Unit 10

UNIT 10 WORD LIST animate When something is animate, it has life. Rocks and machines are not animate things. classify To classify things is to put them into groups based on their type. The biologist classified the plant as a completely new species. concede To concede is to admit against your wish that something is true. The student conceded that he had cheated on the test. concept A concept is an idea about something. I learned some concepts about molecules before working in the science lab. construct To construct something means to make or build it. The men used wood and metal to construct a house. decade A decade is a period of ten years. She celebrated her three decades of work with the company. diagram A diagram is a simple drawing that explains what something is or how it works. By following the diagram, I was able to put the desk together. ferry A ferry is a boat that carries passengers over short distances. The ferry took the people across the lake. handy If something is handy, it is useful. An eraser is handy if you make a lot of mistakes, isolate To isolate is to separate one person or thing from a group. The teacher isolated the bad child from the class before talking with her.

longing A longing is a strong feeling of wanting. Since he skipped breakfast, he had a longing for food all morning. numerous If something is numerous, there are many of those things. It was hard to drive fast since there were numerous holes in the road. particle A particle is a very small piece of something. The bottles of wine were covered in a layer of dust particles. plea A plea is a request that is urgent or emotional. The poor, hungry man made a plea for food. refrain To refrain from something is to avoid doing it. The doctor asked Mary to refrain from eating fast food as part of her diet. review A review of something is a formal inspection of it by people in authority. The government ordered a careful review of the economic situation. sophisticated If someone is sophisticated, they know many things about the world. Jake is one of the most sophisticated people I've ever met. surrender To surrender something is to give it up. The thief surrendered the money to the police when he was caught. upright If something is upright, it is standing up straight. Meerkats can't walk like humans, but they can stand upright. worthwhile If something is worthwhile, it is important or useful. On his visit to Canada, he realized studying English was worthwhile.

Anton's Great Discovery Anton Van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch cloth merchant. His life began to change after he got his first microscope in 1653. It was a very simple microscope. It had a lens in an upright stand. It could make small things look large. It was handy for looking closely at cloth. Soon, Anton felt a longing to build a more powerful microscope. He dreamed of using it to make an important scientific discovery. He wanted to become famous. Three decades later, he did. For many years, Anton experimented with microscopes and lenses. Eventually, he constructed a very powerful microscope. If he had sold the concept to others, it would have made him very rich. However, Anton refrained from surrendering his secret to anyone. Instead, he wanted to use it to become famous. So he used his secret microscope to study the natural world. One day, he was looking at saliva from his mouth with the microscope. In the saliva, he saw numerous tiny particles. Some of them were moving! He thought that the particles were tiny organisms. So he isolated them from each other and studied each one carefully. Then he classified them into different categories. Some were round. Others were long and had tails. All were alive. Anton was so excited. He knew he could become famous now. He was the first person to see these tiny organisms. So he drew diagrams of the organisms and sent them to a group of scientists in London. The scientists were sophisticated men who did not believe tiny, animate organisms could live in our mouths. Anton made a plea for them to come to Holland to see the organisms with their own eyes. The men took a ferry to Holland and met Anton. They performed a careful review of his work, and they conceded that he had made a worthwhile discovery. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek had discovered bacteria. After decades of hard work, he had become famous.