Short Articles for Reading Comprehension-Book 3 (E)

federation

a group of societies or other organizations which have joined together, usually because they share a common interest
The federation had a lot of power because it was made up of so many different organizations.

founder

one that founds or establishes an organization, business, school, or institution
Muhammed was the founder of Islam, one of the religions in the middle east.

govern

to exercise authority
A wise ruler must govern with mercy and justice.

motto

a short sentence or phrase that expresses a rule for sensible behavior, especially a way of behaving in a particular situation
The motto for our club was, "Keep the planet clean, do your part."

banquet

a grand formal dinner
The king gave a great banquet in honor of his birthday and roasted ten pigs.

confection

a sweet food that someone has made
Turkey is famous for its baklava, a confection made from honey, nuts, and pastry sheets.

freezer

a large piece of kitchen equipment which uses electricity to keep food or drinks at a low temperature
Put the popsicles and ice cream in the freezer so they stay cold.

frozen

solid because of cold
The water in the pond was frozen so the children went skating on it.

aggressive

violent, angry or threatening
A hungry lion is very aggressive.

benefit

a good or advantageous thing
The benefit of a big family is that you always have someone to talk to when you are sad.

bid

an offer to give a certain amount of money for certain property or services
Her bid for the antique table was too low so she did not win it.

competitor

a person, team or company which does the same thing as another and tries to do it better
Joe's competitor was taller and stronger, so he knew it would be a tough race.

suitable

having the appropriate, necessary and right qualities for someone or something
A bathing suit is not suitable for school, please wear something else.

adopt

to take on a new style, manner or practice, often from a borrowed source
He adopted them all, the children that no one wanted, he took them all into his family.

bark

the tough outer covering that protects a tree or other plant
The bark of oak trees is used to make certain medicines.

origami

종이 접기
origami is an interesting hobby, and one can spend hours folding little frogs and flowers.

seismograph

지진계, 진동계
The 2008 Sichaun earthquake was measured with a seismograph.

ceramics

the art of making objects from clay and hardening them in a fire or OVEN
ceramics are a cheap and popular way to add a little color to your home.

dominate

to control or have power over someone or something
Frogs dominate in one area of the woods while alligators rule in the swamps.

inspire

to make someone have the desire to do something
Good teachers want to inspire their students to do well.

sculpture

the practice of creating artistic objects from wood, clay or other materials
Greek sculpture is admired throughout the world.

deposit

an amount of a substance that has gathered somewhere as a result of a natural chemical reaction
The gold miners found a large deposit of gold in that area.

durable

being able to last or stay in a good condition for a long time
It is better to pay a little more for something durable than to buy something cheap that breaks easily.

igneous

rock formed from cooled liquid rock
igneous rocks were originally magma that cooled and hardened.

invincible

cannot be defeated
No man alive is invincible, everyone has a weakness.

jewelry

small, attractive objects that people wear to improve their appearance
Women throughout time have liked to wear all kinds of jewelry for decoration and rank.

sparkle

to shine with a lot of very small points of light
Diamonds and glass sparkle in the sunlight, but a diamond is much harder.

chronological

placed in order of time, usually of events
History teachers often ask students to put important events in chronological order.

commandment

계명, 계율, 명령, 지령, 명령권
Following the king's commandment, we went out and started helping others.

revelation

a surprising and previously unknown fact
A true revelation is something that is deeply understood in the heart.

revere

to give something or someone great respect and loyalty
People have revered gold and silver throughout the ages.

sacred

related to a religion
Stonehenge is thought to have once been a sacred place where people worshipped.

archivist

a person in charge of collecting and cataloguing archives
While being an archivist may not be that exciting, the work of preserving the past is critical.

institution

an organization that is created for a particular cause or purpose
Hong went to Harvard, an important academic institution in the States.

orally

by speaking rather than writing
Most ancient peoples passed their histories and beliefs orally to the next generation.

papyrus

a type of paper invented in ancient Egypt, made from a tall water plant
Since it was only made from papyrus, the document crumbled after many years.

tribe

a social group made up of many families that share the same language, customs, and beliefs
Various Indian tribes spread out over the plains and lived off the land.

abbreviate

to shorten a word or phrase by leaving out letters
When texting someone, it is common to abbreviate words.

currency

the type of money that is used in a particular country
Zimbabwe's currency was almost worthless so a loaf of bread was more than 100 billion dollars.

mint

an herb with a strong, fresh smell
This was the name given in 1519 to coins minted from silver mined in Joachimsthal, now called Jachymov.

simplification

the act of making something easier to do, use or understand
Isaac Asimov was good at the simplification of difficult ideas.

superimpose

to impose, place, or set over, above, or on something else.
We should superimpose the new maps over the old ones to see where the ancient kingdoms were.

celebrity

a person, usually an entertainer, who is known by many people; a famous person
celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Jackie Chan often have a lot of money.

dependent

needing something in order to be successful
Newborns are completely dependent on their mothers, they need to have everything done for them.

exaggeration

과장, 과대시, 과장된 표현
It was an exaggeration to say that Yao Ming is over fifteen feet tall.

negligible

so small that it is meaningless or trivial
Since the amount of time they lost was negligible, they went in to see the movie.

public

the people of a particular area as a whole
The public always wants to know what's going on in the government.

crust

the hard outer layer of something
We really only know about the crust of the earth since it is what we walk on.

erupt

to begin doing something or happen suddenly from a previously inactive state
The water erupted from the broken fire hydrant and no one could shut it off.

evacuate

to move people from a dangerous place to somewhere safe
Firefighters evacuated the people from the burning building.

