Archie and His Donkey

Target Words

advice, along, attention, attract, climb, drop, final, further, imply, maintain, neither, otherwise, physical, prove, react, ride, situated, society, standard, suggest.

advice [ədˈvʌɪs] n.

Advice is an opinion about what to do.

→ I don’t know how to study for my exams. Can you give me some advice?

along [əˈlɒŋ] prep.

Along means to move from one part of a road, river, etc. to another.

→ Walk along this tunnel for ten minutes, and you’ll see a door on the left.

attention [əˈtɛnʃ(ə)n] n.

Attention is the notice, thought, or consideration of someone.

→ His work got the attention of two of his co-workers.

attract [əˈtrakt] v.

To attract means to make a person or thing come closer or be interested.

→ The magnet attracted the metal.

climb [klʌɪm] v.

To climb means to use your hands and feet to go up on something.

→ The girls climbed to the top of the mountain.

drop [drɒp] v.

To drop is to fall or allow something to fall.

→ A small amount of water dropped from the bottle.

final [ˈfʌɪn(ə)l] adj.

If something is final, it is the last part.

→ In the final part of the film, the man and the woman got married.

further [ˈfəːðə] adj.

Further is used to say something is from a distance or time.

→ The escalator is further along than I thought.

imply [ɪmˈplʌɪ] v.

To imply something is to suggest it without saying it.

→ The man implied that he wanted the job, but he didn’t say so.

maintain [meɪnˈteɪn] v.

To maintain means to make something stay the same.

→ The balls maintain constant movement.

neither [ˈnʌɪðə] adv.

You use neither to connect two negative statements.

→ Neither the pass on the left nor the pass on the right will lead us home.

otherwise [ˈʌðəwʌɪz] adv.

Otherwise means different or in another way.

→ It’s good to stay active; otherwise, you’ll gain weight.

physical [ˈfɪzɪk(ə)l] adj.

If something is physical, it is related to your body and not your mind.

→ Biking is good for your physical health.

prove [pruːv] v.

To prove something is to show that it is true.

→ My teacher proved the answer on the board.

react [rɪˈakt] v.

To react is to act in a certain way because of something that happened.

→ James reacted badly to the news.

ride [rʌɪd] v.

To ride something is to travel on it. You can ride an animal, a bike, etc.

→ I will ride a roller-coaster for the first time today.

situated [ˈsɪtʃʊeɪtid] adj.

If something is situated somewhere, it is in that place.

→ The white board is situated between the two men.

society [səˈsʌɪɪti] n.

Society is people and the way that they live.

→ Society expects people to be good and honest.

standard [ˈstandəd] n.

A standard is what people consider normal or good.

→ This older model TV is below our store’s standards.

suggest [səˈdʒɛst] v.

To suggest something means to give an idea or plan about it.

→ He suggested that we go to see his boss.

Old Archie needed some money. He decided to sell his donkey. So he and his son Tom went to town. It was situated many miles away.

Soon, they met a woman. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“To town,” said Archie.

“Any smart person would ride the donkey,” she said.

“What are you implying?” Archie asked. “I’m very smart!” Archie wanted to look smart. So he climbed onto the donkey. Then they continued in the direction of the town.

Further along the road, they met a farmer.

“Hello,” said Archie. “We want to sell this donkey. Do you want to buy it?”

“I don’t need a donkey,” said the farmer. “But if you want my advice, don’t ride it. The donkey needs to be in good physical condition.”

“Good idea,” said Archie. “Tom, I want you to ride it. You’re lighter.”

“Neither you nor your son should ride it. It looks very tired. You should carry the donkey.” suggested the farmer.

“You’re right,” said Archie. “Come on, Tom! We’ll carry it for the final few miles!”

The donkey was very heavy, and they couldn’t maintain a good speed. They didn’t arrive until late in the evening. At last, they walked into the town. But there they attracted the attention of some teenage boys. They laughed at Tom and Archie. They started to throw stones at them. The donkey reacted by kicking. Tom and Archie dropped the donkey. It fell on the ground and then ran away. Archie lost his donkey. He went home with no money.

What does this story teach us? We cannot please everyone in our society. Don’t take everyone’s advice, but set your own standards. Prove to everyone that you can make decisions by yourself. Otherwise, you may end up with nothing at all.