tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-993454926016569682024-03-14T10:17:54.976+02:00TOEFL-GRE PreparationLinks, essays and videos by <a href="http://markaki-students.blogspot.com/">Maria Markaki Language School</a>.Christina Markoulakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-28223831188519341592022-03-23T23:31:00.003+02:002022-03-23T23:31:19.684+02:00New website!<p> For more blog posts about our schools' events, teaching methods and engaging lessons, please visit: </p><p><a href="https://markoulaki.gr/en/news">https://markoulaki.gr/en/news</a> </p><p><br /></p><p>Our students' blog posts are now published on the school's new educational platform of private access:</p><p><a href="https://myschool.markoulaki.gr">https://myschool.markoulaki.gr</a> </p>Christina Markoulakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-53405448088469727012012-12-09T14:19:00.003+02:002012-12-09T15:58:14.917+02:00Mini test 6, CD-Book, part 2 writing skills<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is tru<b>e</b> that most of <b>the </b>times in our life, events which at the <b>beginning seem to be</b> going bad<b>ly</b>, finally <b>turn</b> out well . Different <b>life factors play a certain role</b> <strike>aspects of life take part</strike> in this procedure and <b>it</b> is difficult to explain this unpredictable ending. <strike>In the following paragraphs I will present A</strike> similar event happened to me three years ago <b>and has been imprinted on my memory ever since.</b><br />
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To begin with, three years ago my aunt had a serious health problem. She had cancer and as everybody knows this disease <b>is </b>rarely cured. At the begin<b>n</b>ing all the family members w<b>ere</b> confused and poignant and believed that there was no hope to aid our lovely relative. Finally, a way to help her was found <strike>ed</strike> and <strike>from</strike> day <b>by</b> day everything got better. <b>A miraculous medicine was provided to her and relieved her pain. (Be specific!) </b>That was the first reason <b>why this problem was alleviated </b> f<strike>or which this event was ameliorated.</strike><br />
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The second reason <b>why</b> the aforementioned event turn<b>ed</b> out well was that my aunt finally <strike>has</strike> succeeded to <b>heal from</b> cancer completely and, moreover, she has been <b>able to</b> continu<b>e</b> her life. To be more specific, she <b>surpassed</b> the first difficulty of th<b>is tormenting</b> disease and, <b>furthermore</b>, she has bec<b>o</b>me more creative and passionate <b>about</b> her life. She loves to meet her friends, to play <b>in an amateur drama group </b>or sing. She has established a new association for cancer patients in our city and after this unpleasant event she decided to <b>enroll in</b> social studies courses in the university to help more people with th<b>is</b> kind of illness.<br />
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For the abovementioned reasons, I strongly believe that sometimes in life, miracles <b>do take place</b>. Although difficulties exist, <b>there will </b>always <strike>might</strike> be <b>considerable </b>possi<b>bi</b>lities <strike>to change</strike> <b>for </b>the circumstances <b>to change </b>and <b>for </b>everything <b>to </b>improve <b>for the</b> better. The only <b>prerequisite</b> is to believe <b>in ourselves</b> and love our life.<br />
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Comments: Gerasimos, you need to be more careful!!! This time I found more grammar, spelling and typographical mistakes! Furthermore, your words amounted to 280 ones, which means you could write a couple more sentences. Are you willing to write one more essay today? :-)<br />
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Score: 2.5/5</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-87489636687191785122012-12-09T13:24:00.002+02:002012-12-12T15:24:27.529+02:00Mini test 1, 1st part of writing, CD - Book<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set of materials, in the reading passage, information about Engl<b>ish</b> colonists who landed on the Roanoke Island in 1587 and their strange <strike>missing</strike> <b>disappearance </b>is illustrated and, in the listening passage, the professor presents additional information which cast<b>s</b> doubt <b>on</b> the theory expressed in the <strike>above</strike> <b>reading </b>text.<br />
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First of all, in the reading passage the author presents a theory <b>according to</b> which Governor John White and other 116 men, children and women established a colony in the east co<b>a</b>st of the United States. Because of the lack of products in the colony he decided to go back to England and obtain more products / <b>supplies/ goods</b> for the colonists. After his late return in 1590 he could not f<b>i</b>nd anyone, <strike>even though</strike> <b>not even </b>his own family. He tried to find <b>the answer to</b> <strike>a remedy in </strike>the mystery <b>posed </b>by a message, which said "Croaten", <b>left </b>from <b>one of the vanished</b> colonists, but finally he never found them.<br />
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In the listening passage the professor adds three reasons <b>why</b> <strike>for which</strike> the aforementioned theory cannot be true and creditable. Firstly, although numerous in-depth searches <b>took place</b> <strike>had became</strike>, there were no such eviden<b>ce</b> for the unpredictable movement of the colonist<b>s</b>. Secondly, <b>the </b>Croaten Island is an island near Roanoke island, so the colonist<b>s</b> may <b>have travelled/ moved</b> there. Finally <strike>thirdly</strike>, in 18th century there was a tribe which <b>was</b> called Croaten and looked like <b>the </b>Europeans. (More explanation here?) For these three strongly based / <b>solid </b>reasons, the professor believes that the above-mentioned theory cannot be reallistic and reliable.<br />
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Score: 3/5 (mostly for the correct comprehension of the material- you could better in presenting it) ;-) </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-85062746998480335742012-12-04T00:18:00.002+02:002012-12-04T14:32:55.957+02:00Mini test 4, writing, Book CD <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br>
In some type of courses <strike>are demanded the</strike> students' participation <strong>is demanded, </strong>but in some others <strong>it </strong>is not essential. In any case <strong>it </strong>is important <strong>for </strong>the teacher or the professor to understand the needs of the specific class and to decide the <strong>most proper</strong> <strike>more proprier</strike> grade taking procedure. Personally, I prefer the participation based grades in a class for two main reasons.<br>
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First of all, I am convinced from personal experience that every student can perform better under a more practical teaching system. To be more specific, <strong>it </strong>is more intriguing for any student to take part in the class and give them the motive to be active if they know that <strike>from it will depend</strike> their grades <strong>depend on it</strong>. For instance, if a student knows that every time he participates and ameliorates his performance and further more his student profile and image, <strong>he can therefore</strong> increase his grades, that will force him to be more active in the class, ask the professor for further information and at the same time improve and multipl<strong>y</strong> his knowledge and experience.<br>
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Additionally, practical courses such as laboratories <strong>are</strong> widely know<strong>n </strong>that can transfer more knowledge and information to the participants than a theoretical course. If a teacher, for example, ask<strong>s</strong> from the students only to study and learn information and details about a historical event and at the end of the semester they just have to take the final exams for their total grade that will make a lot of students to be more anxious, nervous and <strong>entirely lack self-confidence</strong> <strike>dis confident </strike>for the examination. If their participation will not be a measure for the total grade that will force most students to <strike>be</strike> find the class dull and unhelpful.<br>
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For all the aforementioned reasons, I strongly believe that in every class <strong>it </strong>is essential <strong>that </strong>the students take part and increase their performance under the motive of their better evaluation and scoring. For the above reasons and many other <strong>ones</strong>, nowadays, more and more types of courses become more interactive and demand the participation of all, students and teacher.<br>
</p>
Comments: Not bad Gerasimos, but you could have done a lot better, especially by avoiding careless grammatical mistakes. Ask me questions in the evening. Score: 3/5 :-)<br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-51057360490463765372012-11-27T18:16:00.003+02:002012-11-28T20:23:32.933+02:00Mini Test 1, Book - CD, What is your approach to problem-solving, and how does it works for you? Use spedific details to support your response. <p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Nowadays, <strike>the aspects of</strike> life become<strong>s </strong>more and more difficult and complicated <strike>from</strike> day <strong>by</strong> day. To be <strike>more</strike> happy, calm and have a better quality of life is important to invent new problem - solving ways. My most prefer<strong>red/ preferable</strong> personal way to handle life difficulties is a positive approach of <strong>dealing with unpleasant reality (</strong>how I face the problems)<strong>, which is illustrated by the two examples that follow</strong>. <strike>In the following paragraphs I will present two specific examples to support my opinion.</strike><br>
