The English Vocabulary Builder series uses storytelling and real life contexts to show how words are used in practice, so learners can learn vocabulary in an enjoyable way rather than having to memorize word lists. In this story, told in the form of a Mystery, we follow the adventures of Inspectors Marissa and Jessica as they help to solve mysteries in the sleepy town of Youngsville. More at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kt-

2. 2
English Vocabulary Builder Introduction
The English Vocabulary Builder series uses storytelling and real life contexts to show
how words are used in practice, so learners can learn vocabulary in an enjoyable way rather
than having to memorize word lists.
In this story, told in the form of a Mystery, we follow the adventures of Inspectors
Marissa and Jessica as they help to solve mysteries in the sleepy town of Youngsville.
In each reading, Marissa and Jessica have to talk to the townsfolk and examine clues
to get one step closer to solving the mystery. Read through their experiences and do the
exercises that follow to understand and use the new vocabulary presented. Don’t worry if
you’re not sure about all the terms. Look at the clues in the questions and try to infer
(guess) the meaning of the new words. Be sure to write down any new words you learn in a
separate notebook so you can review them later.
Happy reading!
The Characters
Marissa Young
Jessica Lye
Grandma Young
Aunt Sally Lye
The Governor
Old Man Lee the fisherman
Auntie Lee his wife
Lily the town busybody
The Thief
Townsfolk

3. 3
1. Home is where the heart is
The kettle gave off a whimpering hiss, notifying everyone in the house that the
water was boiled and tea could now be served. Marissa shuffled over into the tiny
kitchen, flipped the knob on the stove, and let out a soft sigh. Outside, the sun was
rising, heralding the start of a new day. It might as well have been any other day,
however, as things rarely changed in Youngsville.
“Ah Ping, did you get the kettle?”
“Yes, Grandma,” Marissa confirmed.
Though she was now an adult university student and used to being called “Marissa”,
she was still “Ping” to the folks back home. “Ping” was her old name and everything here
in her hometown seemed just like that. Old, and for that matter, slow.
The local morning radio news show was on, covering the upcoming visit of the
governor. So little happened in Youngsville that the annual visit from the governor was a
highlight on the town calendar.
Marissa trudged around the tiny house where she and grandma lived, tidying some
newspapers to make the place look presentable. This idle life had gone on long enough
and she was determined to inject some excitement into her summer holiday. The
governor’s ceremony would be a great place to start. She slipped on a light sweater and
headed for the door.
“Where are you going this early in the morning? You haven’t even had your tea,
yet,” admonished Grandma.
“I’m going over to Jessica’s, Grandma. Don’t worry, I’ll be home soon.”
Marissa skipped out the front door, heading toward town, which, she figured, was
also in the direction of Jessica’s house.
“Summer adventure, here I come,” she thought to herself.

4. 4
Exercise One
A. Choose the correct word from the passage and fill in the blanks.
1. Doctors recommend that adults go for an ________ health check up to detect any
issues that have come up in the past year.
2. After being ________ throughout my holiday, I found it hard to get back to working
long hours at the office.
3. The mayor is the official in charge of the city and the ___________ is the official in
charge of the state, province or territory.
4. The snake will _________ at you if you disturb it and it feels threatened.
5. We woke up at sunrise to go hiking and __________ along half asleep.
6. I decided to leave early for the meeting as I _________ that traffic would be bad.
7. “Young man, you are in so much trouble – you dented the car, ______________ who
gave you permission to be out so late?”
8. The opening __________ of the Olympic games features athletes marching along in
their national costumes.
9. Before the meeting, I __________ out of the office for some fresh air.
10. “Let’s go,” the adventurous pilot cried, as he __________ the controls to get the plane
moving.
B. Match the following terms used to describe destinations and travel
planning to their appropriate explanations.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. whimpering 1. reprimanded
B. notifying 2. impending
C. shuffled 3. thought
D. heralding 4. infuse
E. upcoming 5. informing
F. highlight 6. weak
G. idle 7. key item
H. inject 8. quiet
I. admonished 9. moved slowly with small steps
J. figured 10. marking

5. 5
2. The old friends
Marissa hurried on toward the centre of town, finding her way to “Lye’s Coffee
Place”. This crumbling old one-storey brickhouse was home to her childhood friend,
Jessica. Like Marissa, Jessica had also gone to school in the city, where she had studied
accounting. After graduation, the call of home had been too strong to ignore, and she
found herself back home running the family café.
Jessica was like a big sister to Marissa, in more ways than one. For example,
Jessica was older. She was also taller, and some would say more mature. While Marissa
darted from one interest to the next, Jessica kept her emotions in check, and thought
things through before making decisions. In an interesting way, they balanced each other
out and made for a great pair of friends.
“Hey, want to go with me to the governor’s welcome ceremony?”
“I’m not sure I can. At any rate, I’ve been before and I believe it was
underwhelming,” Jessica replied, without looking up from behind the counter, where she
was wiping some dishes.
“Oh come on, it’s been a boring summer. Anything is better than sitting at home
drinking one cup of tea after another.”
“How long will it last?”
“Well, we can catch the governor’s speech, the hitting of the gong, and the
unveiling of the commemorative sculpture, and then come home so you can serve
lunch to your customers.”
Jessica looked unconvinced.
“Please? Please? You’ll be a bad ‘big sister’ to me if you don’t take me around and
show me the world.”
Marissa had a way with persuading people.
“Well, I guess since there’s hardly anyone in the café, the rest of the family can take
care of them. Alright then, let’s go. But only for awhile!”
“Hooray!”

