Unit 22

UNIT 22 WORD LIST charity Charity is an act of giving help, usually money, to those who need it. Thanks to his friends' charity. he had enough money to pay the rent. commerce Commerce is the activity of buying and selling things. The new shopping mall increased the commerce in that section of town. condemn To condemn someone means to give them a specific punishment. The judge condemned the criminal to five years in prison. COZY If something is cozy, then it is comfortable, warm, and relaxing. The thick blanket made the bed very cozy. deplete To deplete an amount of something means to use all of it up. All the driving he was doing was depleting his car's fuel supply. economy An economy is the money and businesses of a country or region. The factory was good for the economy because it brought jobs to the area. empire An empire is a large group of countries ruled by an emperor or empress. The emperor built roads to make travel easier throughout the empire. goods Goods are anything that can be bought or sold. Shoes, hats, dresses, and purses were the goods she wanted to buy. heed To heed something means to obey or follow it. You should heed the advice on the sign and not drive so fast. hitchhike To hitchhike means to travel by asking for rides from passing vehicles. She didn't have a car, so she hitchhiked several miles to her brother's home.

mock To mock someone means to tease them in a cruel way. The girls mocked Nancy because she was a new student. neutral If someone is neutral, then they do not help either of the two fighting sides. The girl's friend remained neutral while the couple was arguing. persecute To persecute means to treat someone badly. Dan felt persecuted because he was smaller than the other boys at school. pity Pity is the feeling of sadness and kindness for those who are suffering. Because she had pity for the lost boy, she helped him find his parents. reduce To reduce something means to make it smaller in size or fewer in number. When the store reduced its prices, people wanted to shop there. scribe A scribe was a person whose job was to copy written works. In ancient Egypt, scribes recorded important events. temper A temper is someone's mood or a chance that they might get angry. She has a temper. Even the slightest mistakes make her angry. throne A throne is the special chair in which a ruler sits. Nobody except the king and queen sat in the thrones in the great hall. unity Unity is the state of people working together for a certain purpose. The project was finished early thanks to the unity of the workers. victor A victor is a group or person that wins in a contest. At the end of the game, the blue team were the victors.

The Scribe's Warning A great and powerful empire needed the wood from its western areas to build palaces and homes for the emperor and his friends. However, the empire had depleted many of its forests. The trees were important to the western areas' economy. With no trees to sell the commerce in that area was reduced. Citizens could no longer purchase the goods that they needed to survive. Their life became difficult. A poor scribe from the area wanted to help. He hitchhiked to the capital to ask the emperor for charity. He was invited to the palace. It was large and cozy. Tables were loaded with food, and fires burned warmly in every fireplace. The emperor sat upon his throne, and the scribe stood in front of him. "I've come to ask for help," the scribe said, "We're all very poor and hungry. You've used up all of the forests, and now we have nothing to sell." Then he added a warning. "If we don't receive help, I'm afraid that the entire empire will suffer. We must establish some unity." Upon hearing the scribe's request, the emperor's bad temper surfaced. He mocked the scribe. "You think I should help," he said and laughed. "You should just be happy to belong to this great empire. You will get nothing from me." The emperor felt no pity for the citizens of the western area. They were condemned to starve. The scribe returned home with nothing. Not long after an enemy invaded the empire from the west. They were marching to the capital. Because the citizens felt persecuted by the emperor, they remained neutral. They didn't fight the invaders but allowed them to march freely to the capital. The emperor was defeated. If he had heeded the words of the scribe, then the citizens might have been the victors. But because he had treated them badly, they treated him badly in return.