Saturday, February 23, 2008

Vocab / sentences

1. circumstance- a condition, fact, or event accompanying, conditioning, or determining another: an essential or inevitable concomitant b: a subordinate or accessory fact or detail / The weather is a circumstance to be taken into consideration

2. undergraduate- a student at a college or university who has not received a first and especially a bachelor's degree / He is a under graduated student.

3. coalition- a government formed by two or more political parties working together. / A coalition between students and teachers was formed.

4. incentive- something that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action / I gave him an incentive to do the work

5. Wrangling- 1: to dispute angrily or peevishly 2: to engage in argument or controversy. / I wrangled with a friend about a soccer game of yesterday.

6. Postdoctoral- being beyond the doctoral level: a: of or relating to advanced academic or professional work beyond a doctor's degree b: engaged in such work / He is in postdoctoral process.

7. Multidisciplinary- composed of or combining several usually separate branches of learning or fields of expertise / The huge company is multidisciplinary.

8. adolescent- growing to manhood or womanhood; youthful. / Adolescent age is the most important.

9. appropriation- anything appropriated for a special purpose, esp. money / an act of a legislature authorizing money to be paid from the treasury for a specified use. / He made an appropriation of $100,000 for a car.

10. Bureaucratic- of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a bureaucracy or a bureaucrat / I hate bureaucratic government of the country.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Vocab / sentences

1. Fatality- a: the quality or state of causing death or destruction b: the quality or condition of being destined for disaster / Traffic accidents cause thousands of fatalities every year.

2. Briefed- to give sb information or instructions about sth / The minister has been fully briefed on what questions to expect.

3. Decline- a: to become weaker, smaller or less good b: to refuse, usually politely / I declined a gift with thanks.

4. Witness- attestation of a fact or event / I supported his witness.

5. Consumption- a: a progressive wasting away of the body especially from pulmonary tuberculosis b: TUBERCULOSIS / We don't plan our household consumption.

6. Attributes- 1: an inherent characteristic; also: an accidental quality / Each person has a particular physical attribute.

7. Blast- a: a violent gust of wind b: the effect or accompaniment (as sleet) of such a gust / Blast was very strong last night.

8. Paste- a: a dough that contains a considerable proportion of fat and is used for pastry crust or fancy rolls b: a confection made by evaporating fruit with sugar or by flavoring a gelatin, starch, or gum Arabic preparation c: a smooth food product made by evaporation or grinding d: a shaped dough prepared from semolina, farina, or wheat flour / I made many pastes to make doughnuts.

9. Cinnamon- a: any of several Asian trees of the laurel family b: an aromatic spice prepared from the dried inner bark of a cinnamon / The tree smells like cinnamon

10. Preservation- to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction: PROTECT / Soong-rae-gate was in good preservation.

11. Dictate- to give dictation / He dictated a letter to a secretary.

12. Confess- to tell or make known / He confessed his crime to his son.
13. Grievance- obsolete: SUFFERING, DISTRESS / I have a grievance against a teacher.

14. Din- a loud continued noise; especially: a welter of discordant sounds / I heard the din of machinery.

15. Patchy- marked by, consisting of, or diversified with patches / His old jacket is patchy.

16. Slumber- to sleep lightly / when I do homework, I always slumber.

Articles

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/14/university.shooting/index.html

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1713178.00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/13/kimchi.space/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/02/11/skorea.landmark/index.html

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Vocab / sentences

1. Obligatory- 1: binding in law or conscience 2: relating to or enforcing an obligation / Paying taxes is obligatory.

2. awareness- having or showing realization, perception, or knowledge / Awareness about the society of today is necessary.

3. emancipation- the act or process of emancipating / Many people fought for emancipation of their country.

4. payoff- a: PROFIT REWARD b: RETRIBUTION c: the act or occasion of receiving money or material gain especially as compensation or as a bribe / I forgot the date of payoff.

5. Fierce- a: violently hostile or aggressive in temperament b: given to fighting or killing / I was running away from a fierce dog.

6. Parlous- a: dangerously shrewd or cunning b: full of danger or risk / The war between two countries was parlous.

7. Accommodate- a: to make fit, suitable, or congruous, b: to provide with something desired, needed, or suited / He accommodates his friends.

8. swath- a: a row of cut grain or grass left by a scythe or mowing machine b: the sweep of a scythe or a machine in mowing or the path cut in one course / The swath made a road.

9. repository- a place, room, or container where something is deposited or stored / I found a repository of ancestors.

10. Scrutiny- a searching study, inquiry, or inspection. / Scrutiny is in progress because there was no clear evidence.

11. conscious- perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation / He is a conscious liar.

12. Lavish- expending or bestowing profusely: PRODIGAL / She is lavish of her money.

13. alumnus- a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school, college, or university / I went to an alumni association of my high school.

14. Parochial- of or relating to a church parish ; of or relating to a parish as a unit of local government / The town is parochial.

