4000 Essential English Words 1
Unit 9: The Starfish
against [əˈɡeɪnst] prep.
To be against something is to be touching it or opposed to it.
→ They both leaned against the wall.
beach [biːtʃ] n.
The beach is a sandy or rocky place by the ocean.
→ The little girl built a sandcastle on the beach.
damage [ˈdamɪdʒ] v.
To damage something is to break it.
→ The car was damaged in the accident.
discover [dɪˈskʌvə] v.
To discover something is to find it for the first time.
→ I discovered some new information in this book!
emotion [ɪˈməʊʃ(ə)n] n.
An emotion is how you feel.
→ Anger is a common emotion that we all feel.
fix [fɪks] v.
To fix something is to make it work.
→ My dad has many tools to help him fix broken things.
frank [fraŋk] adj.
If you are frank, you are being very honest.
→ The teacher had a frank discussion with her students.
identify [ʌɪˈdɛntɪfʌɪ] v.
To identify something is to be able to name it.
→ I used the file to identify his name.
island [ˈʌɪlənd] n.
An island is land in the middle of water.
→ Japan is a group of islands.
ocean [ˈəʊʃ(ə)n] n.
The ocean is all of the salt water that surrounds land.
→ The ocean can make powerful waves.
perhaps [pəˈhaps] adv.
Perhaps is used when you say that something could happen.
→ Perhaps I will eat an apple for lunch.
pleasant [ˈplɛz(ə)nt] adj.
If something is pleasant, you enjoy it.
→ The character had a pleasant look on its face.
prevent [prɪˈvɛnt] v.
To prevent something is to stop it from happening.
→ The handcuffs prevented me from moving my hands.
rock [rɒk] n.
A rock is a hard thing in the dirt.
→ I stacked rocks on top of one another.
save [seɪv] v.
To save something is to keep it from being hurt.
→ I want to help save the world.
step [stɛp] v.
To step is to walk.
→ Be careful where you step.
still [stɪl] adv.
Still is used when you say that a situation keeps going on.
→ They are still waiting in line to get tickets.
taste [teɪst] n.
A taste is the flavor something makes in your mouth.
→ The taste of the fruit was sweet.
throw [θrəʊ] v.
To throw something is to use your hand to make it go through the air.
→ The pitcher can throw the baseball very fast.
wave [weɪv] n.
A wave is a line of water that moves higher than the rest of the water.
→ The water was filled with large blue waves.
THE STARFISH
Last summer I took a trip to an island. I had a lot of fun. I sat and watched the waves and listened to the ocean. I learned to identify birds. I discovered pretty things and enjoyed the taste of new foods. It was a very nice time.
One evening I took a pleasant walk by the ocean. When the waves came in, many starfish* fell on the beach. Some starfish went back into the water, and they were safe. But other starfish were still on the sand. They would die if they did not get into the water. There were many starfish on the beach that night. It made me sad, but I knew I could not fix the problem. I stepped very carefully so I did not damage them.
Then I saw a little girl. She was also sad about the starfish. She wanted to prevent all of them from dying. She asked me if I could perhaps help her.
“To be frank, I don’t think we can do anything,” I said.
The little girl started to cry. She sat back against a rock and thought for a while. Finally, the emotion was gone. She stopped crying and stood up. Then she picked up a starfish and threw it into the water.
“What are you doing?” I asked her. But she did not answer me. She just threw as many starfish as she could. “You cannot save all of them!” I said.
She stopped to look at me. “No, I cannot save them all,” she replied. Then she picked up a very big starfish and said, “But I can save this one.” And then she smiled and threw the starfish as far as she could into the ocean.
*starfish - an animal shaped like a star that lives in the water
