baseball = a game played with a ball and four bases

   The names of the ball games are compound words. Generally, compound words can be nouns, adjectives, verbs or adverbs. 

           shopkeeper =  a person who keeps a shop

           (shop + keeper)                                

             birthmark  = an unusual mark appearing on 

                                  the body at birth

            housebreaker  = a person who breaks into a house or
                                      a building

            bubble gum  = chewing gum that can be blown 

                                    into bubbles

            good-looking  = attractive, beautiful

            long-legged = having long legs

            absent-minded = forgetful

            quick-witted = intelligent

            big-headed = proud of one’s self

      Normally, a compound noun is written together as one word. Sometimes it is written separately with a space between words or with a hyphen (-):

               toothpaste = a kind of paste used for cleaning teeth

    earring = a kind of ornaments like a ring,
                   usually worn on the ear

               shopping bag =  a bag for shopping

               Middle-of-the-road = favoring idea

These are examples of how compound words are formed:

               China Town = an area in a city where there are
                                     Chinese shops, restaurants, and 
                                     where many Chinese people live    
               housewife  =  a woman who works at home for 
                                     her family, cooking cleaning, etc.

               home-made = made at home, not bought from
                                      a shop

      passer-by =a person who passes by a place by chance

     lady-in-waiting =a lady who attends a queen or princess

           downhill = towards the bottom of a hill

            out-of-the-way = far distance

           cold-blooded  = cruel

              one-eyed = having only one eye

              three-legged = having three legs

              single-handed = done by one person

              Compound nouns are made plural by adding an “s” or changing the forms of the words, for example,

                     break-ins = people who enter building unlawfully

                     police women = female police

                     ladies-in-waiting = ladies who attend a queen or
                                                  princess

Choose a given word to fill each of the blanks forming a new compound word. Use a dictionary if necessary.

            1. _________  crossing 

            3. ________-proof 

            4. _________-behaved 

            5. feed______ 

            6. ________–price

            7. duty-_________ shop

            8. worn-________ shoes

            9. junk  _____

            10. _________  tax

Put a word in each bubble to complete these bubble networks. Add extra bubbles if you need them.

The meaning of “headstrong” is not exactly based from the original word.

Guess the meanings of these compounds by matching Column A with Column B. Their meanings are not always based on the origin words. Notice if any meaning relates to the original words.

 “Context” means “the words or sentences which surround a particular word.” The context may include more than the sentence in which you find the word; it may be a whole paragraph or even more.  For example, the cues to the meaning of “burga” are contained within one sentence—

The burga swept in from the northeast, dumping 15 inches of snow on the town.

the “burga” is likely to be a kind of snowstorm because it relates to “northeast” and “snow”

Here are the clues when you examine the way your new word is used:

                 A definition is the most common clue, which a 
          writer helps readers to understand what he writes. The
          writer usually uses “mean(s)” or “is/are (known as)” 
          as the signal words. He sometimes puts the clues in
          inverted commas or parenthesis.

              Objectives are concrete and specific statements of goal.

            Substances are, for example, water, oil, gold, milk,
              leather and wood  

                  Often a writer explains the word, which he thinks,
             may be unknown to the readers. He adds more details
             to that key word. The signal words are, “or, or rather, 
             in the other words and that is.”  Sometimes
             punctuation marks like commas, dashes and brackets
              are used.

         This medicine, or rather drug, has a violent effect.

         Many people claim that they have seen “Bigfoot,” a large
          hairy humanoid creature, in parts of North America.

                Adjectives are such useful words that without them
         writers cannot make vivid pictures of their description. To
         illustrate concretely, a writer compares one thing to
         another. Cue words for comparison are “like, as, the same
         as, as…. as, etc.”

                 The tired boy slept like a log. (deeply)

Study each of the following words in context. Which meaning of the italic word fits the context best? Work in pairs, discuss how the rest of the sentence helps you 
choose the right meaning of the word.

1. She underrates her ability. “I’m feeling fatigued more frequently I can’t do more than an hour’s work at a time. The memory is shocking…”

           a. healthy                 

            b. hopeful

           c. tired                     

           d. better

2. His grandma is a pacifist. Her husband died young in World War I, leaving her alone with nine children. She also lost her two brothers in the battle. Moreover, her mother lost her memory because of the great grief after her sons died.

        a. mother who dies for her children

        b. wife who loves her husband

        c. citizen who loves her country

        d. person who hates wars

3.   All of my family are out-going, but I will stay in. I’m 
      an introvert.

a. one who likes to be alone

b. one who believes in his own family

c. one who shares his activities with others

d. one who lives only for his family

4. Carnivores are special types of animals such as lions, 
    tigers, foxes, hyena and wolves, etc. Cows, sheep, rabbits
    and chicken are not carnivorous; they do not like meat.

a. wild animals 

b. animals that have fur

c. four-footed animals 

d. flesh eating animals

5. Tomorrow nurses will come to the school to give the children
     a TB shot.

            a. exercise 

            b. operation

            c. injection 

            d. examination

6. A porcupine is a large climbing rodent that is covered with
    sharp spines for defense.

            a. sharp spine 

            b. spinal rodent

            c. mouse needle 

            d. high-treed rat

7. On November 17, 1998, people around the world were excited to watch meteorites, which are small pieces of matter from the sky that reach the earth without being totally burnt up.

        a. falling stars 

        b. spacecraft

              c. pieces of rock or metal 

              d. planets

8. Unlike her gorgeous sister, Pauline is plain looking, with
    a stout body.

                a. wise 

                b. grateful

                c. beautiful 

                d. slim

9. In Thailand, citizens are given the franchise when they 
    are eighteen years old.

    a. the right to vote in an MP election

    b. the privilege in any type of business

                c. the freedom to have a driving license

    d. the right to carry alcoholic substance

10. American jazz is a conglomeration of sounds borrowed 
    from such varied sources as American and African folk 
     music, European classical music, and Christian gospel songs.

                a. tradition 

                b. custom

                c. difference 

                d. collection

           References, or referents, are words that refer back or forward to other words in the sentence or paragraph. In order to understand a reading passage you need to be able to identify what the referents are referring to. (Gear 1994 : 284, 286) If you wrongly identify a referent, it may lead you to misinterpret the meaning of the text. For example,

        Saliva is produced in the oral cavity and allows food to be
         swallowed more easily. This fluid is manufactured by 
         three pairs of glands, the first of several accessory 
         organs that aid in the digestive process.

In the statements above, “This fluid” is used to substitute “Saliva.” Reference words include words like he, his, him, I, me, this, those, which, it and its.  

Read the following passages. Find the referents for the italic words.

1. The CPU (central processing unit) is a microprocessor. It is the main part of the computer, which controls the rest of the system and performs all the arithmetic and logic operations on the data.

2. The solar oven is cheaply constructed, easily operated and extremely energy efficient. The device consists of an inner and outer metal box, a top cover and two panes of plain glass.

3. While I was in the Burkes’, Anne contacted some friends of hers in Colorado and others in California. They invited me to visit when I traveled west. So I met Libby Monroe and Paul Esquivel. They’re a couple who live in Denver in an old house that they 're trying to renovate; they can’t pay workers to fix up their house, so they’re doing most of the renovation work themselves.