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First of all, every event in our life has at least two sides<strong>; more specifically, </strong> the positive and the negative <strong>one.</strong> Currently, I am trying to find out the positive side, to explore it and finally to solve the problem based on this positive way of thinking. For instance, if my boss fire<strong>s </strong>me, without warning, I will try to see the positive side of his / her <strong>(their) </strong>action. In this example, the positive side contains the opportunity to start a new career or more generally a new life. Perhaps this job did not suit me, so there is a new chance for me to focus <strong>on </strong>another field which <strong>may</strong> finally <strike>will</strike> <strike>be</strike> prov<strong>e </strong>more intriguing. Via this approach I will be guided/ helped/ aided to ameliorate my quality of life based on <strong>a</strong> "negative" event, such as losing my job.<br>
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Additionally, when I am trying to think more positive<strong>ly</strong> for anything in <strike>the</strike> everyday life <strong>it </strong>is easier for me to handle all the difficulties without effort and bad/ <strong><a href="http://thesaurus.com/browse/Spiteful?s=t" target="_blank" title="">spiteful</a></strong> emotions. Simultaneously, this approach gives me the ability to learn from every situation and/ or event and earn more experience and knowledge. To be more specific, I find extremely exciting to manage my feelings and my emotions, mostly <strong>the </strong>bad<em>/ unpleasant/ negative/ pessimistic ones </em><strike>feelings and emotions</strike>, such as sadness, fear or stress. At the beginning, that was very difficult for me and I was striving to handle all these aspects of my personality, but at this period of time I feel more confident and well - prepared to manage serious problems and find a reasonable solution. To use again the <strike>same</strike> aforementioned example, if my boss fire<strong>s </strong>me, I will lead my thought to feel confident and calm because I know who I am. So, problems such as above will not be catastrophic <strike>ally</strike> and disastrous and make me feel unlucky or something similar.<br>
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All in all, <strong>according to</strong> <strike>using</strike> the above-mentioned examples <strong>it </strong>is easy to understand / <strong>becomes evident </strong>that a positive way of thinking is one of the most proper approaches to <strike>manipulate</strike> <strong>handle/ deal with/ cope with (</strong>and solve -> not necessary)a problem. I strongly believe that this approach to problem - solving can guide every person to manage their problems and find an ideal solution without difficulties and effort. (Is widely know) <strong>It is widely acknowledged</strong> that famous leaders all over the world must have the ability to solve every problem via positive thinking if they <strong>wish to successfully face all challenges that arise on the way.</strong> <strike>want to follow a bright career as leaders.</strike></p>
Great attempt Gerasimos! Take a thorough look at my corrections so that we will be able to discuss them tomorrow! Score: 3.5/ 5 :-)<br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-6299463610817340382012-11-14T21:27:00.002+02:002012-11-15T13:50:45.494+02:00Complete test 2, CD Book, 2nd Part<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Every person has <strike>its</strike> <strong>their </strong>type of character. Many charecteristics can describe a personallity. One of them is <strike>the</strike> organization. Some people are organized, while others are not. I firmly believe that organization is very important. Actually, I am an organized person and I could <strike>stated</strike> <strong>illustrate </strong>this with the two following examples.<br>
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First of all, in my everyday life I am trying to organize my schedule for two basic reasons. Firstly, because I can manage <strike>better</strike> all my daily responsibillities <strong>better</strong> and secondly because it is easier for me to handle my timetable better and put inside/ <strong>include or incorporate</strong> my interests and hobbies <strong>in it, </strong>such as scuba diving or cannyo<strong>n</strong>ing. To create a well-structured and functional schedule could be very difficult at the beginning, but <strike>finally</strike> could <strong>finally </strong>relie<strong>ve</strong> us from many problem<strong>s </strong>and strange circumstanc<strong>e</strong>s.<br>
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Secondly, I am trying all the time to be organized because it <strike>is</strike> help<strong>s </strong>me in my professional car<strong>e</strong>er. If I have the abillity to organize my work program and finish all the paper work or all the appointments <strong>on</strong> time, <strike>easily</strike> this could <strong>easily </strong>give me the advantage to buil<strong>d </strong>a very good/ impressive and high-quality resume. To be more specific, if an employe<strong>r</strong> would like to hire a new employee, the most important trait of the candidate should be <strike>the</strike> organization<strong>al skills </strong><strike>between</strike> <strong>among </strong>other <strike>s</strike> characteristics. <strong>It </strong>Is widely known/ evident/ apparent/ obvious that <strong>it</strong> is extremely difficult for anyone to manage all the work without <strong>a proper</strong> plan. <br>
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All in all, I am convinced that one of the most important <strong>personality </strong>characteristics <strike>of a person's personallity</strike> is <strike>the</strike> organization. Most leaders in history were organized and that was one of the main reasons <strike>for which</strike> <strong>why </strong>they could cor<strong>rel</strong>ate power and mind.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Super attempt, Gerasimos! I can see new vocabulary and careful organization, but if you had added a couple more sentences in the main body, your score would be even higher! Keep up practising and I am sure you will make it! :-)</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Score: 3.5/5 </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-11860523260855970802012-11-14T21:25:00.002+02:002012-11-15T13:35:16.512+02:00Complete test 2, CD Book, 1st Part<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In this set of materials, (use commas where necessary) in the reading passage detailed information about two types of motivation are presented and, in the listening passage, well-presented example<strong>s are</strong> illustrated.<br>
<br>
In the reading passage the author fir<strong>stly</strong> explained the term of motivation, which actually is a total of needs and desires that a pe<strong>r</strong>son <strong>has</strong>. Additionally, two subtypes of motivation are presented. The first is the extrinsic motivation and the second is the intrinsic motivation. The extrinsic motivation is the motivation which <strong>is </strong>followed by ext<strong>ernal</strong> rewards or goods, such as money. The intrinsic motivation is <strong>the </strong>individual<strong>'s</strong> need or want to do an action because <strong>it </strong>is satisfactory and enjoyable for themselves. There are possibilities these two motivation subtypes to co-exist <strike>s</strike> in some cases. Finally, the author stated that another effect <strike>is</strike> <strong>can </strong>possibly happen. This effect <strong>is </strong>called overjustification effect and actually happens when the intrinsic motivation decrease<strong>s</strong>.</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br>
In the listening passage the speaker presents a long and detailed example of <strong>the overjustification effect</strong> <strike>this theory</strike>. The example presents/ <strong>is about</strong> the life of Marnie who<strong>, in her teenage years,</strong> <strike>in the teen age</strike> wanted to sing for <strong>her pleasure</strong> <strike>his plaisure</strike>. At the begining <strong>she </strong>did that <strong>at</strong> home or in some social events but later <strong>s</strong>he should do this while <strong>s</strong>he did not want it. Finally, <strike>an huge</strike> <strong>a </strong>company offered h<strong>er a</strong> contract so <strong>s</strong>he could not leave this offer because of the great amount of money. This is the ---> <strong>unfinished explanation! How is this an example of the overjustification effect?</strong></p>
<br/><br/>Score: Great vocabulary, but again some sentences are missing! Practise within the time allotted! 3/5 :-)<br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-74094944873522503232012-11-12T17:28:00.003+02:002012-11-13T13:53:44.217+02:00Gre- Analyze an Argument- Skateboarding at Central Plaza<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><em><strong>Topic: </strong></em>The following appeared as a letter to the editor froma Central Plaza store owner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here,we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."<o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to beanswered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have thepredicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.<o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><br>
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<br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">This statement may seem, in the first place, solid and concrete; however, a more in-depth analysis will reveal many loopholes and obscurities.<o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"><br>
</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">To begin with, the above argument states that because there had been an increas<strong>e</strong> in skateboarding with a parallel decreas<strong>e </strong>in the customers of the Central plaza,skateboarding must <strong>be </strong>prohibit<strong>ed</strong>. It is further stated that this should happen because this is the belief of the store owners. Of course, this view may be true but it needs more pieces of evidence for a stronger support since it is a bit vague.For instance, one could argue that the store owners raised <strike>a lot</strike> their prices <strong>significantly </strong>and therefore their sales dwindled since buyers found shops which charge less.Consequently, fewer cars were circulating near the Plaza’s area and as a result the roads were safer for skateboarding. So, a more thorough <strike>ly</strike> inspection of the situation is needed to be done by the shop owners in order to <strong>be led to the coclusion presented in the argument</strong> <strike>end up with a deduction like this. </strike><o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"><br>
