Chapter 22—sophomore
1. commemorate(verb)
2. complacent
(adjective)
3. consensus
(noun)
4. deplete
(verb)
5. diligent
(adjective)
6. empathy
(noun)
7. menial
(adjective)
8. niche
(noun)
9. transcend
(verb)
10. waive
(verb) / • Thomas devoted himself to feeding the hungry. So on the anniversary of his death, it seems wrong to commemorate his life with a fancy dinner party that only the rich can attend.
• Each year, my parents commemorate their first date by having dinner at McDonalds, the place where they first met.
a. to share b. to celebrate c. to believe
• Elected officials cannot afford to be complacent about winning an election. Before long, they’ll have to campaign again for the voters’ support.
• Getting all A’s hasn’t made Ivy complacent. She continues to work hard at school.
a. very eager b. reasonable c. too much at ease
• A vote revealed strong agreement among the teachers. The consensus was that they would strike if the school band did not act quickly to raise their pay.
• The family consensus was that we should go camping again this summer. Ray was the only one who wanted to do something else for a change.
a. a majority view b. an unusual idea c. a question
• I’d like to help you out with a loan, but unexpected car repairs have managed to deplete my bank account.
• In order not to deplete their small quantity of canned food, the shipwreck survivors searched the island for plants they could eat.
a. to use up b. to forget c. to find
• I wish I had been more diligent about practicing piano when I was younger. It would be nice to be able to play well now.
• Diane was lazy when she first joined the family business, but she became so diligent that she inspired others to work harder.
a. self-satisfied b. lucky c. hard-working
• Families who lost loved ones in the attacks on the WorldTradeCenter and the Pentagon have empathy for one another because of their shared grief.
• Ms. Allan is an excellent career counselor partly because of her great empathy. She understands each student’s feelings and point of view.
a. a common opinion b. a sympathetic understanding c. an efficiency
• Victor thinks my summer job delivering pizzas is menial work, but I’ve found that it requires some skills.
• Every job can be done with pride. Even menial jobs such as washing windows or scrubbing floors can be done with care.
a. unskilled b. steady c. satisfying
• Although her degree was in accounting, Laura decided her niche was really in business management, so she went back to school for more training.
• Dom spent the years after college moving restlessly from job to job, never finding a comfortable niche for himself.
a. a shared opinion b. a suitable place c. an education
• The psychic convinced her clients that she could transcend time and space and talk directly with the dead.
• Yoga can help one transcend the cares of the world and reach a state of relaxation.
a. to participate in b. to go past c. to use up
• The defendant decided to waive his right to an attorney and, instead, speak for himself in court.
• Since Lin had studied so much math on her own, the school waived the requirement that she take high school algebra.
a. to lose b. to honor c. to give up
1. ______
2. ______
3. ______
4. ______
5. ______
6. ______
7. ______
8. ______
9. ______
10. ______/ Not requiring special skills or higher intellectual abilities
The ability to share in someone else’s feelings or thoughts
To rise above or go beyond the limits of; to exceed
To honor the memory of someone or something as with a ceremony
To willingly give up (as a claim, privilege, or right); do without
An opinion held by everyone (or almost everyone) involved
Feeling too much satisfaction with oneself or one’s accomplishments
Steady, determined, and careful in work
An activity or situation especially suited to a person
To use up
commemorateconsensusdiligentempathytranscend
complacentdepletemenialnichewaive
1. The old man decided to ______any claim he had to the family fortune, preferring to see the money go to the younger generation.
2. The American Inventors’ Association gathered at a banquet to ______Thomas Edison.
3. My grandfather, who’s recovering from heart surgery, is weak, so it doesn’t take much effort for him to ______the little energy he has.
4. Many believe that Shakespeare’s works ______those of all other authors.
5. The restaurant got off to a good start, but then the owners became ______about their success and stopped trying to attract new customers.
6. Several sessions with a career counselor helped Suzanne consider what her ______in the working world might be.
7. The children help out at the family restaurant, but they are able to perform only ______tasks such as mopping floors and cleaning tables.
8. Arnie has been ______in his study of German because he hopes to speak the language with his relatives from Germany when they visit next summer.
9. I had hoped the restaurant would be good, but our group’s ______was that the food was only so-so and the service was even worse.
10. Dr. Grange is a brilliant mathematician, but she lacks ______for her students. She doesn’t understand how they can find some problems so difficult.
commemorateconsensusdiligentempathytranscend
complacentdepletemenialnichewaive
At EastmanHigh School reunions, the conversation usually gets around to the question, “Who was the best teacher in school?” And year after year, the (1)______of the graduates has been that Mr. MacDonald was the best. Many remember Joe MacDonald as the epitome of teaching—the teacher against whom they measured all others.
He had started his professional life as a highly paid attorney. However, never at home with the law, he left his lucrative practice and found his (2)______as an English teacher in the shabby classrooms of Eastman. Mr. MacDonald somehow helped his students (3) ______their broken-down surroundings and experience the magic in the words of Shakespeare, Dickinson, or Frost. Even those who tended to shun reading began to think there might be something to this literature stuff after all.
Mr. MacDonald’s enthusiasm for his work was never (4) ______d. In fact, instead of being used up, his zeal actually increased through the years. Other teachers became (5) ______about their work and did only cursory lesson preparation. But Mr. MacDonald was as (6)______as an eager first-year teacher. He could often be found talking with students after school, as his great (7) ______had given him the reputation of being someone who understands students’ problems. He was fun, too. On the first really beautiful spring day of each year, he’d (8) ______his lesson plan and take the class out into the sunshine to sit under the blue sky and talk about literature. And no task was too (9)______for him. He was often seen picking up trash from the grounds—something other teachers would never condescend to do.
After Mr. MacDonald’s retirement, his former students wanted to honor him in some way. They thought about a statue, but decided to (10) ______his teaching in the way that he’d like best, with a college scholarship for an Eastman student, which was established in his name.