5.4 Words and Phrases

Vocabulary

Word Meaning Example sentence
aged very old The aged woman waited at the crossing.
gray / grey (here) grey-haired with age Her hair had turned gray with the years.
throng a large, dense crowd She stood lost in the throng.
uncared for neglected; not looked after She felt uncared for among the busy people.
slippery smooth and likely to cause slipping The snowy street was slippery.
totter to walk or move unsteadily The old woman began to totter across.
trembling shaking, often from weakness or cold He steadied her trembling hand.
noble showing fine, generous character It was a noble act of kindness.
content satisfied; happy She was content once safely across.
bowed bent (the head or body) His head was bowed with respect.
blessing a prayer for someone’s good She gave him her blessing.
pride and joy someone who gives great pride and happiness The boy was his mother’s pride and joy.

Phrases and expressions

Expression What it means
somebody’s mother an old woman who is dear to some family
amid the throng in the middle of a crowd
lend a helping hand to help someone
pride and joy a source of great pride and happiness

Exam Tip Poems often use slightly old or poetic words like throng, totter, and gray. Learn their plain-English meanings (crowd, walk unsteadily, grey/old) so you can answer “find a word that means ___” questions quickly.

Use what you’ve learnt

Fill each blank: throng, slippery, noble, trembling, aged.

  1. The street was wet and ___ after the snow.
  2. The ___ woman could barely walk on her own.
  3. She was lost in the ___ of hurrying people.
  4. He held her ___ hand and led her across.
  5. Helping the helpless is a ___ act.
  1. slippery   2. aged   3. throng   4. trembling   5. noble