2 It’s my life 11
Spelling and vocabulary
Being human
optimisticenergetic embarrassagreeable loyalty
cautious responsibleviolent
criticise considerate
dependablefortunate friendly
sympathetictolerant
conscious mischievousanxious
conceited prejudice
patient impetuousimpulse ignorant deceitful
satisfiedvitality personal stubbornclaustrophobia
Finding opposites
Write down words from the spelling list that are opposite in meaning to the following.
The first letters have been given to help you.
 1reckless
 6lazy
e energetic
 2pessimistic o optimistic
 7betrayal
l loyalty
 3humble
c conceited
 8unreliable d dependable
 4praise
c criticise
 9educated i ignorant
10hostile
c cautious
 5trustworthy d deceitful
f friendly
10 marks
Word forms
Complete the following sentences by using the correct form of the words in brackets.
 1 The demonstrators acted impetuously (impetuous), but fortunately (fortunate) they took responsibility (responsible) for their actions.
 2 When the child had regained consciousness (conscious), the doctor advised the
parents to treat the injury cautiously (cautious).
 3 The evidence was prejudicial (prejudice) to the case and the
defendant stated that his impulsive (impulse) behaviour had been
an embarrassment (embarrass) to his family.
 4 All were in agreement (agreeable) that our grandmother had a wonderful personality (personal) and always patiently (patient) listened to the
problems of others.
 5 The principal would not tolerate (tolerant) any violence (violent) or deceit (deceitful) from the students.
14 marks
64 Complete English Basics 3
Back-of-the-book dictionary
The word ‘manoeuvre’ is derived from the Latin word manus meaning
‘a hand’. A manoeuvre originally meant ‘a working with the hand’.
Today, it means ‘a skilful or difficult action’. There are a number of
words in the English language derived from manus. Use the backof-the-book dictionary to write down the meanings of these manus
words:
manacles: handcuffs; chains
manipulate: to handle or arrange something cleverly
manicure: the care of and treatment for the hands and nails
legerdemain: light-handed magic tricks; sleight of hand
emancipate: to set free from slavery or other restraints
Language
5 marks
Verbs
Verbs express all kinds of actions – they are doing, being and having words. A verb can be made
up of just one word or a number of words. Look at how Gary Paulsen has used verbs to create
action in Hatchet. The verbs are shown in bold type.
He grasped one of the quills, held his breath and jerked.
The pain made it seem as if dozens of them had been slammed into his leg.
Identifying the verbs
Write down the verbs in these sentences from the Paulsen extract.
 1 ‘He sat up and was hit with the smell.’
sat, was hit
 2 ‘His nostrils widened and he opened his eyes wider but he could see nothing.’
widened, opened, could see
 3 ‘But the hatchet missed, sailed into the wall where it hit the rocks with a shower of sparks.’
missed, sailed, hit
 4 ‘His fingers gingerly touched a group of needles that had been driven through his
trousers.’
touched, had been driven
 5 ‘A porcupine had stumbled into his shelter and when he had kicked it the thing had
slapped him with its tail of quills.’
had stumbled, had kicked, had slapped
13 marks