13/2

1.       Conscript – to make somebody join the armed forces (noun/verb)

v  The conscripted soldiers were selected among teenagers who had just graduated high school.

v  He was conscripted to enlist in the army for there is lack of forces back then.

2.       Bits and pieces/bobs – small objects (various kind)

v  It was hard to find her car key since there were bits and bobs stuffed in her handbag.

3.       Ghastly – terrible

v  Nikki refused to wear that cocktail dress as she thought it was ghastly to be in it on prom night.

4.       Jargon - the language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group

v  Every occupation has its own jargon that some other professionals might not understand.

5.       Trudge – to walk wearily like you’re tired

v  He trudges along the road looking for the house as addressed in the postcard he received as long as he could remember.

          14/2

1.       Meander – wander aimlessly

v  The debate meandered on till the recess time.

v  The homeless people meander around the streets in the city.

2.       Edge

#line/ border

v  She screams her lungs out at the edge of the cliff.

                            #to move side away

v  Peter edges through the crowd at the train station, rushing to catch a train.

                           #to advance gradually or cautiously

v  The Porsche edges up to the curb.

3.       Amble – to go at slow, steady pace, saunter, stroll

v  Since it was his first time visiting Korea after ten years leaving to US, he ambles around the city, mesmerized by the beauty and development of his country.

4.       Garrulous – excessive talking in rambling manner

v  His garrulous character drifted people away from him.

5.       Equivocal - allowing the possibility of several different meanings deliberately ambiguous

v  Wendy’s equivocal writing regarding the wedding of the year of famous John Park and Claire Hans borders me.

                          

Movie Review Week 3

Title: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

3 Interesting Words

1.       Compelling-

# Adjective; so interesting that you pay attention to it

v  Taylor’s latest single topped music charts since it was really compelling that I can hear people singing to it mostly everywhere I went.

                   #so strong that you must do something about it

v  Kim’s compelling desire for Suzy’s attention leads him to become a psychotic stalker who will hurt anyone in his way to get her.

2.       Succumb- to not be able to fight an attack or illness

v  Uncle James was succumbed to cancer that he eventually died yesterday after a long run of therapy.

3.       Lavatory- toilet in public building/ a room with toilet

v  “I’m sorry but you can’t use the lavatory now Miss because it is still under maintenance,” the conductor said.

How did the movie reflect current events?

                       Beneath those hilarious scenes and acting by Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, lies a pivotal theme that reflects today’s world turbulence which could lead to war. For the sake of wealth and power, one would let killings and chaos happened among humans. That is how Professor Moriarty, the antagonist is portrayed in the film. From the movie itself, it is clearly said that Moriarty who had massive supply of weapons for war; guns and cannons planned to spark fight between the countries in the world by murdering important persons in the country. Thus, war happened. So did money transfers into his bank account. An assassin, who had a total facial surgery to look exactly like an ambassador from a particular country, was paid to assassinate the Prime Minister by Moriarty. Nonetheless, due to Holmes’ genius investigative mind, he eventually got to identify the assassin. Unfortunately, the assassin was poisoned in order to keep him silent forever, to hide Moriarty’s evil conspiracy. Some people opined that the reason war still happen today is because of hunger; for food, power, and money. It is possible to stop war with equality is given to every country but then, due to selfishness and hunger people let others die to satisfy their needs and desire. That is basically human nature and how human live today. Even in a competition, we race among ourselves, and to gain victory, we have to eliminate others who are not as important as us. In a nutshell, I believe war will not stop until everyone treat each other equally and that when everyone’s desire is fulfilled.

12/2

1.       Extol- (formal) to praise somebody / something very much

v  Brad is often extolled as a prodigy in mostly everything he did.

2.       Substantiate- to provide information or evidence to prove something is true

v  The DNA test will substantiate the couple’s innocence in the homicide case of their neighbor.

3.       Crescendo

#a gradual increase in how loudly a piece of music is played or sung

v  The electronic music filled the hall in crescendo.

                 #a steady increase in force or intensity

v  The rain poured in crescendo on the rooftops, casting ‘bullet hitting’ sounds.

4.       Purgatory –(informal) any place or state in suffering/ hell

v  Living in his Grandma’s cottage at the countryside to Tao is purgatory.

