Modern Texas: Vocabulary

Texas had many changes over the twentieth century as it developed into a modern state. In this unit, you will learn about many areas of development in modern Texas.

Objective

• Learn vocabulary related to issues in modern Texas.

This lesson builds your vocabulary with words you will use in this unit. The words are:

• drought: a long dry spell with less rainfall than usual
• economic depression: an economic situation where there are not enough jobs, and wages are so low that many people cannot make a living
• employment: work that one is paid to do; a job
• ethnic group: a large group of people that share a common racial, national, tribal, religious, language, or cultural origin
• fossil fuel: a natural fuel formed over millions of years from the remains of living organisms
• industrialization: the development of a lot of industries
• metropolitan area: a major city together with its suburbs and nearby smaller towns
• minority: a part of a population that is different in race, religion, or culture from most of the population
• modern: belonging to the present time or recent past
• non-renewable resource: a natural resource that cannot be quickly replaced by natural means
• petroleum: a liquid form of oil found under the ground, used to make gasoline and other products
• ration: limits on the number of certain items that people can buy at one time
• solar: coming from the sun
• urbanization: the growth of cities and towns

The Astrodome opened in Houston in 1965 as home of the Houston Astros.
It was the first modern domed stadium, with air-conditioning, an animated scoreboard,
and artificial grass that was named after the stadium—Astroturf.

Look at the title of the unit, Modern Texas. The word modern means “belonging to the present time or recent past.”

In a word or short phrase, name something you think is a characteristic of modern Texas.