contactusa

1. special

1.

What is

the

of this restau-

specialty

rant?

2. pain

2.

What a

in the neck!

painful

painless

3.

simple

3.

She is a

child.

simplicity

4. knowledge

4.

Her

of physics surprised me.

knowledgeable

5. beneficial

5.

It is

to visit another country.

benefit

6.

cultural

6.

Differences in

often cause se-

culture

rious trouble.

7. familiarity

7.

I was unaccustomed to the

in

familiar

that society.

8.

fear

8.

He is without

fearless

fearful

9. impressionable

9.

She is very young and

impression

10.

senseless

10.

What is the real

of this word?

sense

Part 2

1. Study the meanings of these:

Another example:

-er

the subject

trainer

of the stem

-ее

the object of

trainee

the stem

(Note: -er endings are more common than -ее endings)

popul-

people

population

cent-

hundred

percentage

psych-

the mind

psychological

a. What is the

of your city?

b. Sometimes retirement is a big

adjustment. It takes

time to get used to it.

с In the circus, an animal

works very closely with the

animal to teach it tricks.

d. What

of the people voted against gun control?

e. My sister is a

in computer programming. She's learn­

ing a lot in her program.

Contact a Point of View

123

1.

Poverty in a wealthy society is a(n)

problem.

a. mobile

b. ethical

с

spacious

2. She is in her last year of high school. She is a________

a. junior

b. senior

с

beginner

3.

A car is a(n)

in the suburbs.

a. aspect

b. establishment

с

necessity

4.

Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Heaven will

a. produce

b. provide

с

make ends meet

5.

This coat is

You can have it with 15 percent off.

a. salaried

b. increasing

с

discounted

6.

The price of gold

daily.

a. costs

b. inflates

с

develops

7.

I can

with twenty dollars a day.

a. afford

b. make ends meet

с

look for

8.

This hat is

in the rain. It's too small and doesn't cover my head.

a. fixed

b. useless

с

casual

9. Our culture

our thoughts and actions.

a. influences

b. gets started

с

contains

Positive

Negative

Look Back

125

equalize

(1)

wealthy

(7)

differences

(2)

upper

(8)

successful

(3)

royalty

(9)

equality

(4)

background

(10)

restrooms

(5)

powerful

(11)

protection

(6)

minority

(12)

DIRECTIONS: Now read.

Can a poor country boy from the hills of Kentucky become

1

President of the United States? Can a poor, black, city boy become

2

wealthy and famous all over the world? Can a woman become Près-

3

1

ident of the United States? The answer to all of these questions is

4

"yes, ideally it is possible." The key word here is "ideally." Ideally,

5

everyone in the United States, whether rich or poor, has an equal

6

opportunity to succeed.

7

This concept of equal opportunity to succeed is a basic idea in

8

capitalism, the economic system of the United States. Social classes

9

or levels are not permanently established. The terms upper class or

10

2

upper-middle class are mainly financial terms, although an upper-

11

class person has been wealthy for a long time. There are no kings,

12

queens, or other royalty in the United States, and a person's back-

13

ground is not as important as that person's position now. Perhaps

14

because the United States is a country of immigrants, people who

15

often had very little when they arrived in the country, Americans

16

value the ability to go "from rags to riches."

17

The first two examples in the first paragraph are descriptions

18

of self-made men, who started life with almost nothing and became

19

successful. These men are President Abraham Lincoln and the boxer

20

Mohammed AU. These two men did not have the advantages of

21

wealth, good educational opportunities, or contact with powerful

22

people. However, they were ambitious and wanted to succeed.

23

3

Of course, it is unrealistic to say that everyone who wants to

24

succeed will be able to succeed. But there are laws which give every

25

person in the United States the chance or opportunity to succeed.

26

These laws guarantee equal opportunities for education and em-

27

ployment to all people. These laws are especially important to mem-

28

bers of minorities (i.e., any group of people not white, Protestant,

29

and male in the United States) such as Hispanics, women, blacks,

30

and many other ethnic, religious, and racial groups. Minority groups

31

may find that they do not have equal education, housing, or em-

32

ployment. They may have difficulty finding jobs or getting

33

adequate pay because of prejudice.

34

4

Prejudice is a negative feeling against a person because of his

35

or her race, religion, or background. For example, if a factory owner

36

does not like Mexican-Americans in general, this person is preju-

37

diced. A prejudiced person actually prejudges a whole group of peo-

38

pie and feels negatively about all the people in that group. If a fac-

39

tory owner feels prejudiced, this is not a problem. The problem

40

arises when this factory owner refuses to hire someone because of

41

5

prejudice. If an employer gives a job to a man instead of a woman

42

when both are equally qualified, this is called discrimination. Dis-

43

crimination in housing, education, and employment is illegal in this

44

country.

45

The word discrimination really means the observation of dif-

46

ferences. Obviously, there are differences in people. However, equal

47

opportunity laws try to prevent differences from becoming prob-

48

lems when people want to succeed. In education, employment, and

49

many other areas, discrimination is a bad word.

50

DIRECTIONS: Scan

the

reading for

these words.

Write the

number of the line where you

find them. Then compare the meaning in the sentence to the meaning of the

wordfsj on the right.

Are the words

similar or

different? Write similar or dif-

ferent

on

the line.

LINE

SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT

1.

country

NUMBER

city

2. key

important

3.

ideally

really

4.

equal

same

5.

capitalism

economic system

6.

background

experience

7.

rags

riches

8.

guarantee

promise

9.

prejudice

feeling

10.

prevent

stop

A First Look

131