Please review the vocabulary and then read the article. This type of exercise will help you to prepare for the vocabulary in the reading passages on the SHSAT.
The Mapuche are a group of 'indigenous' people in South America. This means that they existed in South America before the Spanish came over from Europe to colonize the area.
Over the centuries (a century is 100 years) The Mapuche have fought hard to maintain their independence and identity. Apparently now the Chilean government is trying to classify this indigenous group as 'terrorists.'
The article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23512784
Vocabulary to help you understand the article:
rapporteur - basically this is the person whom an organization chooses to do research about an issue and to write a report.
a dispute - this is a type of argument in which both sides believe something different about a situation. For instance, Japan and Korea have had a dispute about which country owns a specific island - both countries believe the island belongs to them and they dispute that the island belongs to the other country.
to boil over into violence - if you heat water on a stove for long enough, it will begin to boil. If the water is too high in the pot, the water will boil over. So if a situation boils over, it is a critical situation and trouble comes from it.
a systematic use of excessive force - they regularly or often or commonly use too much force against the Mapuche. (pronounced: Mah POO che)
to discriminate against - remember you always use 'against' with discriminate. If someone discriminates against someone else, the first person takes action against the second person to harm him/her because of some racial or ethnic issue. If someone doesn't like black people and he refuses to hire black people for his business, he is discriminating against black people.
arbitrary - this means random. If they are using an anti-terrorism law against the Mapuche in an arbitrary manner, they use it when they feel like it and there are no real or objective standards.
if something is volatile - it is unstable and unpredictable.
prompt - if you are a prompt person, you are always on time
to escalate - to get worse
a vast swath(e) of land - a large area spread out over a great distance.
renowned for their ferocity - famous for how cruel and brutal they were. If a dog is ferocious, it will bite a person easily.
they resisted conquest - they fought against being conquered or beaten.
waged a campaign - fought
arson - starting stuff on fire
to sabotage machinery - to deliberately destroy machines
to invoke a law - to use a law. So if the Mapuche fight to try to get their land back, the government calls them terrorists and tries to throw them in jail.
drafted - written by Pinochet. Pinochet was a violent dictator in Chile who helped assassinate the Chilean president Salvador Allende.
to stamp out opposition - to eliminate, get rid of
harshest - most severe
statute book - law book
a conviction - when a person is determined to be guilty. By using this law, the Chilean government can find people guilty without providing any evidence or witnesses.
anonymous - you don't know the person's name.
a paradigm shift - a change in the way that the government views the situation. A paradigm is a way you look at things. The government has to stop looking at the Mapuche as terrorists and view them as people who had their land stolen.
conspicuously - obviously
rumbling on - going on slowly but steadily
sporadic - every once in a while
assailants - attackers
the blaze - the fire
a hunger strike - when people refuse to eat to protest something
a raid - when the police suddenly and quickly attack someone or some group.
-----------------------------------
Writing/discussion questions:
How do you determine when a group is a group of freedom fighters or terrorists?
How do you determine when a government is engaged in terrorism?
Showing posts with label shsat reading preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shsat reading preparation. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Vocabulary Builder: Where Are America's Poor Going?
You'll need a good vocabulary to do well on the SHSAT. Here is a posting and article that will help you pick up a few more essential words.
The vocabulary words were taken from this posting (definitions of the words can be found here): http://convostartersenglish.blogspot.com/2013/05/where-are-americas-poor-going.html
Words to be used:
a suburb, ill-equipped, to handle
a surge, to plummet, segregated
integrated, to skyrocket, a voucher
Exercise (answers are below):
1) During the Great Depression, which began in 1929, unemployment in America ________________ from 6% to 25%.
2) In the 1970s and 1980s, many upper middle class families decided to move to the _______________ because the cities were considered too dangerous. Now the trend is reversing and people from the upper middle class are flooding the cities of America.
3) In order to try to end the Iraq War, George Bush initiated (started) a troop ___________. He sent a huge number of new soldiers to Iraq. Apparently the strategy worked and now US soldiers have been steadily leaving Iraq.
