(1) midterm
poem :
Youth is not a time of life;it is a state
of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a
matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it
is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of
courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease.
This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old
merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and
turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every
human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of
what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and
my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of
beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long
are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit
is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown
old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of
optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
etymology :
tend = stretch
tender /ˈtendə(r)/
/adjective/ gentle in a way that shows that
you care about someone or something
e.g. Her voice was low and tender.
attend /əˈtend/
/verb/ to look after someone, especially
someone who is ill or someone in an important position
e.g. She is attended by a 24-hour nursing
staff.
intend /ɪnˈtend/
/verb/ to have a plan in your mind to do
something
e.g. She felt certain that he intended her
no harm.
vac , van, void = empty
devoid /dɪˈvɔɪd/
/adjective/ lacking something, especially a
good quality
e.g. Rob's face was devoid of any warmth.
evacuate /ɪˈvækjueɪt/
/verb/ to leave a building or other place
because it is not safe
e.g. If the alarm sounds, all students
should evacuate immediately.
vanity /ˈvænəti/
/noun/ the fact of being too proud of your
abilities, or too interested in your appearance
e.g. He did that to gratify his
girlfriend’s vanity.
(2) The Great Gatsby
day1
fairly /ˈfeə(r)li/ adverb
sentence (in the article) : Born into a
fairly well-to-do family in St Paul, Minnesota, in 1896, Fitzgerald attended
but never graduated from Princeton.
meaning : to some degree, but not
completely or extremely
simple sentence : He enjoys fairly good
health.
mingle /ˈmɪŋɡ(ə)l/ verb
sentence (in the article) : Here he mingled
with the monied classes from the eastern seaboard who so obsessed him for the
rest of his life.
meaning : if smells, feelings, flavours etc
mingle or you mingle them, they become mixed together without completely losing
their individual characters
simple sentence : Polly felt hope mingled
with fear.
embark /ɪmˈbɑː(r)k/ verb
sentence (in the article) : In the same
year he embarked on a rich life of endless parties.
meaning : to get on a ship in order to
begin a journey, or to put someone or something on a ship
simple sentence : Once embarked on it,
there was no looking back.
script /skrɪpt/ noun
sentence (in the article) : The book was
not well received in America and he turned to script-writing in Hollywood for
the final three years of his life.
meaning : a set of papers that a student
writes their answers on in an examination
simple sentence : She had a large pile of
scripts to mark.
craft /krɑːft/ verb
sentence (in the article) : In more recent
years Tony Tanner claimed it to be the most perfectly crafted work of fiction
to have come out of America.
meaning : to make or produce something
skillfully
simple sentence : There have been many
attempts to craft a permanent peace settlement.
day2
riot /ˈraɪət/ noun
sentence (in the article) : But his heart
was in a constant, turbulent riot.
meaning : a violent protest by a crowd of
people
simple sentence : Seven people were hurt as
police tried to quell the riot.
epic /ˈepɪk/ noun
sentence (in the article) : It is
ultimately an epic tragedy.
meaning : a long poem that tells a story
about ancient people and gods
simple sentence : In epic the hero often
has an inseparable companion.
punch /pʌntʃ/ verb
sentence (in the article) : The colorful
cocktail not only packs a punch ; it's also a great way to cool down at summer
soirees.
meaning : to hit someone or something with
your fist, usually as hard as you can
simple sentence : She punched her pillow
angrily.
bust /bʌst/ verb
sentence (in the article) : My first
attempt to give another shot at reading fiction is a bust.
meaning : to break or damage something very
badly
simple sentence : I busted my knee playing
basketball.
chronicle /ˈkrɒnɪk(ə)l/ noun
sentence (in the article) : Find Columns
from Today's Houston Chronicle Star Section.
meaning : a record of events that happened
in the past, in the order in which they happened
simple sentence : Every time I visit my
grandmother she gives me a chronicle of her complaints.
day3
grandeur /ˈɡrændʒə(r)/ noun
sentence (in the article) : I went on a
cruise on the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas.
