Jan 11, 2009

December Reading: Spinning on the Stump

Reading:

Notes:

incredulous

►unable or unwilling to believe something

--She shot him an incredulous look.

 

cynical 

►unwilling to believe that people have good, honest, or sincere reasons for doing something

--a cynical view of human nature

cynical about

--The public is cynical about election promises.

►not caring that something might not be morally right, might hurt someone etc, when you are trying to get something for yourself

--a cynical disregard for international agreements

 

jaded

►someone who is jaded is no longer interested in or excited by something, usually because they have experienced too much of it

--The concert should satisfy even the most jaded critic.

 

rhetorician[countable]

►someone who is trained or skilful in the art of persuading or influencing people through speech or writing [ orator]

 

narrative

►[countable] a description of events in a story, especially in a novel

--At several points in the narrative the two stories cross.

►[uncountable]the process or skill of telling a story

 

parable[countable]

►a short simple story that teaches a moral or religious lesson, especially one of the stories told by Jesus in the Bible

 

anecdotal

►consisting of short stories based on someone's personal experience

--His findings are based on anecdotal evidence rather than serious research.

 

rapport[singular, uncountable]

►friendly agreement and understanding between people [ relationship];

a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people

rapport with/between

--He had an excellent rapport with his patients.

 

discourse

► [countable] a serious speech or piece of writing on a particular subject

discourse on/upon

--a discourse on art

►[uncountable] serious conversation or discussion between people

--Candidates should engage in serious political discourse.

► [uncountable] the language used in particular types of speech or writing

--a study of spoken discourse

 

discourse[verb]

discourse on/upon something [phrasal verb]

►to make a long formal speech about something, or to discuss something seriously

 

benevolent

►kind and generous

--A benevolent uncle paid for her to have music lessons.

 

triumph

►[countable] an important victory or success after a difficult struggle

--Winning the championship is a great personal triumph.

►[uncountable] a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that you get from victory or success

--a shout of triumph

►[singular] a very successful example of something

triumph of

►The gallery is a triumph of design.

 

retrench[intransitive]

►if a government or organization retrenches, it spends less money [= economize]

 

perish

►to die, especially in a terrible or sudden way

 

proponent[countable]

►someone who supports something or persuades people to do something [= advocate]

 

oppress 

►to treat a group of people unfairly or cruelly, and prevent them from having the same rights that other people in society have

 

abuse

►the use of something in a way that it should not be used [= misuse]

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