Italy that Julius Caesar’s army crossed, knowing there was no retreat.)

When I crossed the Rubicon by signing the contract, I knew I could never go back on my

commitment.

N EW W ORDS

Glut

glut

Risible

riz´ ə bəl

Dilatory

dil´ ə tor ē

Specious

spē shəs

Denouement

dā nōō man´

BONUS W EEK A D AY 4

THE LAWYERS’ TURN

As one might have expected, manifold* law suits against the White Star Line began to crop up

within weeks of the sinking and rescue. The glut of billionaires on board (Astors, Wideners,

Guggenheims, Strausses, et al.) did not file any claims, but other cases went all the way to the

Supreme Court and kept lawyers and judges busy for the next four years. The average claim

had been for a modest $1500, and the average award, paid by the White Star Line, was a

risible $1000. White Star ’s top notch legal staff was accused of using dilatory tactics, tiring

the claimants until they agreed to settle for a mere pittance*. Their lawyers called many

claims specious and rejected them out of hand.

The denouement of the story is rather sad. American and British maritime law had long

given special protection to ship owners on the grounds that their business was such a risky

one. And so there was a limit to the amount of money that White Star could be assessed. In the

end, they paid only 4% of the $16 million originally demanded by the survivors and were

happy to close the books on the ocean disaster. We can imagine that if a similar tragedy were

to take place today, the settlements would be in the hundreds of millions.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

1. The play’s ________________ came with three dead bodies on the stage.

2. Umpires do not like pitchers who use ________________ styles.

3. In debating, ________________ arguments are rarely effective.

4. What Harry felt was ________________, Sally thought was pathetic.

5. Our choir has a ________________ of tenors and a shortage of sopranos.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

6. glut a. delaying

7. risible b. laughable

8. dilatory c. oversupply

9. specious d. deceptively attractive

10. denouement e. outcome

T ODAY ’ S I DIOM

to brave the elements —to go out in bad weather

Despite the freezing rain, Cynthia decided to brave the elements.

BONUS W EEK A D AY 5

REVIEW

REVIEW WORDS DEFINITIONS

1. circuitous a. coming from

2. denouement b. a rebel

3. dilatory c. aged male family leader

4. emanating d. gruesome

5. extenuating e. roundabout

6. forebodings f. complications

7. glut g. tending to delay

8. impregnable h. forms of ceremony

9. insurgent i. lessening the seriousness

10. knell j. sound of a bell

11. macabre k. premonitions, evil omens

12. miscreant l. greedy, taking by force

13. neophyte m. harmful, destructive

14. patriarch n. oversupply

15. protocol o. deceptively attractive

16. ramifications p. cannot be entered by force

17. rapacious q. laughable, ludicrous

18. risible r. one who behaves badly

19. specious s. beginner, novice

20. toxic t. outcome

IDIOMS

21. a dry run u. a limit that allows for no return

22. to throw someone a curve v. trial exercise

23. to cross the Rubicon w. do the unexpected

24. to brave the elements x. go out in bad weather

Make a record of those words you missed.

*For reference only

WORDS FOR

FURTHER STUDY MEANINGS

1. ________________________ ________________________

2. ________________________ ________________________

3. ________________________ ________________________

SENSIBLE SENTENCES?

(From Week A)

Use the word that makes sense in each of the sentences below.

1. When the (ramifications, knell) of his action were explained, Roger apologized.

2. There is no known antidote for the (specious, toxic) poison.

3. Following (forebodings, protocol), Ben bowed before the emperor.

4. The young (patriarch, miscreant) was brought before the judge.

5. Seeking his prey, the lion took a (circuitous, dilatory) route on the trail of the deer.

6. Victor ’s weak explanation elicited* a (risible, rapacious) reaction from

his teacher.

7. The (insurgent, neophyte) forces launched a successful attack.

8. We thought the (knell, denouement) of the play was ridiculous.

9. Harmful fumes were (emanating, extenuating) from the laboratory.

10. Critics rated the (impregnable, macabre) play to be the season’s best.

WORDSEARCH A

Using the clues listed below, fill in each blank in the following story with one of the new

words you learned this week.

Clues

2nd Day

1st Day

5th Day

4th Day

3rd Day

AN UNUSUAL PERK

A study from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene declared that one in

eight adults in our major cities has diabetes, a disease. Many, however, are not

aware that they have it or how it can be. There is a of evidence revealing

that the high blood sugar that affects diabetics is more characteristic of Asian Americans,

African-Americans, and Hispanics than of the white population.

Unfortunately, many of the victims of diabetes do not take immediate steps to deal with the

disease. New York City’s health commissioner has warned of the of a failure to

control the high blood sugar: blindness, amputations, and heart disease. In fact, diabetes is the

nation’s fastest growing major disease.

N EW W ORDS

Dolorous

dō la rəs

Enervated

en´ ər vā tid

Suffrage

suf´ rij

Cabal

ka bal´

Odious

o´ dē əs

BONUS W EEK B D AY 1

GOOD NEWS—AND BAD

On Palm Sunday, April 9, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant sent a terse* dispatch to Secretary

of War Edwin Stanton. It contained the long-awaited sentence that the Confederate General

Robert E. Lee had surrendered. The dolorous Civil War that had crippled the young nation was

finally over.

President Lincoln was only 56 at the time, but he looked twenty years older. The burden of

being a wartime president had so enervated Lincoln that Surgeon General Barnes feared an

imminent* nervous breakdown. When Grant’s news reached Lincoln, he went to the front

windows of the White House and waved to the crowd below. He proceeded to make a brief

speech about the problems of Reconstruction and advocated* the granting of suffrage to

Negro soldiers.

Among the listeners was a Southern patriot, the popular actor John Wilkes Booth, almost as

famous in the theater as his father, Junius. “That’s the last speech he will ever make,” said

Booth to a fellow member of his cabal of conspirators. Booth’s odious plan was to assassinate

Lincoln whom he hated passionately, while an associate, George Atzerodt, would do the same

to Vice-President Andrew Johnson.

Sample Sentences Use the new words in the following sentences.

1. The dictator lied when he claimed he favored ________________ for women.

2. We were surprised when Ted’s happy expression turned into a ________________ one.

3. The members of the revolutionary ________________ were arrested and jailed.

4. Sylvia’s ________________ remarks caused the audience to turn against her.

5. ________________ by his long walk, Jose took to his bed.

Definitions Match the new words with their meanings.

6. dolorous a. right to vote

7. enervated b. secret group of plotters

8. suffrage c. worn out

9. cabal d. sad

10. odious e. despicable

T ODAY ’ S I DIOM

to kill the goose that laid the golden egg —to spoil a good deal

By being greedy, the accountant killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

N EW W ORDS

Prescient

pre´ shē ənt

Verbatim

vər bā´ tim

Reverie

rev´ ər ē

Thespian

thes pē ən

Despot

des´ pət

BONUS W EEK B D AY 2