4000 Essential English Words 2 Unit 9: The Tale of Bartelby O’Boyle

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Question 1

Check the sentence with the bolded word that makes better sense.

a. Parents have authority over their children.

b. Poor people aid rich people by giving them money.

A	A
B	B

Question 1 Explanation:

Authority means the power to tell others what to do. Parents have this power over their children. Sentence b is wrong because to aid means to help, and poor people don't give money to rich people.

Question 2

a. When you have authority, you cannot do anything.

b. When people cooperate, they can get more done.

A	A
B	B

Question 2 Explanation:

To cooperate means to work together, so people get more done. Sentence a is wrong: with authority (power) you can do more, not nothing.

Question 3

a. You should admire people who tell lies.

b. Learning a new language can frustrate some people.

A	A
B	B

Question 3 Explanation:

To frustrate means to make someone feel upset because something is hard. A new language can do this. To admire means to think very well of someone, so we don't admire liars.

Question 4

a. If you aid someone, he or she will usually thank you.

b. If you cooperate with your friends, you will feel lonely.

A	A
B	B

Question 4 Explanation:

To aid means to help, and people usually thank you for help. Working together (cooperate) with friends does not make you lonely.

Question 5

a. You should frustrate your friends when they help you.

b. Most students admire teachers who work hard.

A	A
B	B

Question 5 Explanation:

To admire someone means to think they are very good. Students admire hard-working teachers. You should not frustrate (upset) friends who help you.

Question 6

Choose the one that suits the blank naturally.

If you help other people, _____.

A	they will admire you
B	they will struggle with you

Question 6 Explanation:

When you help people, they think well of you: they admire you. To struggle means to fight or try hard, which doesn't fit.

Question 7

After the fight, _____.

A	the room was in disorder
B	the room got a reputation

Question 7 Explanation:

Disorder means a big mess, with things not in their places. After a fight, a room is often in disorder.

Question 8

The people wanted change, _____.

A	so they defended themselves
B	so they elected a new person to govern the country

Question 8 Explanation:

To govern means to control and run a country. People who want change choose (elect) a new leader.

Question 9

Because I could not solve the problem, _____.

A	I became frustrated
B	there was a division between the animals

Question 9 Explanation:

Frustrated means upset because you can't do something. Not solving a problem makes you feel this way.

Question 10

She found a mistake on her homework, so _____.

A	she aided it to be fixed
B	she attempted to correct it

Question 10 Explanation:

To attempt means to try. When she found a mistake, she tried to correct it. Aided it to be fixed is not correct English.

Question 11

After returning from the library, _____.

A	we could cooperate with our books
B	we had plenty of books to read

Question 11 Explanation:

Plenty means a lot, more than enough. After the library, we had a lot of books. You can't cooperate (work together) with books.

Question 12

After her friends laughed at her, _____.

A	she thought that the royal palace looked beautiful
B	she knew that her last remark was stupid

Question 12 Explanation:

A remark is something you say. When friends laughed, she knew her words were stupid (not clever). The palace has nothing to do with the laughing.

Question 13

You cannot tell me what to do. _____.

A	I live in the capital city
B	You don’t have any authority

Question 13 Explanation:

Authority is the power to tell people what to do. If you have no authority, you can't tell me what to do.

Question 14

Read the directions carefully. _____.

A	They will cause destruction
B	They will enable you to complete the project

Question 14 Explanation:

To enable means to make something possible. Good directions make it possible to finish the project. Directions don't cause destruction (damage).

Question 15

Before he can feel better, _____.

A	he must find a way to relieve the pain
B	he must become a slave

Question 15 Explanation:

To relieve pain means to make it smaller or stop it. Then he can feel better.

Question 16

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, available solely before the first question. Remember, referring back to the reading text while answering the questions may be helpful to ensure accuracy.)

THE TALE OF BARTELBY O’BOYLE

Long ago, there was a clever man by the name of Bartelby O’Boyle. As a boy, he was kept as a slave by the royal family. He saw other children play, but he always had to work. This frustrated him very much. But he was not stupid, and he wanted to change things.

Then one day there was a struggle for authority in the kingdom. There was a division of the people, and one group fought against another group to see which would govern the kingdom. There was disorder in the kingdom. Bartelby ran away. He saw much fighting and destruction. Many people had nothing to eat; Bartelby decided to aid them. He would help them get food. But how?

