Vocab Dose - IV

Men and Money

Let me give you a tip on a clue to men's characters: the man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it. Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter. So long as men live together on earth and need means to deal with one another – their only substitute, if they abandon money, is the muzzle of a gun. But money demands of you the highest virtues, if you wish to make it or to keep it. Men who have no courage, pride or self-esteem, men who have no moral sense of their right to their money and are not willing to defend it as they defend their life, men who apologize for being rich - will not remain rich for long. They are the natural bait for the swarms of looters that stay under rocks for centuries, but come crawling out at the first smell of a man who begs to be forgiven for the guilt of owning wealth. They will hasten to relieve him of the guilt - and of his life, as he deserves. Then you will see the rise of the men of the double standard - the men who live by force, yet count on those who live by trade to create the value of their looted money – the men who are the hitchhikers of virtue.

An excerpt from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

MATCH THE WORDS WITH THEIR MEANINGS

1. Clue – (kloo) (n)   2. Damns – (dams) (v)   3. Dishonorably – (dis-on-er-uh-blee) (adv)   4. Leper’s bell   5. Looter – (loot-er) (n)   6. Means – (meens) (n)   7. Muzzle – (muhz-uhl) (n)   8. Virtues – (vur-chooz) (n)   9. Bait – (beyt) (n) 10. Swarms – (swawrms) (n) 11. Relieve – (ri-leev) (v) 12. Double standard 13. Hitchhikers - (hich-hahyk-urz) (n)

a.   Someone who steals money or valuables, thief b.   The open end of the barrel of a firearm c.   Something intended to entice someone to do something d.   Used ironically to indicate that someone has been deprived of something e.   Criticises strongly f.   A rule or principle which is unfairly applied in different ways to different people or groups g.   In Medieval Europe, lepers were required to carry a bell to identify their presence. The phrase therefore signifies the onset of an approaching danger h.   A fact or idea that serves to reveal something or solve a problem i.   People who travel by getting free lifts in passing vehicles j.   A large number of people or things k.   An action or system by which a result is achieved; a method l.   Behaviour showing high moral standards m.   Bringing shame or disgrace on someone or something, without honour

Answers

1. h	2. e	3. m	4. g	5. a
6. k	7. b	8. l	9. c	10. j
11. d	12. f	13. i