Latin Roots #8

Roots and Derivatives

1.     flu(x), fluct (flow, flowing)

2.     fort, fore (strong)

3.     frater(n), fratr (brother)

4.     fus, fund, found (pour, melt)

Word List

1.     Affluent- flowing with wealth and riches: prosperous; a flowing stream, as a tributary;

It was obvious that the girl came from an affluent family as she lived in a mansion and she drove a brand new BMW.

2.     Confluence- a coming or flowing together, as of rivers or ideas; a place of joining;

The meeting was planned to create a confluence of the best and brightest students to come up with the solution.

3.     Confound- to perplex, confuse, amaze, or bewilder;

A successful magician is able to confound his audience and leave them wondering how he did his tricks.

4.     Effusive- pouring forth in an emotional way; unrestrained or overly demonstrative

My sister’s effusive apology came off as insincere as it was overly dramatic with her constant crying.

5.     Forte- one’s special area of accomplishment or performance; one’s strong point;

My cousin’s forte in academics is definitely math as he always has the highest grade in class and it is not difficult for him.

6.     Fortify- to make stronger; to strengthen; to establish defenses;

Every army tries to fortify their soldiers to guarantee success in battle.

7.     Fortitude- strength of character; patient courage;

I have always admired my dad’s fortitude as he never gives up and always tries his best.

8.     Fraternize- to associate with or socialize in a brotherly fashion; to be friendly with;

My parents don’t want me to fraternize with my cousins because our families are constantly feuding.

9.     Fratricide- the killing of one’s own brother, someone who commits such an act;

He was found guilty of fratricide even though he denied that he had killed his own brother.

10.  Mellifluous- as if flowing honey or sweetness; like the tones of a honeyed voice;

The mellifluous music was so soothing and pleasant that it put me in a good mood.

11.  Profusion- a pouring forth, as of great numbers; plentifulness; an abundance;

The profusion of people coming out of the stadium reminded me of ants coming out of an anthill.

12.  Superfluous- (flowing) beyond what is needed; in excess of a sufficiency;

His superfluous speech made everyone lose interest and become bored with what he was saying. 

Knowledge

Knowledge is something we acquire from the time we are born. As toddlers we gain knowledge from what we are allowed or not allowed to do from our parents. Once we enter school, we gain knowledge from our teachers and through education. But knowledge is not just something we learn from books or as teens from the internet or social media. It is all around us and in everything we do and every conversation we have with our peers and the people around us. Whether it is learning a new sport or facing pressure from friends we are gaining knowledge about ourselves and our lives. If we didn’t continue to acquire knowledge as we go about our daily lives, we wouldn’t really be living.

Opinion Article

Happiness Doesn't Have a Price             

            Almost everyone aspires to become rich in their lifetime because they believe money equates to happiness. People believe that with money you can attain a perfect life and no worries in the world. However, I believe that acquiring money doesn’t guarantee you happiness. Money can’t buy you real love, your health or cure mental illness. True happiness does not have a price tag.

            Money can definitely relieve the stress of working and finding a way to pay your bills, but it also brings on new stresses and less joy. Have you ever noticed that many wealthy individuals have issues? A multitude of celebrities have alcohol and drug addictions because they’re unhappy. Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes are both unstable, former actresses. They went off the deep end in the middle of their supposedly perfect lives. They have more money than they need but still rely on drugs to supply their happiness and relieve them of any stress rather than finding happiness elsewhere.

            Some people who have lost all hope of finding happiness commit suicide even though they may be wealthy. Robin Williams, for example, was found dead in his house after hanging himself. Williams was battling depression, anxiety and the early stages of Parkinson’s disease. He and others who committed suicide must have believed there was no possible light in the dark tunnel they thought was their life. Money couldn’t help them there.

            Although wealth may bring joy here and there, in the end it’s just you. Happiness stems out of friends, family, and good memories. Money can buy materialistic things which can be fun for a while but serve as short-term happiness. The things you can’t buy, friendship, health, and love are priceless for a reason. Everyone can have a fair chance at finding happiness despite how much money they have. Happiness is something you must attain on your own without money because money will never be able to buy you authentic happiness.

Literature Analysis #3: The Joy Luck Club

            A Chinese child’s goal in life is to make their mother and father proud and to bring honor to their family. For Jing-Mei Woo, this meant fulfilling her mother Suyuan Woo’s legacy which was to find her long lost twin daughters that she was forced to abandon in China years ago. She died before she could accomplish her goal, leaving Jing-Mei to finish where she left off. Although the journey was emotionally difficult, the legacy was eventually fulfilled; it began with Suyuan and ended with Jing-Mei.

            Suyuan lived happily with her family in China but all that happiness was shattered when the Japanese began bombing the town. Because she had a forewarning, Suyuan managed to escape carrying a few possessions: two trunks, a few bags of food, and her twin daughters. She dropped the trunks after a while. Next, she left the bags. She was sick and dying but she couldn’t bring it upon herself to see her daughters die with her so she left them on the side of the road in hopes that someone kind-hearted would find them. She left a note and walked further down the road until she fainted. When she awoke she was in a new place and her daughters were not there. A few years after going to America, she returned to China to search for her daughters and wrote letters to old friends inquiring about the twins and if they have seen them. But the twins had just disappeared.