5.       Utmost- greatest(noun/adjective)

v  Chen tried his utmost in the audition since it was his lifelong dream to become a singer under the YG Entertainment agency.

v  With utmost care, he removed the glass fragment from Charlie’s sole.

11/2

1.       Pester- to annoy somebody especially to ask them questions many times

v  He kept pestering me with those stupid questions about Brad and what kind of relationship we were having.

2.       Battered

#old, used a lot, not in a good condition

v  Grandpa refused to sell that battered yellow car of his, saying it was bought with his first salary.

              #attacked or badly damage by weapons and weather

v  The buildings in the heart of the city were battered in the storm, and now what left there are derelicts.

3.       Kook- a person who act in a strange way

v  “He’s a kook. You better stay away from him,” she warned.

4.       Dismay

#a worried, sad feeling after you have received an unpleasant surprise

v  To her dismay, she didn’t make it to Julliard.

              #to make somebody feel shock and disappointed

v  Suho’s suggestion to redo the paperwork for their community service activity was followed by a dismay silence.

5.       Astonishment- amazement

v  Taylor Swift’s closing performance left the fans in astonishment.

3/2

1.       Morbid -having or expressing strong interest in sad/unpleasant things

·         He has a morbid fascination with human slaughtering.

2.       Riotous

#noisy/violent in public place

·         Approximately ten were ceased in the riotous street demonstration.

            #uproarious

·         That Friday night, Daniel and I ended up at Vivian’s place where a riotous party was held.

3.       Sissy – informal> a boy that other man or boys laugh at because they think he is weak or frightened/ wimp

·         The boys mock Henry, calling him ‘Prawn’ for being a sissy but he does not fight back.

4.       Libel

#the act of printing a statement about somebody that is not true and it gives people a bad opinion about them (noun)

·         Daily News is sued for the libel of the famous celebrity Fiona Watson regarding the hit and run case.

                 #to publish a written statement regarding somebody that is not true (verb)

·         The young soccer star is libeled for using steroids during his last game at the World Cup.

5.       Decency – honest, polite behavior (noun)

·         “Don’t they have the decency to apologize for what they’ve done?” Mrs. White asked the teacher.

4/2

1.       Imposed

#to introduce a new rule, rule, tax

·         Three fines have been imposed so far during the vehicle inspection.

               #to force somebody deal with something unpleasant

·         The suspension imposed on the publication company is lifted.

            #to expect someone to spend time with you when the time is not convenient

·         Viola did not want to impose Grace Halls by staying over her house for another night since the Halls family was planning to go for a trip.

          #to make somebody accept or aware of your presence

·         Dr. Bruce was the first scientist who imposed himself with his genius creation called the Time Machine across the world.

2.       Parameter- something that decide/limit

·         The research and development at the mysterious cave can only be carried out within the parameter established.

3.       Retained

#to preserve

·         To retain his title as the best scorer in Psychology class, he revises his notes diligently every day.

              #to continue to hold/contain something

·         The child prodigy finds it easy to retain 99 percent of the facts she comes across while reading.

           # (law) pay the lawyer to do work for him

·         It takes more than five thousand dollars for him to retain the lawyer to prove his innocence in the homicide case of his wife.

4.       Amendment- process of changing a law or document

·         Minor amendments were made to her resume before she went to the interview for the full scholarship.

5.       Notion –idea, belief, understanding of something

·         The teacher rejected her notion regarding polygamy in her essay, scoring it with a B- since it was somehow controversial.

8/2

1.       Ramification – one of the large number of complicated and unexpected results/ complication

·         The new law imposed on the society is bounded to have widespread social ramification.

2.       Complacent- too satisfied with yourself that you do not feel any changes is necessary

·         Since his company is on the pinnacle, dwarfing other competitors in launching smart phones he becomes complacent.

3.       Barring – except for/unless there is or are

·         They should be arrived already, barring traffic congestion and accidents.

4.       Equity

#shares in companies which do not pay a fixed amount of interest.

·         Investors today hold highly diversified portfolios with significant portion in equities.

                      #the quality of being fair

·         The new president is not the favorite of majority since they did not find equities in his rule.

