Unit 14: Day Without Sight

4000 Essential English Words 5 » Unit 14: Day Without Sight

Word List

asset [ˈæset] n.

An asset is a skill or quality that is useful or valuable.

→ The coach realized the boy’s speed was an asset to the team.
aspect [ˈæspekt] n.

An aspect is one part or feature of something.

→ I thought about the different aspects of owning two dogs.
Braille [breil] n.

Braille is a system of raised patterns on paper that allows the blind to read.

→ The boy enjoyed reading his favorite books written in Braille.
bud [bʌd] n.

A bud is a part of a plant that turns into a flower or a leaf.

→ Two weeks after planting the seed, a small bud appeared.
coordinate [kouˈɔːrdəneit] v.

To coordinate things is to make different parts work together.

→ Each skating team had to coordinate their movements for the show.
disprove [disˈpruːv] v.

To disprove something means to show that it is not true.

→ The scientist disproved the theory that the sun moved around the Earth.
humanitarian [hjuːˌmænəˈtɛəriən] adj.

If something is humanitarian, it is connected to helping people’s lives.

→ After the flood, several humanitarian organizations offered help.
hypothesis [haiˈpɒθəsis] n.

A hypothesis is an idea for something that has not been proved yet.

→ The teacher did an experiment to prove whether his hypothesis was right.
imprint [imˈprint] n.

An imprint is an effect or lesson from an experience that is hard to forget.

→ The experience ofwarleftan imprint on his mind that troubled him.
informative [inˈfɔːrmətiv] adj.

When something is informative, it provides a lot of information.

→ The travel guide had a lot of informative facts about the region.
optic [ˈɒptik] adj.

When something is optic, it relates to the eyes or light.

→ Her blindness was caused by a problem with her optic nerve.
premise [ˈpremis] n.

A premise is an idea on which something is based.

→ The premise of the movie that Bobbi and I watched was unrealistic.
rack [ræk] n.

A rack is an object with shelves that holds things.

→ He stored his tools on a rack.
Renaissance [reˈnəsɑːns] n.

The Renaissance was a period between the 14th and 17th centuries.

→ Leonardo Da Vinci was a popular artist of the Renaissance.
revere [riviə:r] v.

To revere something is to admire it greatly.

→ The students revere their teacher, who has taught them a lot.
simultaneous [ˌsaiməlˈteiniəs] adj.

When something is simultaneous, it occurs at the same time as something else.

→ The movement of the gears inside the watch was simultaneous.
skeptic [ˈskeptik] n.

A skeptic is a person who does not believe something.

→ The scientist showed the skeptic that dinosaurs did exist by providing evidence.
spatial [ˈspeiʃəl] adj.

When something is spatial, it relates to the position and size of things.

→ He was asked where the books were located to test his spatial ability.
specify [ˈspesəfai] v.

To specify is to describe something clearly.

→ The poster didn’t specify where the concert was taking place.
wax [wæks] n.

Wax is a substance that is slightly shiny and melts when heated.

→ The candles are made of wax.

Exercise 1

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

informative
- a. thoughtless
- b. careful
- c. helpful
- d. untrue
coordinate
- a. to work together
- b. to break
- c. to listen
- d. to finish
premise
- a. an important part
- b. a solution
- c. an idea
- d. a purpose
aspect
- a. a valued thing
- b. a feature
- c. an idea
- d. a location
imprint
- a. effect
- b. prison
- c. presence
- d. amount
rack
- a. a baker
- b. a holder
- c. a shelter
- d. a waiter
optic
- a. visual
- b. thoughtful
- c. medical
- d. restful
Braille
- a. sign language
- b. hearing aid
- c. plant
- d. a system of writing
bud
- a. tree
- b. sprout
- c. bark
- d. leaves
wax
- a. bee substance
- b. tight
- c. fire
- d. ice

Exercise 2

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

disprove
- a. to invent
- b. to validate
- c. to lie
- d. to guess
revere
- a. to disrespect
- b. to go fast
- c. to keep
- d. to put away
humanitarian
- a. animal
- b. parasite
- c. assistant
- d. artist
simultaneous
- a. frightening
- b. slow
- c. preceding
- d. lost
Renaissance
- a. last
- b. modern
- c. art
- d. expensive

Exercise 3

Write C if the italicized word is used correctly. Write I if the word is used incorrectly.