foundation

the basis or support for something; the stone or concrete structure that supports a building
The foundations of the building were damaged by the severe earthquake.

predict

to state that something will happen in the future
No one can predict the future, although many people try.

bizarre

being odd or strange
Edgar A. Poe wrote some bizarre stories like the Fall of the House of Usher.

camouflage

to hide something from view by making it look like its background
The soldiers placed tree branches around their spot to camouflage themselves.

creature

a living thing that is not a plant
A sting ray is a flat, diamond-shaped creature that lives in the ocean.

lethal

causing or able to cause death
Avoid growing foxglove because the plant contains dioxin, a lethal poison.

millennia

a period of 1000 years
Over the millennia, many great civilizations have risen and fallen.

spine

the line of linked bones running down the back of humans and many animals; the backbone
Porcupines have a lot of spines for protection.

futuristic

very modern
The new jet pack is a futuristic device that lets one man fly around like an astronaut.

imaginary

not real; existing only in the mind
Centaurs, griffons, and elves are all imaginary creatures.

impossibility

불가능, 불가능한 일
When she thought about all the impossibilities, Sara realized that the strange solution must be the right one.

novella

중편 소설
Herman Melville wrote Billy Bud, a famous novella.

speculative

based on a guess and not on information
The stock market is highly speculative, with people just hoping about the future.

supernatural

being unable to be explained by natural causes and science and seeming to involve the MAGICAL or godly powers
supernatural forces are those that cannot be explained by the natural world.

culinary

concerned with cooking
My culinary skills were not great, so I burned the soup and set the kitchen on fire.

demon

an evil spirit
They thought that the crazy woman was possessed by a demon.

distributor

a company or person who supplies products to stores and other businesses
All of the small shops bought the paper from a distributor who handled the smaller orders.

harsh

being severe and unkind
The police caned the prisoner, a harsh punishment involving the use of a pole.

producer

a person or thing that produces or grows a certain product
Korea is the largest producer of kimchi, which is spicy pickled cabbage.

vampire

a corpse supposed, in European folklore, to leave its grave at night to drink the blood of the living by biting their necks with long pointed canine teeth.
Anne Rice wrote stories about vampires, mythical people who drank blood.

casualty

someone who is hurt or killed in a war, accident, or disaster
The aid workers were lucky and suffered only one casualty when the bomb exploded.

emergency

a sudden happening that calls for an immeidate action
In an emergency, the most important thing to do is to stay calm and not panic.

injury

physical or emotional harm or damage that a person experiences
Mary fell down and got a minor injury.

preserve

to help something continue to exist in good condition
It is important to preserve human life.

resuscitation

the act of helping a person breathe again or returning them to a conscious state
Oliver survived because of the resuscitation he got after his heart attack.

boom

To boom means to make a loud, deep sound.
Analysts think the boom times are over now that so many people lost their jobs.

fuel

a material used to produce heat or power when burned
Farmers need fuel to run their tractors and other equipment.

inflation

a continual rise in the prices of products
inflation goes up every year, but if it goes up too quickly in a short amount of time, there is a problem.

interruption

the act of causing a break in something continuous
Agnes waited for the interruption to die down before she began her speech again.

cenotaph

기념비
Mark, World War II veteran, visits the cenotaph every year and thinks about his fallen friends.

chamber

a large room that is used for official or governmental meetings
President Smith entered the chamber and brought the meeting to order.

distressed

비통에 찬, 비탄하는
Many families were distressed at the sight of the burning towers, hoping for a miracle.

elaborate

made or done with great care or with much detail
The bride's dress was elaborate, having three kinds of fabric and over 4,000 beads.

mausoleum

a building which contains the grave of a famous person or the graves of a rich family
The mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a huge and ornate tomb.

tribute

something that is said or done to show respect
Every year, small countries would bring tribute to the Chinese emperor.

archetype

a perfect or typical example of something because it has all of the associated qualities
My grandmother was the archetype-plump, jolly, warm, and always baking something good.

detective

one who finds information or people, especial finding those who break the law
Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Peter Wimsey-who was the greatest fictional detective?

fictional

including ideas, people and events that are not real
Most movies are almost entirely fictional, with strange people and events.

murder

an unlawful killing of a person on purpose
murder is one of the worst crimes in society, and the punishment is often death.

solve

to find the correct answer to a problem or mystery
If you can solve these math problems, please continue onto the next page of the test.

lens

a piece of glass or plastic used to protect the eye or improve vision
Matthew put another lens on the telescope so he could see the moon more clearly.

magnify

to cause something to appear larger or louder using special devices or machines
A microscope magnifies the image of a tiny bacteria hundred times.

monk

a male member of a religious group who lives with men apart from other people
After his wife died, Gerald became a monk and worked in the church gardens.

optician

안경상, 광학 기계상
Dr. Visio, the optician, told me to look at the chart and read the letters.

sermon

a talk on a religious or moral subject that is given by a member of the clergy as part of a church service
The famous 'sermon on the Mount' is full of important things to think about.

inspiration

something or someone that gives you an idea or gives you the desire to do something
Thoreau got his inspiration from the world around him.

patent

a legal right to an invention by a person or company that prevents anyone else from making or selling that product
Many companies have patents for their products so no one else can make the same item.

perspiration

the liquid which comes out on the surface of your skin when you are hot or frightened
The athlete ran so much that the perspiration was flowing off his head like a stream.

phonograph

a device that is able to make sounds from a record
Old phonographs can still be found in resale shops with the big round records they played.

prolific

producing something in large quantities
Isaac Asimov was a prolific writer, having written over 9,000 letters and books in his lifetime.