Wednesday, April 21, 2010

See You Next Year

I've been getting some questions about why we are not updating this blog right now. The Word Power class only meets during the first half of the year, so I don't have any students in this course right now, but we will be back and adding more information to our blog next year.

If you are interested, starting the week of May 1, 2010 I will have a class developing an American Literature Circles Blog at: piercelitcircles@blogspot.com. Please check out my new student work here.

Thanks for your support, Lori Pierce

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Root Words Bell and Dia

Bell
*Bell: war or warlike

Example words containing Bell:
- Belligerence: warlike or aggressively hostile nature, condition, or attitude
The belligerent man made quite a fool of himself when he attempted to clash with a man twice his size.
- Antebellum: before or existing before the war; esp. civil war
While we were in Georgia, we toured several large and stately antebellum houses.
- Bellicose: inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile; pugnacious
Unfortunately, the United States has been seen as a bellicose nation by some who believe we are antagonizing fights with many other countries.
- Rebel: a person who refuses allegiance to, resists, or rises in arms against the government or ruler of his or her country
Anarchy has been a popular idea amongst rebellious and naive young people in the recent years.

Interesting History:
The Roman Goddess of war is Bellonia. She is not a well known goddess; her husband Mars, God of war, is more commonly known. Bellum, her namesake, is the Latin word for war. Bellonia was believed to invoke war-like frenzy and enthusiasm, so when the countries or people who worshiped her were going to war they would offer up sacrifices such as their own blood, limbs, organs or their enemies. Temples ands shrines dedicated to her have been found in the north-eastern parts of Rome, where she was the most widely worshiped.

brie

Dia

*Dia: across; through

Example words containing Dia:
- Diaspora: the movement, migration or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland
The harsh transportation of African people from their homeland to the rest of the world as slaves was a major Diaspora that displaced millions of people.
- Diathermy: the production of heat in body tissues by electric currents, for therapeutic purposes
Every Thursday my aunt has to go to the therapist so for diathermy because she has terrible muscle spasms.
- Diagnosis: the process of determining by examination the nature and circumstances of a diseased condition
The doctor told the old man that his diagnosis was very positive and that the man would only have to be in the hospital for three days.
- Diameter: a straight line passing through the center of a circle or sphere and meeting the circumference or surface at each end
In geometry class, we are learning how to find the diameter of a circle using the radius and pi.
- Diagonal: connecting two nonadjacent angles or vertices of a polygon or polyhedron, as a straight line
We constructed the diagonal of the squares to make boxes with an X’s in them.

Examples of how to use Dia:

The diagnosis of the exact place where the human race began is quite a mystery. Some historians believe that Africa is where the human race began, but others believe that India or other places in Asia could be the motherland of humans. It is difficult to discern where people came from because humans are very mobile creatures who are constantly moving around. Wherever humans originated from there has been a massive Diaspora throughout the history of their race as people have traveled throughout the world and all along the diameter of the Earth. Today, humans are living on every possible land mass, in every diagonal corner of every country, with millions of different lifestyles and customs.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Prefixes

Over the coarse of the trimester, I have spent a lot of the time in a class called Advance word power. In this class we learned many thing such as roots. But the newest thing that we have learned is prefixes. Prefixes are an affix placed before a base of a word. Below is a list of prefixes and their meaning;

a/an- Without

ab/abs - away

ad/ac/af/ag/an/ap/ar/ar/as/at- Toward

ambi- both

ante- before

anthro- man

anti- against

arm- weapon

audio- sound

auto- moving

biblio- book

bio- self

cata- down

circum- around

co- together

con/com- come together

cred- belief

de- down, away

demi- half

dia- across

dis/dys- bad

ex- out

extra/exter- outside

frate- brother

geo- earth

graph- record

hetero- different

homo- the same

hyper- excessive

ideo- idea

idios- one’s own

in- in/ not

inter- between

legis- law

liber- free

micro- small

mis - wrong

mono- one

mortis- death

neo- new

non- not

omni- all

pat- father

ped- walking

poly - many

post- after

pre - before

re- again

semi- part

sol- alone

subter- underground

super- extra

syn- together

tele- distance

trans- across

un- not

uni- one

vert/vers- all around
Austin

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Fus

Many of English words come from many other languages and cultures. We use them every day and don't realize how each word comes from. The word Fus is another root word of English which comes from the Latin makes up many words means pour. Here are nine meanings and examples for Fus.
1. Effuse (Verb) – To pour out or forth.
o He effuses warmth and friendliness.
o Maria effuses her knowledge in science class.

2. Effusive (Adjective) – Unduly demonstrative, lacking reserve.
o My ant is a very effusive person and gushes and gushes about how good you look when she meet you.
o Normally phlegmatic hacks find themselves melting into rivulets of tears and effusive praise.
o They can vary from small exotic arrangements to large effusive ones.

3. Profuse (Adjective) – Abundant; in great amount; extravagant.
o No wonder that dancing and profuse perspiration was esteemed a necessary add-on to feeding!
o He spends profuse amounts of money on cloths.
o I apologized profusely after bumping into other shopping and knocking her over.

4. Profusion (Noun) – Abundance or large amount.
o There was a profusion of flowers at the Botanical Garden.
o It is rated one of the top game reserves in the world with a unique profusion of wildlife.
o A profusion of rich pink flowers cover the plant in summer.

5. Diffuse (Verb) – To spread out thinly or widely.
o Sun light is diffused when it shined through glass.
o More recently his research has concerned with water quality in relation to diffuse pollution and its mitigation through the completion of best management practice.
o We feel addressing the problems with a structured and planned strategy for the future will diffuse the pension time bomb.

6. Confuse (Verb) – to make something unable to think clearly or understand.
o The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
o The result just leaves the viewer confused as to what the show is trying to be.
o Everyone were confused why John dead.

7. Fusillade (Noun) - A simultaneous or rapid and continuous discharge of many firearms.
o In addition to the slaying of Super Man, the member of the audience was wounded by the fusillade of shots.
o He commenced a regular fusillade on the house, smashing nearly the whole of the windows, besides damaging the framework.
o An assassin makes a Fusillade into the president house; he was lucky because he went shopping.

8. Fusion (Noun) - A fusing or melting together.
o Like all stars, the sun generates its energy by a nuclear process known as thermonuclear fusion.
o An excellent fusion of funk, Latin and jazz which took his audience into the early hours of the morning.
o This is equally the case with back specialists, many of whom still favor spinal fusion for chronic low back pain.

9. Suffuse (V) – To spread all over or through something.
o Massive numbers of factual errors suffuse the book, which make it a veritable minefield.
o The light is suffused with color from a couple of notable windows in the north aisle.
o The whole film has the feeling of being projected at two-thirds speed, so suffused is it with this overwhelming sense of ponderousness.

VOC means Sound or Speaking

VOC


VOC means sound or speaking. VOC is the Greek/Latin root word. There are many root words that we have learned. For instance, Vol, Bel, SAT or SATIS, TEN, VIT or VIV and FUS. This root word will help you if you see any word that have a root word VOC in the word you will know that the word is about sound or speaking. Here are some words and the examples that have a root word VOC.

Equivocal (adjective): Allowing the possibility of several different meanings.
-Politicians are famed for providing equivocal answers to straight questions.
-One of a student in my classroom has an equivocal answer; he doesn’t know the answer when the teacher asks him.

Equivocate (Verb): to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead.
-When asked for his opinion on the death penalty he equivocated.
-The suspect equivocates when a police ask him the question.

Vociferous (adjective): crying out noisily; clamorous.
-A vociferous scream reverberated off the nearby walls.
-His son always makes a vociferous noise and it is annoying me when I hear it.

Provocative (adjective): tending or serving to provoke or incite.
-Carol asked a question in class that was so controversial the teacher thought it was too provocative to discuss.
-My provocative conversation makes my friend punches on my face.

Convocation (Noun): a group of people gathered in answer to a summons; assembly.
-My friends who studied in high school come into the convocation for meeting.
-One of my colleague was fired; he usually comes late for the convocation.