______ We received humanitarian relief after I got a terrible haircut.
______ The boy waited for the Renaissance, which was going to start in the future.
______ Alice placed the ball on the rack where all her sport equipment was stored.
______ The woman liked the premise of the show, but she thought the acting was bad.
______ The boy was scared by the simultaneous sound of the thunder and the phone.
______ The map was informative and helped them from getting lost.
______ The teacher disproved her expectations. He did exactly what she thought he would.
______ Kelly had only met her uncle once and didn’t know much about him. She revered him.
______ In spring, all of the plants in the garden are covered with tiny buds.
______ The skeptic didn’t believe that the magician could actually make someone disappear.
______ He didn’t think about the aspects of smoking. Later he realized the disadvantages.
______ The new hearing aid provides a wide range of optic choices.
______ The bad dream left an imprint on Jared. He had forgot it by noon of the same day.
______ He had to specify to the waiter whether he wanted onions in his food or not.
______ The fruits looked real, but they were made of wax.
______ Her understanding has been a real asset in her successful career.
______ I did an experiment to prove my hypotheses.
______ Please use the spatial spoon to turn the eggs.
______ Braille has helped many blind people enjoy literature.
______ If you coordinate all of sounds, you can make music.

Answer Key

Exercise 1

c
a
c
b
a
b
a
d
b
a

Exercise 2

b
a
a
c
b

Exercise 3

I
I
C
C
C
C
I
I
C
C
C
I
I
C
C
C
C
I
C
C

Answer Key

Day Without Sight

On Friday afternoon, Sam’s teacher had a special assignment.

“Next week, we’ll be studying humanitarian efforts around the world since the time of the Renaissance, including those to help the blind,” she said. “Over the weekend, I want each of you to wear a blindfold for an entire day. The premise of this experiment is that it will help you understand what it’s like to be blind,” she said.

Sam was a skeptic. He really didn’t think the assignment would be too challenging. On Saturday morning, Sam took a piece of cloth and tied it around his head to cover his eyes. Then he went into the kitchen for breakfast. He heard the voices of his parents and brothers but couldn’t specify where each voice was coming from. He thought about how important hearing is for blind people.

“Could you pass me the newspaper, please?” he asked. Just then, he remembered he couldn’t see the words on the page. He wondered if Braille newspapers were ever made.

After finishing breakfast, his brothers asked him to play soccer. As he followed them, he accidentally walked into the baker’s rack. He also found that he couldn’t play soccer. He wouldn’t be able to coordinate his actions without being able to see. Without his optic senses, he had no spatial awareness. Furthermore, he couldn’t do simultaneous activities because he had to make sure he was safe first.

He sat on the lawn. Suddenly, he realized that though he couldn’t see, his other senses worked perfectly fine. In fact, he began to realize new and different aspects of common objects. For example, he took a flower bud and felt it with his finger. He realized for the first time that it seemed to be covered with wax.

His hypothesis about being blind was disproved. The informative experiment had an imprint on him. It showed him sight was an asset that should be appreciated and taught him to revere the talents of blind people.

Reading Comprehension

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

_____ Sam’s class is going to study humanitarian efforts since the time of the Renaissance next week.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ At first, Sam’s hypothesis is that the assignment is going to be difficult.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ When Sam goes into the kitchen, he reads a Braille newspaper.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ Sam runs into the baker’s rack on his way outside.
- _____________________________________________________
_____ Without his sense of sight, Sam has better spatial awareness and can coordinate his movements more easily.
- _____________________________________________________

Part B: Answer the questions.

What was the premise of the experiment, according to Sam’s teacher?
_____________
What did Sam realize when he couldn’t specify where the voices were coming from?
_____________
Why wasn’t Sam able to perform simultaneous activities?
_____________
What aspect of the flower bud did Sam notice after he realized all his other senses worked fine?
_____________
After Sam’s theory was disproved, what was the impact the experiment had on him?
_____________

Answer Key

Reading Comprehension

Part A

T
F / At first, Sam is a skeptic. He thinks the assignment will be easy.
F / When Sam goes into the kitchen, he can’t read the newspaper.
T
F / Without his sense of sight, Sam has worse spatial awareness and isn’t able to coordinate his movements easily.

Part B

According to the teacher, the premise of the experiment is to help the students understand what it’s like to be blind.
Sam realized how important hearing was for blind people.
Sam wasn’t able to perform simultaneous activities because he had to make sure he was safe first.
Sam noticed that the bud seemed to be covered with wax.
It showed him sight was an asset that should be appreciated and taught him to revere the talents of blind people.

Favorite Books

4000 Essential English Words 1

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 1: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 2

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 2: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 3

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 3: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 4

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 4: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

4000 Essential English Words 6

The activities in "4000 Essential English Words" are specially designed to make use of important learning conditions. Firstly, the words are introduced using sentence definitions and an example sentence. 4000 Essential English Words 6: 600 words (Unit 1 - Unit 30).

Table of Contents