15. Enrich- to make rich or richer esp. by the addition or increase of some desirable quality, attribute, or ingredient / The president enriched a nation by trade.

16. expenditure- the act or process of expending / An expenditure of $100000 on the new car is completed last month.

17. Inflation- an act of inflating: a state of being inflated: as a: distension b: a hypothetical extremely brief period of very rapid expansion of the universe immediately following the big bang c: empty pretentiousness: POMPOSITY / The war caused vicious inflation.

18. Commission- a: a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties b: a certificate conferring military rank and authority / I have some commissions for you.

19. Stunning- causing astonishment or disbelief / The explosion was stunning.

20. priority- a: the quality or state of being prior b: precedence in date or position of publication / I have a priority to buy the soccer game ticket.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Vocab / Sentences

1. Lopsided- 1: leaning to one side 2: lacking in balance, symmetry, or proportion / An old building is lopsided

2. Clasp- a holding or enveloping with or as if with the hands or arms / She clasped the tennis racket even if she got hurt.

3. Sway- a: the action or an instance of swaying or of being swayed: an oscillating, fluctuating, or sweeping motion b: an inclination or deflection caused by or as if by swaying / The branches of the trees were swaying in the wind.

4. Dedicate- to devote to the worship of a divine being; specifically: to set apart (a church) to sacred uses with solemn rites; b: to set apart to a definite use / He dedicated his life to fighting corruption.

5. Aggressive- a: tending toward or exhibiting aggression b: marked by combative readiness / Most people don’t like aggressive people.

6. Refinance- to renew or reorganize the financing of / He refinanced money to repay a debt.

7. Backlash- a: a sudden violent backward movement or reaction b: the play between adjacent movable parts (as in a series of gears); also: the jar caused by this when the parts are put into action / The backlash against the new policy was very violent.

8. Avalanche- a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice / A house was destroyed by a huge avalanche.

9. elsewhere- in or to another place / He lived elsewhere.

10. gorge- often used with rise to indicate revulsion accompanied by a sensation of constriction; B: a narrow passage through land; especially: a narrow steep-walled canyon or part of a canyon / He was standing between two gorges.

11. subsequent- following in time, order, or place/ The subsequent meals became very light.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Articles

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1706623,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/01/25/california.weather.ap/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/soccer/01/25/bc.soc.liverpool.finances.ap/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/tennis/01/25/australian.open.saturday.ap/index.html?eref=T1

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Vocab / Sentences

1. Eternity- the quality or state of being eternal / Our peace should be eternal.

2. Caucus- a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction usually to select candidates or to decide on policy / The caucus will be held tomorrow.

3. Nominate- 1: DESIGNATE NAME; 2 a: to appoint or propose for appointment to an office or place b: to propose as a candidate for election to office c: to propose for an honor / He nominates Obama for president.

4. Acclamation- a loud eager expression of approval, praises, or assents / I was received with acclamations.

5. Pollster- one that conducts a poll or compiles data obtained by a poll / He was appointed as to the position of pollster.

6. Meanwhile- 1: during the intervening time 2: at the same time / He was playing computer games. Meanwhile, I studied.

7. Wield- 1: to deal successfully with: MANAGE 2: to handle (as a tool) especially effectively / He wields a pen.

8. Extraordinary- a: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary b: exceptional to a very marked extent c: NONRECURRING / He has extraordinary power.

9. Fluid- a substance (as a liquid or gas) tending to flow or conform to the outline of its container / Water is fluid.

10. Reel- a: to turn or move round and round b: to be in a whirl C: to behave in a violent disorderly manner / He reeled after he got drunk.

11. Gridlock- a traffic jam in which a grid of intersecting streets is so completely congested that no vehicular movement is possible / The gridlock in the morning is a very serious problem.

12. Byword- 1: a proverbial saying: PROVERB 2 a: one that personifies a type b: one that is noteworthy or notorious / My grandfather always said the byword, "easy come easy go."

13. Optimism- a doctrine that this world is the best possible world / My friend has great optimism.

14. Brilliance- the quality or state of being brilliant / His gems were brilliant.

15. Mire- a: to cause to stick fast in or as if in mire b: to hamper or hold back as if by mire: ENTANG / The cheater was mired in a difficult situation.

16. Poisonous- 1: DESTRUCTIVE HARMFUL 2: having the properties or effects of poison : VENOMOUS 3: SPITEFUL MALICIOUS / I caught a poisonous snake.

17. Liberal- a: of, relating to, or based on the liberal arts b: archaic: of or befitting a man of free birth / I need a liberal revolution.

18. Knottier- marked by or full of knots; especially: so full of difficulties and complications as to be likely to defy solution / The oil problem is knotty

19. Particular- of, relating to, or being a single person or thing / Every people have particular characteristics.

20. Deny- 1: to declare untrue 2: to refuse to admit or acknowledge / He denied having said so.

21. Investigate- to observe or study by close examination and systematic inquiry / I investigated the votes in New Jersey.