athlete:  a person who plays sports
She’s been an athlete all her life but a runner for the past two years only,
His father was a Gold Medal Olympic athlete.

birth:  the act of being born.
The birth of the King’s son was celebrated throughout the country.
She gave birth to triplets.

criminal:  a person who has done a crime
He would never let his daughter marry a criminal.
Johnny has been a criminal for most of his life.

dust:  dirt that falls from the air onto things
Her home was messy, and there was dust on all the furniture.
When the sunlight came through the winfdow, you could see dust in the air.

garage:  the room where you keep your car
The Wilsons have a two-car garage, so they keep their boat on one side.
This weekend we are cleaning out the garage.

habit:  an action that you do all the time
She’s in the habit of getting up early on Sunday mornings.
Smoking is a bad habit.

introduction:  a presentation of one person to another
Bill Gates is a man who needs no introduction.
After the introductions, everyone sat down for dinner.

permission:  the agreement of someone else to do something
He gave his daughter permission to take the family car.
Do I have your permission to speak to your son?

promise:  an assurance that something will be done
He gave her his promise that he would return in one year.
A promise is a promise, so of course I’ll do it.

sheet:  any large and flat material and, including the sheets on your bed
Thursdays were the days when she washed all the sheets.
To prepare the room for painting, sheets of packing paper were put all over the floor

truth:  exactly what happened
Tell me the truth – did you take that money?
Her friend told her the truth about her boyfriend.

valley:  flat land with mountains all around
My grandparents have a farm in a beautiful valley.
There are twenty-five ranches in this valley.

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.