5.       Fluctuation- continual changes

·         He opined that the fluctuation of languages is infinite.

9/2

1.       Volatile

#evaporating quickly

·         The higher the volatility, the faster the rate of evaporation.

             #tending/threatening to break out into open violence, explosive

·         It is felt as if the economy is collapsing around us with all the volatility in the country.

2.       Fathom

#to understand something/ find explanation

·         I couldn’t fathom out what the writer was trying to convey from the short story.

              #unit measuring of water, equal to 6 feet

·         Suzanne kept her feelings fathoms deep.

3.       Turbulent

#when there is a lot of changes, confusion, disagreement, and sometimes violence

·         Experiencing such a turbulent journey in escaping from the psycho kidnapper, she will need a lot of therapy and counseling.

               #changing direction suddenly in violent way(of air or water)

·         The fisherman was killed in the turbulent storm while he was out in the sea.

4.       Turmoil

#state of anxiety and confusion

·         Holley’s mind is in turmoil as she ran out of the derelict, where Jason forcefully brought her to and so she is oblivious of a Porsche accelerating from the east of the road.

5.       Pivotal- great importance because other depends on it

·         Unaware of his pivotal role in the investment, he simply makes decisions without actually thinking about it thoroughly.

10/2

1.       Caucasian-a member of any of the races of people who have pale skin

·         Amy is happily married with a Caucasian man and currently living in London.

2.       Hypothermic- subnormal body temperature(adjective)

·         While some kids have fun swimming and playing in the water, Teri look from afar since she easily become hypothermic when she immerse herself in cold water.

3.       Defibrillator- a piece of equipment used to control movement of heart muscles by giving the heart a controlled electric shock.

·         Since he was unconscious for months already, and that using the defibrillator did not make anything better the doctors decided to give up on him.

4.       Epinephrine

#hormone secreted by central nervous system in response to stress, anger or fear, acting to increase heart rate, blood pressure

·         Heart rate is increased by the secretion of epinephrine when one is in the state of anger, fear or stress.

             #a commercial form used as heart stimulant, to constrict blood vessels and to relax the bronchi in        asthma.

·         Allergic reaction can be stopped with epinephrine, a type of medication which is widely used nowadays.

5.       Gibberish – nonsense

·         “The story is gibberish. How can I publish it?”Mr. Harrison said.

Movie Review Week 2

Title: The Great Gatsby

3 Interesting Words

1.       Colossal – extremely large

·         Paris’s colossal villa was broke into by a couple of professional thieves despite the state in the art security system installed.

2.       Splendid

  # very good/great

·         His debut solo stage performance was splendid!

           #very impressive

·         “What a splendid view!” Tania exclaimed as she saw the scenery of the Fuji Hill from our apartment.

3.       Virtue

#particularly good quality

·         Being trustworthy is not one of Carmen’s virtues, so you shouldn’t tell her any secret of yours.

              #advantage

·         The scientist foreseen a virtue in exploring the world of designing babies, in spite of the controversies arisen.

           

What advice would I offer one of the characters?

                         If I have the chance to meet Jay Gatsby, I will tell him how stupid he was waiting for his love who was married at the moment he came back for her. He used to say, “Can’t repeat the past? Of course we can!”He should stop living in the past and lead his life happily, looking to the future instead. Jay was a very ambitious person since he was young. Born in a very poor family, he despised it. He dreamed of being rich, powerful. He thought he was the son of God. As he was on journey to find a better life, he fortunately found a wealthy man whom he saved while he sailed. After the man’s death, Jay inherited his wealth, and started his business. He was in love with a beautiful lady named Daisy but then due to the war he went to fight in he could not reunite with her. She married Tom Buchanan.

              It remained as enigma to most people about Gatsby true identity. He is referred to as a murderer, a royalty and even a gangster. Hundreds of people in New York City end up every weekend at Gatsby’s. The parties were really huge. People came uninvited. Apparently, Jay did that to lure his girl Daisy who lived just across the bay on the East Egg to his party, to reunite with her.  When he befriend Nick, his neighbor who Daisy’s cousin he asked Nick to invite Daisy to tea. And then he met her again after years. They were exhilarated though awkward at first. Many conflicts happened. Tom’s mistress was hit and run by Gatsby’s yellow car which was drove by Daisy at the moment of accident. Daisy was torn in between her love for Tom and also Jay.