</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What is more, another point of the aforementioned argument is that the shop owners believe that the proliferation of littering and vandalism in the surroundings of the Plaza is caused by the <strong>rise in</strong> <strike>raise of</strike> skateboarding.This idea also<strong> gives rise to</strong> <strike>arises</strike> some questions. For example, is the Plaza properly guarded? Has the Plaza <strong>got </strong>enough janitors? If we think <strong>of</strong> a situation like the one illustrated in the previous paragraph, the shop owners would probably diminish the security or the cleaning services since they have less customers and hence less income. They are not in need of a strict, thorough inspection of the area or the building’s maintenance does not need to take place as regular<strong>ly</strong> as before. This means, of course, that an equal increase in vandalism or even in littering should not raise some eyebrows.Thus, more details, concerning this subject, need to <strong>be </strong>gathered from the shop owners in order for a conclusion to be drawn. <o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br>
</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To sum up, I believe that the above declaration is <strong>vaguely </strong>stated and we need more pieces of evidence to evaluate if it is accurate or not. <strong>Otherwise,</strong> <strike>Else</strike>, if the above <strong>measures</strong> <strike>measurements</strike> are taken, <strike>and</strike> skateboarding is prohibited and nothing changes (with no positive subsequent results), the city will <strong>surely </strong> <strike>probably</strike> be ashamed <strong>by the subsequently </strong>arising queries about its proper management. </span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br>
</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Score: 4.5/6 (very close to 5) Amazing effort Michael! :-)</span><br/><br/></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-63483680713853425712012-11-12T00:18:00.001+02:002012-11-13T13:07:52.257+02:00Gre-Analyze an Argument-TV Station<span lang="EN-US">The following is a memorandum from the business manager of a television station. <o:p></o:p></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">“Over thepast year, our late-night news program has devoted increased time to national news and less time to weather and local news. During this time period, most of the complaints received from viewerswere concerned with our station’s coverage of weather and local news. In addition, local businesses that used toadvertise during our late-night news program have just canceled theiradvertising contracts with us. Therefore, in order to attract more viewers to the program and to avoidlosing any further advertising revenues, we should restore the time devoted to weather and local news to its former level.”</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">Write aresponse in which you:</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">-discuss what specific evidence would be needed in order to evaluate theargument</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">-explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.<o:p></o:p></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">-----------------------------------------</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">This statement may seem, in the first place, to be cogent and convincing; however, a more thorough inspection will reveal many loopholes and implausible arguments.</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">To begin with, it is mentioned that the television station devotes increased time to national news and decreased <strong>time </strong>in weather and local news. This may seem persuasive, but we cannot see anywhere the amount of increase or decrease, respectively.The <strong>TV</strong> station might have increased the national news <strong>for </strong>about 1 <strong>hour</strong> per week while it <strong>may have </strong>decreased the <strike>topical</strike> <strong>local </strong>news and the weather forecasts <strong>for </strong>3 or 4 hours per week. So, the people complained because of the extreme decrease of these broadcasts since they could not really get informed about the weather changes and this finally became a hurdle in their everyday activities. Therefore, it is not confirmed whether this aroused dissatisfaction is due to the different material of the news or to other unrelated causes.</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">What is more, <strike>it is not stated</strike> the number of complaints of these viewers <strong>is not stated</strong>. For instance,were they 100 comments per week or 10000? This kind of detail, of course, could be of <strike>significant</strike> <strong>major </strong>importance in order for a conclusion to be drawn. But even then, we are not <strike>having in our possession</strike> <strong>explicitly told </strong>the number of viewers that watch this specific program at this specific hour. Thus, the number of comments might have been insignificant and since, for instance, the viewership of the channel remains <strong>the same </strong>as the past years, then no changes are <strike>appropriate</strike> to be made in the content of the late-news program.</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">Finally,another aspect of this argument should be examined; <strike>the part</strike> <strong>that </strong>of the fewer advertisers. The commercial part is something that is totally vague. It does not make any sense that <strong>simply </strong>because the advertisers are leaving from this timezone, <strong>the </strong>channel should <strike>change</strike> <strong>give </strong>its news program <strong>its previous form </strong><strike>to the last one</strike>. For example, the channel might have raised a lot its prices and due to this, advertisers started to look for less expensive contracts in other channels. Another case in point could be that since the channel changed the theme of the news to a more national one, the average age of viewers changed. Thus, the marketing departments of the various companies stopped their contracts since their products aim <strong>at </strong>different <strike>target</strike> age group<strong>s </strong>than that of the viewers of the channel. In this case, the <strong>management</strong> <strike>economical</strike> <strike>department</strike> of the station should find new advertisers who prefer this altered kind of viewers. Nevertheless, either ways/ in all occasions, the appropriate department of the channel should run a survey to th<strong>ose</strong> <strike>left</strike> advertisers in order to find out the reasons which they canceled their contracts. Even better, they could ask them what they do not like in the present situation and what the station can do in order to improve <strike>d</strike> it.</span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US"></span><br/><br/><span lang="EN-US">To conclude, I feel that the statement is not concrete for all the aforementioned reasons. The writer of this declaration should refer to more specific details and pieces of evidence, like the ones elaborated on above, in order to make it more persuasive and then proceed in any potential changes in the television station.</span> <br/><br/>Score: 4/6 Well done! <br/><br/></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-64443187914933303372012-11-11T16:01:00.000+02:002012-11-11T23:40:57.844+02:00Complete test 1, Book, First part of writing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set o<b>f</b> materials, in the reading passage the conflict approach is presented and in the listening passage information about <b>the </b>f<b>ul</b>filled approach is illustrated.<br />
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In the reading passage the author presents information about <b>the </b>conflict approach which describes the development of hum<b>an</b> personalities <b>through the choices made daily. </b> <strike>Examples come from everyday life.</strike> People's decision to do or not an action or allow or not some others to do something is the core of this theory. <b>Examples come from everyday life. </b>For instance, if a child do<b>es</b> not want to go to school, but <b>the</b> parents want <b>them to</b>, there is a conflict. The conflict approach is one of the main reasons <strike>for which</strike> <b>why </b>personalities differ. Personal characteristics which change<b>/ vary</b> between individuals are based on conflicts.<br />
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In the listening passage a second approach for hum<b>an </b>development is illustrated. The professor presents the f<b>ul</b>filled theory which is based on a single force of individuals. Everyone needs to have a good and satisfactory life and from this approach <b>a</b> better understanding <b>of</b> how they can do it <b>is derived. --> more explanation needed!</b><br />
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<b>Score: 2.5/5 (If you had given a better explanation in the final paragraph, the score would be much higher! :-)</b><br />
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You can take a look at Ourania's essay on this very topic:<b> </b><br />
<a href="http://markaki-toefl.blogspot.gr/2012/09/complete-test-1.html">http://markaki-toefl.blogspot.gr/2012/09/complete-test-1.html</a><br />
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Michael's essay: <a href="http://markaki-toefl.blogspot.gr/2012/09/complete-test-2.html" target="_blank">http://markaki-toefl.blogspot.gr/2012/09/complete-test-2.html </a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-79998969514305147982012-11-09T22:58:00.002+02:002012-11-12T17:28:41.219+02:00Essay 2-Gre Practice Test 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This argument may seem in the first place cogent and concret<b>e;</b> however, a more thorough inspection will reveal some obscurities.<br />
