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UNIT 1 - THE GREAT ESCAPE

1A Introduction

We’ve all wanted to get away at one time or another. The narrator in this song faces a pretty
tough life on his block, but he finds ways to escape.

1B Song Lyrics

Hey yo, Trajik.

What’s up, B?
I’ve got to make the great escape.
Word?
I’ve got to make the great escape.
Word?
x2

It’s 7 o’clock and it’s time to embark,

And set off on my travels though it’s still dark.
It’s just me in the house ‘cause my dad’s not around,
And my mom’s got to work at the hospital now.
But that’s OK I fend for myself,
Protect myself, my health, and my friends.
And vice versa, they’ve got my back too,
Stay close like skin stays to a tattoo.

I move fast on the map like a cat, dodging trouble,

Through broken buildings and all that rubble.
With more rats than that movie Ratatouille,
The streets teem with rats, you hearing that?
And while they vie and fight for some forgotten cheese,
The biggest rat of all was eyeing me.
I ran off to school, it’s a great escape,
And cut through the gangs like a razor-blade.

At home I can’t even get the time of day,

But my friends are excited, they’re never blasé.
They smile and greet me, it’s quite a reception,
Call me creamy ranch, ‘cause I’m fresh with the
dressing.
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Hook x2

Sometimes late at night, I can’t even sleep,

‘Cause people argue and wrangle in the streets.
Usually, my street is desolate,
There’s no people around, they won’t mess with it.
Most families have moved away for better schools
To increase and augment their safety too.
But it’s not all disorder and anarchy,
There’s a man selling gum in a stand for me.

And there is one tract of land, that’s so attractive man,

Every time I see it I want to rap again.
And from my roof you get a wide view, a panorama, It’s
true; we can’t afford a camera.
But that’s cool, because I’ve got the image in my mind,
I wouldn’t forget the image even if I went blind.
I’ve made an intense, ardent promise
To always stay bright in the face of darkness.
So I’m on this, like lazy kids on couches.
I’m on this, like roofs on houses.
I’m on this, and I’ll always stay true.
Make waves, so make way dude, I break through.

Hook
x2

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1C Words Defined
anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

Below you’ll find each vocabulary word that was used in the song. Each word is
followed by the part of speech, a simple definition and a meaningful sentence. Some
words will also have synonyms, antonyms and other forms of the word listed.

1. anarchy
a state of lawlessness, confusion or disorder
(noun)

The crowd erupted into a state of anarchy during the concert.

Synonyms: chaos, disorder, turmoil
Other forms: The anarchist (noun) lit the garbage heap on fire and soon the whole street
was ablaze.
2. ardent
(adj) passionate, enthusiastic and fiery

Quincy was an ardent fan of any sports related books or authors.

Synonyms: impassioned, fervent, zealous

3. augment
(verb) to add to

Larry’s dad agreed to augment his allowance by two dollars a week.

Synonyms: to boost, increase, enhance
Antonyms: to decrease, reduce

4. blasé
unimpressed and indifferent
(adj)

We all thought Ken would be really excited about the prestigious award he received, but
instead he was very blasé about the whole thing.
Synonyms: bored, disenchanted
Antonyms: eager, enthusiastic

5. desolate
(adj)without any people; dismal and devastated
We were shipwrecked and washed up on the most desolate island.
Other forms: Desolate is also a verb meaning “to devastate,” as in: Several mean boys
tried to desolate my sand castle on the beach by running through it. Something that is
destroyed is an example of desolation (noun).

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6. embark
(verb) to start or begin

Trina is going to embark on a trip and sail around the world by herself.
Synonyms: to commence, launch, undertake
7. fend
to ward off or defend
(verb)

The rock stars had to fend off the screaming and swarming girls as they exited the building.
Synonyms: to repel, resist, shield

8. panorama
(noun) an unobstructed or complete view

The celebrity’s home had a panorama of the entire valley and beyond.
Other forms: The panoramic (adj) view from the top of the building was breathtaking.
9. reception
(noun) the act or instance of receiving or meeting

The boys gave the girls a chilly reception at the Super Bowl party.
Other forms: A person is usually very receptive (adj) when someone offers to clean their
bathroom and kitchen for them.

