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© Joy Goodwin

‘How to be Top’
English Work Book

CHAPTER 1

 NOUNS
TYPES
 common
 proper
 abstract
 collective
 compound
 noun agent

 Vocabulary
 Idioms/proverbs

 COMPREHENSION (Circe and Odysseus)

 Plurals
 Revision tests

 WRITING – paragraphs SYMBOLISM

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NOUNS
Nouns are naming words – they answer the questions who? or what?

e.g. Joe tore open the wrapping excitedly.

Who tore open? - Joe
He tore open what? - (the) wrapping.

TYPES of noun:

 common [can be seen or touched – (a) desk; (a) race]

 proper [a name (has a capital letter) - Sylvia]
 abstract [cannot be seen or touched - noise, smell, love]
 collective [word for a collection of items or people - bunch, carton, swarm]
 compound [2 or more words joined by hyphens. I grow forget-me-nots.]
 noun agent [is a person who does something…writing = noun writer = noun agent
action = abstract noun but actor = noun agent]

Exercise 1 Write down each of the underlined nouns and its type.

Joe was a strong swimmer. He dived into the sea from a high rock, frightening a small shoal of silver
fish. But, when he surfaced, he was caught in a rip-tide and was powerless to swim back to shore. Fear
gripped him as his morning dip became a nightmare.

a ______________ ______________ f. ______________ ______________

b. ______________ ______________ g. ______________ ______________

c. ______________ ______________ h. ______________ ______________

d. ______________ ______________ i. ______________ ______________

e ______________ ______________ j. ______________ ______________

[10]

Exercise 2 This time identify the nouns yourself. Write them and their type down.

For a moment or two every person was paralysed. Then the crowd broke and rushed for cover, as if an
air-raid-siren had gone. In ten seconds, when the Headmaster came out on the steps, the school yard
was empty. I was hiding in the bicycle-shed with Ted, Nick and some other boys. I saw the Headmaster
examine the broken window very deliberately.
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a _______________ _______________
i. ____________ ____________
b. ____________ ____________
j. ____________ ____________
c. ____________ ____________
k. ____________ ____________
d. ____________ ____________
l. ____________ ____________
e ____________ ____________
m. ____________ ____________
f. ____________ ____________
n. ____________ ____________
g. ____________ ____________
o. ____________ ____________
h. ____________ ____________
[30]

Exercise 3 Complete these sentences by supplying suitable nouns from the list given. Use each
noun only once.
lances argument secrecy pattern mist widow
idea attention instant audience sound drudgery

a. The horse fell but was up in an ______________________

b. Our ______________ was attracted by a ripple on the sea.

c. Queen Victoria wore black for ten years on becoming a _____________.

d. They flash like hurled _______________ through the water.

e. The poor woman led a life of __________________ and misery.

f. We stressed upon him the need for __________________.

g. Could you follow his ___________________?

h. At the back of the hall the _____________________ found it difficult to hear.

i. It is a _____________ often used by dressmakers.

j. It was indeed a peculiar ___________________.

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k. The heavy _________________ prevented our seeing much of the scenery.

l. That is an ______________ worth investigating. [12]

Exercise 4 Only some of the blank spaces can be filled by a noun. Fill in only those spaces with
suitable nouns.

a. The ______________ fell in torrents.

b. Some _________________ like living there.

c. The accident happened one _________________ last

summer.

d. He ____________ as fast as he could.

e. I prefer these ______________________.

f. That ___________________ is the one I should like to _____________.

g. My ________________ has just bought me a __________________.

h. There were five __________________.

i. Joe __________________ his present with great anticipation.

k. The __________________ young girl is Joe’s ________________.

l. At last the ______________ opened and the men came out. [10]

Exercise 5 Test your vocabulary. The spaces must be filled with nouns beginning with the letters
supplied.
a. He was standing on the e________________ of the cliff.

b. The world is on the b_________________ of war.

c. This house is at your d_______________________ while you are in Cape Town.

d. At first g______________ the house does not look impressive.

e. They were unable to keep their attackers at b______________ for long.

f. The escaped convict was still at l__________________.

g. I was confused and at a complete l_______________ for words.

h. A visiting team is always at a d______________________.

