Unit 21

UNIT 21 WORD LIST background A background is a person's education, family, and experience. The new teacher had a background in science and math. bait Bait is something used to trick a person or thing to do something. The best bait for catching fish is a big, fat worm. chronicle To chronicle an event means to record it. The daily newspaper chronicles local and world events. copper Copper is a red-brown metal often used in electric wire and pipes. Ancient hunters melted copper to make knives and spears. disease A disease is an illness that causes specific problems. He had a disease that caused him to lose his hearing. folklore Folklore is the collection of beliefs and stories of a culture. India's folklore has stories about great warriors written in long poems. infect To infect someone means to give them an illness. The common cold infects hundreds of millions of people each year. itch To itch means to have an unpleasant feeling that you want to scratch. The rough fabric in his shirt made his neck itch. literature Literature is books, plays, and poetry. Early American literature covers the poetry and stories from 1500 to 1800. millennium A millennium is 1000 years. Stonehenge is believed to have been built about five millennia ago.

myth A myth is a traditional story that explains a culture's history and beliefs. In Greece, there was a myth about a woman who had snakes for hair. promote To promote someone means to raise them to a higher position or rank. After two years at the company, she was promoted to manager. relate To relate to something means to have a connection with it. A company's plan usually relates to how much profit it can make. religion A religion is a belief in a god or gods. Their religion taught that people should forgive their enemies. sum A sum is a specific amount of money. He calculated the numbers to see what the sum of his bills would be. teller A teller is a person who works with a bank's customers. The teller at the bank helped Kelly put money into a savings account. trustworthy If someone is trustworthy, they are honest and truthful. Mary is one of the most trustworthy people I've ever met. update To update something means to make it more modern. We need to update the programs on our computers. vein A vein is a tube in the body that carries blood toward the heart. The blue veins in my hand are just under my skin. venom Venom is a poisonous substance that comes from animals or plants. A snake's venom can be used to cure the illnesses it creates.

The Teller and the Thieves A teller at a bank suspected some of her fellow employees of not being very trustworthy. She thought they were stealing. In order to catch them, thought she needed some way to link them to the crime. She had a background in religion and folklore. She remembered that one religion's literature had a myth that chronicled how a group of thieves was captured. In the millennium old story, coins of copper were covered with venom taken from a poisonous snake. The coins were left as bait for the robbers. When they touched the coins, the venom infected their bodies through their skin. The venom ran through their veins, and they all became very sick, as if they had a disease. It made their skin purple. The police arrested whoever had purple skin. She knew she couldn't use venom because it might hurt someone. However, she thought of a way to update the old story. She decided to cover a sum of money with a special powder. If people touched the money, the powder would cause their skin to itch. She placed the stack of money in the bank's safe. No one was supposed to take money from the safe. If somebody did, then they had to be stealing. Within a few hours, three of her coworkers were scratching their hands and arms. They itched so badly that they couldn't even work. She checked the money and it was gone. She told her boss what she had done, and he had the thieves arrested. He thanked her and promoted her. Because events from history often repeat, ancient literature had helped the teller solve a crime. She proved that stories from the past still relate to the problems of today, and they can be helpful in solving those problems.