week seven1100 words

WEEK 7   DAY 1

NEW WORDS

implacable

paroxysm

reprehensible

jurisdiction

skirmish

MUCH ADO ABOUT A HAIRCUT

Perhaps you read about our school in the newspapers? We were one of the first to have a showdown on the topic of long hair for boys. Two honor students, Ron Harris and Len Chester, were sent to the principal by their French teacher, an implacable foe of nonconformists, who went into a paroxysm of anger when she spied the boys in the hall. At first It seemed like a simple case. The school would reprimand" the boys for their reprehensible appearance and order them to cut their hair or be suspended. But the boys' parents decided that the school had overstepped its jurisdiction; they took their case to the newspapers. What had started as a local skirmish now began to take on the appearance of a full-scale war.

Sample Sentences Use the new words In the following sentences.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

TODAY'S IDIOM

cause celebre- a famous law case or controversy

It was a minor dispute, but the ambitious lawyer

sought to turn It into a cause celebre.

WEEK 7   DAY 2

NEW WORDS

harass

monolithic

arbitrary

indigent

fray

THE TEMPEST SPILLS OUT OF THE TEAPOT

Once the newspapers got the story. the case of the longhairs became a cause celebre ." Ron and Len were interviewed, seen on 1V, and regarded by their fellow students as heroes. "These are not delinquents or hoods." one reporter wrote, "but cleancut American boys who are being harassed by a monolithic school system." A caustic" editorial referred to the school's decision as arbitrary and inane." A false story even circulated about the boys being rock-n-roll performers whose indigent families needed their salaries. Finally, the Civil Liberties Union jumped into the fray with a court order stipulating* that the principal be required to show cause why the boys should not be allowed to return to class.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

TODAY'S IDIOM

one swallow does not make a summer

don't jump to conclusions based on incomplete evidence

"Sure, the Yankees won their opening game,

but one swallow does not make a summer.

WEEK 7   DAY 3

NEW WORDS

stymie

effigy

flout

cognizant

turbulent

HAIRCUT DILEMMA

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

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

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

TODAY'S IDIOM

a bitter pill to swallow-a humiliating defeat

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

to be overwhelmed by the 12-year-old girl.

WEEK 7   DAY 4

NEW WORDS

terminate

forthwith

exacerbate

revert

oust

HAPPY ENDING?

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

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

TODAY'S IDIOM

an ax to grind-having a selfish motive in the background

I am always dubious" about the motives of a man

who tells me that he has no ax to grind.

WEEK 7   DAY 5

REVIEW

Pupils want to be individuals these days, and many of them refuse to conform to regulations unless there are good reasons for such rules. In the area of vocabulary study, however, the only rule that makes sense to all is that true mastery derives from continuous practice. 
Match the twenty words with their meanings. Write the letter that stands for the definition in the appropriate answer spaces. (Which two review words are almost synonymous?)