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To begin with, the evidence that is presented in this statement is a bit vague. It states that fewer people attended Super Screen produced movies. Firstly, we <b>are</b> <strike>do</strike> not inform<b>ed of</b> how much <strike>is</strike> this decrease <b>is</b>. <strike>It is</strike> <b>Is it </b>a 1% or a 10%? This is of great importance in order for a conclusion to be <b>drawn/ reached</b> <strike>made.</strike> For example, a decrease of 1% could be normal in terms of statistical analysis; <b>nonetheless</b>, a 10% <b>reduction </b>could lead us <b>to</b> a different conclusion. <b>For example,</b> <b>one of them could be</b> that people did not want to go to <b>the</b> cinema because the weather was too hot and the temperature would be <b>high</b> inside the movie theater. <b>Therefore, it is not verified whether lesser attendance was due to the films themselves or other unrelated causes. (change paragraph)</b><br />
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Secondly, we do not know <strike>how extent or </strike>what ages were taken into account or where <strike>took place</strike> the survey the marketing department did <b>took place</b>. For instance, if <strike>they did it on more</strike> <b>it was conducted on </b>young ages the year before and <strike>more</strike> older the next such <b>an</b> increase in positive reviews would be normal. Youngsters are more apt to watch an action movie, which usually do<b>es</b> not have a high quality, than a drama <strike>one</strike>. Therefore, an adult would acknowledge <b>more easily</b> a high quality movie than a teenager. So, the marketing department should do a more precise and more exten<b>sive</b> survey while a more in depth analysis should be made about the decrease of viewers.<br />
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What is more, even <b>if </b>all the evidence and assumptions are true, maybe there is no need for an increase in budget for advertising. For example, <strike>maybe</strike> some <b>movie </b>theaters <b>may have</b> stopped <strike>to</strike> having a cooperation<strike>,e.g maybe</strike> <b>because </b>the company <b>has potentially</b> increased the price of movies <strike>with Super Screen production company</strike>. So, the decrease in viewers may <b>have</b> happened due to this. Maybe the company should <strike>check its cooperations with</strike> <b>thoroughly ask the people in charge of </b>the movie theaters and find out why they did not want to have business with it again. <br />
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To conclude, I feel that for all the aforementioned reasons the <b>writer</b> presented <b>are</b> not persuasive enough in order for the Super screen production company to allocate more of its budget <b>o</b>n advertising.<br />
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Comment: Michael be more careful when writing an essay within 30'! Correct grammar and punctuation are vital for a high score! Ask me by email if you don't understand my corrections.<br />
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Score: 3.5/6 </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-50784773013665449992012-11-09T22:57:00.002+02:002012-11-12T17:28:52.082+02:00Essay 1-Gre Practice test 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hardly do people nowadays recognize the importance of cooperation in everyday life. Due to <b>the modern way of living and current working conditions, </b><strike>globalization</strike> people need to <b>daily </b>come in contact <strike>everyday</strike> with many others (because of their work). Thus, I feel that in this enviro<b>n</b>ment having a high sense of cooperation is far better than being competitive.<br />
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Firstly, an important aspect of cooperation is the achievements which <b>it </b>can offer.The more people <strike>they</strike> cooperate, the more eas<b>ily</b> problems can be solved. The more problems can be solved, the higher the benefits will be for the humanity. A case in point is when humans achieved to reach the moon. Then, a lot of different people had to work together. These people were talking different languages, were having different beliefs or religions, <strike>were being</strike> <b>came </b>from unknown nations to each other; however, they managed to cooperate , succe<b>s</b>sfully as it can be seen now, and managed to send humans <b>to</b> the moon. That was one of the greatest achiev<b>e</b>ments of humanity and it <b>w</b>ould not <b>have</b> happened if there <strike>was not instilled in these scientist a team spirit.</strike> <b>had not been a team spirit characterising these teams of scientists.</b><br />
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What is more, if an individual is cooperative,<strike> it enhances</strike> <b>this creates </b>a chirpy <b>working </b>enviro<b>n</b>ment <strike>for working</strike>. A cooperative stance help<b>s</b> people to communicate and since humans are social beings, this makes them happier.The more dolorous the mood in work <b>is</b> <strike>would be</strike>, the less the workers <strike>would</strike> <b>will </b>probably work. This occurs, of course, because when people are sad are less productive <b>than </b>when they are happy. For instance, if someone asks for <b>another person's </b>help and the latter helps him, the former will be <strike>more</strike> happ<b>ier</b> since he will finish his a<b>s</b>signment easy and probably on time. If that happens with all the employees in a company, then a <b>positive atmosphere </b>will exist, <b>encouraging productivity and concentration.</b><br />
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To sum up, I believe that for all the aformentioned reasons cooperation has <strike>many</strike> <b>much </b>more to offer than competition. Society will get many more benefits from instilling a team spirit in its members than a more aggresive one. Therefore, <strike>going with cooperation</strike> <b>being willing to work as part of a team </b>would be the right choice.<br />
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-Paraphraze! Use different words to refer to key concepts!<br />
-Avoid basic grammar mistakes (e.g. modals, conditionals)<br />
-Good examples, though!<br />
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Score: 3.5-4/6</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-6668239515964910882012-11-08T20:26:00.000+02:002012-11-12T17:29:32.724+02:00Gre-Analyze an Argument Task -Essay (Palean Baskets)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.6pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><b><i>Topic:</i></b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Woven baskets characterized by a particular
distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity
of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been
made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered
such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim
River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient
Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found.
Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.6pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to
evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen
the argument.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-------------------</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This argument may seem <b>accurately/ correctly</b> <strike>right </strike>stated in the first place, but, a more
thorough inspection will reveal many obscurities and lack of cogent statements.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.6pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">To begin with, it is stated that woven baskets have only been found in Palea
and, therefore, it is believed that the baskets <strike>are</strike> <b>were </b>made <b>only</b> by the Paleans. This
may appear <b>as a </b>concrete piece of evidence, but it has some vague points. Firstly,
the Palean people might <b>have </b>obtained them as loot during an invasion at a near village.
So, after their invasion they <b>might have </b>destroyed the village and, due to this,
archaeologists were not able to find other baskets in the immediate vicinity of
Palea. (<i>change paragraph now</i>)</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">Secondly, it is not stated how many baskets were found in the area of
Palean village. Thus, two or three baskets cannot prove that these baskets were
made by Palean people. <i>So/ Therefore/ As a result (use formal connectors)</i>, <strike>we cannot say in the first place that it is right
supported</strike> <b>it is inaccurate/ illogical to claim </b>that these baskets were made by <b>the </b>Paleans. The archaeologists,instead,
should search in a <b>w</b>ide area around <strike>the</strike> Palea and if they do not find any
baskets, then (no comma after the connector) they can assume that these baskets <b>were</b> made by <b>the </b>Paleans. Finally,
the other thing archaeologists should do, is to search for paintings that
represented the Paleans making these baskets. It was common for Prehistoric
people to make mural paintings in which they represented aspects from their
everyday life. <i>Even if archaeologists have discovered similar evidence, this has not been clarified by the writer, which renders the argument weak and unconvincing. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What is more, it is stated that a basket <b>was </b>found in Lithos, <b>a different area from Palea,</b> and
<strike>this could not happen</strike> <b>the Paleans cannot have been the cause of this </b>since the Brim river <b>separating the two areas </b>is very deep and broad and no boats
were found. However, the time that the events occurred was many thousands <b>of </b>years
before. Therefore, due to geological changes, the river may then <b>have been</b> narrower
and shallower. Thus, it might <strike>was</strike> <b>have been </b>easy for Paleans to trade them with Lithos’
people without using boats. (change paragraph) </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Furthermore, the fact that no boats were found may <b>have </b>happened for a variety of reasons. The Paleans might ha<b>ve</b> been exceptional sailors or they
might <strike>had</strike> <b>have </b>built a bridge in a narrow part of the river. But even if some boats
sank, they might have been carried away by currents or they might <b>have</b> be<b>en</b> destroyed due to
the erosion which would be signifi<b>c</b>ant due to/ because of the river. The archaelogists, in
this case, have to consult a geologist in order to find out <b>about </b>the geological conditions
that took place in that age and then they can come up with a conclusion.