10. rubble
(noun) broken bits and pieces

After the huge earthquake, the buildings were nothing but rubble.
Synonyms: debris, fragments, wreckage.

11. teem
(verb) to swarm, brim or overflow

Ponds often teem with fish, insects and frogs.

Synonyms: to abound, overrun, be prolific
Antonyms: to lack, need

12. tract
(noun) an area, expanse or region

While trying to buy a tract of land, Chris had to be taken to the hospital due to his inflamed
digestive tract.

13. vice versa

(noun) conversely, in reverse

Kristina hates the homecoming queen, and vice versa: The queen hates her back.

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14. vie
to compete for
(verb)

Charlie and Big “T” are both vying for starting-point guard spot on the ball team.
Synonyms: to compete, contend, strive

15. wrangle
(verb) to argue or dispute

Eleanor likes to wrangle with her father about the dangers of smoking.
Synonyms: to dispute, fight, brawl
Antonyms: to agree, give in
Other forms: Wrangle is also a noun meaning “a noisy dispute or altercation,” as in:
During the wrangle, Everett threw plates and cups at Stephanie.

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1D Fix the Mistake

anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

Each of the sentences below has a mistake. The wrong vocabulary words have been used,
so the sentences don’t make sense. Rewrite each sentence using the correct vocabulary
word from this unit.

1. My grandpa is going to wrangle on a trip to Italy, Greece and Spain after he renews his
passport and completes his foreign language classes

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Randy was such a(n) blasé baseball fan that he had numerous signed baseballs, jerseys, bats
and pennants in a special glass cabinet in his living room.

_______________________________________________________________________

3. Most celebrities have to augment off the paparazzi even as they do the most basic routines of
their lives like going grocery shopping or to the gym.

_______________________________________________________________________

4. The rescue workers had to dig through the reception after the earthquake to look for survivors.

_______________________________________________________________________

5. The largest panorama of land was slated to have a housing development built on it by summer.

_______________________________________________________________________

6. IOur section of the stadium shouted at the opposing team’s section of the stadium and
anarchy.

_______________________________________________________________________

7. There were four athletes teeming for the gold medal in the final race.

_______________________________________________________________________

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8. Maggie was so desolate about winning the largest lottery winnings in history that we all
thought she must be in shock.

_______________________________________________________________________

9. Sarah likes to fend with others in her debate class because she knows she will always win.

_______________________________________________________________________

10. Maybe there was a hive under the slide, because the playground was embarking with bees.

_______________________________________________________________________

11. Some wedding rubbles are extremely fancy with jazz bands, fancy decorations, and expensive
food.

_______________________________________________________________________

12. The vice versa from the top of the tallest building in the world was so amazing that I took over
one hundred pictures.

_______________________________________________________________________

13. The military training exercise required the new recruits to be dropped off in one of the most
ardent places in the country, and then survive for three days with only what was in their packs.

_______________________________________________________________________

14. Sandy got a job; she wanted some money to vie her allowance.

_______________________________________________________________________

15. Tract erupted in the streets when the police officers started to fire rubber bullets at the
gathering crowd.

_______________________________________________________________________

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1E Pick the Winner

anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

Circle the word that best fits into the sentence. Then write a sentence below that uses the
word you didn’t pick in a meaningful way.

1. Her bookshelf revealed that she was a(n) (ardent OR desolate) fan of mystery books.

_______________________________________________________________________

2. The rescue dogs were trained to sniff through the (reception OR rubble) and signal their
handlers when they located a possible survivor.

_______________________________________________________________________

3. The paparazzi were (vying OR teeming) around Britney Spears to get a photo of her and her
children playing at the park.

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Fishermen like to (embark OR fend) early in the morning for the best chance at catching the
most salmon.

