13 higher-level words. Do you know them? :)

obsolete - out of date, no longer used
elusive - hard to catch, hard to get
to plummet - to fall or decrease sharply or quickly
dogmatic - a dogmatic person refuses to ever change his/her beliefs, even if you prove something to the person
phlegmatic - apathetic, not active, passive
morose - depressed, sad, in a bad (rotten) mood
incongruous - it doesn't fit, it is out of place, it doesn't make sense
laggard - to fall behind, to be behind where you should be
redoubtable - hard to deafeat, hard to beat
stoic - not showing emotion, able to control your emotions
austere - very severe, very strict
ostentatious - showy, flamboyant
cordial - very kind or nice

1) I knew that something rotten (bad) had happened to Bill. He was usually quite gregarious (outgoing) and cordial (nice) but he was now ______________ and a little rude.

2) Do you remember the Chicago Bulls basketball team of the 1990s with Michael Jordan?  This was one of the most _____________ sports teams ever.  One year they won 72 games and only lost 10.

3) A fashion designer is supposed to dress in an _______________ manner.  This shows that he is dedicated to a life of creativity.

4) Just a few years ago I recall buying a CD player.  Now CD players are totally ___________ and have been replaced by iPods and other products.

5) Although Professor Higgins had a reputation for being morose and somewhat irritable, when I met him he was quite ____________ and open.

6) Osama bin Laden had been quite ____________.  It took the US government over 10 years to hunt him down because he regularly changed locations and took methods to maintain his secrecy. 

7)  A Buddhist monk agrees to live a very ____________ life in which he tends to deny himself the pleasures that many people live for.

8)  The 1920s were good times for investors, until one day when the stock prices suddenly ___________ and many investors lost their life savings.

9)  Some people just seem to have been born with certain types of personalities.  Jim, for instance, is ______________.  His house could be burning down and he wouldn't seem to care that much.

10) Reporters were surprised to see how __________ the criminal responded to hearing his death sentence.  The murderer did not even change his facial expression and just looked directly at the judge.

11)  It's important for students to attend every day of classes or they might become ____________ and fall behind.

12) A good student is never ______________. It's important to keep an open-mind and to examine every argument on its own merits.

13) His story was _______________ with the facts.  Although he stated he was working on the night of the murder, it turned out he had taken that day off.

Answers are below:






Answers:

1. morose
2. redoubtable
3. ostentatious
4. obsolete
5. cordial
6. elusive
7. austere
8. plummetted
9. phlegmatic
10. stoic
11. laggard
12. dogmatic
13. incongruous

Test your vocabulary from the Mapuche article

Please review the meanings of the vocabulary words (from the previous story about the Mapuche) before attempting the exercise.  You can find that article here: http://shsatreading.blogspot.com/2013/07/testimprove-your-vocabulary-indigenous.html

a raid, a blaze, sporadic, conspicuously, to sabotage, to escalate, prompt, arbitrary, a dispute

1.  It is common knowledge that President John Kennedy was the first president to send soldiers to Vietnam in 1961.  However, it was President Lyndon Johnson who chose to _____________ the American involvement in that war.

2.  Although they are allies, for many years now Korea and Japan have engaged in a ___________ over who possesses an island between the two countries.  Korea calls the island Dokdo and Japan calls it Takeshima.

3.  After 10 years of searching for Osama bin Laden, he was located in Pakistan and the Obama administration launched a _____________ to execute him in his compound (the place where he lived).

4.  "Due process" is a legal term which means that if a person is accused of doing something wrong, the process by which he is judged must not be ______________.  There have to be well-established and fair procedures which will be followed.

5.  At first the pain in my back was ___________.  Later the pain would not seem to go away and I had to go to the doctor for help.

6.  The ___________ which was started in the World Trade Center tower was so intense that it was able to melt the steel structure of the building.

7.  During World War II the French underground fighters against the Nazis often _______________ German military equipment or even railroad track systems.

8.  I believe it is important for me to be ___________ for any appointment.  Indeed, I usually show up well ahead of time.

9.  When people buy designer goods, they often wear the brand label _____________ on the item as a sign of prestige. (something prestigious is something that makes others admire you).

Answers are below:





Answers:

1.  escalate
2.  dispute
3.  raid
4.  arbitrary
5.  sporadic
6.  blaze
7.  sabotaged
8.  prompt
9.  conspicuously