Word of the Week #4

EMBLEMATIC

In the San Francisco Chronicle article, “Solyndra’s Multimillion-Dollar White Elephant”, by Alison Vekshin and Mark Chediak.

“Amid the still-unfolding postmortems, the factory stands as emblematic of money misspent and the ‘Field of Dreams’ ethos that seemed to drive the venture, said Ramesh Misra, a solar-industry analyst in Los Angeles for Brigantine Advisors.”

em·blem·at·ic adjective pertaining to, of the nature of, or serving as an emblem; symbolic

For many, the dove is emblematic of innocence.

Word of the Week #3

DILAPIDATED

The article, “Behind the Poverty Numbers: Real Lives, Real Pain”, by David Crary from Associated Press used this word to describe those living in poverty today

“There's Bill Ricker, a 74-year-old former repairman and pastor whose home is a dilapidated trailer in rural Maine.”

di·lap·i·dat·ed adjective In a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.

The photographs of Hurricane Irene showed the dilapidated homes and towns left behind.

Word of the Week #2

MORATORIUM

I read an article on Yahoo! News titled, ”U.S., Europe in Mideast peace push before U.N. showdown” where the word moratorium was used.

“Abbas broke off those U.S. .-sponsored negotiations soon after they began last September, after Netanyahu refused to extend a 10-month partial moratorium on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank, land Israel occupied in a 1967 war and which Palestinians seek as part of a future state.”

mor·a·to·ri·um noun a suspension of activity

The director decided to call for a moratorium of the production because of the lead actor’s illness.

In Class Word Assignment

1 The forest fires affected more than 500 families living in the area.

2 The death of their teammate had a great effect on their game.

3 Among the survivors, there was approximately 10 men, 6 women, and 4 children.

4 There was little animosity left between the two rivals after they settled their differences.

5 The two paired together for the project were learning more about each other by discussing their interests and goals.

6 The group discussed with one another who would research the who, what, where and why.

7 The class was anxious to find out how well they had scored on the midterm exam because it was 35 percent of their grade.

8 The group was eager to present their ideas to their professor because they had worked overnight to finish their project.

9 The parents were forced to censor the art work because of its indecency.

10 The students held a united front in their censure of tuition fees increasing.

11 The fires in California have done little damage to properties compared with the fires occurring in Texas.

12 The group was lucky to receive an A on the project compared to the few groups who received C's.

13 The dancers used bright costumes and accessories to complement the energy from the music and choreography.

14 The reporter gave several compliments to the hero about his courage and strength.

15 The film, Valentine's Day, was composed of A-list stars of all ages.

16 The novel's review comprised praises and compliments for the author's first literary work.

17 The driver was berated for his continual braking in the parking lot.

18 All Jane could think about was the continuous music playing the elevator.

19 The students were able to convince the professor to postpone their exam.

20 Though Natalie had good arguments for her case, she was unable to persuade her father to let her have an iPhone.

My Favorite Writing: The Hunger Games

Growing up I was always reading books, magazines, and sometimes newspapers but I was a bigger fan of fiction series novels.

There were days I would not stop reading series like the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and Nancy Drew.

As a teenager I read series novels like Gossip Girl, A-List novels, and Twilight, but my favorite the last few years as a teenager has been the series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The three book series is an adventurous love story that is set in a future that does not seem realistic in comparison to today's society.

It had the right amount of young love and adventure in the story where the love does not over power the story.

The main characters, Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, are all strong, independent, and clever, characters that can only be admired on paper.

The story line flows impressively well over the three novels, it leaves you wanting more each time you read it and the details of how this future could be like.

I think the three novels are a great examples of writing because they are novels that capitivate an audience of all ages.

The first novel of the series was published in September 2008 by Scholastic, while the second was released September 2009, and the third August 2010.

Hunger Games is being added to the list of novels that become screenplays and is going to be released in theaters in 2012.

Sometimes I think that in order for a novel to be the best today it has to become a movie.