_______________________________________________________________________

5. Two of the most popular cheerleaders (wrangled OR augmented) over which one of them
would take the handsome quarterback to the prom.

_______________________________________________________________________

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1F Draw the Relationship

anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

In each grouping of eight words below, draw straight lines between the synonyms (words
that mean similar things) and squiggly lines between any antonyms (words that mean
nearly opposite things).
Every word should have at least one line connected to it. Some may have more.

embark fend off

blasé unimpressed
1
social gathering set off
give in reception

_______________________________________________________________________

desolate decrease
wrangle swarm
2
populated argue
augment teem

_______________________________________________________________________

tract anarchy
unenthusiastic region
3
scenic view chaos
panorama ardent

_______________________________________________________________________

debris destroyed
rubble cooperate
4
vice versa in reverse
vie desolate

_______________________________________________________________________

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1G Understanding What You Read

anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

Read the passage below. Then answer the questions.

Dad was excited about the decision to embark on our journey to the coast by noon,
because he thought we’d be there by midnight at the latest. I was a bit more blasé about
it, thinking that, knowing how the man drives, it would take us two days no matter what
time we left.
My sister, Alex, was being the typical sullen teenager. As she was letting us know,
she wasn’t excited at all about the prospect of a car trip with the family. In her mind, these
car trips were when the family descended into anarchy. She would constantly wrangle for
back seat space and I would have to fend her off. By the middle of the trip, I had usually
decided it was just best to stare out the window at the desolate landscape.
There were upsides to these trips, I suppose. Mom usually would sing in the car
when things got really boring. And, of course, it was always fun watching my sister argue
with dad as she made some ardent point about her curfew being too early, or mine being
too late. Regardless, it was our arrival at the coast that was the most fun. Depending on
what time we did end up getting there, the reception we got from the friends we hadn’t
seen since last summer was usually the best part of all.

1. How did the narrator feel about taking the trip?

(A) excited
(B) unhappy
(C) indifferent
(D) bored

2. What does the narrator mean by “anarchy” in the second paragraph?

(A) lack of government control
(B) general chaos
(C) peaceful times
(D) violence

3. The story suggests that the family is going

(A) on a family trip
(B) to a funeral
(C) to accept an award
(D) to a sporting event
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4. The “desolate landscape” in the second paragraph suggests they were traveling through
(A) a forest
(B) a beach
(C) a desert
(D) a city

5. The narrator of this story is most likely a

(A) toddler
(B) grandfather
(C) lawyer
(D) teenager

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1H Thinking Creatively
anarchy / ardent / augment / blasé / desolate / embark / fend / panorama / reception / rubble / teem / tract / vice versa /
vie / wrangle

Answer each question below. Don’t be afraid to think creatively

1. Briefly describe the plot of a made-up movie named The Blasé Butcher.

_______________________________________________________________________

2. If you could pick any tract of land in the world to build on, what would you choose?

_______________________________________________________________________

3. What do you think a panoramic camera is?

_______________________________________________________________________

4. Why might a government fear anarchy?

_______________________________________________________________________

5. Explain how a hunter could defend himself from a grizzly bear and vice versa.

_______________________________________________________________________

Word Breakdown

Panorama comes from the Greek pan (“all”) and oramic (“to see”). A panorama allows you
to see all. The prefix “pan” is used in big words like panacea (a medicine that cures
everything), and also to indicate that all things are included. The airline Pan Am is short for
Pan America (they fly all over the Americas). The Pantheon, in Rome, is the temple for all
the gods. The word pancake, however, has nothing to do with “all.” Pancake comes from
the German word panne and the Old Norse word kaka.

Blasé has a connotation of: I’ve seen the whole world, and now I’m bored. It is not the
boredom of the working man, but the boredom of someone with so much money or time
that they don’t know what to do. Blasé is actually just a French word, and in French slang it
means “constantly hung over.” An Ella Fitzgerald song, “You’re Blasé,” contains the lyrics:
“You sleep, the sun is shining…There’s nothing new for you to do. You’re lasé.”
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