Welcome to English 11 honors. This blog is your key to all class information. You should check the blog daily, where you will find class assignments, notes, links and even scavenger hunts for bonus points. In most cases I am also able to include copies of any material I hand out in class. As well, this is where you look when you have been absent. Finally, this is my nagging board.
FOR WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER: (1) make sure you are signed on as a follower to this site. This is a 100 point homework assignment. (2) turn in your signed criteria sheet, making sure you have actually read it.
On Monday 12 September you are writing a critical lens essay on your summer reading. This is 20% of the first marking period's grade. If for some reason you have not completed the required summer reading, you will still write. Choose two other works. There is a 15 point deduction for each substituted book.
FOR FRIDAY 9 SEPTEMBER: vocabulary 1 packet. This is due at the beginning of class. If you have difficulty with this, please see me before Friday. Note that if you misplaced your copy, there is one on the blog. As it says on the criteria sheets, all late assignments are 10 points off per day. That includes vocabulary. If you are absent, please send me the material directly: dolly.parker@rcsdk12.org or dmpalond@frontiernet.net. In terms of vocabulary, send along the responses. There is no need to write out the sentences.
Vocabulary I definitions
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1) acquisitive- adj -able to get and retain information; concerned with acquiring wealth or
property, greedy, avaricious
2) arrogate- verb- to claim or take without right, usurp, expropriate
3) banal- adj- hackneyed, trite, commonplace, stale
4) belabor- verb- overwork, pummel, to thrash soundly
5) carping- adj- tending to find fault in a hairsplitting way, nit-picking
6) coherent –adj- consistent, comprehensible, cohesive, unified
7) congeal- verb- to change from liquid to solid, thicken, harden, jell, coagulate
8) emulate- verb- to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing, copy, mimic
9) encomium- noun- a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute, panegyric,
commendation; eulogy
10) eschew- verb- to avoid, shun, keep away, steer clear of, forgo
11) germane-adj- relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting
12) insatiable- adj- not to be satisfied, unquenchable, ravenous, voracious
13) intransigent- adj- refusing to compromise, uncompromising, obdurate
14) invidious- adj- offensive, hateful, malicious, spiteful; perjorative
15) largesse- noun- generosity, lavish, munificence, bounty
16) reconnaissance- noun- survey made for military purposes, scouting expedition
17) substantiate-verb- to establish by evidence, to prove, verify, confirm, validate
18) taciturn- adj- habitually silent or quiet, tight-lipped, uncommunicative; laconic
19) temporize- verb- to stall or act evasively, hedge, dillydally, procrastinate
20) tenable- adj- capable of being held or defended, justifiable; maintainable
Vocabulary I, exercise 3 Provide either the synonym or antonym for the bold word.
Synonyms
1. harp on the same point again and again ____________________________
2. the grasping real estate developer ______________________________
3. tries to copy her social graces ______________________________
4. tends to hedge when confronted by direct questions _______________________________
5. the nit-picking comments of a perfectionist _______________________________
6. the voracious hunger _______________________________
7. led the scouting expedition into the jungle _______________________________
8. was thanked for her munificence _______________________________
9. could not verify the alibi _______________________________
10. received a well-deserved commendation _______________________________
11. blood that does not coagulate _______________________________
12. was pertinent to the investigation _______________________________
13. obdurate on certain points _______________________________
14. a justifiable reason for disagreeing _________________________________
15. tried to usurp control of the finances ________________________________
Antonyms
16. made a very complimentary remark _________________________________
17. questioned the garrulous witness _________________________________
18. the novel lyrics to that song _________________________________
19. a disjointed essay on foreign policy _________________________________
20. adopted the use of technology __________________________________
Vocabulary I, exercise 1 Choose the word that best completes each of the following sentences. Make sure to use the correct verb tense or plural as needed.
1. The novel contains an interesting study of a miser’s _____________________________ lust for gold and its evil effects on those around him.
2. Some of the episodes in the series were wonderfully fresh and original; others were just plain ______________________________.
3. I don’t object to the inclusion of anecdotes in a serious lecture, but they should at the very least be ________________________ to the subject.
4. “There is no need for you to _________________________ the point,” I replied, “when I already understand what your criticism is.”
5. There is nothing wrong with ________________________________ the great singers of the past, as long as you eventually develop a style of your own.
6. When the temperature dropped suddenly, the water in the ditch _____________________ into a mass of icy sludge.
7. Your essay would be a great deal tighter and more _____________________________ if you removed the extraneous information it now contains.
8. I would rather work at the most menial, ill-paying job than be the recipient of the government’s ____________________________.
9. The purpose of military _____________________________remains the same whether cavalry or helicopters are used: to learn as much as possible about the enemy.
10. I doubt very much that he can ____________________________his assertion that he won two gold medals in the 1956 Olympics.
11. Despite the ________________________ and nit-picking of a few petty minds, I feel we have substantially improved our school system of late.
