4000 Essential English Words 5 » Unit 13: The Old Hound

Word List
  • brook [bruk] n.
    A brook is a small stream.
    → Water flows down several brooks on the mountain.
  • cater [ˈkeitər] v.
    To cater to someone means to provide them with all the things needed or wanted.
    → Bill was too sick to get out of bed, so his nurse catered to his needs.
  • considerate [kənˈsidərit] adj.
    When someone is considerate, they pay attention to the needs of others.
    → The considerate boy gave a present to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
  • consumption [kənˈsʌmpʃən] n.
    The consumption of food or drink is the act of eating or drinking it.
    → These apples are too rotten for consumption.
  • criteria [kraiˈtiəriə] n.
    Criteria are factors on which a person judges or decides something.
    → Before she got the job, she had to meet all the necessary criteria.
  • crust [krʌst] n.
    Crust is the tough outer part of a loaf of bread.
    → The little boy never ate the crust of his pizza.
  • degrade [diˈgreid] v.
    To degrade someone means to cause people to have shame.
    → The teacher degraded Bob when she announced his poor performance to the class
  • entitle [enˈtaitl] v.
    To entitle someone means to give them the rights to have or do something.
    → His golden ticket entitled him to sit in the front row at the concert.
  • escort [ˈeskɔːrt] v.
    To escort people means to safely accompany them to a place.
    → Her bodyguards escorted her to the movie theater.
  • external [ikˈstəːrnəl] adj.
    When something is external, it is connected to an outer part.
    → It is warm inside my house, but the external temperature is freezing.
  • facility [fəˈsiləti] n.
    A facility is a building that exists for a particular purpose.
    → There are many educational facilities in big cities.
  • faculty [ˈfӕkəlti] n.
    A faculty is a mental or physical ability.
    → The boy’s mental faculties impressed all of his teachers.
  • heap [hiːp] n.
    A heap of things is a large pile of them.
    → After the building was torn down, all that was left was a heap of bricks.
  • hemisphere [ˈhemisfiər] n.
    A hemisphere is one half of the earth.
    → In the northern hemisphere, the weather is usually warmest in July and August.
  • hound [haund] n.
    A hound is a type of dog that is often used for racing or hunting.
    → The men took their hounds with them when they went on the hunting trip.
  • impersonal [imˈpəːrsənəl] adj.
    If something is impersonal, it is not friendly and makes people feel unimportant.
    → The boy felt scared on his first day at the big, impersonal high school.
  • ornament [ˈɔːrnəmənt] n.
    An ornament is an attractive object that people display in their homes.
    → The woman kept some colorful ornaments on the shelves.
  • pedestrian [pəˈdestriən] n.
    A pedestrian is a person who is walking on a street.
    → Cars should be careful when pedestrians are walking around.
  • sanctuary [ˈsӕŋktʃuəri] n.
    A sanctuary is a place where people in danger can go to be safe.
    → The church was made into a sanctuary for homeless people in the winter.
  • spectator [spekˈteitə:r] n.
    A spectator is someone who watches something, especially a sports event.
    → There were thousands of spectators at the big game.
Exercise 1

Choose the answer that best fits the question.

  1. What is an external body part?
    • a. A nose
    • b. A heart
    • c. A brain
    • d. A skull
  2. Which would NOT be considered a facility?
    • a. A sports stadium
    • b. A surfboard
    • c. An auditorium
    • d. A library
  3. If you live in the southern hemisphere, you ______ .
    • a. are on the southern half of the earth
    • b. are warm all-year round
    • c. can’t travel very far north
    • d. are on your head
  4. What does a pedestrian need the most?
    • a. Good shoes
    • b. A driver’s license
    • c. A bus pass
    • d. Fuel
  5. Which of the following is an example of crust?
    • a. Hard cheese
    • b. Outer part of a pizza
    • c. A shell
    • d. Pudding
Exercise 2

Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank.

WORD BLANK
impersonal hound escort spectators
considerate faculty pedestrians brook
consumption facility    

You probably shouldn’t take a drink from the 1___________ .
The muddy water is not fit for 2___________ .

When going to school, it is dangerous for small kids to be lone 3___________ .
Parents should 4___________ them to school to ensure they arrive safely.

When I go hunting, I always bring my 5___________ .
My dog has a great smelling ability. It’s his best 6___________ .

When we got to the stadium, I was amazed at the number of 7___________ .
There must have been 50,000 people at the sports 8___________ .

Because the dormitory was so big, I was afraid it would be 9___________ .
But I was wrong. Everyone was very nice, helpful, and 10___________ .

Exercise 3

Choose the one that is similar in meaning to the given word.

