Barron's 1100 Words You Need to Know » Week 9 - Day 5

There is an excellent book entitled How to Argue with a Conservative that gives the reader the tools necessary for success in argumentation. At times you may have to engage in a verbal skirmish* with a bigot.* It would be to your advantage if you had the proper words at your fingertips.

Review Words

Match the twenty words with their meanings. *Reminder: Record answers on a sheet of paper.

DEFINITIONS

  1. a. to support
  2. b. keen, shrewd
  3. c. something of value
  4. d. villainous
  5. e. seek earnestly
  6. f. organizer
  7. g. annoying
  8. h. followers
  9. i. disagreeably loud
  10. j. examine closely
  11. k. poison
  12. l. harmful
  13. m. not effective
  14. n. prejudiced person
  15. o. unfavorable
  16. p. friendly
  17. q. unwilling
  18. r. vomit
  19. s. disease
  20. t. getting money by threats
  21. u. to be critical of a present
  22. v. hesitation because of fear
  23. w. courage in the face of trouble
  24. x. give away a secret

REVIEW WORDS

  1. adverse __________
  2. advocate __________
  3. amicable __________
  4. asset __________
  5. astute __________
  6. bigot __________
  7. blatant __________
  8. entourage __________
  9. extortion __________
  10. impresario __________
  11. ineffectual __________
  12. loath __________
  13. malady __________
  14. nefarious __________
  15. scrutinize __________
  16. solicit __________
  17. spew __________
  18. venom __________
  19. vexatious __________
  20. virulent __________

Idioms

IDIOMS

  1. to spill the beans __________
  2. stiff upper lip __________
  3. cold feet __________
  4. look a gift horse in the mouth __________

Make a record of those words you missed. Once again, use those words in original sentences.

WORDSEARCH 9

Using the clues listed below, record separately using one of the new words you learned this week for each blank in the following story.

Clues
  1. 4th Day
  2. 4th Day
  3. 2nd Day
  4. 3rd Day
  5. 4th Day

This Century’s Deadliest Disease

When the American public started to hear about the AIDS virus in the 1980s, there was a measure of concern but no real alarm. After all, some said, it was a problem solely for a small group of intravenous drug users who shared dirty needles, and for the homosexual community.

But as the numbers of afflicted people grew during the 1980s and 1990s, we began to (1)__________ the tragic news stories more closely. The deaths of young people like Ryan White and Kimberly Bergalis, not members of the at-risk groups referred to above, convinced us that what was at first regarded merely as a (2)__________ illness was actually a (3)__________ threat to the general community.

In the mid-1980s, (4)__________ medical researchers were optimistic that a vaccine for AIDS would be found in short order. Those predictions proved to be inaccurate. In October 1992, former Surgeon-General C. Everett Koop said that he doubted we would ever find a cure for the disease. With over 200,000 Americans already having succumbed to the (5)__________ killer, and another 300,000 who were HIV-positive and could contract a full-blown form of AIDS, Koop’s statement sent chills throughout the country.

A prominent AIDS expert, however, took issue with Koop. “The fight will be difficult,” said Dr. Harley Smith, “but we will find an answer very shortly.” Now, in the twenty-first century, the answer is apparently at hand.

Answer Key
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