Haircut Dilemma

The school authorities were stymied. Public opinion had been marshaled against them. No longer was it a simple case of disciplining two wayward lads. Suddenly it had taken on the appearance of a nightmare in which the principal was either hanged in effigy or pictured in cartoons masking a villainous swipe at the two innocent Samsons. But the officials could not allow Ron and Len to flout their authority with impunity.* Members of the school board concurred * with the principal's action but they were cognizant of the popular support for the boys. Clearly a compromise was called for to resolve the turbulent situation.

Sample Sentences: In which of the following newspaper headlines do the new words belong?

1. "COACH OF LOSING TEAM HANGED IN ___________"

2. "CAUSE OF CANCER CONTINUES TO ___________ DOCTORS"

3. "F.B.I. ___________ OF CLANDESTINE * GANGLAND MEETING"

4. MANY MOTORISTS _________ TRAFFIC LAWS, STUDY REVEALS"

5. "___________ ATMOSPHERE IN ANGRY SENATE CHAMBER"

Definitions: Match the new words with their meanings.

6. stymie _________ a. unruly, agitated

7. effigy _________ b. to hinder, impede

8. flout _________ c. show contempt, scoff *

9. cognizant _________ d. aware

10. turbulent _________ e. a likeness (usually of a hated person)

Today's Idiom a bitter pill to swallow ― a humiliating defeat

It was a bitter pill for the famous billiard player to be

overwhelmed by the 12-year-old girl.

7th Week / 4th Day

New Words: terminate forthwith exacerbate revert oust

Happy Ending?

Following an executive session, the school board ordered the principal to terminate the suspension and to send the boys back to class forthwith.

Unless it could be shown that their presence disrupted the learning process, there was no reason to bar the boys. It was a bitter pill * for the principal whose irritation was exacerbated by the ruling. But some of the sting was taken out of the victory when the boys appeared in school the next day with their hair clipped to a respectable length. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Just as things were about to revert to normalcy, however, the same French teacher then demanded that a girl be ousted from school for wearing a mini skirt.

Sample Sentences: Use the new words in the following sentences.

1. It seemed incongruous* to __________ his employment just when he was so

successful

2. Upon seeing the show, he called the TV studio __________ to protest.

3. The ushers moved with alacrity* to __________ the disorderly patrons.

4. After taking the drug, she began to __________ to the days of her childhood.

5. The arrest of the spy did much to __________ relations between the two

countries.

Definitions: Match the new words with their meanings.

6. terminate ______ a. to drive out, eject

7. forthwith ______ b. return

8. exacerbate ______ c. to end

9. revert ______ d. immediately

10. oust ______ e. to irritate, make worse

Today's Idiom an ax to grind ― having a selfish motive in the background

I am always dubious* about the motives of a man who tells me that he has no ax to grind.

8th Week / 1st Day

New Words: emaciated surge tranquil sanctuary ascend

In 1956, Look Magazine named Thomas Dooley as one of the year's ten most outstanding men. Just under thirty years of age at the time, Dr. Dooley had already distinguished himself by caring for a half-million sick and emaciated Vietnamese refugees. When fighting broke out in the divided country of VietNam, the northern Communist Viet Minh forces surged southward, scattering thousands of refugees before them. At the time, Dr. Dooley was a lieutenant, assigned to a tranquil naval hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. Forthwith* he volunteered for duty on a navy ship that had been chosen to transport the refugees to sanctuary in Saigon. The curtain was beginning to ascend on Dooley's real career.

Sample Sentences: Use the new words in the following sentences.

1. The _______ residents of the Warsaw Ghetto managed to win several skir-mishes* from the Nazis.

2. A firecracker terminated * the ­­­_________ climate of the neighborhood.

3. When Richard III violated the _______| of the church to seize the princes, he exceeded his jurisdiction.*

4. Chicago put its heaviest players up front, but they were helpless as the Giants' line _______ toward them.

5. Inexorably* the determined climber began to _______ the Himalayan peak.

Definitions: Match the new words with their meanings.

i

6. emaciated ______ a. to rush suddenly

7. surge ______ b. shelter

8. tranquil ______ c. quiet

9. sanctuary ______ d. abnormally thin, wasted away

10. ascend ______ e. to rise

Today's Idiom sour grapes- to disparage* something that you cannot have (from Aesop's fable about the fox who called the grapes sour because he could not reach them)

Marcia said that she didn't want to be on the Principal's Honor Roll anyway, but we knew that it was just sour grapes on her part.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-30