Evocative (adjective): tending to evoke.
-The movie was so evocative that I cried.
-The picture that my son draws is so evocative of my past.

Vocalize (Verb): to make vocal; utter articulate; sing; to endow with a voice; cause to utter.
- I feel so impressed that the singers could vocalize the music perfectly.
-My sister’s band has the best singer in the world; he vocalizes the melodious music.

My older brother is a bad boy; he usually skips the class and never does his homework. When the teacher asks him a question, he always has an equivocal answer. He likes to annoy me. When his provocative conversation makes me angry, I malign to my father that he harms to me and when he asks, my brother equivocates. My father punishes him by incarcerating him in his room for 3 days. When I walk past his room, I hear a vociferous noise from his room. I think he is vocalizing but he is crying. It is so evocative that I laugh. My father interdicts me from opening his door but he is going to the convocation in that time. I open it to talk to him and finally, I condone his behavior.

These are the examples of the root word VOC. It’s very useful if you remember all of these words or you can just remember the root word VOC which means sound. So if you see any word that has a root word VOC, remember it means SOUND OR SPEAKING.





By Too

Penelope Kapusta

Hi I’m Erika, and this story is about a girl named Penelope who is practically the perfect women and lives the perfect life. She achieved everything she wanted in life. The point of this story was to use the root words Viv-Vit which means to be alive or full of life, to be lively. The root words, relate to the personality of the main character, Penelope.





Penelope Kapusta is a 23 year old woman who lives in New York, New York. Her father is the owner of Virgin records and her husband is the guitar player for Three Days Grace. Penelope isn’t your typical type of girl. When you see her, you see a beautiful tall brunette sense of fashion and charm. Her personality is full of vitality; she’s always smiling and lively. Because of her vivacious personality and beauty inside and out, she was named Miss Latina 2010. She now has a contract with Victoria Secret, which means she travels all over the world. She’s been everywhere, to L.A to Tokyo and Madrid.

People quickly fall in love with her. She is full of love, joy, peace, patience, and most important of them all is that she respects herself. There’s one thing about her personality that makes her stand out the most, she has a relationship with Jesus Christ. She’s known Jesus since the day she was born. She tries the best to spread his gospel. She knows how vital it is to spread his word. It’s for people to have a revival in their life. Her and her husband used to go to random places and sing Christian songs. Joe, her husband, plays the guitar and she sings. She has a very beautiful voice. It’s very similar o Christina’s Aguilera’s. Their favorite song to sing is “I want to hold your hand”, the Across the Universe version, She sings that song perfectly. One time a teenage girl started to cry because of the beauty of her voice. She got asked if she wanted a record deal, and she’s working on it now.

On February 14, Valentines Day, Penelope and Joe went to a retirement home to sing for the old folks. It was such a special day, in the middle of the song, everyone got in couples and began to dance. After the show, Joe gave her a kiss in front of all the audience, and sang her a song on how much he loved her while playing his guitar.

Penelope finally finished her album. When it got out, it was #1 on the billboard charts for a month. She quickly became famous and was loved by everyone. She was on every Magazine cover. She became a world sensation along with her husband Joe. They would go to every award show together. They would both be nominated for different categories. On the Grammies, Penelope was nominated 8 times. She took four awards that night. The message on her songs was always about love and peace. It had rhythm and beat. She did a world tour. It was the first time she was away from her husband. They’d call each other every night. They missed each other very much.

On March 20, it was to be their anniversary. They were going to meet each other in Italy Rome. Joe was very romantic; he wanted to take Penelope to Italy because that was her favorite place to go. Joe decided to get her a cute, white, fluffy puppy for their anniversary. Penelope wanted one very badly. Penelope bought him a car. When Penelope saw the puppy, she almost broke in tears. She named him Jebus.

When they received a break from their tours, they went back home. When they arrived there, they noticed Jebus was coughing out blood so Joe and Penelope had to take him to the vet. He had a bad disease and had to have a vivisection to fix the problem. Jebus got saved. With the money that Penelope and Joe won, they donated it to save a pet foundation. They continued their careers and made more albums and won more awards. They were both a happy couple for the rest of their lives.

Vitality: exuberant physical strength or mental vigor, full of life.
Vivacious: Full of animation and spirit; lively
Vital: of critical importance
Revival: restoration to life
Vivisection: the action of cutting into or dissecting a living body

An Unlikely Poem

An Unlikely Poem

You and your bright green and pink polka-dot rhinoceros are ludicrous.
You scrutinize me and my oversized pet frog as he
Plop
Plop
Plops
around in our lavish backyard pond.

You vilify us with your harsh criticism as you complain—
but I think you are only frog green with jealousy.

Or are you appalled? Is it the slimy-slick stagnant green water?
Because I’ve been meaning to change that.

Or is it the all of the clamor he makes as he
Plop
Plop
Plops?
Because I’ve been meaning to build a fence.

Or maybe he is a hindrance to your concentration?
Because it takes a lot to train a rhinoceros.

Regardless of your untenable reasons and obvious duplicity—
I am cognizant of your spying.

However, I feel obliged to commiserate with your rhinoceros—
for a wonderful friendship has been kindled.

Everyone knows that bright green and pink polka-dot rhinoceros’s and oversized pet frogs make the best of friends.


As I have just illustrated, advanced vocabulary can be used in yet another useful and fun way. However, if you are still in the process of expanding your impressive vocabulary, (as I think we all are), then here is a list of definitions and sentences to help you along!


Ludicrous- adjective: Causing laughter because of absurdity; provoking or deserving derision; ridiculous; laughable
Example: The stand-up comedian’s performance was ludicrous. He told ridiculous jokes that caused the crowd to roar with laughter.

Scrutinize-verb: To examine in detail with careful or critical attention.
Example: Susie’s teacher scrutinized her paper for mistakes. Her critical eye is what gave her the reputation as a harsh teacher.
Lavish-adjective: Characterized by or produced with extravagance or profusion.
The princess lived a lavish style. Even her dog’s house was a small gold plated mansion.
Vilify-verb: to revile with abusive or defamatory language; malign
The political candidate vilified his opponent. He claimed that the opponent was guilty of running an unfair campaign.

Appall-verb: to strike with disgust or revulsion
The mother was appalled at the unsanitary condition of her son’s room. He had plates of food from two months ago hidden under his bed.
Stagnant-adjective: Not moving or flowing; motionless.
The pool was filled with stagnant water. Obviously it had not been cleaned or touched for months.

Clamor-noun: A loud outcry; a hubbub
The clamor caused by the circus was loud enough to be heard by the neighboring town.

Hindrance-noun: an obstruction or snag; impediment
The strict curfew that Cindy’s parents gave her acted as a hindrance in her social life.

Untenable-adjective: (of theories, propositions, etc.) incapable of being maintained, defended, or vindicated
The prosecutor’s harsh accusations toward the defendant were untenable due to the overwhelming evidence.

Duplicity-noun: Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech.
The young teenager’s duplicity was obvious to her parents when she attempted blame her lateness on an escaped elephant who blocked her way home.

Cognizant-adjective: (sometimes followed by `of') having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception
The elderly man was cognizant of his surroundings. He was able to give his grandchildren precise directions to the lake.

-Shacaira

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Greek Roots

The root words that I am about to share with you are the roots GEO- and ICHTHY-and PALEO-. I chose these three words based on my knowledge and my drive in the science field. To start out the root GEO- in Greek means earth and the root ICHTHY- in Greek means fish and with PALEO- in Greek means old. So in this blog I will not only give several words including these roots but I will give a definition and an example sentence.


GEO- Earth

Geocentric: having or representing the earth as a center.
Ex: During the Dark Ages many theologians produced a geocentric theory that all the stars went around the Earth.

Geology: the science that deals with the dynamics and physical history of the earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the physical, chemical, and biological changes that the earth has undergone or is undergoing.
Ex: Before Darwin wrote his theory of evolution Charles Lyell was the leading person in the field of geology forming many of the techniques that we still use today.

