Vocabulary Worksheets

Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition

Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive
Worksheet 1. Reading 1: Rescue Ink

Read the passage about a group of men who do good deeds. Then review
the glossary and complete the exercises that follow it.

1 In New York City, there is a special group of tough men who rescue animals. These men
2 have tattoos, ride motorcycles and hot rods, and wear a lot of leather clothes. Their image
3 is tough, but all the men share a tenderness for animals, and their mission is to save
4 abandoned or abused animals.

5 The men met each other in biker groups or at tattoo conventions. All of them were acting
6 individually, but after they discovered that they shared a common interest—their love of
7 animals—they formed a group and called it Rescue Ink. (Rescue is what they do, and ink
8 has a double meaning: Inc. is a common abbreviation that means incorporated, and ink
9 also refers to tattoo ink.) Now they are working together and saving animals like this:

10  They look for animals that are alone or badly treated, and rescue them.
11  They obtain veterinary care for the animals.
12  They find homes for the animals.
13  They build dog houses for dogs that have to live outside.
14  They visit schools and educate children to be kind to animals.
15  They encourage the public to notify them of animals in bad situations.

16 Some of the men work at regular jobs, and some are retired. One is a former bodybuilding
17 champion with a shaved head, bright blue eyes, and huge arms covered with tattoos of
18 animals. He is also a vegetarian. Another—a large, 47-year-old man with dark hair and a
19 neat goatee—is a retired police detective. Another is a former bodyguard. One 74-year-old,
20 retired automobile mechanic holds a weightlifting record. He has a shaved head and a
21 skinny, black ponytail. Another is a professional firefighter. A restaurant caterer organized
22 the men and works from his office; he receives calls—as many as 250 a day—and
23 dispatches the men on the road.

24 The group happily accepts donations—money from friends and supporters—but the men
25 donate their services. In fact, a couple of the men are working so hard for Rescue Ink that
26 they lost their regular construction jobs. All of these men are passionate about their mission
27 and are gaining a lot of satisfaction from their volunteer work. They are heroes.

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive
Worksheet 1 (page 2)

Glossary

Line 2 tattoo — a picture or writing that’s put on your skin permanently by

needle and ink.
Line 2 hot rod — an old car that has a new, powerful engine to make it go faster
Line 3 mission — a strong purpose that is stated
Line 4 abandoned — left alone by someone
Line 4 abused — treated in a cruel manner
Line 5 biker — a person in a group that rides motorcycles
Line 5 convention — large meeting of a group with a special interest
Line 11 veterinary — relating to the care of animals
Line 19 goatee — a small pointed beard at the end of a man’s chin
Line 19 bodyguard — a person with the job of defending the life of another
individual
Line 21 ponytail — hair tied together at the back of the head and falling like a horse's
tail Line 21 caterer — a person or company that provides food and beverages for events
Line 26 construction — the business of building something large, like a house, an office
building, etc.

Comprehension practice

Decide whether each sentence is true or false, according to the reading. Circle T if the
sentence is true and F if the sentence is false.

1. A group of tough men in New York City takes good care of animals. T/F

2. These men are professional veterinarians. T/F

3. The men have known each other all their lives. T/F

4. The name of their group is Rescue Ink. T/F

5. They conduct educational programs in schools. T/F

6. All of the men have regular jobs. T/F

7. One of the men is a firefighter. T/F

8. Rescue Ink pays the men. T/F

9. People donate money to Rescue Ink. T/F

10. The men in the group are happy with their volunteer jobs. T/F

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive
Worksheet 2. Reading 1. Definition practice

Write the letters of the correct completions in the blanks.

1. In Line 1, tough means .

a. big and tall b. old and experienced c. strong and hard

2. In Line 2, leather is .
a. a material b. a word that means heavy c. a plant

3. In Line 3, tenderness means .

a. toughness b. strength c. gentleness

4. In Line 3, a mission is .
a. a home b. a strong purpose c. a job

5. In Line 6, shared means .

a. experienced together b. read about c. wanted

6. In Line 8, double refers to .

a. many b. two c. zero

7. In Line 15, notify means to .

a. stop b. fight c. inform

8. In Line 16, retired means .

a. without energy b. no longer working at a paid job c. old

9. In Line 16, former means .

a. well-formed b. old c. previous

10. In Lines 16-17, a bodybuilding champion must have .

a. large, strong muscles b. a lot of hair c. long legs

11. In Line 17, a shaved head means that the man .

a. is bald by nature b. took off his hair with a razor c. has a lot of hair

12. In Line 21, skinny means .

a. very tall b. very fat c. very thin

13. In Line 23, dispatches means .

a. sends with a purpose b. finds c. receives

14. In Line 25, donate means .

a. take b. sell c. give

15. In Line 26, be passionate about means .

a. love very strongly b. think c. be knowledgeable

16. In Line 27, volunteer means .

a. work for a good salary b. work for no salary c. unemployment

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive

Worksheet 3. Reading 2: A Nine-year-old Hero from China

Read the passage about a nine-year-old boy from China. Then complete the exercise that
follows it.

