Unit 14

UNIT 14 WORD LIST brick A brick is a block of hard clay that is used for building things, such as walls. There were several bricks scattered on the ground. crumble To crumble means to break or fall apart into small pieces. The old house's walls crumbled into a pile of rock and wood. dough Dough is a mixture of flour and water that becomes bread when baked. I made heart-shaped cookies from the dough. express To express a feeling or idea means to show others how one thinks or feels. The nurse expressed her sympathy for the sick patient. fist A fist is a hand with fingers bent in toward the palm. The bully made a fist and threatened to hit the small boy. flexible If something is flexible, then it can bend easily without breaking. The tree branch was so flexible it could be bent into a circle and not break. flush To flush means the face becomes red due to heat, illness, or emotion. After the long race, the runner's face was flushed. injure To injure someone means to damage a part of their body. The car crash injured two people. lump A lump is a small piece of something that is solid. The artist took a lump of clay and turned it into a beautiful pot. mixture A mixture is something that is made by mixing other things together. The walls were built using a mixture of water, rock, and dirt.

reconcile To reconcile means to return to a friendly relationship. After arguing, the two friends were reconciled with each other. ruin To ruin something means to harm or damage it greatly. Our walk in the park was ruined by the sudden rain. shatter To shatter something means to break it suddenly into many tiny pieces. When the ball hit the window, the glass shattered. shutter Shutters are wooden or metal covers in front of a window. Mr. Smith closed the shutters every night to make his bedroom dark. sift To sift something means to remove all the large pieces. The baker sifted the flour into a large bowl. slight If something is slight, then it is small or minor. There was only a slight change in the little boy's height. sparkle To sparkle means to shine brightly with quick flashes of light. The stars sparkled in the winter night's sky. sprinkle To sprinkle means to scatter something all over something else. He sprinkled the pasta with salt and black pepper. stale If food is stale, then it is not fresh but dry, hard, and not good to eat. The cookies sat on the table so long that they became stale. utter To utter a word or a sound means to say it. The lost boy was so scared that he could barely utter a single word.

The Brothers and the Bread Two brothers wanted to go outside and play. However, because the only bread in the house was stale, their mother told them they needed to bake fresh bread. "I have to have the car repaired," she said. "When I return, if the bread is ready you can play." The brothers hurried to prepare the bread, but they were not careful enough. They didn't sift the flour. They were careless and sprinkled too much salt into the mixture. The dough needed to be soft and flexible but the salt made it into a lump that was as hard as a brick. The younger brother uttered a sigh. "Now we have to start again," he said. "No, we don't." the older brother replied. "I'll fix it. I just need to make the dough flat again and add water to it." He decided to hit the ball of dough with his fist to make it flat. But he hit it so hard that it flew right off of the table and knocked over a glass, which shattered. The dough then crashed into the kitchen windows shutters and crumbled. Luckily, the brothers were not injured, but they had made a huge mess. A slight mistake now had become a major problem. The brothers had ruined the kitchen. Just then their mother returned. She saw the mess and became flushed with anger. "Now you can't play," she said. "Instead, you have to clean the kitchen. I want this kitchen to be so clean that it sparkles!" The brothers cleaned the floor and expressed their sorrow to their mother. Soon, they were reconciled. But there was no bread, and it was too late to play. They realized that trying to do something quickly often makes more work.