4) The City of New York seemed ________________ for the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001. For instance, there was an emergency center which the city had created for a potential disaster, but the center was located at the World Trade Center Building and was made useless by the attack.
5) There is a saying in America: The people of the USA are never more segregated than on Sunday. This means that in America there are very few racially _______________ churches. Many Christian churches are either filled with all white or all black worshippers.
6) Many conservative politicians believe that poor families should be given school ______________. So instead of relying on the public school system, poor parents can use this system to pay tuition at private schools.
7) A good manager knows how to ______________ his staff fairly.
8) During the early 2000s, many internet stocks rose very quickly but then suddenly they all seemed to _______________ at the same time. It turns out they were not worth as much money as investors had thought.
9) The difference between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. was that Malcolm X did not trust the dominant white culture and wished for blacks to remain _________________ from whites. He did not think it was a good idea for the races to mix.
Answers are below:
Answers:
1) skyrocketed
2) suburbs
3) surge
4) ill-equipped
5) integrated
6) vouchers
7) handle
8) plummet
9) segregated
--------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I'm also the guy who created the scandal in Asia awhile ago. :P
Links:
http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742
http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682
http://www.shoutcastblog.com/2010/05/11/wondergirls-were-mistreated-by-jyp-entertainment/
Words to be used:
a suburb, ill-equipped, to handle
a surge, to plummet, segregated
integrated, to skyrocket, a voucher
Exercise (answers are below):
1) During the Great Depression, which began in 1929, unemployment in America ________________ from 6% to 25%.
2) In the 1970s and 1980s, many upper middle class families decided to move to the _______________ because the cities were considered too dangerous. Now the trend is reversing and people from the upper middle class are flooding the cities of America.
3) In order to try to end the Iraq War, George Bush initiated (started) a troop ___________. He sent a huge number of new soldiers to Iraq. Apparently the strategy worked and now US soldiers have been steadily leaving Iraq.
4) The City of New York seemed ________________ for the terrorist attack on 9/11/2001. For instance, there was an emergency center which the city had created for a potential disaster, but the center was located at the World Trade Center Building and was made useless by the attack.
5) There is a saying in America: The people of the USA are never more segregated than on Sunday. This means that in America there are very few racially _______________ churches. Many Christian churches are either filled with all white or all black worshippers.
6) Many conservative politicians believe that poor families should be given school ______________. So instead of relying on the public school system, poor parents can use this system to pay tuition at private schools.
7) A good manager knows how to ______________ his staff fairly.
8) During the early 2000s, many internet stocks rose very quickly but then suddenly they all seemed to _______________ at the same time. It turns out they were not worth as much money as investors had thought.
9) The difference between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. was that Malcolm X did not trust the dominant white culture and wished for blacks to remain _________________ from whites. He did not think it was a good idea for the races to mix.
Answers are below:
Answers:
1) skyrocketed
2) suburbs
3) surge
4) ill-equipped
5) integrated
6) vouchers
7) handle
8) plummet
9) segregated
--------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I'm also the guy who created the scandal in Asia awhile ago. :P
Links:
http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100511000742
http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100512000682
http://www.shoutcastblog.com/2010/05/11/wondergirls-were-mistreated-by-jyp-entertainment/
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Reading Passage: Le Corbusier, A Controversial Architect Is Revisted
Intro:
There is an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City about a controversial architect and urban planner: Le Corbusier.
The central problem he was concerned about was how cities could adapt to rising population trends.
His solution was to build giant towers in parks. Huge numbers of people would live in these towers surrounded by grass and trees.
Indeed, many cities in America tried to do this. They built 'housing projects' for poor people in cities like New York and Chicago. These housing projects were, however, a disaster. They became places of extreme poverty and violence and most cities have been tearing these housing projects down over the years.
Please read the following article. Interesting vocabulary from the article will be listed and defined. Then, after the definitions, you will find multiple-choice questions and answers.
