98. Doing Laundry

Tom usually did his laundry every Saturday, but he was starting to run out of t-shirts to wear. He felt dirty wearing the same clothes over again. He decided to do his laundry now.

It was a lot of work. He gathered all his clothes, and put them in the washing machine. He made sure to separate dark and light colors. After they were done, he put them inside the dryer. 

After they were dried, he had to turn all his clothes. He then had to iron them. He ironed all his clothes and folded them. He was finally done.

Vocabulary Words

                                                           

No.	Word	Definition	Example Sentence
1	usually	under normal conditions; generally	Tom usually did his laundry every Saturday.
2	laundry	clothes and linen that need to be washed or have just been washed	Tom usually did his laundry every Saturday.
3	run out of	to use up a supply of something; to have none left	He was starting to run out of t-shirts to wear.
4	t-shirts	short-sleeved casual tops, usually made of cotton	He was starting to run out of t-shirts to wear.
5	dirty	covered or marked with an unclean substance	He felt dirty wearing the same clothes over again.
6	decided	came to a resolution in one's mind as a result of consideration	He decided to do his laundry now.
7	a lot of work	an activity requiring a significant amount of effort or labor	It was a lot of work.
8	gathered	brought together; collected	He gathered all his clothes.
9	washing machine	a machine for washing clothes, sheets, and other laundry	He put them in the washing machine.
10	separate	to divide (a part) from the whole or from one another	He made sure to separate dark and light colors.
11	dark colors	deep, non-fading colored fabrics (like blues, blacks, reds)	He made sure to separate dark colors and light colors.
12	light colors	pale or bright colored fabrics (like whites, yellows, pale greens)	He made sure to separate dark and light colors.
13	done	finished or completed	After they were done, he put them inside the dryer.
14	dryer	a machine used for removing moisture from clothes (usually tumble dryer)	He put them inside the dryer.
15	dried	having had the moisture removed	After they were dried, he had to turn all his clothes.
16	turn all his clothes	to reverse the garments, putting them right-side out (since some are put in the wash inside-out)	He had to turn all his clothes.
17	iron	to smooth clothes or linen by using a heated appliance	He then had to iron them.
18	ironed	smoothed clothes using a heated iron to remove wrinkles	He ironed all his clothes.
19	folded	bent a piece of cloth or paper over upon itself (to put away)	He ironed all his clothes and folded them.
20	finally done	completely finished after a long process	He was finally done.

Comprehension Questions

                                                   

Question	Answer
1. What day of the week did Tom usually do his laundry?	Every Saturday.
2. Why did Tom decide to do his laundry earlier than usual?	He was starting to run out of t-shirts to wear.
3. What was Tom's concern about wearing the same clothes repeatedly?	He felt dirty.
4. What was the first step Tom took when starting his laundry?	He gathered all his clothes.
5. Where did Tom put his clothes after gathering them?	In the washing machine.
6. What is the process Tom followed before washing the clothes?	He made sure to separate dark and light colors.
7. What are the two categories of colors Tom separated?	Dark colors and light colors.
8. What machine did Tom use after the clothes were done washing?	The dryer.
9. What was the next step after the clothes were dried?	He had to turn all his clothes (right-side out).
10. What piece of equipment did Tom use to smooth his clothes?	An iron (or he had to iron them).
11. What were the last two things Tom did to his clothes?	He ironed them and folded them.
12. What items of clothing were Tom running out of?	T-shirts.
13. Did Tom seem to enjoy the process of doing laundry?	No, the story states, "It was a lot of work."
14. What does "run out of" mean in this context?	To have used or finished a supply of something.
15. What process removes wrinkles from the clothes?	Ironing.
16. What step immediately precedes ironing in Tom's process?	Turning his clothes (right-side out) after drying.
17. Why is separating dark and light clothes important?	To prevent the dark colors from bleeding onto and staining the light colors.
18. What action comes immediately after the clothes are in the washing machine?	The clothes are washed until they are "done."
19. What two words describe the final state of his laundry task?	Finally done.
20. What is the overall topic of the story?	The process of doing laundry.