Geography: the science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth's surface, as shown in the character, arrangement, and interrelations over the world of such elements as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land use, industries, or states, and of the unit areas formed by the complex of these individual elements.
Ex: The study of geography is still a fairly new science field since it was only brought about in the past 200 years.

Geothermal: of or pertaining to the internal heat of the earth.
Ex: Researchers are now trying to find a way to incorporate geothermal wells to heats houses because it would be cheaper and more efficient.


ICHTHY- Fish

Ichthyology: the branch of zoology dealing with fishes.
Ex: The student went to the University of Florida to get his degree in ichthyology and marine biology.

Osteichthyes: skeletal fish.
Ex: The new species of fish was given the name Rocky based on the fact that he was an osteichhyes.


Chondrichthyes: cartilaginous fish.
Ex: Many fish including sharks are classified as chondrichthyes due to the fact that they have no solid skeleton.

Paleo- Old

Paleolithic: pertaining to an early age before the Stone Age.
Ex: The age when the dinosaurs ruled could be considered as paleolithic because there were no homo sapiens.

Paleomagnetism: magnetic polarization acquired by the minerals in a rock at the time the rock was deposited or solidified.
Ex: There are many rocks that when they are formed had paleomagnitism because of the atoms running through them.

Paleontology: the science of the forms of life existing in former geologic periods, as represented by their fossils.
Ex: Georges Cuvier is considered to be the father of paleontology because he discovered many fossils around his living space in Paris, France.

Paleozoic: noting or pertaining to an era occurring between 570 million and 230 million years ago, characterized by the advent of fish, insects, and reptiles.
Ex: The Paleozoic era was a very dangerous time since there was no way of knowing what the Earth was like back then.

Sire

Naima's story

Naima’s story



Hello my name is Erika, and my story is a love story that involves different ways to use the root word Fus which means to pour. Naima, taking her normal walk through the park thinking about life did not know that after going out to lunch, today would be the day her life changed forever.


It’s a sunny bright evening. I’m taking my usual walk through Marriate Park. I like coming here because it has a beautiful big fountain of water in the middle of the park. I like coming here to think, think about the future, whatever is going on in the present, and life. The past is one thing I’m trying not to think about unless they’re good memories. I come here to dream and be thankful for the life God has given me. Think about how God effuses his love with warmth and hospitality.
My life couldn’t be any more perfect. I’m a student at CSU; I’m majoring in dance and have a countless amount of friends. I have my dream car, a red Jeep Wrangler 2010. The top of my car is always off during the summer, I like feeling the breeze in my face and how the wind touches my hair, and wearing my Gucci sunglasses, just like in the movies.
As I walked back to my car after my walk, I received a text message on my Mytouch phone. It was my best friend Selena; I almost forgot that we were supposed to meet in Applebee’s to hangout. As I was on my way to the restaurant, I realized the sky had become dark very quickly, and small drops of rain had started to come down. I got to the restaurant and saw Selena sitting in a table booth in the right side near the corner close to the window. The waiter asked if I preferred a table or booth, but I quickly pointed towards Selena and told him I had a reservation. It had been two weeks I hadn’t seen her because she just came back from Miami from Winter Break. We saw each other and ran towards each other to hug. We were both happy to see each other. I couldn’t wait for her to tell me her adventures in Miami. She quickly started off with how she met a cute boy and how she spent so much time with him.
The waiter came to the table and we ordered our food. I of course ordered my usual sweet and sour chicken with vegetables and fried rice on the side. Selena went back to talking about her trip. As she was talking I turned to the side and saw a familiar face, and strangely enough that face was looking back at me. I turned back to Selena in disbelief of who it could have been. I turned back and this time I was sure who it was. My heart dropped when I realized it. Selena saw my worried face and asked me what’s wrong.
“Look to your left,” I whispered to her. Once she looked, she turned back to me with the biggest smile. “Wait a second, isn’t he your ex boyfriend?” She couldn’t say it loud enough. Once she said that, I heard thunder coming from outside. I looked outside the window and saw a profusion of rain. I turned to Selena and asked her to hurry before the rain worsened. “Oh please. The rain is the last of your worries right now. Just chill for a bit more. I’m pretty sure the rain will calm down,” she said. I figures she was right and we got back to our conversation.
“So how long has it been since you’ve talked to Jon your ex” Selena asked.
“Since our high school graduation like a year ago.”
“What happened between you two?” “Well he was very immature and not a good boyfriend. I told him that and he decided we should break up.” In the back of my head I kept having thoughts from my past with him, which was the one thing I tried for the past year not to do. He was my first boyfriend, and my first kiss. I really liked him, and we were good friends before we broke up. “I thought he was different, but he turned out the opposite,” I told Sel. He didn’t even try to make our first kiss special, but deep down inside I knew he had strong feelings for me, or maybe I wanted myself to think he had strong feelings for me. I turned to Selena and she saw a look on my face of desperation to leave.
“We should probably go,” she said, “the rain slowed down.”