            Three months after Suyuan’s death, the Joy Luck Club came in contact with the twins. The twins had written a letter explaining they wanted their mother to come visit them and told her of their lives. They had be

en cared for by a religious couple and were recognized by Suyuan’s old friend. The Joy Luck Club decided to write a letter back and signed it with Suyuan’s name. It wasn’t until both letters had been received and sent, that Jing-Mei was made aware about her sisters communication. The women in the Joy Luck Club told Jing-Mei she must deliver the news of their mother’s death in person but after many nights of contemplating, she had Lindo write a letter informing them of Suyuan’s death.

            Prior to her arrival in Shanghai, China, Jing-Mei was anxious about meeting her sisters. She was going to see her sisters for the first time ever. As soon as she stepped off the plane, Jing-Mei spots them. The three of them run towards each other and embrace in a hug as Jing-Mei’s fathers captures the moment in a picture.

            Suyuan translates to “long cherished wish”. Jing translates to “pure essence”; mei translates to “younger sister”. Before meeting her sisters, Jing-Mei believed she was supposed to be the essence of the twins and that was her mother’s wish. However seeing the twins for the first time she knew they were family and that the past could be forgiven. Jing-Mei realized that this was truly her mother’s long cherished wish and now Suyuan’s legacy had been fulfilled.

Latin Roots #7

Roots and Derivatives

1.     duc(t), duce (to lead)

2.     fed(er), fid(e) (faith, trust)

3.     fin(e) (end, limit)

4.     flect, flex (to bend)

Word List

1.     Aqueduct- a large pipe or other conduit made to bring water from a great distance;

The Romans were the first to create aqueducts, allowing freshwater to be available to the entire society.

2.     Conducive- tending to lead, help, assist, or result in;

A quiet work space is conducive to getting your homework done.

3.     Definitive- completely accurate, reliable, and authoritative; decisive or conclusive;

My mom made a final and definitive answer: we were moving.

4.     Fidelity- faithfulness to one’s promises or obligations, steadfast faithfulness; technological faithfulness;

His fidelity is questionable as he continually lies and breaks his promises.

5.     Fiduciary- an individual who holds something in trust for another; a trustee;

The bank is the fiduciary of one’s life savings.

6.     Finale- a “grand” conclusion, as of a performance; the last scene of a play;

The finale of the play included a dance number with the entire cast.

7.     Finite- limited or bordered time or by any measurement; measurable;

We had a finite amount of time to complete our assignments.

8.     Flexuous- winding in and out; bending or wavering;

The flimsy branches on the tree were flexuous in the wind.

9.     Inducement- anything used or given to persuade or motivate; an incentive;

They used a giant trophy as an inducement to win the tournament.

10.  Inflection- a slight change in tone or modulation of the voice, as in a point of emphasis;

By the inflection in her voice, we could tell she was nervous and upset.

11.  Perfidious- characteristic of one who would intentionally betray a faith or trust; treacherous;

The company my cousin works for in known for being perfidious and rips off all their customers.

12.  Traduce- to speak falsely of; slender or defame; to disgrace another’s good name; to vilify;

Teenage girls tend to traduce others by spreading false rumors about them around school.

Leopard Man

9. Tom Leppard is called “Leopard Man” because he has leopard print tattooed on his entire body and lives in the wild as a leopard would.

10. The author thinks that people with tattoos and piercings are just seeking for attention. He has these opinions because he believes they failed to attract attention in a positive way so instead so for shock value.

11. Leopard Man is different from other tattooed and pierced people in that he doesn’t live for other people’s reactions.

12. Leopard Man lives in a small cabin in the Scottish wilderness.

13. According to Feys, society fears loners because they pursue their own values without seeking others’ permission or permitting others to hamper them.

14. The “world’s most common but dangerous psychological disorder” is conformity. Feys argues that people try so hard to fit in, they suppress and destroy themselves.

15. Leopard Man is so happy because he is free from social pressures.

Diction Worksheet

1.     “I climbed over the spare spar and leaned over the rail as far as I could, to bring my eyes nearer to that mystery floating alongside.”

2.     Cadaverous- resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony;

… a wide back submerged right up to the neck in a greenish pale glow.

Elongated- unusually long in relation to its width;

But I saw at once something long and pale floating near the ladder.

Elusive- difficult to find, catch, or achieve;

…flickered in the sleeping water with the obscure, silent play of summer lightning in a night sky.

Opaque- not able to be seen through; not transparent;

The side of the ship made a cloudy belt of shadow on the shimmer of the sea.

Phosphorescent- light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat;

Before I could form a guess a faint flash of light…flickered in the sleeping water.

3.     The use of elevated language contributes to the tone by creating a more detailed image of what’s happening. Paraphrasing the passage affects the tone by taking away that imagery and creating a less suspenseful tone.

4.     Four Examples of Concrete Diction: “something elongated and pale”; “a pair of feet”; “a headless corpse”; “my gaping mouth”

5.     The author would choose do leave the characters nameless to create a mysterious mood.

6.     The denotative meaning of The Secret Sharer is someone who secretly shares something.

Word	Denotation	Connotation
Cadaverous	resembling a corpse in being very pale, thin, or bony	intimidating figure that’s skeleton like
Darkling	of or relating to growing darkness	somber
Pale	light in color or having little color	unnaturally light
Phosphorescence	light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat	a mysterious glow
Ghastly	extremely unwell	horrific
Headless	without a head	decapitated
Fishlike	quality of a fish	resembling a fish