  1. cater
    • a. impressive
    • b. to provide
    • c. far away
    • d. believable
  2. degrade
    • a. motherly
    • b. likely
    • c. ugly
    • d. shame
  3. heap
    • a. a flash
    • b. a jar
    • c. a pile
    • d. a pact
  4. entitle
    • a. to make happy
    • b. to succeed
    • c. to flee
    • d. to give rights
  5. criteria
    • a. sadness
    • b. letter
    • c. market
    • d. standard
Exercise 4

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

  1. We went to the track to watch the racing dogs run.
    ____________
  2. The outer part of a loaf of bread was a dark brown and smelled like wheat and honey.
    ____________
  3. The baseball player was yelled at by an angry person who watches a sports event.
    ____________
  4. People who celebrate Christmas hang colorful attractive objects on their trees.
    ____________
  5. What are the factors on which you judge for becoming a member in your club?
    ____________
  6. The church was made into a place people can go to be safe after the hurricane.
    ____________
  7. Concentration is an important mental ability to have when studying for a test.
    ____________
  8. The messy girl kept her clothes in a pile on the floor.
    ____________
  9. The boy sat by the small stream and tossed stones into it.
    ____________
  10. Buying the house will give the rights to me to redecorate it any way I want.
    ____________
Answer Key
Exercise 1
  1. a
  2. b
  3. a
  4. a
  5. b
Exercise 2
  1. brook
  2. consumption
  3. pedestrians
  4. escort
  5. hound
  6. faculty
  7. spectators
  8. facility
  9. impersonal
  10. considerate
Exercise 3
  1. b
  2. d
  3. c
  4. d
  5. d
Exercise 4
  1. hounds
  2. crust
  3. spectator
  4. ornaments
  5. criteria
  6. sanctuary
  7. faculty
  8. heap
  9. brook
  10. entitle
Answer Key
The Old Hound

Elvis was a dog that loved to run. He possessed all the criteria to be a great racing dog. He had long legs, lean muscles, and a strong heart. He was so good that he never lost a race in the northern hemisphere. Spectators who bet on dog races always picked Elvis to win.

After ten years of racing, however, Elvis was getting old. His faculties were not as strong as they used to be. His owner got upset when Elvis started losing. Elvis’s owner wasn’t a considerate person. He degraded the dog all the time. Finally, his owner decided to get rid of him. He threw Elvis in his car and took him to the middle of the forest. He tossed him out and drove away. Elvis was cold and scared. He decided to follow a brook into the city.

Elvis soon found out that the city was a big and impersonal place. Everywhere he went, he saw signs that said, “No Dogs Allowed.” Pedestrians yelled at him. He was sad, hungry,  and alone. He thought that all people were as cruel and uncaring as his owner had been. He  was ready to give up when he heard a soft voice say, “What a beautiful hound!” Elvis looked up and saw an old woman. She said, “You’re entitled to a better life than this. I can take you to a sanctuary for old dogs like you. I’ll cater to all your needs. Would you like to come with me?”

The woman escorted Elvis to a beautiful facility. There was a sign on the external door that said, “Dogs Welcome!” The interior of the building was painted blue, and shiny ornaments hung from the ceiling. There was a heap of tasty bones and bread crusts for consumption.

Elvis learned there were kind people in the world after all. He was so thankful that he jumped up and licked the woman's face.

Reading Comprehension

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

  1. _____ Elvis possessed the criteria to be a spectator.
    • _____________________________________________________
  2. _____ Elvis’s owner was not considerate, and he degraded the dog.
    • _____________________________________________________
  3. _____ Elvis followed the brook to the big, impersonal city where pedestrians yelled at him.
    • _____________________________________________________
  4. _____ In the interior of the facility, there was a heap of ornaments and bread crusts for consumption.
    • _____________________________________________________
  5. _____ The old woman wanted to cater to Elvis’s needs at the sanctuary for old hounds.
    • _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. What was true of Elvis’s faculties when he started getting old?
    _____________
  2. What did the old woman believe Elvis was entitled to?
    _____________
  3. What happened at all the races in the northern hemisphere?
    _____________
  4. Where was Elvis escorted to?
    _____________
  5. What was on the external door?
    _____________
Answer Key
Answer Key
Reading Comprehension
Part A
  1. F / Elvis possessed the criteria to be a great racing dog.
  2. T
  3. T
  4. F / In the interior the facility, there was a heap of bones and bread crusts for consumption.
  5. T
Part B
  1. His faculties were not as strong as they used to be.
  2. Elvis was entitled to a better life.
  3. He never lost a race in the northern hemisphere.
  4. Elvis was escorted to a beautiful facility.
  5. There was a sign on the external door that said, “Dogs Welcome!”
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