As we were waiting for the waiter to come with our check, a waitress came toward us with a Pina Colada. She put it in front of me and said,” From the man over there” pointing at Jon. I took a glimpse and he was looking at me so I smiled. Our waiter came and told us were good for the night because the young gentlemen, again pointing at Jon, has paid for everything. I couldn’t believe it; I didn’t think he would even pay for himself, especially pay for someone else. He stood up and came towards our table. Selena looked at me and I could tell she was nervous for me. My heart started to race as fast as it could and then I felt like it was about to pop out as I heard his smooth and deep voice call out “Hey Naima,” I felt a knot in my throat as I struggled to say “hey” back. “It’s been awhile, how have you been.” “I’ve been fine and you” I replied. “I’ve been well.” We both started to talk about college and how we were pursuing our careers. As we were talking, I noticed he didn’t take his eyes away from me, not even for a second.
Selena stood up and said she had to go. How could she leave at a time like this? But instead of making a scene, I used it as an excuse to leave too. I began to wonder that’s why she did it, to help me out. “Well” I said nervously, “it’s time for me to go.” We stood in silence and then he said,
“I’m glad I saw you today, I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.” I smiled and saw he was taking out his phone. I knew what was going to happen next.
“You should give me your number so we can stay in contact,” he said. So I gave it to him. I thanked him for the drink and for paying for our food. He gave me a hug and sparks began to happen all over again. After the break up, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for him ever again, and here I am, feeling sparks for him.
We said our final goodbyes for the night and I went back to my car. I looked outside my car window and saw that the rain was effusive. My house was only 15 minutes away from the restaurant, but it took me 40 minutes to get there, afraid that if I went any faster the could slip and go out of control. I hardly could go to sleep that night just thinking about what happened that evening.
It was 9:45 am, and I sat on my couch to watch a review of yesterday’s Tyra Bank show. I made my self some coffee and ate a nutritious granola bar. I checked my phone to see if I had missing calls, but I had nothing. I checked constantly just to make sure if he’d send me a message. I stood up and looked at the mirror and thought to myself, maybe he asked for my number to be nice, but it was just a one night thing. From the moment I promised I wasn’t going to look at my phone unless it was for an emergency. I went upstairs to my bedroom and put my phone under my pillow.
I got my towel, turned on the radio and took a shower. I love showers. I like feeling clean and alive. Water makes me feel that way. After my shower, I came out and got ready. I began to feel good again and practically forgot the whole Jon thing. I put my make up bag in my Louis Viutton purse and went down stairs to my car. I realized I didn’t have my phone so I went back upstairs to get it. I looked at it and noticed a missing text message. “Good morning, it’s Jon by the way,” it said on the screen. My heart started to race again. He actually texted me. I wasn’t sure if I should text back or not, but I did. I replied, “Hey, how’s it going.” It took him about a minute to text back, but that minute felt like an hour.
I got in my car and went to the mall. I managed to keep the conversation going the whole time I was there. I was shopping at Hollister when I saw a sign hanging in the wall with a picture of two couples holding hands and hugging each other. It was one of those advertisements that claims if you buy their perfume you’ll have the man of your dreams down on their knees for you in a split second. I went into Vanity to try on some clothes. He hasn’t texted back for awhile. As I was at the cashier about to pay for my clothes, I got a phone call from Jon. We exchanged our hellos and he began to say, “So what are you doing tonight,” he asked nervously.
“I’m not sure, why?” I answered trying not to sound desperate.
“Well I was wondering if you wanted to go the movies with me tonight.”
“Tonight” I answered, “sure, why not.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up around 7:00.” I gave him my address and we said goodbye. I started to get butterflies in my stomach. I haven’t been this nervous since my audition for a music video.
I got home as quick as possible to change into something more seductive. It was around 6:30 and I put on my heels. I figured since it was Jon, he might come around later than 7:30. He never really was the type that came on time. I wanted to be ready before hand because I don’t like being rushed. I looked outside the window and saw a black GMC truck in front of my home. It was Jon. I’m glad I got early. He got out of the truck and reached for something in the back of the seat. They were flowers, white lilies to be exact. I remembered telling him when we were in high school that lilies were my favorites, I’m shocked he remembered. I heard the doorbell knock and took my time to open the door. He looked at me and in a low quiet voice he said, “Wow, you look beautiful.” He came inside the house and gave me the flowers. I told him to wait so that I could get them in a vase. We went into his truck and went off to the theatre. We talked the whole way there as if we were to see each other everyday. We saw a suspense movie. I wasn’t really into that type of movie, getting scared for no reason, pointless. During the middle of the movie, I had my hand rested in the handle were you put your cups. He reached for my hand and our fingers interlocked. We held hands during the rest of the movie.
After the movie he told me he had a surprise for me. We stopped near a park with an ice skating rink. It still had on the Christmas lights. No one was there except for us. From the back of his truck he took out two ice skates. I struggled a bit to put mine on since they were bigger than my usual size. He held my hand and took me into the ice rink. I was very scared, “This is the first time I do this,” I yelled.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you,” he said while he out his hands around my waist. We began to skate with his hands still around me. I was beginning to get the hang of it. “What happened to us, in high school?” he asked sadly.
“I don’t think we were ready to be in a relationship with each other,” I replied. We were standing in the middle of the ice rink and he looked straight into my eyes and said, “Naima, since the moment I first saw you, I knew that somehow you were the one.”
“Then why did you break up with me?”
“Because I had so much going on, pressure from my family and pressure from my friends, I didn’t have a car to take you places, I felt that you weren’t happy and that you expected a lot from me and I couldn’t be able to give you anything.” He continued talking while he put his hands on my cheek and with his other hand he pulled me closer to him. “I realize now that that was the biggest mistake I ever made, to let go of you.” I closed my eyes and tried not to cry, my heart was telling me to believe everything he was saying but my mind was telling me not to. His hands were wrapped around me and mine wrapped around him. I always thought his hugs were quite special, they were like no other hug I ever had. I felt safe around his arms. I had so much that I had to say but I couldn’t find the right way to say it. At that moment I’d figured I’d give him a second chance. On the way back home he kept saying how much he missed me and how he was not going to screw this one up. Deep down, I believed him.
A couple weeks passed and we were still together. We would see each other every day, and he would always call me at night to say goodnight. We’ve only been together for a month but it felt more like years. I even trusted him with an extra key to my house, just in case I forgot mine.
It was a week before Valentines Day and I couldn’t think of anything to get him. I was confused. What do men like that you can buy at a local store? I called Selena for guidance, and we thought of an awesome plan. We had to call Jon’s brother to help us out with this one. The night before Valentines Day, I and Selena went to Jon’s home to put balloons on his truck and have a cute letter put on his wheel from me. Jon’s brother gave us an extra key. We thought he’d be surprised in the morning. After we finished I went back home to sleep. Jon said he had a special day planned for me tomorrow.
As I woke up I noticed the smell of fresh flowers. I stood up from my bed and saw red and pink flowers petals everywhere. I went to my bathroom and saw a vase full of flowers with a note that said “Follow the arrows.” I went to the hallway and followed the arrows down the stairs, to the living room and in to my kitchen. The last arrow was pointing at a big Mickey Mouse doll holding an envelope. I opened the envelope and it had a letter and two tickets to Disney Land. “Get ready before 10:00 am; I’ll pick you up around that time. The plane leaves at 11:00. Love always, Jon,” the letter quoted. I looked at my clock and it was 9:15. I only had 45 minutes to get ready. I took a 5 minute shower and rushed everything into my luggage. I was so excited and couldn’t wait. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I heard the doorbell and it was Jon.
We left off to the airport. We got 1st class seats. I’ve only been on a plane once and I was freaking out. Jon held my hand the whole time. He figured I was scared. We got to L.A around 2:30. We went to our hotel and stayed in a suite.
The next day we woke up early to get to Disney. We took a picture with almost every character there, and waited in line for every single ride. It’s the most fun I ever had. Night time was getting close and we got a good spot for the fire works show. He stood up and told me he had a better spot. I refused to get up because we had a good spot. He convinced me to get up and took me near Cinderella’s castle. There was a man waiting near the door to the castle. When we got there, he opened the door for us.
“Wait, are you sure we won’t get in trouble” I asked.
“Nope, I hope not,” he replied. He took me to the top of the castle were we had a perfect view of the fire works. I smiled at him and he gave me an I told you so look. He kissed me profusely through out the whole fire works. It was the most perfect night. I thanked Jon for giving me such an amazing Valentines Day gift. He looked at me and told me that as long as I was with him, my life would be an adventure, as soon as he said that, he reached for something in his pocket, and kneeled down on one knee and said, “Naima you mean the world to me; out of all the women in the world you are the most beautiful. I could be like those other men and chase after many women, but my time would be wasted. They got nothing on you. I guess what I’m trying to say is I Love you and would you marry me.”
On the way back home I couldn’t wait to tell my family. I know I had only been with him for a short amount of time, but I was in love. I was sure my family would understand. When we got home I took him to Marriate Park with me. We sat on the bench near the fountain. Instead of going there and thinking by myself, I had Jon next to me, and we thought about our future. Last time I was there I had thought about life alone, but now I realize that life comes unexpectedly, and we have to make each second an adventure.

Effuse: To pour out
Effusive: Pouring out or over flowing.
Profuse: abundant, in great amount.
Profusion: Abundance or large amount.
Confused: Perplex or bewilder

FUS

FUS – Pour

The Latin root word, “FUS” means literally “To Pour Out”. This is not always talking about pouring liquids physically, but also pouring out your emotions mentally. Today I will be going over many words with the root FUS, hopefully this entry will help you understand more about the Latin root FUS, and how it can be used in everyday language.

Effuse (Verb) – To pour out or forth
-Example) The grungy smell of the rotten trash was effusing through the holes in the cheap trash bag.

Effusive (Adjective) – Unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve
-Example) Because of her unsteady emotional state, the woman was effusive.

Profuse (Adjective) – Abundant; in great amount; extravagant
-Example) My father gave me a profuse lecture bout taking my responsibilities as an adult.

Profusion (Noun) – Abundance or large amount
-Example) There was a profusion of mice under the floorboards of the in the restaurant.

Diffuse (Verb) – To spread out thinly or widely
-Example) As John poured the tea, the liquid diffused as it passed through the spout into the teacup.

Confuse ( Verb) – To make unclear, indistinct
-Example) To confuse the man, Johnny drove in all different directions.

Affusion (Noun) – Pouring of water or other liquid as I the rite of baptism.
-Example) The affusion of the water into the tank was done very carefully.

Circumfuse (Verb) – To pour around; to diffuse
-Example) The man circumfused fertilizer over the lawn so it would look the best come summer.

Fusible (Noun) – A description of metals and other materials that are easily melted or liquefied by heating.
-Example) The alloys were so light, they were going to be fusible in seconds.