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i. As a r_________________ of the wash-away, all trains are behind schedule.

j. It pays to be on good t____________________ with your neighbours. [10]

Exercise 6 Do you know these idioms/proverbs? Complete them by supplying the missing noun
in each.

a. He always sits on the __________________ (He avoids taking sides.)

b. He resigned at short _________________ (He gave very little warning.)

c. He has a medical check-up once in a blue _____________ (very rarely.)

d. Life is not always a bed of ________________ (not always pleasant.)

e. He organized a charity run off his own _____________ (entirely unaided.) [5]

Here is a list of some collective nouns.

sheep/birds - flock fish (in the sea) - shoal porpoises - school

whales - pod fish (in a net) - catch/haul cattle - herd
oxen (in harness) - team bees/locusts - swarm bananas - hand
players - team ants –nest/colony wolves - pack
beautiful girls - bevy monkeys - troop lions - pride
actors - company dancers - troupe angels - host/choir
peacocks – muster disorderly people - mob savages - horde
puppies - litter kittens - kindle cats – clowder
sailors – crew soldiers – army/regiment/troop ships - fleet
servants - staff people in church – congregation Judges - bench
workmen/thieves – gang company directors – board books – library
pictures – collection poems – anthology pearls – rope/string
wild animals – menagerie eggs – clutch chickens – brood
flowers – bunch/bouquet warships – convoy trees – clump
lots of trees – forest wood/hay – stack bread – batch
islands – group/archipelago machine-guns – nest mountains – range
geese - gaggle apples – box potatoes - pocket
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Exercise 7 Complete the following expression using these collective nouns:

bundle shoal fleet troupe flight litter pack

string chest sheaf swarm suite pocket clutch

a. a ________________of locusts h. a ________________ of puppies.

b. a ________________of sticks. i a ________________ of steps.

c. a ________________of rooms. j. a ________________ of beads.

d. a ________________of wheat. k. a ________________ of fish.

e. a ________________of drawers. l. a ________________ of ships.

f. a ________________of dancers. m. a _______________ of eggs.

g. a ________________ of oranges n. a _______________ of cards.

[12]

Comprehension

Circe the Enchantress – the story tells of one of Odysseus’ adventure.

After his terrible adventure with the ogres, Odysseus had only one ship left of the twelve with which he had set sail from
Troy. He was quite lost but a wind from the north carried him into warm and sunny seas
and to a beautiful island called Aeaea. He divided his men into two bands of twenty each
and they cast lots as to which band should set out to explore the island. The band which
drew the lot was led by one of the bravest of his companions, Eurylochus.

He and his men went through a wood and came to a beautiful palace where they were met
by wolves and lions who were wagging their tails and jumping up like friendly dogs or
cats. They would have turned back, feeling they had come to a place of enchantment, but
they heard a sweet voice singing, which seemed to draw them inside. But Eurylochus hid
outside the palace and waited to see what would happen to his companions. A beautiful
enchantress called Cice met them at the door and made them welcome. She led them into
the dining hall and gave them a wonderful meal of cheese and honey and barley and the
strong, sweet
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Pramnian wine, fiery and dark – but in it she had mixed a magic drug. When they had drun k, Circe touched each one of
them with her wand, and at once they were turned into pigs , which she drove outside and shut in a sty.

When he saw this, Eurylochus fled weeping back to Odysseus and told him all that he had seen. The rest of the Ithacans
were filled with fear and wanted to board their ship and sail away at full speed but Odysseus would not leave his enchanted
followers without making some attempt to save them. He girded his sword, took his bow and a quiver of arrows and set off
for the palace of Circe the enchantress. As he went through the wood, Hermes, the messenger of the gods and son of Zeus,
stopped him.
“Odysseus, without help you cannot overcome this beautiful witch or save your companions from her evil spells. Zeus has
sent me to give you this magic herb. When Circe gives you her cup of wine to drink, squeeze this into it and the drug will
have no effect on you.”

Hermes sped back to Olympus on his winged sandals and Odysseus went forward full of hope to the palace of Circe. She
met him at the door, greeted him kindly and led him to the table where she waited upon him, heaping his plate with
delicious food and filling his cup with Pramnian wine. Odysseus managed to squeeze the magic herb into the wine before he
drank it. When he had drained the cup, Circe touched him with her wand and said,
“Now go to the sty and rest there for ever with your comrades.”

But Odysseus did not change a hair. Instead, he drew his sword and sprang at Circe as if eager to slay her. She sank to the
ground and clasped his knees, saying, “Who are you that you could drink the charm and take no hurt? You must be
Odysseus whom Hermes has often told me will come to this island on his way home from Troy. Forgot all else and stay
here and be my love.”