            Jay made a deal with Daisy to run away together. He waited for her call.  Unfortunately he was shot by Wilson, husband of Tom’s mistress since Wilson assumed it was Gatsby who killed her wife. It was really sad to see no one came for Jay’s funeral except Nick. Not even Daisy who refused to even answer a call from Nick. I can conclude that Jay is a very loving, loyal guy. He is stupid to think he can be with Daisy while she loved her husband as well. He spends his wealth on parties just because he hopes Daisy will come although it has been ages since they lost contact with each other. Love is something precious, yet it is a gamble, I would say.

           

2/2

1.       Grotesque

#strange in a way that is unpleasant or offensive

·         It’s grotesque for someone with a master degree and lot of working experience to work for so little money.

              #extremely ugly in amusing way/frightening

·         The villain in the animated film was so grotesque that some children who have watched it, experienced nightmares.

2.       Dubious

#doubtful

·         I was quite dubious about the idea of going to the mansion.

              #suspicious

·         It seemed like Mr. Harrison is involved with the dubious business.

             #that you can’t be sure about, probably something not good

·         It was a dubious act to keep on tracking the stalker.

3.       Rhapsody

#often in title, a piece of music that is full of music and is not regular in form

·         “Have you listened to the legendary Korean singer, IU’s Winter Rhapsodies?” Yuri asked.

             

4.       Bizarre –very strange/unusual

·         “His story of his past life is bizarre that I myself could not believe,” Nana said.

5.       Oculist – (old fashion) doctor who treat people’s eyes

·         His deteriorating eyesight could not be treated even by the oculist back then.

1/2

1.       Acquisition

# the act of getting something especially knowledge, skill, etc

·         Those special kids’ knowledge acquisition is usually beyond normal rate.

#something somebody buys to add what they already owned, usually something valuable

·         Nick’s latest acquisition is a heated swimming pool in his villa.

              #company, land bought by somebody

·         The heirs from huge companies of America make acquisitions over the country as well as Europe.

2.       Constraint

# a thing that limit or restrict something

·         Unlike his rebel friends, John did not take the prohibition of mobile phones in the school as a serious constraint for him in studying.

            # strict control over the way you behave

·         Now that the stringent warden has finished inspecting the dormitories and left, the students can play and talk without constraint.

3.       Homicide – murder

·         The billionaire’s death is concluded as a homicide.

4.       Articulate

# to express your thoughts, feelings clearly

·         She struggled to articulate her deep feelings for George.

              #to speak, pronounce, play something in a clear way

·         I can’t catch what he is trying to say since he is too drunk to articulate properly.

             #to be related to something so that together the two parts form a whole

·         The courses offered under MARA are designed to articulate with university degrees, in USA.

             #to join something for movement

The 5-foot tall robot launched in Japan called ‘V32’ has articulated limbs.

5.       Face off

#start game such as ice hockey

·         Both teams are ready to face off in the annual ice hockey tournament.

              #get ready to fight/argue/compete

·         The candidates of the international debate competition are ready to face off in the Great Hall.

31/1

1.       Crusade

#long, determined effort to achieve something you believe to be right

·         Prosecutor James has offered himself to lead a crusade against the serial murders in London which involve elderly women as the victims.

                                  #any wars fight in Palestine by European Christian countries against Muslims in                   

                                  the middle age

·         The last crusade in the middle age, though caused a major loss for both Christian and Muslim countries was not the end of the feud between them.

2.       Intimidating – frightening in a way that it could make somebody less confident

·         The interrogation by the Genie Police Department is very intimidating for the couple who has just lost their son, who was murdered.

3.       Blemishes – mark on the skin or object that makes it less beautiful or perfect

·         His reputation as a legendary jazz prodigy is without blemish.

4.       Accentuate – emphasize something to make it more noticeable

·         The latest facial cream from Belladona is a really good product to accentuate skin complexion.

5.       Frown – serious, angry, worried expression

·         She stared at the couple with a frown in her face; her eyes were filled by rage and jealousy.