Fusion (Noun) – The act of procedure of liquefying melting by the applicant of heat.
-Example) The energy of the sun and all other stars is obtained by nuclear fusion.

Refuse (Verb) – something like paper, trash, or garbage that has been thrown away.
-Example) The truck will be coming soon to pick up the cans full of refuse and take them to the dump

Suffuse (Verb) – To spread through or over, as with liquid, color, or light.
-Example) The sky will suffuse with the clouds on a rainy day.

Transfuse (Verb) – To pour, as a fluid, from one container to another.
-Example) My mom transfused the old orange juice with the new orange juice in order to make room in the fridge for more.

Infusion (Noun) – The act or process of infusing.
-Example) The alchemists of many years ago tried to find an infusion that would turn ordinary metals into gold.

Three New Roots!

THE ROOT WORDS:
~Cognoac, gnosi – know
~Tom – cut
~Morbus – disease

THE WORDS:

Cognoac and Gnosi
• Recognize- V: to identify a person or object previously seen
o Although it had been a decade or so, the woman recognized her old friend at their high school reunion.
• Prognosis- N: a forecasting of the probable course and outcome of a disease, esp. of the chances of recovery
o The prognosis was not terrible, Susan did have strep but she would not die from it!
• Incognito- Adj: having one’s identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid notice or formal attentions
o James Bond often uses other names when he does his spy work in order to remain incognito.
• Cognoscente- N: person or persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, esp. in the fine arts, literature, and world of fashion
o William Shakespeare was a cognoscente of literature, his old fashioned plays make some of nowadays more modern plays look like children wrote them!

Tom
• Atom- N: the smallest component of an element having the chemical properties of the element, consisting of a nucleus containing combinations of neutrons and protons and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus by electrical attraction
o An atom is so small it cannot be cut!
• Dichotomy- N: division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions.
o Many politicians have a dichotomy with their beliefs or ideas, one wants to run our country one way and the other a completely different way!
• Appendectomy- N: a surgery involving the excision of the appendix
o The appendix is a mystery to all doctors, no one knows what it is used for! However, if it becomes problematic then you must get an appendectomy.
Morbus
• Morbid- Adj: psychologically unhealthy or unwholesome (not always used literally)
o Some people are morbidly obese, meaning their weight could kill them.

What ties all these words together? A vocabulary-filled paragraph, that’s what!

Doctors are trained to recognize signs of disease to save their patients. Their prognoses are critical to both the client and themselves. If he diagnoses someone with a morbid form of cancer and they turn out not to have it, he will have to go incognito to hide from the angry family chasing him around for scaring them so badly! Some diagnosis, like appendicitis, require nearly immediate surgery. An appendectomy will quickly fix that problem! On the other hand, other patients are not lucky enough to get their problem fixed so fast. Morbid obesity takes years to be turned around, if it can be at all. In a nutshell, we should all appreciate every last atom we have!

Lisa

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Armageddon and The Nostradamus Effect

I have decided to use my vocabulary words in a short story on Armageddon and the Nostradamus Effect. I’m using these words to help teach the reader how to use the words in a story. Hopefully the story will help you understand the words in the story.
65 million years ago the world was home to many species of animals. What they didn’t realize was that a gigantic asteroid was heading for Earth. Based on scientific research scientists have predicted an Armageddon. Today in this world it is possible for Armageddon to happen. It is an irrevocable part of the lives of people on Earth that can’t be stopped because it is the natural part of life and is supposed to happen. Armageddon can bring a huge number of death tolls or even terminate the human race. It can bring a proliferation of deaths around the globe within a matter of minutes, making the human race extinct. Today, all of the power plants and pollution can cause the world to go into a global warming. With the many cars, factories, and power plants these industries can precipitate the Earths atmosphere to spread high heat waves and gases throughout the entire world. In theory this can cause a new ice age. If this does happen a magnitude of people would become estranged from their homes, but they wouldn’t have anywhere to go. People would act maudlin because they would be stranded with no hope. The human race would regress into pre stone-age state without power or anyway to survive. Without hope many people would start to berate God for doing this to the world. After Armageddon has run its course on Earth it would be difficult to hoist scraps from the ground. Armageddon is not an inadvertent event to planet Earth. It’s just the natural part of life for the destruction to happen. All of the events can possibly be sporadic from when it has started to now. From ancient civilizations they have been predicting the end of the world. They believed that the end of the world could happen in 2012. Today, scientists are doing research to see if the legend of 2012 will come true. People think that scientist fritter in their research because people don’t believe that 2012 will happen. Another name for Armageddon is the Nostradamus Effect. Nostradamus was a French doctor and astrologer. He was known for making predictions from Adolf Hitler to the September 11 attacks. Nostradamus has predicted many of natural disasters that could possibly happen. Some of his predictions are ambiguous to many scientist, the predictions have not been clear. When Nostradamus had done studies on the Mayans on when they predicted the end of the world, he also predicted as well. Scientists who don’t agree with Nostradamus think he is inane from all of the predictions that he has done. Some of the predictions that Nostradamus has predicted has so far have been right. Many people are dissident about Nostradamus’s predictions. If Armageddon does happen people all over the world will regress into riots with bad behavior. Only time will tell if Armageddon does happen, in my opinion, we will have to wait and see. Scientist and other researchers are still trying to unlock the Nostradamus Effect; so far some of his predictions have been correct. Who knows what will happen. The earth is still a young planet in our solar system. There are more journeys yet to come for our planet.

-Lucas

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

PAN



The words that we use every day in our English language come from many other languages and cultures. We use them every day and don't realize how many other languages make up our English language. PAN is another root word of English which makes up many words. Here are some examples for PAN.

PAN means ALL

Panacea (noun) - A remedy for all disease or ills.
o One day they hope to find the ultimate panacea and cure all of the world's ills.
o The scientists are discovering a panacea which can cure all kinds of diseases.
o After years of incarceration the outside had become the panacea to all my ills.

Pandemic (adjective) – A wide spread disease.
o Because the rats and fleas that spread the Black Plague were found throughout Europe, the plague soon became a pandemic there.
o It’s difficult to read a newspaper or watches the TV news without finding some reference to the anticipated avian flu pandemic.
o Dire predictions have been made that a devastating influenza pandemic will occur any time soon.

Pandemonium (noun) - Wild uproar or unrestrained disorder; tumult or chaos.
o The riot caused sheer pandemonium!
o Keith thought long; then came up with perfection: “All-out pandemonium based on demented harassment of anything that moves”.
o These are indicative of the general pandemonium which seems to be dominating the class at the present time.

Panegyric (noun) – A lofty speech of praise for a person usually in a eulogy.
o Tom gives a panegyric while talking to his co-workers.
o I do not agree at all with the panegyrics written in the English newspaper.
o I speak a panegyric of love to my girlfriend.

Pantheist (noun) – A person who believes is all gods.
o Pantheism is a philosophy where God is manifested in the universe, and that all creation is a part of God.
o The Pantheist loves Jesus, Buddha, and all other deities.
o Michael goes to church everyday; he is pantheist.

Pangaea (noun) – the hypothetical landmass that existed when all continents were joined together.
o Dinosaurs lived on Pangaea long before people were alive.
o Scientists say that long ago America was a part of Pangaea.

Panorama (noun) – an unobstructed view from all directions.
o The best place to see a panorama of Colorado is from Long’s Peak.
o An easy walk here can be taken to Viewing Peak, from where a panorama of the valley unfolds.
o The panorama of the limestone peaks of the Blue mountain range on the west coast never fails to impress.
o Sarah loves to take panoramic pictures when she sees a beautiful view.

Panchromatic (adjective) - sensitive to all visible colors, as a photographic film.
o In fact they are like normal panchromatic films except that they have extended red sensitivity to longer electromagnetic wavelengths.
o Examples include combining high resolution panchromatic imagery with coarse resolution multispectral imagery, or merging actively and passively sensed data.