The article:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2013/06/moma-pays-tribute-terrifying-beauty-le-corbusier/5902/
Vocabulary to help you understand the article:
to pay tribute to - to show appreciation for; to present an exhibit of work to show how important or amazing this architect was.
terrifying beauty - this is an example of an 'oxymoron,' when you have two words that seem to contradict each other. We don't often think of beauty as being terrifying, but the plans and buildings of Le Corbusier are both beautiful and scary. They are scary because they often seem so impersonal.
a thorough revisiting - a complete re-looking at; when you take a close look at someone's work after many years, you revisit the work.
his reputation was rehabilitated - people began to think badly of him (Moses), but they began to think more positively about him after the exhibit in New York. A reputation is how people generally think of you. To rehabilitate something is to fix it up and make it better.
a sweeping multimedia exhibit - sweeping means it covers many topics over a long span of time; multimedia means many media - photos, recordings, videos, models, sculpture etc.
staging a show - putting on a show
an inspiration - an influence that motivates someone
a visionary - someone who can see what the future of a field will be like, or what the future in general might be like. Le Corbusier could see that cities were becoming more crowded and that a new method would be necessary to house everyone.
disparaged - criticized, verbally attacked
urban planning - trying to meet the needs of people in a city and then designing new projects in the city to meet those needs
ill-fated - things did not work out well if they were ill-fated. It's as if the project was meant to fail.
devastating slum-clearance - slum clearance means just removing the houses of poor people. A slum is a very poor neighborhood. This was devastating because after the houses and areas were destroyed, nothing better was provided. If you feel devastated you feel shocked and depressed.
urban renewal - fixing up or making cities better or like 'new'
freeways - highways; wide roads where cars and trucks can travel at higher speeds than normal
dismantled - taken apart
an engaging packaging - an interesting way the show was put together
innovative - new, unique
a puzzle - in this case, social problems
immersed in the bohemian vanguard - he lived among very creative and artistic people who were creating new trends. If you are in the vanguard, you are among the leaders who can create something new in some field.
a bankruptcy - this means a lack of something in this case
to advocate - to speak out in favor of something or recommend something.
wide swaths - a swath is an area. A wide swath would be a large area of land.
a cluttered, shabby city - cluttered means crowded. If something is shabby it is not well-made and can fall apart easily.
an interval - a space.
misguided - not properly thought-out; badly considered or judged
windswept plazas - large empty plazas
the pedestrian - someone who walks around in a city
the mantra - the saying. So the most common saying or phrase or term these days among urban planners is: all architecture should include mixed-use stuff! Every building should have a bunch of things and services in it.
dapper - nicely dressed; dressed really fancy
predating - coming before; so this author is saying Le Corbusier had some good ideas before most people realized they were good ideas.
to accommodate - in this case, to help people obtain good housing
micro-housing - small rooms for single, unmarried people
to clamor for - to demand, to ask for, to desperately want
crafted - built
a skeptic - someone who doesn't believe something easily
prolific - a prolific writer writes a lot. A prolific architect creates many buildings.
elite - among the best.
revered - highly respected.
his star has dimmed - he is not as famous as before.
a retrofit and restoration - they can't change the whole building so they make changes inside to update various important functions that have to happen in a building.
lanky - tall and thin.
---------------------------------------
Multiple-choice questions:
1. Robert Moses is mentioned in this article because:
a) he was a friend of Le Corbusier b) he introduced the urban planning of Le Corbusier to the USA c) he was inspired by Le Corbusier d) he helped acquire funding for projects Le Corbusier wanted to develop in New York City
2. The article points out that Le Corbusier, like Moses, is:
a) widely admired throughout the world b) emulated currently in many American cities c) an artist who has had major exhibits at MoMA d) someone who has been harshly criticized.
