Unit 6

UNIT 6 WORD LIST accustom To accustom oneself to something is to get used to it. I find it difficult to accustom myself to new time zones when I travel around the world. alpha The alpha member of a group is the most dominant or has the highest rank. The largest lion was the alpha male of the pack. arouse To arouse means to awaken interest or attention in someone. The politician's words were meant to arouse the protestors' anger. articulate If someone is articulate, he or she has the ability to express ideas clearly and effectively. Alfred's friends loved talking to him because he was so articulate and intelligent. buzz To buzz means to show excitement about something. Seoul buzzes from dawn till dusk. clash To clash means to fight or argue over something. The sisters often clash over the right way to do things. classification Classification means putting things into categories or groups that have things in common. According to scientific classification, a duck-billed platypus is an egg-laying mammal. cling To cling to something means to hold onto it tightly. A mother sloth will cling tightly to her baby in the treetops. compliance Compliance is the act of following a rule or doing what you are supposed to do. The bratty child never shows compliance with her mother's rules. comprehend To comprehend something means to understand it. The player could not comprehend why he lost the game.

congregate To congregate means to gather in one place. Seeing a group of birds congregate in the sky is an awesome sight. custody Custody is the right to take care of someone or something. The prisoners were put in the custody of the jailers. disperse To disperse means to scatter everywhere. I watched the people disperse in all directions to avoid the charging bull. embody To embody means to symbolize or represent something. Mother Teresa was said to embody goodness and kindness. empirical Empirical means involving scientific proof and evidence. Scientists must always find empirical evidence in their work. exclusion Exclusion is the act of keeping someone out of a group. People gathered together to protest the exclusion of immigrants from our country. flock To flock means to gather in one place. Groups of birds will flock to the river in the spring. graze When animals graze, they feed on plants. The sheep and goats like to graze on the grass outside the village. intelligent If someone is intelligent, they are very smart. The intelligent student graduated from high school with the highest marks in his class. jungle A jungle is a type of forest in a warm, rainy tropical area, where trees and plants grow very close together. Many kinds of animals, including birds, reptiles, and even elephants live in a jungle.

Dian & Digit According to animal classification, gorillas are among human beings, closest living relatives. Like us, they are intelligent, social creatures. Yet movies such as King Kong aroused people's darkest fears about these misunderstood animals. Dian Fossey changed all this by gathering empirical information that proved that they were gentle beings. Fossey first became interested in gorillas on a trip she took to an African jungle. She did not want to study gorillas while they were in the custody of zoos but hoped instead to explore how they lived in nature. To do this, she tolerated the exclusion of her friends and family and set off to live in a mountain forest, knowing that the gorillas frequently flocked to the hills of the Congo and Rwanda to graze on native plants. And then she waited. Fossey soon discovered the gorillas. She tried to watch them as they would congregate, but they dispersed when they saw her. However over time, these fascinating creatures became accustomed to her presence. They soon began to treat Fossey simply like another member of the family. Fossey's favorite was a baby named Digit, whom she nursed in 1967 when he injured his hand. For a time, Digit clung to her as if she were his mother. He grew up to be a strong alpha male, the king of his gorilla troop. Fossey believed that Digit was able to comprehend her love for him. When he was killed by hunters in 1977, her heart was broken. Fossey knew that gorillas were dying very quickly and might eventually become extinct. So she used her articulate voice to tell Digits story to the world. Soon, every country was buzzing about his terrible end. Fossey created the Digit Fund in his memory. Gorilla hunters never lived in compliance with the laws. Fossey herself was killed in 1985 and was buried next to Digit. Scientists and park rangers still clash with hunters, but thanks to the efforts of Fossey, gorillas still live free in the wild. Her short life embodied great courage, curiosity, and integrity.