adult:   a grown up person
You can’t vote until you are legally an adult.
A teenage driver must have an adult in the car when he drives.

bucket:  a container with a handle used to hold a liquid.
If you’re going to wash the car, you’ll need a bucket full of warm soapy water.
It took buckets full of water to put out the kitchen fire.

citizen:  a legal member of a country.
My cousin is a citizen of both Canadian and Britain.
If you want to become a citizen of Canada, it will take you three years.

cupboard:  a hanging closet with shelves inside to store things.
He built a row of cupboards in the garage for all his tools.
The wine glasses are in the cupboard above the sink in the kitchen.

favor:  something you do to help someone
Could you please do me a big favor?
After Tom helped his sister move, she returned the favor and introduced him to her roommate.

handkerchief:  a small cloth carried in a pocket to blow your nose with.
He gave her his handkerchief after she started to cry.
In the pocket of his white suit jacket, there was a red handkerchief.

landlord:  a person who owns and rents out homes to other people
His landlord told him that his rent would go up five percent in January.
When the dishwasher started making noise, she called the landlord and told him.

musician:  a person who makes music.
The musicians who play outside for money are called buskers.
Glenn Gould was an extraordinary Canadian musician on the piano.

president:  the person who is responsible for an organization, a company or a country
Juliana was elected president of the yacht club.
The President of the United States has more power than the Prime Minister of Canada.

relative:  a person who is related by blood
All my relatives live back home in my native country.
Albert Einstein was a relative of hers, so that’s why she’s so smart.

sponge:  a squeezable pad that soaks up water used for cleaning.
Get the sponge and clean up that spilled water on the floor.
He washed the car with a sponge and some soapy warm water.

temperature:  the measurement of heat
What is the average temperature of Mexico?
Johnny had a fever, so his mother took his temperature to see how high it was.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

ankle:  the connection of your foot to your leg
The man twisted his ankle when he got off the bus.
When she was pregnant, both her ankles swelled up.

blanket:  a heavy cloth that you sleep under in your bed
I think we’ll need an extra blanket tonight.  It’s cold.
When she kissed her son good night, she pulled the blanket up to his chin.

center:  middle
I think we should put the sofa in the center of the living room.
There is a black hole at the center of the galaxy.

customer:  a person who may buy what you’re selling
You should treat every customer with respect.
Her restaurant has lots of steady customers.

emergency:  a situation where something must be done now
Call this number if there’s an emergency, and I’ll come right away.
The doctor had to go to the hospital for an emergency.

immigrant:  a person who comes into the country to live
As an immigrant herself, she knows the challenges of living in a new country.
Canada accepts over 200,000 immigrants yearly.

lipstick:  a substance women put on their lips to add color
She went to the ladie’s room to refresh her lipstick.
Her perfect lipstick is just a shade darker than her natural lips.

perfume:  a nice-smelling liquid women put on their skin
She usually only puts on perfume before she goes out on a date.
The smell of her perfume was so strong he had to open the window.

recipe:  a plan for making delicious food
I’ve been looking for a good chilli recipe for ages.
Let’s go on-line and search for a recipe for antipasto.

scissors:  a tool you use to cut paper or other thin material
The last time he used scissors, he cut his finger.
These scissors need to be sharpened.  They tear the paper.

stomach:   the organ that receives the food that you eat
The bully hit him in the stomach, and he ran away crying.
After eating many slices of birthday cake, his stomach is upset.

village:  a small group of houses
I think there’s a doctor in the neighboring village who can help.
They came from a village on the island of Borneo.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

author:  a person who writes books, articles, blogs, etc.
She is the author of several children’s novels.
I’ve seen this writing before.  I think I know who the author is.

couple:  two people with a close relationship, often married
Jeremy and Judy make a nice couple.
Do you remember that couple we met in Mexico last year?

distance:  the length between two places
In the distance he saw a small dot in the sky and knew it was his father’s plane.
The average distance between the earth and the moon is  384,403 kilometers.

forest:  an area with a lot of trees and other plants
The whole island was covered in forest.
There are many wild animals living in the forests of British Columbia.

grocer:  the owner of a grocery store where you buy food
There’s a green grocer down the street where you can get some salad makings.
The grocer recommended these Nicola apples.  He said they’re crispy and sweet.

hero:  a person who saves someone’s life or does other great things
Everyone says he’s a hero for saving that boy from the river.
He tried to be a hero and save her, but they both died.

