The Ants and the Grasshopper
THE ANTS were spending a fine winter's day drying grain collected in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, "Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?" He replied, "I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing." They then said in derision: "If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.
Vocabulary:
1. spending: [verb] to use up, consume, or exhaust
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/spending?s=t
2. perishing: [adjective] causing destruction, ruin, extreme discomfort, or death
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perishing?s=t
3. famine: [noun] extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/famine?s=t
4. earnestly: [adjective] serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/earnestly?s=t
5. inquired: [verb] to ask
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inquired?s=t
Example Sentences:
1. spending: She was spending a lot of time studying for her quiz.
2. perishing: The ants were perishing because they had no food.
3. famine: According to the Bible, the famine occurred for over 100 years.
4. earnestly: The birds earnestly built their nest in the trees, so it could last the entire spring.
5. inquired: He called the store and inquired if they still had the product available.
Phrasal Verbs
act up (no object): misbehave (for people); not work properly (for machines).
"The babysitter had a difficult time. The children acted up all evening."
"I guess I'd better take my car to the garage. It's been acting up lately."
act like (inseparable): behave in a way that's like _____ .
"What's wrong with Bob? He's acting like an idiot."
Note: This phrasal verb is very informal.
add up (1. no object): logically fit together.
"His theory is hard to believe, but his research adds up."
Note: This phrasal verb is often negative.
"His theory seems, at first, to be plausible, but the facts in his research don't add up."
add up (2. separable): find the total.
"What's the total of those bills? Could you add them up and see?"
add up to (inseparable): to total.
"The bills add up to $734.96. That's more than I expected!"
ask out (separable): ask for a date.
"Nancy has a new boy friend. Joe asked her out last night."
http://www.eslcafe.com/pv/pv-a.html
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21/21-h/21-h.htm#link2H_4_0013