For example, a geologist may inform them that the Brim river, in that time, had
very strong currents and, therefore, if a boat sank, it would be carried very far
away from the area of Lithos and Palea. Thus, in this case the researchers
should look for remnants of boats in the estuaries of the river and obviously not close to the villages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To conclude, I feel that the statement is not
solid for <b>all </b>the <strike>all</strike> aforementioned reasons. <u>(If I were for the archaeologists, I
would try to find more pieces of evidence, like the ways I proposed, in order
to make it more persuasive.) </u><b>The writer of the argument needs to refer to scientific research and the resulting evidence in the ways elaborated on above to make the argument more persuasive.</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Comment: Well done Michael! That was an amazing first GRE essay! If you had avoided the grammatical mistakes with the modals (modal + have+ past participle to refer to a past event), it would have been even better! :-) Also remember to use formal connectors and change paragraphs more often. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Score: 4.5/6 (Superb!)</span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-49876863311551479582012-11-06T13:57:00.000+02:002012-11-06T13:58:19.469+02:00GRE Analyze an Argument Task <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #660019; line-height: 1.2;">Analyze An Argument Task</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument">www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare/analytical_writing/argument</a><br />
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The Analyze an Argument task assesses your ability to understand, analyze and evaluate arguments and to clearly convey your evaluation in writing. You are presented with a brief passage in which the author makes a case for some course of action or interpretation of events by presenting claims backed by reasons and evidence. Your task is to discuss the logical soundness of the author's case according to the specific instructions by critically examining the line of reasoning and the use of evidence. </div>
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This task requires you to read the argument and instructions carefully. You might want to read the argument more than once and make brief notes about points you want to develop more fully in your response. In reading the argument, you should pay special attention to:</div>
<ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Times; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">what is offered as evidence, support or proof</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">what is explicitly stated, claimed or concluded</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">what is assumed or supposed, perhaps without justification or proof</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">what is not stated, but necessarily follows from what is stated</li>
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In addition, you should consider the <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">structure</em> of the argument — the way in which these elements are linked together to form a <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">line of reasoning</em>; i.e., you should recognize the separate, sometimes implicit steps in the thinking process and consider whether the movement from each step to the next is logically sound. In tracing this line, look for transition words and phrases that suggest the author is attempting to make a logical connection (e.g., <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">however, thus, therefore, evidently, hence, in conclusion</em>).</div>
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An important part of performing well on the Argument task is remembering what you are <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">not</em>being asked to do:</div>
<ul style="border: 0px; font-family: Times; line-height: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You are not being asked to discuss whether the statements in the argument are true or accurate.</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You are not being asked to agree or disagree with the position stated.</li>
<li style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em 2.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You are not being asked to express your own views on the subject being discussed (as you were in the Issue task).</li>
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Sample Topic:</div>
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Woven baskets characterized by a particular distinctive pattern have previously been found only in the immediate vicinity of the prehistoric village of Palea and therefore were believed to have been made only by the Palean people. Recently, however, archaeologists discovered such a "Palean" basket in Lithos, an ancient village across the Brim River from Palea. The Brim River is very deep and broad, and so the ancient Paleans could have crossed it only by boat, and no Palean boats have been found. Thus it follows that the so-called Palean baskets were not uniquely Palean.</div>
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Write a response in which you discuss what specific evidence is needed to evaluate the argument and explain how the evidence would weaken or strengthen the argument.</div>
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Christina Markoulakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-36874040905671612912012-11-06T13:49:00.002+02:002012-11-12T17:29:08.172+02:00New words for GRE Practice Test 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Repudiate = <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">refuse</span> to accept or be <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">associated</span> with:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> she has repudiated <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">policies</span> associated with <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">previous</span> party leaders</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1284387.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1284387.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">deny <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the truth</span> or validity <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the minister repudiated allegations of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">human rights</span> abuses</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1284387.003"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">chiefly Law </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">refuse</span> to fulfill or discharge (an agreement, obligation, or debt):</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">breach</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> a condition gives the other party the right to repudiate a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">contract</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1284387.004"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(esp. in the past or in <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">non-Christian</span> religions) divorce (one's wife).</span></span><br />
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Confound: 1 <span id="m_en_us1235298.001"><span role="text">cause surprise <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">confusion</span> in (someone), esp. by acting against their <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">expectations</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the inflation figure confounded <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">economic</span> analysts</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1"><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1235298.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">prove (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">theory</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">expectation</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">prediction</span>) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">wrong</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the rise <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">prices</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">confounded</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">expectations</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1235298.003"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">defeat</span> (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">plan</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">aim</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">hope</span>):</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">we</span> will confound these tactics by the <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">pressure groups</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1235298.004"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">archaic </span></span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">overthrow</span> (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">an</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">enemy</span>). </span></span></span><span d:abs="1">2 <span id="m_en_us1235298.005"><span role="text">(often be confounded <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">with</span>) </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">mix up</span> (something) with something else so that <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> individual elements become difficult to distinguish:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> '<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">nuke</span>' is now a cooking technique, as microwave radiation is <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">confounded</span> with nuclear radiation</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Facetious [fuh-see-shuh s] = treating serious issues with <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">deliberately</span> inappropriate humor; flippant.</div>
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Theorem= a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">general</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">proposition</span> not self-evident but proved by a chain <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">reasoning</span>; a truth established by means of accepted <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">truths</span>.</div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1298197.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1298197.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">rule</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">algebra</span> or other branches of mathematics <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">expressed</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">by</span> symbols or formulae.</span></span></div>
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Hand-wringing= 1) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> clasping together and squeezing of one's hands, esp. <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">when</span> distressed or worried, 2) <span role="text">an <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">excessive</span> display of concern or distress:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> his customary <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">handwringing</span> about the need for more local aid</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Opaque to sb= 1) <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">not</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">able</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">to be</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">seen</span> through; not transparent:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the windows were opaque with <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">steam</span></span><span d:priority="2">., 2) </span></span><span role="text">(esp. of language) hard <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> impossible to understand; unfathomable:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> technical <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">jargon</span> that was opaque to her</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Primed for= 1 <span id="m_en_us1280699.001">make (something) ready for use or action, </span>2 <span id="m_en_us1280699.008"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">prepare</span> (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">someone</span>) for a situation or task, typically by <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">supplying</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">them</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">with</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">relevant</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">information</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2" role="text"> [ with obj. and infinitive ] </span><span d:priority="2">: the <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">sentries</span> had <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">been</span> primed to admit him without challenge</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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Arcane= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">understood</span> by <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">few</span>; mysterious or secret:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> modern math and its arcane notation</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Collude in= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">come to</span> a secret understanding for a harmful purpose; conspire:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> university leaders colluded in price-rigging</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">president</span> accused his opponents of colluding with foreigners</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Construe= 1) <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">interpret</span> (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a word</span> or action) in a particular way:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> his words could <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">hardly</span> be construed as an apology</span><span d:priority="2">. 2) (</span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1235551.002"><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">dated) </span></span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">analyze</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> syntax of (a text, sentence, or word):</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> both verbs can be <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">construed</span> with either infinitive</span><span d:priority="2">., 3)</span></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1235551.003"><span role="text"> (</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">dated) </span></span><span role="text">translate (a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">passage</span> or author) word for word, typically aloud.</span></span></div>
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Anoint= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">smear</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> rub with oil, typically as part of a religious <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">ceremony</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">high priests</span> were anointed with oil</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> bodies were anointed after death for <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">burial</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1221995.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1221995.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(anoint something with) </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">smear</span> or rub something with (any other substance):</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> Cuna Indians <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">anoint</span> the tips of their arrows with poison</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span d:abs="1" d:priority="2"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1221995.003"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">ceremonially confer divine or holy office <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">upon</span> (a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">priest</span> or monarch) by smearing or rubbing with oil:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> Lord <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">has</span>anointed me to preach to the poor</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2" role="text"> [ with obj. andcomplement ] </span><span d:priority="2">: Samuel anointed him king</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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<span d:abs="1" d:priority="2"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1221995.004"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">nominate or choose (someone) as successor to or leading candidate for a position:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> he was anointed as the organizational candidate of the party</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"> (as adj. anointed) <span d:priority="2">: his officially anointed heir</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span><br />