These are example words that aren’t coming from the root word:

Panda (noun) - A cute bear having black and white color that mostly founded in China.
Panic (noun) - A sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.
Pancake (noun) - A thin, flat cake of batter fried on both sides on a griddle or in a frying pan; griddlecake or flapjack.
Pancreas (noun) - a gland, situated near the stomach, that secretes a digestive fluid into the intestine through one or more ducts and also secretes the hormone insulin.

New to College

The end of a student’s senior year in high school often marks a very exciting and bittersweet start to the rest of one’s life. For many, this also leads to the beginning of a college career. Kate was a new freshman at the Colorado State University and she was just about to start her first term. She was scared to death to finally be out on her own, yet she was very eager as well. For the past few years, she felt as if her house were a tent. This tent was enclosing her in from the rest of the world. Kate was always known to be a very tenacious girl and wanted nothing more but to burst out of her bubble. She wanted to experience what she had not yet experienced, but she was nervous as to what the future held in store for her.
Kate did not know anyone at her new college. She was preparing to meet her new roommate, and desperately hoped that they would get along. Kate held temporary tenure over her dorm room and was worrisome as to how she would pay the money for it over the year. After seeing her new roommate, the money issues instantly became the least of her worries for the time being. Her roommate was dressed in a clown costume and was wearing a foam Green Bay Packers cheese hat. Kate did not know what to make out of her new roommate. She was untenable in that she was standing frozen in the middle of the room, awestruck at her acquaintances crazy appearance. Even weirder, her roommate did not introduce herself. Instead she set down her suit case, screamed out a long “rawrrrr” like a dinosaur, and left the room flapping her arms like a chicken.
Instead of creeping Kate out, her roommate’s actions actually made her loosen up and giggle. It would seem that most people would be somewhat tentative in confronting this character, but in all reality, Kate couldn’t wait to see what her roomie would do next. Kate decided to call her mom so she could talk to someone about her seemingly insane roommate. Kate’s mother was freaking out saying that Kate should apply for a new roommate right away. Even though Kate agreed, she tried to extenuate the situation for it was actually extremely entertaining. Taking this amusing situation in the best light, Kate found herself looking forward to the new adventures ahead of her.

Attenuate: to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value: to attenuate desire.
Extenuate: to represent (a fault, offense, etc.) as less serious: to extenuate a crime.
Tenacity: holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold (often fol. by of)
Untenable: incapable of being defended, as an argument, thesis, etc.; indefensible.
Tenure: the holding or possessing of anything: the tenure of an office.
Tentative: unsure; uncertain; not definite or positive; hesitant: a tentative report on her findings.
Tenuous: of slight importance or significance; unsubstantial: He holds a rather tenuous position in history.
In our class we have learned many Greek and Latin root words. We have learned MAL (bad), VAC (empty), BREV (short), and DICT (say or declare). Learning root words is important because you can figure out words you might not know. Below I have listed the definitions of these and a creative short story incorporating all of the new words we have just learned.
Malign (v): to speak harmful untruths about someone/thing or to speak evil (slander)
Malevolent (adj.): Wishing evil or harm onto others; showing ill will.
Malediction (n): A curse, slander, or statement.
Malice (n): Desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on someone.
Malicious (adj.): Characterized by or showing malice.
Malfeasance (n): The performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified.
Vacuous (adj.): 1.) Emptied of or lacking content. 2.) Marked by lack of ideas or intelligence.
Brevity (n): Shortness of duration; especially shortness or conciseness of expression.
Diction (n): Choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, and effectiveness.
Indict (v): 1.) To charge with a fault of offense criticize or accuse. 2.) To charge with a crime by the finding or presentment of a jury.
Indicative (adj.): Showing, signifying, or suggestive. (Typically following the word “of”)
Dictum (n): An authoritative saying or judicial order.
The Malicious Mayor
Once upon a time there was a malicious mayor who stole money from all of the people in his city. He maligned the people by telling them that their money was going towards a third world country that desperately needed it, when actually he was using it for his own good. He didn’t make enough money to support his opulent lifestyle so he had to con people of their money. The mayor’s dictum was one the people had to listen to; after all you can’t say no to the mayor! The people of the city had a feeling that this was wrong but the brevity in his speeches and his diction gave them no proof. They lost hope and gave up trying to accuse him of a crime that seemed unfeasible. The mayor was malevolent and didn’t stop there! His luxurious lifestyle was so lavish that he needed more money. He asked for money from other cities as well! He told an elaborate story of how the country was struck by a hurricane and it would honorable to make a generous donation. The other cities weren’t vacuous though; they knew the mayor was lying through his teeth because they had not heard or seen any proof about this hurricane. The mayor’s sketchy answers and hasty requests for money were indicative of the fraud. They caught on and soon after the mayor was accused of a malfeasance. The judge in his court was a previous mayor to the same town; he showed no mercy for the stupidity of his crime and punished him to the full extent. His indictment was delivered the next week and he is now in the county jail. The malediction of his new cell mate makes him miserable every day, even the guards have malice towards him for his voracious crime.

Jessi :)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Mal poem

In class we went over Latin and Greek roots. The main root in this section that really caught my eyes was the root “mal-” which stands mean bad and evil. This root really inspired me to write this poem with such strong powerful words.

We all have malice within
Showcased by our malediction
Thrown towards each other
Casually
Carelessly
Malevolent words meant to harm
To scorn
To hurt others

People malign there brethren
Putting them down to get a high

A once high respected falls
His malfeasance is absolute
We are a malicious group
We have a vacuous spot in our chest
Where our love should be.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mal

Mal
Mal is a Greek and Latin root and it means bad and evil.
Malign- It is verb and the definition for this vocabulary is to speak harmful untruths about or to speak evil (slander). It can be an adjective too, and it means evil or injurious in effect.
 Some people malignedPresident Obama by telling the lies about his religion and his beliefs.
 Bill Clinton is a very malignant man because he did lie about his affair until he admitted that he did had an affair.
Malevolent- It is an adjective and the definition for this word is wishing evil or harm to others; showing ill will.
 The terrorists who crashed into New York’s building were malevolent because they killed thousands of people in New York on 9/11.
 Saddam Hussein was a malevolent person who killed many of his people in his own country.
Malediction- It is noun and the definition of this vocabulary is a curse or slanderous statement.
 The malediction that the Senator gave yesterday about the terrorists made the headline news.
 I know an old gypsy lady will give you a malediction for your enemy for fifteen dollars.
Malice- It is noun and the definition for this word is desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering; meanness; evil intent.
 The Devil has malice for the angels, God and people who believe in God or Gods.
 Some people have malice for their enemies because they cannot stand them.
Malicious- It is an adjective and the definition for this vocabulary is characterized by or showing malice.
 This girl spread malicious gossip about her ex-boyfriend who dumped her for her sister.
 On the television show Law and Order last night, the murderer showed malicious contempt for his victims by mutilating their bodies.
Malfeasance- It is noun and the definition of this word is the performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law; wrongdoing (use esp. of an act in violation of a public trust).
 O.J. Simpson was accused of malfeasance because he was guilty of robbing banks.
 John is not official malfeasance, he is suspended from his job and they are investigating him right now.
Malfunction- It is a verb and the definition for this word is failure to function properly.
 My new laptop is malfunctioning because the Internet is never working.
 You should never buy a Dell desktop computer because they always malfunction and it seems like they never work right.
Malcontent- It is adjective and the definition for this vocabulary is not satisfied or content with currently prevailing condition or circumstances.
 My boss is a malcontent. He is never satisfied with me because I do not listen to his directions for making hamburgers at Wendy’s.
 Just because I am disappointed about not doing well on my calculus test does not make me a malcontent.

Audra

Big Words and a VERY Short Story

Big words can make you sound and feel sophisticated, but what happens when those words get too big? Lets look at some examples, shall we?