meaning : an impressive quality that a
place, object, or occasion has
simple sentence : There is a landscape of
breathtaking grandeur.
decisively /dɪˈsaɪsɪvli/ adverb
sentence (in the article) : Tom said
decisively.
meaning : determinedly
simple sentence : There was no hope of
catching her. she beat me decisively.
hazy /ˈheɪzi/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : Everything that
happened has a dim, hazy cast over it, although until after eight o’clock the
apartment was full of cheerful sun.
meaning : not clear because there is smoke,
dust, or water in the air
simple sentence : The mountains were hazy
in the distance.
assert /əˈsɜː(r)t/ verb
sentence (in the article) : Her body
asserted itself with a restless movement of her knee, and she stood up.
meaning : to state firmly that something is
true
simple sentence : He has continued to
assert his innocence.
crimson /ˈkrɪmz(ə)n/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : Inside, the
crimson room bloomed with light.
meaning : dark purple-red in color
simple sentence : Maggie felt embarrassed
and turned crimson.
day4
defiant /dɪˈfaɪənt/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : Her eyes
flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom’s, and she laughed with
thrilling scorn.
meaning : refusing to obey a person or rule
simple sentence : His manner grew more
defiant.
blink /blɪŋk/ verb
sentence (in the article) : Blinking away
the brightness of the street outside, my eyes picked him out obscurely in the
anteroom, talking to another man.
meaning : to close your eyes for a very
short time and quickly open them again
simple sentence : Maya looked down, trying
to blink away the tears.
flick /flɪk/ verb
sentence (in the article) : It started
because she passed so close to some workmen that our fender flicked a button on
one man’s coat.
meaning : to make something move quickly
and suddenly, especially with a quick movement of the hand
simple sentence : He flicked a speck of
cigarette ash off his sleeve.
faint /feɪnt/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : All I can think
of was how, when that certain girl played tennis, a faint moustache of
perspiration appeared on her upper lip.
meaning : a faint sight, sound, smell, or
taste is not strong or clear
simple sentence : He could see the faint
glow of a lamp through the curtains.
tangle /ˈtæŋɡ(ə)l/ noun
sentence (in the article) : I knew that
first I had to get myself definitely out of that tangle back home.
meaning : a situation that is difficult to
deal with because things are not organized properly
simple sentence : Our financial affairs are
in a complete tangle.
day5
truculent /ˈtrʌkjʊlənt/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : Only the nergo
and I were near enough to hear what he said, but the policeman caught something
in the tone and looked over with truculent eyes.
meaning : easily annoyed and always ready
to argue or fight
simple sentence : The policeman caught
something in the tone and looked over with truculent eyes.
wholesome /ˈhəʊls(ə)m/ adjective
sentence (in the article) : There was a
wholesome bulkiness about his person and his position.
meaning : considered to have a good
influence on people, for example because it does not involve sex or drugs
simple sentence : The party are hoping her
wholesome image will appeal to voters.
armistice /ˈɑː(r)mɪstɪs/ noun
sentence (in the article) : After the
armistice he tried frantically to get home, but some complication or
misunderstanding sent him to Oxford instead.
meaning : a formal agreement between
enemies to stop fighting a war
simple sentence : At long last an armistice
was declared by the belligerents.
funeral /ˈfjuːn(ə)rəl/ noun
sentence (in the article) : The morning of
the funeral I went up to New York to see Meyer Wolfshiem ; I couldn’t seem to
reach him any other way.
meaning : a ceremony that takes place after
someone dies, usually including a religious ceremony, and the formal process of
taking the body to the place where it is buried or cremated
simple sentence : He flew home to arrange
for his grandfather's funeral.
jauntily
sentence (in the article) : She was dressed
to play golf, and I remember thinking she looked like a good illustration, her
chin raised a little jauntily, and her hair the color of an autumn leaf, her
face the same brown tint as the fingerless glove on her knee.
meaning : livelily or breezily
simple sentence : He replied jauntily.
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