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Peddle= <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; font-weight: bold;">1. </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">to</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">carry</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">(small</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">articles,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">goods,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">wares,</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">etc.)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">from</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">place</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">to</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">place</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; cursor: default; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">for</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">sale</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">at</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">retail;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">hawk.</span><br />
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<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword">2.</span></span><br />
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<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">deal</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">out,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">distribute,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">dispense,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">especially</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">small </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">quantities:</span> </span><span class="ital-inline" style="display: inline; font-family: Georgia, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: italic;"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">peddle</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">radical</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">ideas.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="dnindex" style="color: #7b7b7b; display: block; float: left; font-weight: bold; width: 28px;"><span id="hotword">3.</span></span><br />
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<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">sell</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">(drugs)</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword" style="cursor: default;">illicitly.</span></span></div>
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Vintage= 1) (noun) <span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1304321.001"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">year</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> place in which wine, esp. wine of high quality, was produced.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">a wine of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">high quality</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">made</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">from</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> crop of a single identified district in a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">good</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">year</span>.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.003"><span role="text">• (</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">literary) </span></span><span role="text">wine.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.004"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">the harvesting of grapes for winemaking.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.005"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">the grapes or wine produced in a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">particular</span> season.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.006"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">the time that something of quality was produced:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> rifles of various sizes and vintages</span></span></span></div>
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<span role="text">2)(adjective) </span><span id="m_en_us1304321.007"><span role="text">of, relating to, or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">denoting</span> wine of high quality:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">vintage</span> claret</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304321.008"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">denoting something of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">high quality</span>, esp. something from the past or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">characteristic</span> of the best period of a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">person</span>'s work:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> a vintage Sherlock Holmes adventure</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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Balloon= <span role="text">verb</span><span d:priority="2" role="text"> [ no obj. ]</span></div>
1 <span id="m_en_us1224613.005"><span role="text">swell out in a spherical shape; billow:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the trousers ballooned out below his waist</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2" role="text"> [ with obj. ] </span><span d:priority="2">: the wind ballooned her sleeves</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1224613.006"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(of an amount of money) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">increase</span> rapidly:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the company's debt has ballooned in the last five <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">years</span></span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"> (as adj. ballooning) <span d:priority="2">:ballooning government <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">spending</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1224613.008"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(of a person) increase rapidly and dramatically in weight:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> I had ballooned on the school's starchy diet</span><span d:priority="2">. </span></span></span>2 <span id="m_en_us1224613.009"><span role="text">travel by hot-air balloon:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> he <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">is</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">famous</span> for ballooning across oceans</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span><br />
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Naiveté= <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">naivety</span> </div>
<span role="text">(noun) </span><span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1270368.001"><span role="text">lack <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">experience</span>, wisdom, or judgment:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the administration's <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">naiveté</span> and inexperience in foreign policy</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1270368.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">innocence or unsophistication:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> they took advantage of his naiveté and deep pockets</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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Vexation= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">state</span> of being annoyed, frustrated, or worried:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> Jenny bit her lip in vexation</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1304056.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1304056.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">something that causes annoyance, frustration, or worry:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">the cares and vexations of life</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
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Ebullient (<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">ɪˈbʌl yənt) </span>= 1 <span id="m_en_us1242963.001"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">cheerful</span> and full of energy:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> she sounded ebullient and happy</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1"></span><span d:abs="1">2 <span id="m_en_us1242963.002"><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">archaic</span> </span>or <span d:priority="2">literary </span></span><span role="text">(of liquid or matter) boiling or agitated as if <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">boiling</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> misted and <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">ebullient</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">seas</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Glum= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">looking</span> or feeling dejected; morose, very sad:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> they looked glum but later cheered up</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Garrulous= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">excessively</span> talkative, esp. on trivial matters:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> Polonius is portrayed as a foolish, garrulous old man</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Solicitous= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">characterized</span> by or showing interest or concern:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> she was <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">always</span> solicitous about the welfare of her students</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> a solicitous <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">inquiry</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1292243.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1292243.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">archaic </span></span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">eager</span> or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">anxious</span> to do something:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> he was solicitous to cultivate her mamma's good <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">opinion</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span><br />
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Munificent= <span role="text">(<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">gift</span> or sum of money) larger or more generous than is usual or necessary:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> a munificent gesture</span><span d:priority="2">. </span></span><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(of a person) very generous.</span></div>
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Taciturn= (<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">person</span>) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.</div>
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Fastidious= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">very</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">attentive</span> to and concerned about accuracy and detail:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2">he chooses his words with fastidious care</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1246365.001"><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1246365.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">very concerned about matters of cleanliness:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the child seemed fastidious about getting her fingers sticky or dirty</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span><br />
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Laconic= <span role="text">(of a person, speech, or style <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">writing</span>) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">using</span> very few words:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> his laconic reply <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">suggested</span> a lack <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of interest</span> in the topic</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Mendacity= <span role="text">untruthfulness:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> people publicly castigated for past mendacity</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Prevarication= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">speaking</span> or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">acting</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">an</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">evasive</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">way</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">he</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">seemed</span> to prevaricate when <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">journalists</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">asked</span> pointed <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">questions</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Baseness= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">lack</span> of moral principles; bad character:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the baseness of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">human nature</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Avarice= <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">extreme</span> greed for wealth or material gain.</div>
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Probate = <span role="text">the official proving of a will:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> the will was in probate</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2" role="text"> [ as modifier ] </span><span d:priority="2">: a probate court</span><span d:priority="2">. </span></span><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> verified copy of a will with a certificate as handed to the <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">executors</span>.</span></div>
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<span role="text"><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">verb</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">(used</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">with</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">object) </span></span>4. <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">establish</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">authenticity</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">validity</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">(a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">will). </span>5.</span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Law.</span> </span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">put</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">(an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">offender)</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">on</span> </span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/probation">probation</a>-> (noun)</div>
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<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">act</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">testing.</span></li>
<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">testing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">trial</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">person's</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">conduct,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">character,</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">qualifications,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">like.</span></li>
<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">state</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">period</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">such</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">testing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">trial.</span></li>
<li>Law. a. <span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">method</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">dealing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">with</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">offenders,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">especially</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">young </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">persons</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">guilty</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">minor</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">crimes</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">first</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">offenses,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">allowing</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">them</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">go</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">at</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">large</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">under</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">supervision</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a </span></span><a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/probation%20officer">probation officer</a><span id="hotword">. </span><span id="hotword">b. </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">state</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">having</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">been</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">conditionally</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">released. </span></li>