Ebullient: Adj – overflowing with enthusiasm or excitement
~ Ex ~ The athlete was in an ebullient mood when she won the gold medal.
Equanimity: N – mental or emotional stability or composure; calmness
~ Ex ~ Some people have such equanimity! They can be so calm under pressure.
Gasconade: V – to boast extravagantly
~ Ex ~ She can be so gasconade. She brags about everything!
Gnomon: The raised part of the sundial that casts the shadow
~ Ex ~ The gnomon on the old sundials begin to ware away over time.
Winebibber: N – a person who drinks much wine
~ Ex ~ My cousin is a winebibber! She is a wine taster.
Sesquipedalian: Adj – given to using long words
~ Ex ~ Today, I read such a sesquipedalian sentence. It had five or six words I couldn’t even pronounce!
Perfidious: Adj – disloyal; deceitful
~ Ex ~ He was an extremely perfidious husband. Cheating once is bad, but twice is dreadful!
Nefarious: Adj – infamous by way of being extremely wicked
~ Ex ~ Oprah did not get her infamy by doing nefarious, attention-getting deeds. She worked hard for all she has!
Deride: V – to laugh at in scorn; mock
~ Ex ~ It is rude to deride someone because of an embarrassing moment.
Pugnacious: Adj – inclined to quarrel or fight readily; belligerent
~ Ex ~ Some boys have pugnacious attitudes during their teenage years. They will fight about the silliest things!
Obsequious: Adj – severely compliant or differential; obedient
~ Ex ~ I sit in class with an obsequious manner because I am constantly prepared to do whatever task the teacher requests of me!
Antebellum: Adj – belonging to the period before the war, esp. the Civil War
~ Ex ~ My grandparents were born during an antebellum time period, some of them were even in the wars!
Ziggurat: N – a temple of Sumerian origin in the form of a pyramidal tower
~ Ex ~ There are many temples one can visit while in foreign countries, on would be a ziggurat which has beautiful terraces.
Subjugate: V – to make submissive
~ Ex ~ Subjugating a dog is harder ten it sounds because they can be very stubborn!
Hubris: N - excessive pride of self-confidence; arrogance
~ Ex ~ Many people let their accomplishments go to their heads, causing them to become hubris.
Jejune: Adj – juvenile; immature
~ Ex ~ Boys always seem to have jejune attitudes, even when they say they are grown up.
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- the fear of long words
~ Ex ~ Sara would never be able to attend any type of medical conference because she suffers from a bad case of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.

A VERY Short Story
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Elaine. Elaine was the perfect little girl! She did not have a jejune attitude; in fact, many would say she was the most mature young woman in her age group. Her mother was an unsuccessful winebibber, and also a hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobic. To her greatest despair, her only daughter spoke in a highly sesquipedalian manner. Elaine’s mother would often try to subjugate her in hopes of making her speak in a way she could understand. Elaine did not have an obsequious outlook on life, so her efforts were rendered useless. Her mother tried everything! The “silent treatment,” therapy, and worst of all she would constantly deride her own daughter. Lucky for Elaine, as the end of her senior year in high school approached she was contacted by a prestigious college. She applied for multiple academic scholarships and ended up getting accepted! Elaine went to her mother to break her the good news in an ebullient mood, but her mothers’ lack of concern forced her to display equanimity. She had a pugnacious feeling about her that she had to suppress in order to prevent doing something uncalled for. Elaine graduated from her college at the top of her class and became a successful dean of that very university. Today, Elaine is rightfully gasconade, but being the mature woman she is she is never hubris. The End!
-Lisa

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A Lesson in Elocution

Previous to entering my Advanced Word Power class, my elocution lacked certain eloquence. Even though I was quite a loquacious person, I was always the first to offer my benediction; my benevolence was not always well received. I endured harsh obloquies from teachers and magnates regarding my lack of proper diction. These abusive indictments came as an unwelcome surprise that left me feeling very piqued. Instead of receiving beautiful panegyrics, they suggested that I study famous Shakespearean soliloquies in order to increase my fluid articulation. They also advised that I promptly cease using my current vocabulary which was indicative of my vacuous intelligence. Despite my initial aversion to this idea, I surrendered and complied with their demands. In addition to their requests, I began diligently learning the vocabulary provided in my Word Power class. Luckily, after many exhausting nights of studying my efforts paid off. I am now a lucid orator who receives many compliments for my excellent elocution.

Now although this is a fictional story it has its roots in reality. I used to regard many of the advanced vocabulary words in my story at one time to be utter nonsense. However, after learning that most words borrow their roots from either Greek or Latin, it became much easier to uncover their definitions.

Root Words-

*Magn-Gigantic

Magnate: Noun- A person of great influence, or importance in a particular field of business.
Example- Bill Gates is considered a powerful magnate due to his overwhelming success in the computer business.

*Loc/Loq- Talk

Elocution: Noun- A person’s manner of speaking aloud in public.
Example- The young student was complimented on his poised elocution. His confidence when speaking really shone through.

Loquacious: Adjective- Characterized by excessive talk; wordy
Example- Many people at the movie theater found the girls loquacious personality very annoying. How were they supposed to enjoy the movie with her incessant conversation?

Eloquence: Adjective- Characterized by persuasive, powerful, and expressive speaking.
Example- The crowd was inspired by the president’s powerful eloquence. His persuasive speech won him many votes.

Soliloquy: Noun- 1) A dramatic speech in which a character talks to himself or reveals his thoughts alone on stage. 2) The act of speaking to oneself
Example- Every time my English professor recites Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, it is as though he is speaking to himself just as Hamlet was.


Obloquy: Noun- Blame or abusive language aimed at a person, especially by many people or by the general public.
Example-My mother is notorious for her obloquy. She is always yelling at my brother for not cleaning his room.

Bene-Good

Benediction: Noun- A blessing or an expression of good wishes
Example- Catholics from all over the world travel to receive the Pope’s benediction. They believe it will bring good things into their life.

Benevolence: Noun- A desire to do good to/ for others
Example- Oprah’s benevolence inspired her to build schools for underprivileged children in Africa.
Pan-All

Panegyric: Noun- A lofty speech of praise for a person
Example-The beneficiary delivered a beautiful panegyric at the banquet honoring her benefactor for all that he had given her.

Dict- Say or declare

Diction: Noun- Choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness
The public speaking coach emphasized the importance of diction for clarity and effectiveness during a debate.

Indicative: Adjective- (Followed by the word of) - Showing, signifying, suggestive
Example- All of the books in Susie’s room was indicative of her love to read.

*Vac-Empty

Vacuous: Adjective- 1) Emptied of or lacking content 2) marked by lack of ideas or intelligence
Example- Tom’s dumbfounded vacuous expression was indicative of his lack of knowledge.

-Shacaira

The root DIC/DICT=TALK

The root word Dict you can find just about anywhere in our everyday language. Some of the more common uses of DICT appear in words such as “Dictionary”, “Dictator”, or “Diction”. Today I will be going over many words with the root DICT.

Dictionary(N): A book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc.
-Ex) John had to use a dictionary to look up a word that he was not familiar about.

Diction(N): Style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words.
-Ex) A speaker must have excellent diction to have the listeners understand

Dictator(V): To say or read (something) aloud for another person to transcribe or for a machine to record
-Ex) Joe had to dictate his old letters to save room around the house by putting them all on audio files.

Addict(V): A person who is addicted to an activity, habit, or substance.
-Ex) The gambling addict spent all day and all his money in the casino's trying to get lucky.

Contradiction(V): To assert the contrary or opposite of; deny directly and categorically.
-Ex) It's a contradiction to say he's good in math, but failed algebra

Predict(V): To declare or tell in advance; prophesy; foretell.
-I predicted that the water would turn blue after adding the blue dye to it.

Verdict(N): The finding or answer of a jury given to the court concerning a matter submitted to their judgment.
-Ex) The jury came to the verdict that he was guilty of murder in the second degree.

Malediction(N): A curse; imprecation.
-Ex) The poor boy couldn't shake the malediction that was put upon him by the old witch.

Indict(V): To bring a formal accusation against, as a means of bringing to trial
-Ex) I can indict you on the information I have so far.

