The World of Words: Vocabulary for College Success ... - eLibrary

Exercises 159When the coupletheir good fortune wisely,they grew wealthier. However, one day they decided to get all thegold immediately. They killed the goose, only to find that there was nogold inside it. Thus, their attempt at greedycost them dearly. From this fable comes the phrase “to kill thegoose that lays the golden egg.”5. eccentric, eccentricityModern voting machines have led to many errors, but imagine howa modern voter would consider the ancientAthenian method of voting on pieces of pottery. The Atheniansvoted to expel dangerous citizens by writing their names on piecesof broken clay jars. Thishas given us amodern English word. The clay pieces were called oster, and tosnub or exclude someone is now “to ostracize.”■ Reading the HeadlinesHere are some headlines that might appear in newspapers. Read each andanswer the questions. (Remember that small words, such as is, are, a, andthe, are often left out of headlines.)ECCENTRIC INVENTOR AND BASKETBALL STARSEEM LIKE INCONGRUOUS BUSINESS PARTNERS1. Is the inventor odd?Copyright © Cengage Learning. All Right Reserved.2. Do the two people seem like they belong together?NEW EXPLOITS IN EXTRICATING HIMSELFFROM DISASTER GIVE MOUNTAIN CLIMBERREPUTATION FOR INVINCIBILITY3. Did the mountain climber get himself out of trouble?4. Does it seem like he can be defeated?