1. Odysseus chose Eurylochus and his band of men to explore the island because
Eurylochus was the bravest of his men. Why did he need to be brave? /2/
2. How many ships had Odysseus set sail from Troy with? /1/
3. He was left with one ship. What do you think happened to the rest of them? /2/
4. Do you think Eurylochus was braver than Odysseus? Explain your answer. /3/
5. Find a synonym for enchantress in this passage. /1/
6. Do you think that this was the first time Circe had turned men into animals?
Explain your answer. /3/
7. Why do you think Hermes sped back to Olympus (Mt Olympus)? /1/
8. What evidence is there in this story that Odysseus did not land on this island by accident
– that Zeus, king of the gods, had brought him to the island to test him? /2/
9. Find a synonym for charms in this passage. /1/
10. Provide a synonym (not in this passage) for pigs. /1/
11. Find 3 abstract nouns in this passage. /3/
[20]

PLURALS
RULES

 Most nouns plurals --- s [toy(s), valley(s), way(s), ghost(s) house(s)]

 Nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x, z -------es [bus(es), class(es), bush(es), coach(es), tax(es),
fizz(es)]
 Nouns ending in a consonant + y --------ies [baby - babies, pony – ponies, fly – flies, lady
– ladies]
 Nouns ending in f or fe -----ves [calf – calves, sheaf – sheaves, knife – knives] Except
proofs, beliefs, sheriffs.
 Nouns ending in o ---- oes [cargoes, heroes, potatoes, tomatoes] Except pianos, sopranos.
 Unusual changes – [foot – feet, goose – geese, mouse - mice, louse – lice, man – men,
woman – women, child – children, ox – oxen, tooth – teeth, criterium – criteria, index –
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indices, radius – radii, analysis – analyses, crisis – crises, stimulus – stimuli, syllabus –
syllabi, person – people etc.]
 Nouns with no singular [trousers, fish, sheep, buck, money, sugar, rand, pliers, billiards,
scissors, tongs etc.]
 Compound nouns [mothers-in- law, passers-by, spoons-full, cups-full] BUT mouthfuls,
godmothers.

Exercise 8 Give the plurals of:

a. duty ________________ k. piano ________________

b. niece ________________ l. crisis ________________

c. fortnight _____________ m. reply ________________

d. actress _______________ n joy __________________

e. gulf _________________ o. ruby _________________

f. mosquito _____________ p policewoman __________

g. tablespoon-full ________ q. passer-by _____________

h. loaf _________________ r. volcano ______________

i. enquiry ______________ s. syllabus ______________

j. dormouse ____________ t. radius ________________

[20]

How much have you learnt and remembered?

Revision Test [40]

1. Identify the types of nouns that have been underlined.

The a) Gilmers took their b) children to the c) fun-fair last d) Monday. They all joined the e) queue of
f) people at the g) ticket-office for the h) merry-go-round, hoping they would not have a long i) wait
for their j) turn to ride on it.
e. _____________
a _____________
f. _____________
b. _____________
g. _____________
c. _____________
h. _____________
d. _____________
i. _____________
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j. _____________

2. Give the collective nouns for each of the following:

a. thieves f. potatoes k. actors p. cubs

b. singers g. warships l girls q directors
c. poems h locusts m monkeys r. ships
d. whales i birds n islands s. geese
e. carrots j dancers o. fish t sailors

[20]
a. ___________ n. ___________
h. ___________
b.. ___________ o. ___________
i. ___________
c. ___________ p. ___________
j. ___________
d. ___________ q. ___________
k. ___________
e. ___________ r. ___________
l. ___________
f. ___________ s. ___________
m. ___________
g. ___________ t. ___________

3. Give the plurals of:

a. half f. donkey
b. goose g. ox
c. guess h. crisis
d. father-in- law i. enemy
e. echo j Eskimo
[10]

a. ___________ e. ___________

b. ___________ f. ___________

c. ___________ g. ___________

d. _________ h. ___________

i. ___________

j. ___________
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WRITING

Think of something that represents you… a rose,

a song, an animal… Why do you think it
represents/symbolizes you? Explain what
characteristics or qualities of the object
are most like you. Try to think of at least two and
write about each characteristic in a
separate paragraph.
Here are some ideas:

Are you: a rowing boat or a sailing boat?

a rose or a daisy?
a formal dinner or breakfast?
an elephant or a lion?
a hammer or a nail?
a Porsche (two-seater) or a Landrover?
a beach hut or a Hollywood mansion?
a hiking boot or a school shoe? etc.

For example: I might choose a rowing boat. [My title = Rowing

Boat]

A rowing boat is small and does not need any power source like a motor or the wind – it just requires
the hard work of one person to do the rowing. I think I am like a rowing boat because I am not afraid of
working hard to get where I want to go. I do not like to rely on other people to help me get ahead. I
would rather not have to rely on technology, electricity supplies (especially in South Africa) or things
like petrol which costs so much. I would much rather be self sufficient and help to conserve the planet.

At the same time, I am not very adventurous and quite happy to stay close to home. Rowing boats
remain in sheltered bays and on lakes. I do not like to take risks and prefer a quiet, peaceful life.
A rowing boat is also relatively inexpensive in comparison to other types of boats. I am not a flashy
person. I do not worship money or the things it can buy. I buy things that are practical and good value
for money.

[If you chose a sailing boat, why did you do so?] [20]