五百基礎詞匯的使用和練習（27）

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go,"
Shakespeare, Hamlet


Words to Learn This Week

despite
disrupt
rash
rapid
exhaust
severity
feeble
unite
cease
thrifty
miserly
monarch


Read the following story to see how the new words are used in it.

Problems We Face

Despite wars, disease, and natural disasters, our world is experiencing a population explosion (boom) that threatens to change or disrupt life as we have known it. Vast numbers of people must be fed and housed, and in the process a whole rash of problems has descended upon the human race.

First has been the pollution of the air and the contamination of the water supply. Second has been the rapid exhaustion of fuels, minerals, and other natural resources. The response to this situation has ranged from utter di*****elief to exaggerated concern.

Since scientists themselves disagree on the severity of the problem, our feeble knowledge is surely unable to suggest the correct course of action. But we cannot stand still because there is too much at stake. We are therefore, compelled to unite in our efforts to insure that human life on this planet does not cease. We must learn to be thrifty, even miserly, with the gilts of nature that we have formerly taken for granted. If our past reveals a reckless squandering of our natural possessions, we must now find an intelligent guide to their use so that we may remain monarchs of a world that has peace and plenty.


Place one of the new words in each of the blanks below.

1.The dying soldier made a last ____________ effort to rise.

2.Though the victim's breathing had ___________ , the fireman continued giving oxygen.

3.We often regret a ___________ statement made in the heat of an argument.

4.Now that you have ___________ all your excuses, tell us the truth.

5.The bout was fought to determine who would be the _____________ of the ring.

6.An increase in pollution will ____________ our normal ways of life.

7.Macy's Department Store always says, it pays to be _____________ .

8.I have learned to read Spanish ___________ but I cannot speak it so well.

9.The __________ of the pain compelled Frank to call the doctor in the middle of the night.

10.Under certain conditions, oxygen will ___________ with hydrogen to form water.

11. _________ a warning glance from the teacher, Harold continued to annoy the girl next to him.

12. It is best to be neither too __________ nor too careless about one's money.