<li><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Education</span> </span><span id="hotword">. </span><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">trial</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">period</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">condition</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">students</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">certain </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">educational</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">institutions</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">who</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">are</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">being</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">permitted</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">redeem </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">failures,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">misconduct,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">etc.</span></span></li>
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<span role="text">Inventory= </span><span d:ps="1">noun</span><span d:priority="2"> ( pl. inventories )</span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="m_en_us1258890.001"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">contents</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">building</span>.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1258890.002"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">quantity</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">goods</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">held</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in stock</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">our</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">warehouse</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">you'll</span> find a <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">large</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">inventory</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">new</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">and</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">used</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">bicycles</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:abs="1" d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1258890.003"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">(in <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">accounting</span>) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">entire</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">stock</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">business</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">including </span>materials, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">components</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">work</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">in progress</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">and</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">finished </span>products.</span></span><span role="text"><span d:ps="1">verb</span><span d:priority="2"> ( <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">inventories</span>, inventoried ) </span></span><span d:priority="2" role="text">[ <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">with</span> obj. ]</span><span id="m_en_us1258890.004"><span role="text">make a complete <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">list</span> of.</span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1258890.005"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text">enter in a list:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">about</span> forty possible sites <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">were</span> inventoried</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></span><br />
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Earthenware= <span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">pottery</span> made of clay fired to a porous state that can be <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">made</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">impervious</span> to liquids by the use of a glaze:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> an <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">earthenware</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">jug</span></span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span></div>
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Mundane= 1 <span id="m_en_us1269926.001"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">lacking</span> interest or excitement; dull:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> seeking a way out of his <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">mundane</span>, humdrum existence</span><span d:priority="2">. </span></span></span>2 <span id="m_en_us1269926.002"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">this</span> earthly world <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">rather</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">than</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">a</span> heavenly <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> spiritual <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">one</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">boundaries</span> of the <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">mundane</span> world</span><span d:priority="2">.</span></span><span role="text"></span></span><span d:priority="2" id="m_en_us1269926.003"><span role="text">• </span><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">of</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">relating</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">to</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">denoting</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">the</span> branch of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">astrology</span> that <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">deals</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">with</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">political</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">social</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">economic</span>, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">and</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">geophysical </span><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">events</span> and <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">processes</span>.</span></span></div>
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Secular= 1 <span id="m_en_us1288478.001"><span role="text"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">denoting</span> attitudes, <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">activities</span>, or other things that have no <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">religious</span> or spiritual <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">basis</span>:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">secular</span> buildings</span><span d:priority="2"> |</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> secular moral theory</span><span d:priority="2">.</span><span d:priority="2"></span></span><span role="text"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">Contrasted</span> with <a href="x-dictionary:r:m_en_us1286534:com.apple.dictionary.NOAD">sacred</a>.</span></span></div>
<span d:abs="1" id="DWS-198332"></span><span d:abs="1" id="DWS-197429">2 <span id="m_en_us1288478.002"><span role="text">Christian Church </span><span role="text">(of <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">clergy</span>) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">not</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">subject to</span> or bound by religious rule; not <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">belonging</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">to</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">or</span> living in a monastic or other order.</span><span role="text"> Contrasted with <a href="x-dictionary:r:m_en_us1283968:com.apple.dictionary.NOAD">regular</a>. </span></span></span><span d:abs="1" id="DWS-198333">3 <span id="m_en_us1288478.003"><span role="text">Astronomy </span><span role="text">of or denoting slow <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">changes</span> in the motion of the sun or planets. </span></span></span><span d:abs="1" id="DWS-198334">4 <span id="m_en_us1288478.004"><span role="text">Economics </span><span role="text">(of a fluctuation or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">trend</span>) <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">occurring</span> or persisting over an indefinitely long period:</span><span role="text"><span d:priority="2"> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">there</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">is</span> evidence that the slump is not cyclical but secular</span><span d:priority="2">. </span></span></span></span><span d:abs="1" id="DWS-198335">5 <span id="m_en_us1288478.005"><span role="text">occurring once every century or <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">similarly</span> long period (used esp. in reference to celebratory <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">games</span> in ancient Rome).</span></span></span></div>
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Duplicity= [doo-plis-i-tee] <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/help/luna/Spell_pron_key.html" target="_blank"></a> </div>
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<ol>
<li><span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">deceitfulness</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">speech</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">conduct,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">by</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">speaking</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">acting </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">two</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">different</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">ways</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">to</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">different</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">people</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">concerning</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">same</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">matter;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">double-dealing.</span> </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Synonyms:</span> <span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">deceit,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">deception,</span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">dissimulation,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">fraud,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">guile,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">hypocrisy,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">trickery.</span> </span>Antonyms:<span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">candidness,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">directness,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">honesty,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">straightforwardness.</span></span></li>
<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">act</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">instance</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">such</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">deceitfulness.</span></li>
<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">Law.</span> <span id="hotword"><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">act</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">fact</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">including</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">two</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">more</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">offenses</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">in</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">one </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">count,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">charge,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">as</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">part</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">an</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">indictment,</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">thus</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">violating</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">the </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">requirement</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">that</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">each</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">count</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">contain</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">only</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">a</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">single</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">offense.</span></span></li>
<li><span id="hotword" name="hotword">the</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">state</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">quality</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">of</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">having</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">two</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">elements</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">parts;</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">being </span><span id="hotword" name="hotword">two fold</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">or</span> <span id="hotword" name="hotword">double.</span></li>
</ol>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Noteworthy-Light; font-size: 15px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
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Christina Markoulakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-50203199939252128812012-11-05T22:08:00.001+02:002012-11-08T01:50:15.163+02:00Mini test 7 , Writing, p. 406<p dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In/ <strong>Concerning</strong> this set of materials, in the reading passage information about Type I Supernova is illustrated and in the listening passage the speaker presents information about Type II Supernova.</p>
First of all, in the reading passage, detailed information about Type II Supernova is presented. Briefly, Type II Supernova occurs when a double-star system explodes in space. This system consists of one small star which <strong><em>is </em></strong>called "white dwarf " and a larger star which is the companion star. The white dwarf become<strong>s </strong>larger and larger until its mass becomes approximately equal to 1/4 times the mass of sun and then touch<strong>es</strong> the companion star. When this happens, the two stars explode <strike>s</strike> creat<strong>ing </strong>a chaotic explosion. Type II Supernova <strike>was</strike> <strong>has been </strong>visible to the naked eye two times in recorded history, in 1572 and in 1604. <br/><br/>Additionally, in the listening the professor presents detailed information for Type II <strong>(Type 1, not type 2) </strong>Supernova which occurs when one large single star is in the process of d<strong>yi</strong>ng . This single star has 10 times larger mass than the sun. The Type II Supernova phenomenon occurs when the core of this star become<strong>s</strong> extremely hot. After this procedure the star explodes catastrophically. This phenomenon was visible from earth to the naked eye in 1054, in China and in 1987. <strike>There were more than these two times when</strike> The same event <strong>has been </strong>visible <strong>in different times of history, </strong>but these two (<strong>the latter/ the aforementioned) </strong><strike>were</strike> <strong>have been the most </strong>remarkable <strike>in history</strike>.<br/><br/>Comments: Great work Gerasimos! All information is accurate- try to avoid some grammatical mistakes. <br/><br/>Score: 3/5 :-)<br/><br/>More information about supernovae:<font face="Helvetica"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469);"> </span></font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova" target="_blank" title="">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernova</a><br/><br/>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-5306608042126634702012-10-28T18:21:00.000+02:002012-10-30T13:57:19.680+02:00Complete Writing 2(cd) -Part 2-Some people are very organized, while other people are not so organized. Which type of person are you? Support your response with specific examples. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hardly do
people realize the importance of organization. Time is money and by having a
proper organization people can save themselves from a lot of problems. <strike>So, if
it is not clear until now,</strike> <span style="color: red;">Therefore, </span>I firmly believe that organization is what matters
most.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First of
all, if an individual is organized can save a lot of time. It may <strike>be waste of</strike> <span style="color: red;">take a considerable amount of </span>time to organize at first but then, when the time comes, they will be ready for