mirror:  a flat glass in which you can see yourself
As she passed by, she saw herself in the hallway mirror.
The mirror was foggy after his shower, so he wiped it down.

pocket:  a place to carry things in your pants, shirt or coat
I know I have change for a dollar.  Let me check my pockets.
His camping knife dropped out through a hole in his pocket.

pronunciation:  the way you say words
Her pronunciation is quite good, and she’s easily understood.
There are two correct pronunciations of the word “either.”

salary:  the money you get for working in a job
She’s getting a base salary of $12 an hour plus a percentage of her sales.
Can I ask what the salary will be for this position?

shoulder:  the connection of your arm to your body
He was glad he could give her a shoulder to cry on.
She sprained her shoulder trying to lift her bike onto its rack.

traffic:  all the cars on the road
There’s not much traffic at this time of day, so let’s get going.
At rush hour the traffic downtown is bumper to bumper.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

assistant:  a person whose job is to help another person.
Please call my assistant to make an appointment to see me.
My assistant does a very good job keeping me organized.

basement:  the underground part of a house.
Her exercise equipment is in the basement.
The last big rain storm flooded the basement of our house.

cage:  a box with bars to hold animals.
The children stood in front of the lions cage for a long time.
She keeps two lovebirds in a cage in the dining room

gift:  something one person gives to another.
We’re thinking about giving her a gift when she graduates.
Give me twenty dollars and the wine will be a gift from the two of us.

instructor:  teacher.
The man over there is my automotive shop instructor; I should say hi.
The instructor told us there would be a mid-term test next week.

juice:  liquid from fruit or vegetables.
Pineapple juice is too sweet for my taste.
With the apples all over the ground, they made apple juice.

locker:  a metal box with a door that locks.
I have to stop by my locker and get the books for my next class.
I paid for a locker at the gym so I could keep my workout clothes there.

neighbor:   a person who lives next to you.  [Also: neighbour]
I woke up when I heard my neighbor get home last night.
My neighbor and I built a fence between our houses.

product:  something that is made for sale.
That company makes electronic products.
The company’s most famous product is the iPhone.

reservation:  a hold on a table (restaurant), room (hotel), seat (airplane).
Did you make a reservation at that French restaurant for tomorrow night?
I have a reservation for tomorrow morning on flight 576 to Hawaii.

secretary:  an office worker who helps a boss.
When his secretary was sick, he had a hard time running the office alone.
She works as a secretary to the vice-president of the company.

teenager:  a young person between the ages of 13 and 19.
He started to play football when he was a teenager in high school.
Although she’s now a big movie star, she was very shy as a teenager.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot

alarm:    a device that wakes you up in the morning.  A sound that warns you of danger.
The alarm on my clock didn’t go off this morning, so I got up late.
We were in the middle of a test when the fire alarm went off.

bandage:    a material covering for a wound.
The nurse is coming to change the bandage on your stomach.
You need to put a bandage on that cut to keep it clean.

chapter:   one part of a piece of writing.
I really enjoyed the book, especially the last chapter.
The teacher wants us to read a chapter of our book every day.

corner:    the place where two walls or streets meet.  The pointy edge of something square or rectangular.
I think we should put a lamp in that dark corner of the room.
The child hit his head on the corner of the table.

desert:   an area that has very little rain.
The world’s largest desert is the Sahara in northern Africa.
You can get water in the desert from cactus plants.

expert:   someone who knows a lot about something.
When my computer isn’t working properly, I call an expert for help.
My friend is an expert in 19th century European paintings.

garbage:   unneeded things that you throw away.
Every Wednesday the garbage is collected in our neighborhood.
The puppy destroyed her shoes and now they’re garbage.

illness:   a period of sickness.
The doctors aren’t sure what is causing her illness.
Because of the treatment for his illness, he has lost all his hair.

laundry:   clothing that needs washing.
Get  all your dirty clothes together; I’m doing laundry.
Separate the white clothes from the colored before you do laundry.

package:   a box of something that’s delivered.
I need to go to the post office to send this package.
A package was delivered to her home a day before her birthday.

shelf:   a flat board where you put books, etc.
 all his photo albums were on a shelf in the office.
The detergent is on the shelf next to the washing machine.

wallet: a small leather folder that holds your money.
I have to go back to the restaurant.  I think I left my wallet there.
I keep my bus pass in my wallet so I always have it with me.

Pronunciation Exercise: Listen and repeat the above vocabulary on the audio file below.

Use these flashcards to help you study.

When you think you’re ready, do the following exercise.

© 2013 Ambien Malecot