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THE SENATOR AND THE WORM The Senator and the Worm A rich senator lived in a big house. He had more money than anyone in his district. One day, he was sitting on a chair listening to a radio broadcast. As he listened to the news bulletin, a worm crawled from underneath the chair and onto his head. His cook was in the kitchen stirring some spaghetti sauce. Suddenly, a cry from the senator alerted him. He ran to the rear of the house where the senator was sitting. The cook looked and saw the worm. He tried to console the senator. “ I’ll take it off right away,” he said. “ No!” shouted the senator. “ I want you to kill it.” “ But it’s only a worm,” the cook said. “ Why should we execute it? It hasn’t committed a crime.” The senator could not endure the worm on his head. “ Hurry!” he shouted. The cook looked through several drawers, but found nothing. Then he ran to the closet and took out a pipe. He returned to the senator and lifted the pipe over his head. He knew he couldn’t just tap the worm. He was going to hit it hard. He grasped the pipe tightly. “ What are you waiting for?” said the senator. “ Kill it!” The cook swung the pipe at the senator’s head. “ Oh, no,” the worm said. “ He’s going to chop me in half.” It jumped off the senator’s head. There was a tremendous noise. “ Owww!” cried the senator. A bump rose upon his skull. Meanwhile, the worm crawled outside. “ That was close,” said the worm. “ Instead of being nice, he wanted to hurt me. Now, that man has a big bump on his head.”

alert [əˈləːrt] alert To alert someone is to tell or warn them about something. → The fire alarm alerted us that there was a problem. broadcast broadcast [ˈbrɔ:dkæst] n. broadcast A broadcast is a television or radio show. → We watched the broadcast of the local news on TV. bulletin bulletin [ˈbulətin] n. bulletin A bulletin is a news report that talks about very recent and important events. → There was a live bulletin reporting on the economy of the city. bump bump [bʌmp] n. bump A bump is a small raised area on a surface. → The monkey got a bump on his head because he was hit by a rock. chop chop [tʃɒp] v. chop To chop something means to cut it into pieces with a tool. → Mom chopped some vegetables to put into the stew. closet closet [ˈklɒzɪt] n. closet A closet is a small room used to store things. → Marie has many clothes inside o f her closet. console console [kənˈsoul] v. console To console someone who is sad means to make them comforted. → When my dog ran away, my dad consoled me. district district [ˈdɪstrɪkt] n. district A district is a small part of a city, county, state, or country. → I live in a residential district of Seattle, Washington. drawer drawer [ˈdrɔːər] n. drawer A drawer is a small part in furniture that is used to store things. → I put my clothes into the empty drawers. endure endure [enˈdjuər] v. endure To endure something tough means to do or go through it. → She had to endure her husband shouting all day long. execute execute [ˈeksɪkjuːt] v. execute To execute someone means to kill them as a legal punishment. → Some people are executed for serious crimes. grasp grasp [græsp] v. grasp To grasp something means to hold it. → He grasped the bag o f money tightly. rear rear [rɪə:r] n. rear When something is in the rear of something, it is in the back. → The man loaded the rear of his truck with boxes. senator senator [ˈsenətər] n. senator A senator is someone who makes laws for a state. → The young senator promised to make laws that would help the people. skull skull [skʌl] n. skull A skull is the hard part of your head. Your brain is inside of it. → The brain is protected by the skull. stir stir [stəːr] v. stir To stir something means to mix it using something small, like a spoon. → Mom stirred the batter until it was smooth. tap tap [tæp] v. tap To tap something is to hit it lightly. → He tapped the keys of the keyboard to write a short word. tremendous tremendous [triˈmendəs] adj. tremendous When something is tremendous, it is very large. → The Earth’s oceans are filled with a tremendous amount of water. underneath underneath [ˈʌndərniːθ] prep. underneath When something is underneath something else, it is below or lower than it. → The roots of a tree are located underneath the ground. worm worm [wəːrm] n. worm A worm is a small animal with a long, thin body. → Worms are often used to help catch fish.

EXERCISE 3 Choose the answer that best fits the question. Which of the following best describes a news program? a. Grasp b. Bulletin c. Tap d. Alert Which one do you put things into? a. A drawer b. A bump c. A district d. A worm Which of the following describes something in the back? a. Endure b. Skull c. Rear d. Tremendous Which of the following does an alarm do for people? a. Alert them b. Console them c. Execute them d. Tap them Which of the following means to go through something difficult? a. Chop b. Broadcast c. Stir d. Endure