Bartelby went to the capital to find an answer. There, he met a man named Gilliam. A group of men attempted to hurt Gilliam. Bartelby defended him. Then, he gave Gilliam some food to relieve his hunger. After that, the two became friends. They took food from the rich and gave it to the poor.

Soon, other people cooperated with them. Working together enabled them to take more food, but they only took food from people who had plenty, and they always gave it to those who had none. Because of this, Bartelby gained a reputation across the kingdom. Even today, many people admire him for helping the poor.

What is this story about?

A	How a slave became a king
B	How a stupid mistake made Bartelby a slave
C	How a lad found plenty of food
D	How a man aided poor people

Question 16 Explanation:

The whole story is about Bartelby helping hungry people: he decided to aid them, and he gave food to the poor. He never became a king, and he was a slave as a boy, not because of a mistake.

Question 17

What did Bartelby do in the capital?

A	He cooperated with his group of friends.
B	He enabled Gilliam to have authority over the king.
C	He relieved Gilliam of his hunger.
D	He found a mask to wear.

Question 17 Explanation:

Paragraph 3 says that in the capital he gave Gilliam food to relieve his hunger. Other people cooperated with them only later, in paragraph 4.

Question 18

In paragraph 1, we can infer that _____.

A	Bartelby did not like the royal family
B	the family attempted to cause disorder
C	the other children were not clever
D	Bartelby had a bad reputation

Question 18 Explanation:

Paragraph 1 says the royal family kept him as a slave and this frustrated him, so we can guess he did not like them. The text says nothing about the other children being clever or about his reputation.

Question 19

According to the passage, all the following are true EXCEPT _____.

A	people today still admire Bartelby
B	Gilliam struggled with Bartelby
C	Bartelby defended Gilliam
D	the fighting caused destruction

Question 19 Explanation:

Gilliam never fought with Bartelby. A group of men attacked Gilliam, Bartelby defended him, and they became friends (paragraph 3). The other three sentences are all in the story.

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Word List

admire [ədˈmaɪə:r] v.
To admire someone is to like them for what they do.
→ I admire my brother for his hard work.
aid [eɪd] v.
To aid someone is to help them when they need something.
→ The doctor aided the boy after his accident.
attempt [əˈtempt] v.
To attempt something is to try to do that thing.
→ I am attempting to learn English.
authority [əˈθɒːrətɪ] n.
Authority is the power that someone has because of their position.
→ The policeman has authority on the streets.
capital [ˈkæpɪtl] n.
A capital is an important city where a country’s leaders live and work.
→ We will visit the capital to learn about our government.
cooperate [koʊˈɒpəreɪt] v.
To cooperate is to work together to do something.
→ The students cooperated to clean up the classroom.
defend [dɪˈfend] v.
To defend someone or something is to protect them from attack.
→ The soldiers defended the town from the invaders.
destruction [dɪsˈtrʌkʃən] n.
Destruction is damage to something so bad that it can’t be fixed.
→ After the big fire, there was much destruction in the city.
disorder [dɪsˈɔːrdər] n.
Disorder is a lack of order, or a complete mess.
→ The teacher’s desk had many papers in disorder.
division [dɪˈvɪʒən] n.
A division is the act of making smaller groups out of a larger one.
→ The chart had six divisions which all had different colors.
enable [ɪˈneɪbl] v.
To enable a person is to make it possible for them to do something.
→ Having the key enabled us to open the door.
frustrate [frʌsˈtreɪt] v.
To frustrate is to prevent someone from fulfilling their desire.
→ The machine frustrated me because I could not fix it.
govern [ˈgʌvən] v.
To govern is to control the public business of a country, state, or city.
→ The United States is governed from the White House.
plenty [ˈplentɪ] n.
To have plenty of something is to have more than you need.
→ The school had plenty of books for the students to read.
relieve [rɪˈliːv] v.
To relieve someone is to make them feel less pain.
→ The medicine relieved the sick boy.
reputation [ˌrepjəˈteɪʃən] n.
Reputation is the opinion that people have about someone.
→ The doctor had a reputation for helping people.
royal [ˈrɔɪəl] adj.
Royal describes something that belongs to a king or queen.
→ The king sat upon the royal
slave [sleɪv] n.
A slave is a person who is not free and must work for someone else.
→ The slave worked very hard all day long.
struggle [ˈstrʌgəl] v.
To struggle is to fight against someone or something.
→ The kids struggled with each other for the toy.
stupid [ˈstjuːpɪd] adj.
When someone is stupid, they lack intelligence.
→ He said something stupid that made everyone angry at him.