E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

having red lines in the white part of the eye
He slept very little and woke up with bloodshot eyes.
sooty 
covered with the black powder from something burning
After cleaning the ireplace, the boy’s clothes were sooty.
1.
The dry grass was _______________________ and uncomfortable.
2.
The old car was damaged and _______________________.
3.
After the ire, everything in the house was black and ____________________.
4.
The _______________________ dogs ate everything they could ind.
5.
She spent many _______________________ hours inishing the project.
6.
The smoke from the campire gave them _______________________ eyes.
7.
The _______________________ clouds were almost black; we knew a storm 
was coming.
B.
Verbs
In addition to adjectives, the article uses many verbs. Read the following 
definitions and sentences. Then choose the correct verb for each sentence 
below. These are verbs—you may need to change the form to fit the sentence.
shell
to remove the shell of a nut or pea
It’s easy to shell a walnut if you have the right tool.
boil
to cook in hot, bubbling water
She prefers to boil eggs because they are less fattening that way.
collect
to bring things together
They collected wood to make a ire.
stick (past tense: 
stuck
)
to push a pointed object into something
She stuck the needle in the cushion so she wouldn’t lose it.
enclose
to surround; to close off on all sides
He enclosed the rabbits in a cage so they wouldn’t run away.
feed (past tense:
 fed
)
to give food
It’s illegal to feed the animals in a national park.

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Better Reading English
billow (when used with steam, clouds, or smoke)
to move out in a wavelike 
motion
The dark clouds billowed across the sky.
roast 
to cook in the oven; to become very hot
While the turkey was roasting in the oven, I felt like I was roasting in the 
kitchen.
freeze (past tense: 
froze
)
to turn into ice
;
 to become very cold
My mother always thinks I’ll freeze if I don’t wear a jacket.
1.
They threw bread in the lake to ________________________ the ducks.
2.
The smoke _______________________ out of the chimney.
3.
She felt like she was going to _______________________ in the hot sun.
4.
We _______________________ ourselves in a shelter to protect us from the 
animals.
5.
They had to _______________________ the peas before they cooked them.
6.
He _______________________ his knife into the tree.
7.
They _______________________ in the snow after the avalanche took their 
shelter.
8.
We _______________________ water over the ire to cook our pasta.
9.
He _______________________ beautiful rocks of many shapes and colors.
IV. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: DESPITE
A.
Read about 
despite
Despite is a preposition used to show an opposition, or an unexpected result.
Despite
 laboring for much of the day collecting onions and acorns,
we still 
couldn’t fill our bellies.
Despite
 lack of sleep and a gnawing hunger with little food for 24 hours, 
there was a sense of pride we had survived the night.
Despite
has the same meaning as 
even though
, but it is followed by a gerund 
or a noun, not by a clause. Compare these sentences:
Even though 
it was cold
, we didn’t make a fire.
Despite 
the cold
, we didn’t make a fire.
Even though 
it was crowded
, I enjoyed the Grand Canyon.
Despite 
the crowds
, I enjoyed the Grand Canyon.

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Nature in the United States
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19
B.
Use the grammar
Rewrite the sentences with 
despite.
1. Even though 
it was raining
, we went for a hike.
2. Even though 
it was difficult
, we finished the project.
3. Even though 
it was congested
, the city was beautiful.
V. READ IT AGAIN
Answer the questions.
1.
How did the wilderness class spend their day?
2.
How did they keep warm at night?
EXCERPT FROM 
HatcHet
BY GARY PAULSEN
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Hatchet
is a very famous novel by Gary Paulsen about a boy named Brian. While 
he is traveling on a small plane to visit his father, the pilot has a heart attack and 
dies. Brian has to land the plane in the forest. It crashes into a lake, and Brian 
has nothing to help him survive except a hatchet. (A hatchet is a small axe.) 
Brian faces many dangers in the forest, including hunger, a tornado, and animal 
attacks, but he learns how to survive.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
1.
detach 
a. a large deer with horns
2.
fur
b. hard pointed things growing out of 
animal’s head
3.
horns
c. dirt or mud
4.
lungs
d. the organs used for breathing
5
. moose 
e. to separate from the surroundings
6.
muck
f. animal hair

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Better Reading English
C.
Reading strategy
Quickly read the selection. Then answer the question.
What did the moose do to Brian? _________________________________
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
It was very nearly the last act of his life. Later he would not know why he started 
to turn—some smell or sound. A tiny brushing sound. But something caught his 
ear or nose and he began to turn, and had his head half around, when he a saw 
a brown wall of fur detach itself from the forest to his rear and come down on 
him like a runaway truck. He just had time to see that it was a moose—he knew 
them from pictures but did not know, could not guess how large they were—
when it hit him. It was a cow and she had horns, but she took him in the left side 
of the back with her forehead, took him and threw him out into the water and 
then came after him to inish the job.
He had another half second to ill his lungs with air and she was on him 
again, using her head to drive him down into the mud of the bottom. 
Insane
, he 
thought. Just that, the word 
insane
. Mud illed his eyes, his ears, the horn boss 
on the moose drove him deeper and deeper into the bottom muck, and 
suddenly it was over and he felt alone.
Source:
 Hatchet
, by Gary Paulson, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Circle the letter of the sentence or phrase with the same meaning.
1.
. . .
but something caught his ear or nose. . . 
a. 
Something touched his ear or nose.
b. 
He heard or smelled something.
 
2.
. . .
he a saw a brown wall of fur detach itself from the forest. . .
a. 
There was a lot of animal hair in the forest.
b. 
He suddenly saw a large brown animal.
3. . . .
come down on him like a runaway truck.
a. 
come very fast
b. 
run over him
4.
It was a cow and she had horns. . .
a. 
It wasn’t a moose.
b. 
It was a female.

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Nature in the United States
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5.
. . .and then came after him to finish the job.
a. 
came after him to kill him
b. 
came after him because she had work to do
 
6.
. . .using her head to drive him down into the mud. . .
a. 
pushing him into the mud
b. 
pulling him into the mud
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Words to describe animals
Look up the words to describe animals. Then write the words in the chart under 
the correct animal. A word may be repeated.
horns
fur
paws
claws
beak
gills
scales
tail
whiskers
in
hooves
feather