Unit 22

Unit 22 WORD LIST accommodate v. To accommodate is to have enough room. The meeting room can accommodate nine people. circus n. A circus is a traveling show with animals and people. I like to go to the circus to see the animals do tricks. coincide v. To coincide means to happen at the same time. My birthday coincides with Christmas. commission v. To commission someone is to pay that person to do some job. The artist was commissioned to create a picture. dose n. A dose is a certain amount of medicine taken at one time. My mother gave me a dose of medicine before I went to bed. dye v. To dye something is to make it a certain color by using a special chemical. Valery got her hair dyed at the salon yesterday. extent n. The extent of something is how large, important, or serious it is. He ate to such an extent that he became overweight. gender n. Gender is a category that describes being either a boy or a girl. Do you know the gender of her new baby? headline n. A headline is the title of a newspaper story. The headline on the front page was about the economy. informal adj. An informal thing is casual and relaxed, not official. They had an informal meeting to talk about their experiences.

inquire v. To inquire about something is to ask about it. Dad called to inquire about the price of tickets for the show. messenger n. A messenger is one who carries information from one place to another. The messenger delivered an important document to the office. peer v. To peer at something is to watch it carefully. She peered at people through the window. portrait n. A portrait is a painting or photograph of someone. I saw many religious portraits when I went to the museum. pose v. To pose is to stay in one place without moving. The kids and their dog posed for a picture. ranch n. A ranch is a large farm where animals are kept. My uncle has many horses on his ranch. steer v. To steer something is to control where it goes. He steered the go-cart around the track. stripe n. A stripe is a thick line. The flag of the United States has red and white stripes. tame adj. A tame animal is not afraid to be near people. The tame bird rested in his hand. tempt v, To tempt people is to offer them something they want but shouldn't have. I wasn't hungry, but she tempted me with a piece of my favorite cake.

The Circus Ben was unhappy. He lived on a ranch near a small town, and he didn't have many friends. Then one day, a messenger came to the ranch. He showed the headline in the town newspaper. The circus was coming to the town. It even coincided with Ben's birthday! Ben was very excited as his father steered the car through the town. The circus couldn't accommodate all the people who wanted to see the show, but Ben had a ticket. Ben peered at the activity around him. He watched people of both genders dance all around. They wore funny costumes, and their hair was dyed many different colors. Also, tame tigers with stripes on their fur did tricks. Outside, people could commission an informal portrait. They posed in front of a funny picture while an artist quickly drew them. Ben couldn't believe it. He was happier than he had ever been before. That day, Ben knew what he wanted to do. He loved the circus to such an extent that he wanted to have his own circus when he grew older. Seeing the circus was like a dose of medicine for him. He wasn't unhappy anymore. He felt special. He inquired about what he needed to do to have his own circus. He studied hard and learned about business. Ben worked very hard, and one day, he had his own circus. It was a great circus. People told him that he could be very rich. But he wasn't tempted by money. He just wanted to make children happy. He knew the circus had changed his life, and he wanted to do the same thing for others.