6. 6
Exercise Two
A. Choose the correct word from the passage and fill in the blanks.
1. Aunt Mary __________ with children, always managing to get the noisy ones to sit down
and play quietly.
2. Jeff kept his proposal secret, only __________ the details at the management meeting.
3. She is my partner _____________, we do business together and we’re married to each
other!
4. We’re not going to make the movie in time and __________, I think we should go to
bed early since we have an early meeting tomorrow.
5. The artist worked with his tools to shape the block of marble into a beautiful _________.
6. After reading so many good reviews about the restaurant, I found the pLyen tasting
food very ___________.
7. Despite already being very irritated and angry, she ____________ and calmly handled
her unreasonable customers.
8. I tried my best to resist but _________ the steamed buns was just too tempting and I
ate three more!
9. After listening to his arguments, I am still _________ about the usefulness of this
exercise.
10. At the company’s anniversary celebration, everyone was given a ____________ gift.
B. Match the following terms used to describe destinations and travel
planning to their appropriate explanations.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. the call of 1. carving
B. mature 2.
C. darted 3. ran rapidly
D. at any rate 4. anyhow
E. underwhelming 5. not impressive
F. unveiling 6. unpersuaded
G. commemorative 7. emotionally developed
H. sculpture 8. beckoning
I. unconvinced 9. in honour of something
J. had a way with 10. talented at

7. 7
3. At the town square
As Marissa and Jessica approached the town square, they saw a large crowd
standing between them and the makeshift podium. Almost the entire town had
gathered to see the governor and hear his speech. The two friends stood on tiptoe, trying
to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
A few moments later and with much fanfare, Lily the town busybody got on stage
and waited for the crowd to quiet down.
“Hi everyone, I am so delighted to welcome you all today to our annual rice farmers’
festival. Here to help us get the festivities underway is none other than our one and
only governor!”
The governor made his way onto the stage. He waved to the crowd and then took
up his position next to the veiled sculpture. With a sharp tug, the veil was pulled back to
reveal… an empty frame with no sculpture!
“Where’s the sculpture? Did someone take it?”
“That’s not possible. I saw it with my own eyes last night!”
“Now let’s calm down. I’m sure we can figure this out. They must have just
misplaced the sculpture,” counselled Lily. Nobody was in a mood to listen, though.
The townsfolk crowded around the empty frame. The only thing left in the
sculpture’s place was a cryptic note.
“Stand back! Town detectives coming through!”
The crowd turned to see two petite young ladies charging forward. Marissa led the
way and she was the one who had announced their arrival. Marissa cleared her throat,
grabbed the note, and read its contents aloud.
“Sunny is this gorgeous day,
Sadly be that as it may,
Taken I have from this ground,
Your horrid sculpture, never to be found.
Find me soon where children would,
Before it disappears for good.”
They all considered the note but could make no sense of it. Then Jessica took it
from Marissa, glanced it over, and said, “Hey, look, it’s written on the type of notepaper
they use in the town school and that’s where the ‘children’ usually are. Maybe we can find
some clues there!”

8. 8
Exercise Three
A. Choose the correct word from the passage and fill in the blanks.
1. The group agreed that Sheila was the biggest __________ they knew, since she was
always asking about others’ private lives.
2. I ________ the request but decided against helping because I was too busy.
3. We got to the event late and had to ________ to try to catch a glimpse of the
performers.
4. Our teacher __________ us to avoid starting this project late or we would regret it.
5. I really didn’t understand your friend’s points because most of what he said was so
__________.
6. We didn’t bring a tent pole on our hiking trip so we had to create a _________ one
from branches we found in the forest.
7. The official got the race __________ with a wave of the flag.
8. A polite way to describe someone who is small is to call them ____________.
9. At the crime scene, _________ were asking witnesses if they saw the robber.
10. The actors and actresses arrived at the awards ceremony to much _________, complete
with a red carpet, screaming fans and television news crews.
B. Match the following terms used to describe destinations and travel
planning to their appropriate explanations.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. makeshift 1. mysterious
B. podium 2. pomp
C. fanfare 3. stand
D. busybody 4. temporary
E. festivities 5. going
F. underway 6. celebration
G. counselled 7. looked at quickly
H. cryptic 8. advised
I. petite 9. nosy person
J. glanced 10. small

9. 9
Answer Key
Exercise One
A.
1. annual
2. idle
3. governor
4. hiss
5. trudged
6. figured
7. and for that matter
8. ceremony
9. slipped
10. flipped
B.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. whimpering 1. weak
B. notifying 2. informing
C. shuffled 3. moved slowly with small steps
D. heralding 4. marking
E. upcoming 5. impending
F. highlight 6. key item
G. idle 7. quiet
H. inject 8. infuse
I. admonished 9. reprimanded
J. figured 10. thought
Exercise Two
A.
1. had a way with
2. unveiling
3. in more ways than one
4. at any rate
5. sculpture
6. underwhelming
7. kept her emotions in check
8. the call of
9. unconvinced
10. commemorative

10. 10
B.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. the call of 1. beckoning
B. mature 2. emotionally developed
C. darted 3. ran rapidly
D. at any rate 4. anyhow
E. underwhelming 5. not impressive
F. unveiling 6. revealing
G. commemorative 7. in honour of something
H. sculpture 8. carving
I. unconvinced 9. unpersuaded
J. had a way with 10. talented at
Exercise Three
A.
1. busybody
2. considered
3. tiptoe
4. counselled
5. cryptic
6. makeshift
7. underway
8. petite
9. detectives
10. fanfare
B.
Words from Passage Synonyms / Matching Words
A. makeshift 1. temporary
B. podium 2. stand
C. fanfare 3. pomp
D. busybody 4. nosy person
E. festivities 5. celebration
F. underway 6. going
G. counselled 7. advised
H. cryptic 8. mysterious
I. petite 9. small
J. glanced 10. looked at quickly