12. In any crisis, as long as a person ______________________________, the greater the danger is likely to become.
13. In my humble opinion, there is no justification for making such ____________________ distinctions between two types of products.
14. Never having any money in one’s pockets can be a real trial for someone born with the __________________________ habits of a pack rat.
15. Students who seek high grades must learn to _____________________ the allure of the TV set.
16. As the result of recent research, earlier theories about the origin of the universe are no longer __________________________.
17. In spite of the size, he was so _________________________ that we tended to forget that he was even in the room.
18. By whose authority did you ____________________________to yourself the right to decide how the club’s money should be spent.
19. Even the most severe critics showered _____________________________on the young writer for the remarkable narrative power of the novel.
20. How can we “meet them halfway” when they are so ________________________________in their opposition to what we propose to do?
Vocabulary 1, exercise 2 Choose the word that best completes each of the following sentences. Make sure to use the correct verb tense or plural as needed.
1. If you do not wash your dishes right away, the food on them will ____________________________.
2. The young athletes promised the coach that they would train vigorously and _______________________ bad habits.
3. The field officer required a thorough ______________________________ before ordering troop movements.
4. In an _________________________________ society, there is a great deal of emphasis on buying and selling.
5. The play’s ______________________ dialogue made it seem more like a soap opera than a serious drama.
6. Abraham Lincoln has the reputation of having a dour and _______________________ personality.
7. For most of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy, the protagonist Hamlet chooses to ______________________________ rather than act.
8. Most beginning writers try to ___________________________ a great writer and later develop their own individual style.
9. The ambitious noblemen will put the young king under house arrest and _______________________________ royal privileges.
10. The physics teacher gave a surprisingly _________________________ description of quantum mechanics.
11. The prospector was unable to _____________________________ his claim to the land where the gold was found.
12. The university was the fortunate beneficiary of the ____________________________ of many of its graduates.
13. Little will be accomplished if the legislators of both parties maintain their _________________________________ attitudes.
14. Most artists choose to ignore the _______________________ of critics and just get on with their work.
15. His tendency to _____________________________ the small points often made him miss the big picture.
16. Teachers should avoid making ______________________________ comparisons between their students.
17. Bringing up examples from the past is not _________________________ to the present discussion.
18. The researchers put forth a ____________________________ theory, but their conclusions would be reviewed by others.
19. People with an ____________________________ appetite for gossip often do not have compelling stories of their own.
20. On Veteran’s Day, the President delivered a heartfelt _________________________ to those who died for their country.
Vocabulary I, exercise 4
Circle the correct word for each sentence.
1. Aristotle had such a(n) (acquisitive, tenable) mind, that his writings are a veritable gold mind of odd and interesting information.
2. The mood of easy cordiality with which we began the meeting soon (congealed, temporized) into icy politeness.
3. “That word has such (invidious, germane) connotations in American parlance,” I said, “that I would hate to use it, even in jest.”
4. In that moment of grief, the conventional expressions of sympathy I had always considered (tenable, banal) were surprisingly comforting.
5. The speech was so filled with (encomiums, reconnaissance) that I found it hard to believe that the subject of all this acclaim was plain ole me.
6. When the evidence of his misconduct became irrefutable, he saw that his position was not (banal, tenable) and resigned.
7. I am proud to have it said of me that I am (invidious, intransigent) when genuine moral issues are involved.
8. His figure bears witness to his (acquisitive, insatiable) appetite for the pleasures of the table.
9. Ethelred the Unready was so reluctant to face the Vikings who invaded his kingdom that in effect he (arrogated, temporized) himself off the throne.
10. After I mowed the lawn for an hour, he gave me a whole dollar with the air of a feudal lord bestowing his (largesse, intransigence) on a grateful serf.
11. The poor woman was in such a state of shock after the accident that she couldn’t give a (coherent, taciturn) account of what had happen.
12. Your critical comments about my “lack of social background” may be true, but they are not (coherent, germane) to my qualifications for office.
13. What evidence can you offer to (substantiate, eschew) the assertion that capital punishment does not deter potential murderers?
14. Aerial (reconnaissance, encomium) of the enemy’s positions provided the general with the information he needed to plan the attack.
15. In our attempt to improve the quality of life in America, we should not be too quick to (eschew, cohere) old ideas simply because they are old.
16. The new batting champion in our softball league is a(n) (insatiable, taciturn) young man who prefers to let his bat to his talking for him.
17. Suddenly a band of ruffians set upon us and began to (congeal, belabor) us with blows and curses.
18. After the editor read the story, he returned it to the author with only a few (carping, coherent) criticisms of minor faults penciled in the margin.
19. Even a very imperfect human being may have virtues of mind or character that are worthy of (carping, emulation).
20. The Constitution is uniquely designed to provide protection against those who might seek to (substantiate, arrogate) undue power to themselves.
