The Race for Water

Target Words

appreciate, available, beat, bright, celebrate, determine, disappear, else, fair, flow, forward, hill, level, lone, puddle, response, season, solution, waste, whether.

appreciate [əˈpriːsɪeɪt] v.

To appreciate something is to understand its good qualities.

→ I can appreciate the lovely scenery.

available [əˈveɪləb(ə)l] adj.

If something is available, it means you can get it.

→ There were many seats available in the room.

beat [biːt] v.

To beat someone means to do better than they do.

→ I managed to beat everyone in the race.

bright [brʌɪt] adj.

If something is bright, it shows a lot of light.

→ The bright light from the explosion hurt my eyes.

celebrate [ˈsɛlɪbreɪt] v.

To celebrate is to do something to show that an event is special.

→ We all celebrated when we heard the great news.

determine [dɪˈtəːmɪn] v.

To determine means to choose or make a decision.

→ He tried to determine which one to eat first.

disappear [dɪsəˈpɪə] v.

To disappear means to go away or not be seen.

→ The top of the building is disappearing in the clouds.

else [ɛls] adj.

If you talk about something else, you talk about something different.

→ I wanted a bike for my birthday, but I got something else.

fair [fɛː] adj.

Fair describes treating someone in a way that is reasonable or right.

→ He sold me his car for a fair price.

flow [fləʊ] v.

To flow is to move easily and continuously in one direction.

→ The water flowed over the rocks and into the lake.

forward [ˈfɔːwəd] adv.

If you move forward, you move in the direction in front of you.

→ When he saw his mother, the baby crawled forward to her.

hill [hɪl] n.

A hill is a round area of land. It is higher than the land around it.

→ The sun was rising above the green hills.

level [ˈlɛv(ə)l] n.

A level is a point on a scale that measures something.

→ Please check the level of the temperature.

lone [ləʊn] adj.

If someone or something is lone, they are the only one of that kind.

→ A lone man walked along the street.

puddle [ˈpʌd(ə)l] n.

A puddle is a pool of liquid on the ground.

→ When the ice melted, it formed a puddle.

response [rɪˈspɒns] n.

A response is the answer to a question.

→ He asked if I was sad. My response was “No.”

season [ˈsiːz(ə)n] n.

A season is a time of the year: spring, summer, fall or winter.

→ Fall is a warm season, while winter is very cold.

solution [səˈluːʃ(ə)n] n.

A solution is a way to solve a problem.

→ There are many problems. We need solutions!

waste [weɪst] v.

To waste means to carelessly use something all up.

→ Turn off the water so you don’t waste it.

whether [ˈwɛðə] conj.

You use whether when you must choose between two things.

→ I could not decide whether to go left or right.

There was a town next to a river. The people there had a lot of water. But they wasted it. That made the Sky angry. It said, “If you waste water, I will take it away from you.” But the people didn’t listen.

When the season changed from spring to summer, the clouds disappeared. The bright sun was hot and made the river dry. There was no water available. People asked, “When will the rain fall?”

The Sky’s response was, “You don’t appreciate water. You waste it, and now I will never make rain again.”

A boy determined that this wasn’t fair. He thought of a solution. He asked the Sky to race him. He said, “If I get to the top of that hill before your rain can form puddles, you must fill our river.”

The Sky laughed. “Little boy, I am the Sky. I am above everything else. You cannot beat me.” But the boy knew he would win.

When the race began, the boy ran forward. The Sky started raining on the hill. But puddles did not form there. When it rained on the hill, the water went down.

The Sky kept raining. The water flowed down into the river. When the boy reached the top of the hill, the river was full. The people began to celebrate. It was the highest level the river had ever been at before.

The Sky was angry. “A boy can’t beat me! I won’t fill your river,” it said. Now the boy laughed. “It doesn’t matter whether you want to fill it or not,” he said. “You already did.” The Sky looked at the full river.

“You tricked me,” it said. It asked the people, “Do you appreciate water now?”

“Yes,” they said. “We won’t waste it.”

That is how a lone boy saved his town and won the race for water.