3) New Urbanists feel that Le Corbusier's 'towers in the park' were:
a) a terrible idea b) an interesting experiment c) something architects can be inspired by d) an important step in the evolution of urban architecture
4) The author considers Le Corbusier to be:
a) someone who took the ideas of others and further developed them b) someone who created new ideas c) someone who looked back to the history of architecture for inspiration d) someone who liked working with a good team to develop buildings.
5) Le Corbusier changed his name because:
a) he thought it was too long b) he was inspired by his creative environment to be different c) he felt he would become more famous with a shorter name d) his new name represented the town in which he was born
6) When Le Corbusier looked around Paris, he saw:
a) people were happy but looking for more b) people needed services they were not getting c) people were desperately poor d) a well organized city where people lived satisfactorily
7) According to the author, although Le Corbusier could be criticized for a few things, it has to be admitted that:
a) Le Corbusier's motives were genuine b) Le Corbusier never gave up c) Le Corbusier brought a sense of hard-work to his designs d) Le Corbusier helped establish architecture as a true science
8) The author states the goal of the exhibit was:
a) to resurrect Le Corbusier's reputation b) to inform and educate New Yorkers about Le Corbusier's achievements c) to further criticize an over-rated architect d) to encourage people to take a new look at an architect who was becoming less well-known
9) The author's attitude toward Le Corbusier could be considered:
a) unmitigated admiration b) contempt for his impersonal approach to architecture c) admiration mixed with an objective assessment of the architect's flaws d) completely objective
10) The author probably wrote the article to:
a) reassess the work of an important architect b) provide a useful review for readers to learn about and possibly attend an exhibit c) try to change a misconception that many people have about this architect d) provide a necessary negative critique of the architect's work
----------------------------------------------------------
Answers are below:
ANSWERS:
1. c
2. d
3. a
4. b
5. b
6. b
7. a
8. d
9. c
10. b
There is an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City about a controversial architect and urban planner: Le Corbusier.
The central problem he was concerned about was how cities could adapt to rising population trends.
His solution was to build giant towers in parks. Huge numbers of people would live in these towers surrounded by grass and trees.
Indeed, many cities in America tried to do this. They built 'housing projects' for poor people in cities like New York and Chicago. These housing projects were, however, a disaster. They became places of extreme poverty and violence and most cities have been tearing these housing projects down over the years.
Please read the following article. Interesting vocabulary from the article will be listed and defined. Then, after the definitions, you will find multiple-choice questions and answers.
The article:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2013/06/moma-pays-tribute-terrifying-beauty-le-corbusier/5902/
Vocabulary to help you understand the article:
to pay tribute to - to show appreciation for; to present an exhibit of work to show how important or amazing this architect was.
terrifying beauty - this is an example of an 'oxymoron,' when you have two words that seem to contradict each other. We don't often think of beauty as being terrifying, but the plans and buildings of Le Corbusier are both beautiful and scary. They are scary because they often seem so impersonal.
a thorough revisiting - a complete re-looking at; when you take a close look at someone's work after many years, you revisit the work.
his reputation was rehabilitated - people began to think badly of him (Moses), but they began to think more positively about him after the exhibit in New York. A reputation is how people generally think of you. To rehabilitate something is to fix it up and make it better.
a sweeping multimedia exhibit - sweeping means it covers many topics over a long span of time; multimedia means many media - photos, recordings, videos, models, sculpture etc.
staging a show - putting on a show
an inspiration - an influence that motivates someone
a visionary - someone who can see what the future of a field will be like, or what the future in general might be like. Le Corbusier could see that cities were becoming more crowded and that a new method would be necessary to house everyone.
disparaged - criticized, verbally attacked
urban planning - trying to meet the needs of people in a city and then designing new projects in the city to meet those needs
ill-fated - things did not work out well if they were ill-fated. It's as if the project was meant to fail.
devastating slum-clearance - slum clearance means just removing the houses of poor people. A slum is a very poor neighborhood. This was devastating because after the houses and areas were destroyed, nothing better was provided. If you feel devastated you feel shocked and depressed.
