Learn new English vocabulary while listening to this short story about the cotton gin, an important invention in American history. The story is at the first half of the audio, the vocabulary is at the second half.

Vocabulary:

Lucrative: An adjective that means "generating a great deal of profit".

Labor-intensive: A compound adjective that means requiring a lot of physical or mental effort.

Patented: A verb that means to obtain a patent for an invention, and a patent is a noun for an official right to be the only person to make, use or sell a product or an invention.

Revolutionary: An adjective that means introducing a new or radical idea or method. Revolutionary can also be used as a noun referring to a person.

Perpetuate: This is a cool word, isn't it? It's a verb that means to continue or cause something to continue.

Institution: A noun that means a well-established custom or practice.

Enslaved: An adjective that means to make somebody the property of another person who they are forced to work for and obey. The verb is "to enslave".

Contradictions: A noun that means a lack of agreement between facts, opinions, or actions.

Testament: A noun that means a statement or declaration that provides evidence or proof.