Indictment(N): A formal accusation initiating a criminal case, presented by a grand jury and usually required for felonies and other serious crimes.
-Ex) In the common legal system, an indictment is a formal accusation that a person has committed a criminal offense.

Indicative(ADJ): Showing, signifying, or pointing out
-Ex) The high school senior was very indicative about showing all the new students where everything was.

Dictum(N): An authoritative pronouncement.
-Ex) A guard delivered a dictum that all prisoners would be quiet.

Benediction(N): An utterance of good wishes.
-Ex) Saying “bless you” when someone sneezes is a benediction.

Valediction(N): An act of bidding farewell or taking leave.
-Ex) The man gave his wife a valediction before he left for his 9 month journey in Iraq.

Edict(N): A decree issued by a sovereign or other authority.
-Ex) In 1992, Pope John Paul II lifted the edict of inquisition against Galileo

by Dylan

Tuesday, January 12, 2010


MAL

The Greek/Latin root word will help you if you don’t know the definition of the word. The roots that we have learned were PAN, BENE, LOC/LOQ, MAGN, VAC, BREV, DIC/DICT and MAL. You may have seen some of these root words before. The root word of MAL means bad. And these are some examples of the root word MAL.

-Malign (verb): to speak harmful truths about or to speak evil (slander).
- The boy maligns his friend by telling people that he is cheating and nasty.
Malign can also be an adjective too.

-Malign (adjective): evil or injurious in effect
-My ex-girlfriend is very malign to me because she maligns me by telling that I stole her money.
-Malevolent (adjective): wishing evil or harm to others; showing ill will (opposite of benevolent)
-The malevolent stepmother locks Cinderella in the broom closet.
-As she cast her malevolent gaze upon me I could feel my sudden burst of bravado shrinking to nothing.

-Malediction (Noun): a curse or slanderous statement
-The poor boy couldn’t shake the malediction that was put upon him by the witch.
-I am the only warlock in my guild who has all three points invested in the malediction talent, making me very valuable during raids.

-Malice (Noun): desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering; evil intent.
-Before Jeff accepted religion, he was constantly filled with thoughts of malice.
-The man has the malice to the adversary, so he maligns him by telling lies.

-Malicious (adjective): characterized by or showing malice.
-The malicious man tried to steal the old lady’s glasses, so she wouldn’t be able to see.
-Opening a malicious program on the computer will result in a computer virus.

-Malfeasance (Noun): The performance by a public official of an act that is legally unjustified, harmful, or contrast to law; wrongdoing caused especially of an act in violation of a public trust.
-A large number of Wall Street executives have been guilty of financial malfeasance.

-Malnutrition (Noun): lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition.
-The lack of food leads to malnutrition, which is evidenced by illness and disorder, and ultimately to death by hunger, which is called starvation.

-Malcontent (adjective): not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances, dissatisfied with the existing government, administration, system, etc.
-Apart from saving lives, the doctor lives a malcontent lifestyle living alone in his apartment.

-Malcontent (Noun): a malcontent person, esp. one who is chronically discontented or dissatisfied.
-I am not concerned about a few malcontents; they are just the fly in my rum.

-Malaise (Noun): a condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of disease, a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
-I need a cure for the malaise afflicting me today.
-My malaise hindered me from attending school today.

-Malady (Noun): any disorder or disease of the body, esp. one that is chronic or deep-seated, any undesirable or disordered condition: social maladies; a malady of the spirit.
-The woman found that the genetic malady she had had since childhood could be cured.

-Maladjusted (Adjective): badly or unsatisfactorily adjusted, esp. in relationship to one's social circumstances, environment, etc.
- He has a very maladjusted family; the only time they converse is when everyone is under the influence of alcohol.
These are the examples of the root word MAL. You might have used the root word MAL before. It’s helpful when you don’t know the word but if you see the root word MAL you can know that the word is negative.





Remember MAL mean bad.

By Too

Greek Roots

I have found a few Greek word roots that I would like to share. I will tell you what the root word means, a few words that use the root, and example sentences for the words.

Sent-/Sens meaning feel

Sentiment (noun) – showing feeling towards something
Ex: The boy had a strong sentiment of love toward the girl that he had a crush on.
Sensation (noun) – a feeling of excitement
Ex: The movie, Avatar, was such a sensation that it blew the crowd away.
Resent (verb) – to feel displeasure from a sense of injury
Ex: The boy’s girlfriend resented him after he had insulted her outfit.
Sensory (adjective) – pertaining to senses
Ex: Blind people may not have sight but they have four other heightened senses in their sensory system.

Scrib/Script meaning write

Scribble (verb) – meaningless writings or drawings
Ex: My mom scribbles words carelessly to make notes for herself.
Subscribe (verb) - to buy by signing an agreement for something in return.
Ex: Most businesses subscribe to a newspaper so their customers can read them as they wait.
Manuscript (noun) – a manually written document
Ex: The author wrote a manuscript to the publisher of his publishing company.
Scribe (noun) – a person who writes documents for other people.
Ex: The king’s scribe had written over five hundred drafts of the king’s speech to his court talking about the problems of the kingdom.

Levi meaning light

Levity (noun) - lightness of mind or lack of seriousness
Ex: During class, my friends and I have levity, because we always are messing around.
Alleviate (verb) – to lessen intensity
Ex: The school nurse tried to alleviate the pain of the headache by giving the student a pain killer.
Levitate (verb) - to float in the air
Ex: In fictional movies, some people will levitate in the air as they meditate.

Dura meaning hard/long-lasting

Durable (adjective) - lasting through wear and tear.
Ex: The backpack was so durable that it could withstand all of the student’s binders for four school years.
Duration (noun) – extended period of time
Ex: The keynote speaker said that the audience could not use their phone for the duration of the three day conference.
Endure (verb) - to hold out against
Ex: The boy could no longer endure his opponent’s insults so he went to go tell the teacher.




Posted by Levi

Root Word DIC

“Dic” Words

The root words Dic/Dict are Latin roots which mean to say or declare. There are many ways this root word can be used, both good and bad! This is a root word everyone should know.

If you are like me you wonder what dictators have to do with speaking. After our lesson on DIC I found out that dictators use their words to gain power. In other words, they have very good elocution. Here is a story of one fiver year old rose to power.

Little Hitler
Little Hitler was a mean little dictator. He used his public speaking skills to sway the views of the other little boys and girls in daycare. He never had to share toys with others. For a five year old he had amazing diction. Whenever he spoke, he got his way. One day at snack time, little Hitler wanted an extra cookie and he knew just how to get it. He gave a powerful dictum when he announced that he would blow the classroom with his Tonka toys. He used big words when he spoke to his teacher. She was very confused and had to look up words in the dictionary. She was in shock when she read the definitions. She contradicted little Hitler’s words and made him very angry. She did not think a five year old was capable of blowing up anything, let alone with a Tonka toy. Hitler spoke a malediction thinking the teacher would be scared. To his surprise, it worked! She finally gave in and handed him an extra cookie. Little Hitler walked away with a smile upon his face. After snack he made a prediction that he could make anyone give in to his every command. From that moment on he vowed to never let anyone indict him. He knew he could always get his way. Later on that night, Hitler’s mom was tucking him in and saying benedictions. He cried and pleaded with her to let him stay up. He gave her an ultimatum. “Mommy, let me stay up till 10 or I’ll run away,” he said. From the look in her eyes he knew she was wrapped around his finger. Years later he applied the same techniques and persuaded millions of people. Instead of asking for a cookie he merely told people how they could solve all their problems. This eventually led to the Holocaust. This could have all been avoided if his teacher never gave him an extra cookie.

Definitions
Dictator- a person exercising absolute power
Diction- quality of good speaking
Dictum- an authoritative saying or judicial order
Dictionary- a book containing a selection of words of a language
Contradicted- to assert the contrary or opposite of
Malediction- to utter a curse or slander
Prediction- the act of predicting
Indict- proclamation
Benediction- a blessing


By Shea :)