1 When a tremendous earthquake hit Wenchuan County and nearby areas in China on May
2 12, 2008, there were many heroes. The youngest hero was a nine-year-old boy, Lin Hao, a
3 student in the second-grade at Yuzuki Primary School. The earthquake disrupted the
4 mathematics lesson of Lin and his 31 classmates. All the students ran out the door and were
5 running through the halls when the school collapsed. The children were covered with rubble
6 as they tried to escape.

7 Lin Hao managed to climb out of the ruins. Then he went back and dragged two classmates
8 out of the rubble and carried them on his back to a safer zone. He went back to the building
9 another time to rescue more classmates. As he was searching for them, he sang songs to
10 give encouragement to those who might hear him. During this second search, Lin Hao
11 himself was saved by his teacher.

12 In the process, the boy was hit by falling rubble and suffered injuries on his head and arms.
13 In an interview later, he said (translated from Chinese), “The corridor collapsed as I was
14 walking. Two of my classmates were trapped beside me. I tried as hard as I could to climb
15 out, and after I climbed out, I pulled a classmate out.”

16 When a reporter from the newspaper People’s Daily asked him in an interview why he acted
17 so bravely, he replied, "Because I am the monitor of the class.”

Comprehension practice

Check all the statements that are true, according to the reading.

1.  The passage is about a nine-year-old boy in China.

2.  The boy was singing in music class when the earthquake hit.

3.  He rescued some classmates.

4.  The boy was injured.
5.  The boy was in a position of leadership in the class and acted responsibly.

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive

Worksheet 4. Reading 2. Vocabulary practice

Complete each sentence with the correct word from the list.

disrupts monitors rubble

drags nearby suffers
heroes process trapped
manages rescues zone

1. China is Russia. It is not far from Russia.

2. People who perform extraordinary actions to save others are .

3. A person who saves another person’s life him.

4. When something prevents a situation from continuing in its usual way by causing
problems, we say it it.

5. If you are stuck in an elevator and can’t get out, you are in
the elevator.

6. The term for broken stones or bricks from a building or wall that has been destroyed
is .

7. An area where people are fighting a war is a war .

8. A person who is experiencing great physical or

mental pain.

9. If a person succeeds in doing something difficult, especially after trying hard, we say
he to succeed.

10. A child a wagon along the ground.

11. Class are students who have some

responsibilities in the daily activities of the class.

12. Children and teenagers are not adults yet. They are still in the of
growing.

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and

Worksheet 5. Reading 1 and Reading 2. Vocabulary practice: Opposites

Write the letter of the word(s) from Column B that is the opposite of the bold word
in Column A.

Column A Column B

1. The opposite of tough is . a. rescue

2. The opposite of nearby is . b. receive

3. The opposite of abandon is . c. future

4. The opposite of tenderness is . d. let go free

5. The opposite of former is . e. push

6. The opposite of skinny is . f. soft

7. The opposite of abuse is . g. fat

8. The opposite of trap is . h. take good care of

9. The opposite of drag is . i. cruelty

10. The opposite of donate is . j. far

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar, 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and

Answer Key
Worksheet 1
1. T 6. F
2. F 7. T
3. F 8. F
4. T 9. T
5T 10. T

Worksheet 2
1. c. strong and hard 9. c. previous
2. a. a material 10. a. large, strong muscles
3. c. gentleness 11. b. took off his hair with a razor
4. b. a strong purpose 12. c. very thin
5. a. experienced together 13. a. sends with a purpose
6. b. two 14. c. give
7. c. inform 15. a. love very strongly
8. b. no longer working at a paid job 16. b. work with no salary

Worksheet 3
True statements are 1, 3, 4, 5.

Worksheet 4
1. nearby 7. zone
2. heroes 8. suffers
3. rescues 9. manages
4. disrupts 10. drags
5. trapped 11. monitors
6. rubble 12. process
Worksheet 5
1. f. soft 6. g. fat
2. j. far 7. h. take good care of
3. a. rescue 8. a. rescue
4. i. cruelty 9. e. push
5. c. future 10. b. receive

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom
 Vocabulary Worksheets
Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th Edition
Chapter 2: Present and Past, Simple and
Progressive

Word List
abandon monitors
abuse nearby
biker notify
bodybuilding passionate
bodyguard ponytail
caterer process
construction push
convention receive
cruelty rescue
dispatches retired
disrupts rubble
donate shared
double shaved
drag skinny
far soft
fat suffers
former take good care of
future tattoo
goatee tenderness
heroes tough
hot rod trap
leather veterinary
let go free volunteer
manages zone
mission

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Permission granted to reproduce or adapt for classroom