Monthly Archives: May 2022

Articulate

Posted on May 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

“Articulate (adjective): Presented in syllables or words, so as to be utterable or meaningful; intelligible; having the power of speech; capable of or showing competence, clarity, or effectiveness of expression. Adv. articulately; n. articulation, articulateness, articulator; v. articulate.

‘His long black hair reached down his neck. He looked partly like a jazz musician, partly like an eighteenth-century composer. He was complicated, anguished, and absolutely articulate.’ Anne Roiphe, Torch Song”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Common English Verbs Followed by Gerunds: Admit

Posted on May 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on using gerunds with the verb admit. This is a scaffolded worksheet to help students develop an understanding of how to deploy a gerund with the verb admit. If you want to know more about these materials, please see the About Posts & Texts Page, accessible from the home page of this site.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Oscar Wilde on Morality

Posted on May 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt toward people we personally dislike.”

Oscar Wilde

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

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Catastrophe (n)

Posted on May 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun catastrophe. The sentences in this document are keyed to the definition of this noun as “a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin,” “a violent and sudden change in a feature of the earth,” and “a violent usually destructive natural event (as a supernova).” Given the rapid pace of the long-forecast effects of global warming, this word will serve students well in understanding and describing the world in which they live.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Topology

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

“topology: In mathematics, the study of the property of a geometric object that remains unchanged by deformations such as bending, stretching, or squeezing but not breaking. A sphere is topologically equivalent to a cube because, without breaking them, each can be deformed into the other as if they were made of modeling clay. A sphere is not equivalent to a doughnut, because the former would have to be broken to put a hole in it. Topological concepts and methods underlie much of modern mathematics, and the topological approach has clarified very basic structural concepts in many of its branches. See also algebraic topology.”

Excerpted/Adapted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Rainbows

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

This cool, overcast, and rainy day in New York City seems like a perfect time to post this reading on rainbows and its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. It’s straightforward stuff, so I suppose there is really not much more to say about it.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Simile

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

“Simile: (Latin neuter of similis ‘like’) A figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another, in such a way as to clarify and enhance an image. It is an explicit comparison (as opposed to the metaphor, q.v., where the comparison is implicit) recognizable by the use of the words ‘like’ or ‘as.’ It is equally common in prose and verse and is a figurative device of great antiquity. The following example comes from Graham Greene’s Stamboul Train:

‘The great blast furnaces of Liege rose along the line like ancient castles burning in a border raid.’

And this instance in verse from Ted Hughes’ poem February:

‘The wolf with its belly stitched full of big pebbles;

Nibelung wolves barbed like black pine forest

Across a red sky, over blue snow…’

See also EPIC SIMILE.”

Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.

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A Learning Support on Verbs and Objects

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a learning support on verbs and objects, or using direct objects with verbs. This is one-third page of text from what I consider the best grammar manual going, particularly for high-school students, Grant Barrett’s Perfect English Grammar: The Indispensable Guide to Excellent Writing and Speaking (Berkeley: Zephyros Press, 2016).

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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The Lost Weekend

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

“The Lost Weekend: A film (1945) adapted by director Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett from a 1944 novel by Charles R. Jackson about a struggling writer who surrenders to alcoholism one weekend after he falls victim to writer’s block. Starring Ray Milland, the film caused a considerable stir: representatives of the liquor industry offered $5 million of the negative, so that it could be destroyed, fearing the effect it would have upon sales of alcohol, and members of the temperance movement also tried to have the films stopped, suspecting that it might actually encourage people to drink. The novel and film popularized the phrase ‘lost weekend’ for any period spend in dissolute living or drunkenness.”

Excerpted from: Crofton, Ian, ed. Brewer’s Curious Titles. London: Cassell, 2002.

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A Learning Support on Infinitives and Whether or Not to Split Them

Posted on May 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a learning support on infinitives and whether or not to split them. This is a reading of about two-thirds of a page adapted from a current grammar manual.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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