urban renewal - fixing up or making cities better or like 'new'
freeways - highways; wide roads where cars and trucks can travel at higher speeds than normal
dismantled - taken apart
an engaging packaging - an interesting way the show was put together
innovative - new, unique
a puzzle - in this case, social problems
immersed in the bohemian vanguard - he lived among very creative and artistic people who were creating new trends. If you are in the vanguard, you are among the leaders who can create something new in some field.
a bankruptcy - this means a lack of something in this case
to advocate - to speak out in favor of something or recommend something.
wide swaths - a swath is an area. A wide swath would be a large area of land.
a cluttered, shabby city - cluttered means crowded. If something is shabby it is not well-made and can fall apart easily.
an interval - a space.
misguided - not properly thought-out; badly considered or judged
windswept plazas - large empty plazas
the pedestrian - someone who walks around in a city
the mantra - the saying. So the most common saying or phrase or term these days among urban planners is: all architecture should include mixed-use stuff! Every building should have a bunch of things and services in it.
dapper - nicely dressed; dressed really fancy
predating - coming before; so this author is saying Le Corbusier had some good ideas before most people realized they were good ideas.
to accommodate - in this case, to help people obtain good housing
micro-housing - small rooms for single, unmarried people
to clamor for - to demand, to ask for, to desperately want
crafted - built
a skeptic - someone who doesn't believe something easily
prolific - a prolific writer writes a lot. A prolific architect creates many buildings.
elite - among the best.
revered - highly respected.
his star has dimmed - he is not as famous as before.
a retrofit and restoration - they can't change the whole building so they make changes inside to update various important functions that have to happen in a building.
lanky - tall and thin.
---------------------------------------
Multiple-choice questions:
1. Robert Moses is mentioned in this article because:
a) he was a friend of Le Corbusier b) he introduced the urban planning of Le Corbusier to the USA c) he was inspired by Le Corbusier d) he helped acquire funding for projects Le Corbusier wanted to develop in New York City
2. The article points out that Le Corbusier, like Moses, is:
a) widely admired throughout the world b) emulated currently in many American cities c) an artist who has had major exhibits at MoMA d) someone who has been harshly criticized.
3) New Urbanists feel that Le Corbusier's 'towers in the park' were:
a) a terrible idea b) an interesting experiment c) something architects can be inspired by d) an important step in the evolution of urban architecture
4) The author considers Le Corbusier to be:
a) someone who took the ideas of others and further developed them b) someone who created new ideas c) someone who looked back to the history of architecture for inspiration d) someone who liked working with a good team to develop buildings.
5) Le Corbusier changed his name because:
a) he thought it was too long b) he was inspired by his creative environment to be different c) he felt he would become more famous with a shorter name d) his new name represented the town in which he was born
6) When Le Corbusier looked around Paris, he saw:
a) people were happy but looking for more b) people needed services they were not getting c) people were desperately poor d) a well organized city where people lived satisfactorily
7) According to the author, although Le Corbusier could be criticized for a few things, it has to be admitted that:
a) Le Corbusier's motives were genuine b) Le Corbusier never gave up c) Le Corbusier brought a sense of hard-work to his designs d) Le Corbusier helped establish architecture as a true science
8) The author states the goal of the exhibit was:
a) to resurrect Le Corbusier's reputation b) to inform and educate New Yorkers about Le Corbusier's achievements c) to further criticize an over-rated architect d) to encourage people to take a new look at an architect who was becoming less well-known
9) The author's attitude toward Le Corbusier could be considered:
a) unmitigated admiration b) contempt for his impersonal approach to architecture c) admiration mixed with an objective assessment of the architect's flaws d) completely objective
10) The author probably wrote the article to:
a) reassess the work of an important architect b) provide a useful review for readers to learn about and possibly attend an exhibit c) try to change a misconception that many people have about this architect d) provide a necessary negative critique of the architect's work
----------------------------------------------------------
Answers are below:
ANSWERS:
1. c
2. d
3. a
4. b
5. b
6. b
7. a
8. d
9. c
10. b
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