<strike>anything it </strike><span style="color: red;">any problem that may </span>arise. <strike>Concerning me</strike> <span style="color: red;">As far as I am concerned, a </span>case in point is when I try to keep an
organized library. It may seem pointless at first to keep the books organized/ filed/ ordered alphabetically, by subject and by language,but, when I need something specific
I know exactly where I can find it. It is like when I am in a library and I
know where <strike>is</strike> each section <span style="color: red;">is</span>, where <strike>are</strike> the foreign <span style="color: red;">language </span>books <span style="color: red;">are </span>and in what order. The
whole search<strike>ing part</strike> lasts <span style="color: red;">for </span>only a <span style="color: red;">few</span> minutes <span style="color: red;">in case such preparation has preceded it</span>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What is
more, another aspect of organization is in a company when each employee has to
do <span style="color: red;">some</span> work. If no one does their work properly, the company will <span style="color: red;">go </span>bankrupt. For
instance, the mailman should deliver the mails and <strike>do</strike> not print copies or an
accountant should do the logistics and <strike>do </strike>not interfere with the work of the
secretaries. If this <span style="color: red;">does </span>not happen, then the company will be unorganized and
nothing will work properly and smoothly.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">For all the
aforementioned reasons, I believe that a person should be organized,like I am,
or at least try to cultivate this skill since they can save themselves from a
lot of troub<span style="color: red;">le.</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red;">Michael, that was a personal question again! Answer by explaining what type of person you are and by giving some examples of what you do daily that prove your point. Do you want to re-write the essay as you said? I am pretty positive you can do much more!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: red;">Score: 2/5 :-)</span></span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-5692329827103857382012-10-28T18:15:00.001+02:002012-10-30T13:38:32.379+02:00Complete Writing 2(cd) -Part 1- Motivation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set
of materials the reading passage
discusses about the motivation and how its different types are classified,
while in the listening passage a professor adds an example on this subject/ topic.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Firstly,
the reading passage explains what exactly motivation is and how it is
categorized. It is the sum of needs and wants that cause a person to act and it
is classified in extrinsic and intrinsic. The extrinsic <span style="color: red;">one takes place</span> when an individual
derives their reward from outside, like money, while the intrinsic<span style="color: red;">ally motivated people </span>derive their motivation from inside, like a desire for satisfaction. Then, the
passage adds another term, " the overjustification effect", which in
fact is the decrease in intrinsic motivation of an individual and equal
increase in their extrinsic motivation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What is
more, in the listening passage, an example is presented in order <span style="color: red;">for</span> <strike>to be
clarified</strike> the overjustification effect </span><span style="color: red;">to be clarified</span>. <span style="color: red;">According to this example, </span>Marnie was a teenager <strike>person</strike> who loved
to sing and <strike>she</strike> was looking forward to have a chance to give a performance. As
the time passed and she gr<span style="color: red;">e</span>w up, she did not derive <strike>d</strike> much pleasure from singing, since she was expected to sing. So, her intrinsic motivation started to
decrease. Then, one day a music contract was offered <span style="color: red;">to</span> her which <strike>offered her</strike> <span style="color: red;">meant a lot of</span> money. The responsible choice was to sign it in order to be <strike>ensured</strike>
financially <span style="color: red;">secure</span>. However, this decreased even more her intrinsic motivation and
raised the extrinsic one. <br />
<br />
Well done Michael! 4/5! ;-)</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-73382738703039034652012-10-28T16:06:00.001+02:002012-10-30T13:14:57.392+02:00Catch 22-Writing part 1-pg375<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set
of materials, the reading passage discusses a novel “Catch-22” while in the
listening passage a professor explains its impact on modern American
vocabulary.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Firstly, in
the reading passage, <strike>is presented</strike> the novel and a few aspects of author’s,
Joseph Heller<span style="color: red;">'s</span>, life <span style="color: red;">are</span></span><span style="color: red;"> presented</span>. This novel is a black comedy about military life that
illustrates a character who is in the army and <span style="color: red;">is </span>furiously trying to avoid to
kill and being killed. The author ,<strike>during the developing of</strike> <span style="color: red;">when writing </span>this novel, <strike>had been using</strike> <span style="color: red;">used </span>his experiences that he had obtained <strike>at the</strike> <span style="color: red;">in </span>World War 2. Also, it is further stated in the text that,
at first, the novel was <strike>infamous</strike> <span style="color: red;">greatly criticised </span>since it seemed to present a cowardly protagonist, but
then, when an unpopular war arose, it got <strike>its</strike> <span style="color: red;">the </span>recognition it deserved.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What is
more, in the listening passage a lecturer explains what the title of the novel
means and why it is used in every day vocabulary. He states that, like the
character in the novel, when a situation demands from an individual to <span style="color: red;">choose which path to follow</span> <strike>follow a
specific path</strike>, <span style="color: red;">even though there</span> is no <span style="color: red;">easy </span>way out, it is a catch.<u> (what is the catch the protagonist faced? explain here)</u> Finally, he also <span style="color: red;">makes</span> <strike>does </strike>a comment on the
number 22 in the title, which at first was 14 and finally became 22, which in fact represents the unlimited catches in our life and that this is only <strike>the catch with the</strike> number 22 <span style="color: red;">in a series of catches. </span> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Important explanation missing here, Michael!</span><br />
Score: 3/5 :-)</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-51731220128461198562012-10-26T22:26:00.002+03:002012-10-27T22:32:24.235+03:00Complete test 2- Writing Part 2-What are the characteristics of a good leader?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hardly do people realize nowadays the importance of a good leader. A good leader is someone that can succeed into unit<span style="color: red;">ing</span> people and <span style="color: red;">making</span> incredible achiev<span style="color: red;">e</span>ments <span style="color: red;">alt</span>ogether. I believe that some of the characteristics a potential leader should have is to have vision and to be fair with the people that work under his leadership.<br />
<br />
Firstly, more than everything, a boss should have vision. This is very important since the greater <strike>is</strike> his vision <span style="color: red;">is, </span>the better his employees will work. The employees will work better and faster since they know that everything they do is for a reason. They know that their work will affect someone else's life and that their effort is not fruitless since their boss leads to a great acomplishment. A case in point is <strike>in </strike> <span style="color: red;">pharmaceutics </span>where a good leader will have an idea for a new cheap drug that will save millions of lives. However, this drug will be very complex and will need a lot of work to be produced. Then the researchers will put more effort on this project if they see that their leader tru<span style="color: red;">ly</span> believes in it. The more passionate the latter will be <span style="color: red;">about</span> his vision, the more passionate will be his researchers <span style="color: red;">about</span> their work. <br />
<br />
Secondly, another important characteristic that a leader should fulfill is to be fair with his employees or with the people that work for him. The fair<span style="color: red;">er</span> is he, the <strike>more</strike> chirp<span style="color: red;">ier</span> environment/ atmosphere will exist. Therefore, if a happy <strike>labor </strike><span style="color: red;">work </span>environment exists, employees will be more peaceful and more productive. Thus, they will work more and better. For instance, in the example that was presented in the last paragraph, a good leader should congratulate<strike>s</strike> and give raises to productive employees, while he may do the exact opposite with the unproductive ones. Then, all the employees will do their best since they will know that he is not unfair/ he is not partial.<br />
<br />
For all the aforementioned reasons, I believe that these<span style="color: red;"> are the essential</span> characteristics <strike>are these</strike> that a good leader should have and that every potential leader may try to have/ acquire/ cultivate.<br />
<br />
Superb!!! 4/5 again!!!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-23075192226938269672012-10-26T22:26:00.001+03:002012-10-27T22:49:54.299+03:00Complete test 2, Writing, Question 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"To lead a team <span style="color: red;">one</span> must try hard" said Prof Johnson one my favorite Professors in University. In other words, he was trying to explain <span style="color: red;">to </span>us that <strike>the</strike> success comes only if someone tries hard. <strike>As</strike> <span style="color: red;">The </span>more people you lead / he leads <i>(refer to the leader in only one way),</i> <span style="color: red;">the</span> more difficult <span style="color: red;">it </span>is. Characteristics of a good leader should harmonically correlate together to help him reach<strike> the </strike>success. Some of these <strike>I will try to</strike> <span style="color: red;">are </span>present below.<br />
<br />
First of all, a good leader should be risky but at the same time safe/ <span style="color: red;">cautious</span> enough in his decisions . That means/ <span style="color: red;">this can be illustrated by the fact that,</span> if someone wants to be the best leader he should be care<span style="color: red;">ful </span>when <span style="color: red;">he </span>takes a decision. On the one hand, this decision would lead the team safely but, on the other hand, the same decision should be risky enough to lead them <span style="color: red;">to the</span> top. For instance, a good company manager should (unfinished paragraph)<br />
<br />
In addition, another positive characteristic of a good leader should be the ability to prevent/ avoid <strike>the</strike> future facts(?? problems/ obstacles). To be more specific, a leader should understand and analyse all <strike>the paragons</strike> <span style="color: red;">factors/ parameters </span>carefully and at the end find the be<span style="color: red;">st</span> solution for future problems without effort. For example, <span style="color: red;">the </span>Prime Minister of Greece ten years ago should ha<span style="color: red;">ve foreseen and</span> prevented the currrent economic<strike>al</strike> crisis to keep <strike>safe</strike> his country <span style="color: red;">safe</span>.<br />
<br />
All the aforementioned statements and examples explain and present two of the most usef<span style="color: red;">ul</span> characteristis of a good leader. I firmly believe that Prof Johnson was right because <span style="color: red;">it</span> is very easy to go on top but <span style="color: red;">it</span> is extremely difficult to stay there.<br />
<br />
Gerasime, that was a great first attempt, but you needed some more sentences in the main body (300 words in total). Also, bear in mind that you are writing a formal essay, not an article, so references to Professor Johnson are not appropriate. We will talk about it further in the next lesson. Keep practising! :-)<br />
<br />
Score: 2.5/ 5 </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-19703337131918361422012-10-26T21:52:00.005+03:002012-10-27T23:01:31.478+03:00Complete test 2-Writing Part 1-Problem with high drop-out rate from high school<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set of materials, the reading passage discusses a problem with high drop-out rate from a high school and a measure that was taken to solve/ face this, while the listening passage presents the results of this measure.<br />
<br />
Firstly, the reading passage presents the problem which <strike>had</strike> the Hamilton School District <span style="color: red;">had, which</span> was the high drop-out rate of the students during<strike> the </strike>High school that was happening due to their social promotion from the teachers. The district in order to make them more prepared for their next years in school decided to test all the students at the end of sixth grade. The <span style="color: red;">expected </span>outcomes <strike>,which were expected, </strike>were that teachers would stop the pointless social promotions and that students would be better prepared for their next years due to the preparation for the exams. Finally, another <span style="color: red;">desired </span>outcome was that due to all these more students would finish <strike>the</strike> high school.<br />
<br />
However, in the listening passage a professor discusses the actual outcomes and therefore the reasons the exams <strike>were have</strike> <span style="color: red;">had </span>to stopped. Firstly, the district found out that the social promotions did <span style="color: red;">not (no short forms)</span> stop at classes 1 to 5 while the same number of students, that had been promoted, did not manage to pass the exams at sixth grade. So, since the more students had to stay in junior <span style="color: red;">high </span>school and do more years in order to <span style="color: red;">get </span>prepared for the exams, less students were managing (managed) to get into high school and then <strike>managing</strike> to graduate. So <strike>the</strike> graduations were minimized. <br />
<br />
Comment: The point about social promotion by teachers was a bit confusing- the rest was OK!<br />
<br />
Score: 3.5/5 :-)<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-30111618281967096332012-10-26T21:52:00.003+03:002012-10-27T23:09:15.094+03:00Complete test 2, Writing, Question 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this set of materials <strike>are illustrated</strike> a problem, <strike>and</strike> t<span style="color: red;">h</span>ree solutions and its, after ten years, results <span style="color: red;">are illustrated, all of </span>which <span style="color: red;">concern</span> Hamilton School District <strike>faced</strike> (during academic years).<br />
<br />
First of all, the reading passage illustrates the serious problem of Hamilton school. The district realised that the problem of increased drop-out rate due to social promotion had to be solved. They decided to test all the students firstly at the end of each academic year but finally at the <span style="color: red;">end</span> of the sixth grade to confirm the students' ability and read<span style="color: red;">i</span>ness <strike>among</strike> <span style="color: red;">for </span>high school years. Moreover, <strike>are presented </strike>three solutions <span style="color: red;">are presented, the application of</span> which <strike>they are waiting</strike> <span style="color: red;">was expected to bring </span>positive outcomes. Firstly, <strike>they</strike><span style="color: red;"> it was expected</span> that the social program would end. Secondly, that <strike>the</strike> most students would be more prepared and ready for <strike>the</strike> high school and, thirdly, that most of <span style="color: red;">the</span> students would graduate.<br />
<br />
Although <span style="color: red;">the </span>listening passage presents the same aspect of the subject, <span style="color: red;">it </span>actually illustrates the results of the district's solution which <span style="color: red;">were</span> not the desirable. To be more specific, the speaker presents three results in contrast to <span style="color: red;">the</span> three prefer<span style="color: red;">red</span> District outcomes. Firslty, he refers <span style="color: red;">to the fact </span>that most of <span style="color: red;">the </span>students failed in final exams because of previous (unfinished paragraph).<br />
<br />
Comment: Gerasime, you ran out of time, right? Try to practise more within the time allotted- it is one of the main difficulties of the test! Keep trying!<br />
<br />
Score: 2/5 :-) </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-54075615578947541332012-10-25T12:03:00.001+03:002012-10-25T12:04:13.982+03:00Online registration for the TOEFL exams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://toefl-registration.ets.org/TOEFLWeb/extISERLogonPrompt.do" target="_blank">https://toefl-registration.ets.org/TOEFLWeb/extISERLogonPrompt.do </a></div>
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Christina Markoulakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06460428861771429571noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99345492601656968.post-52543124627002356202012-10-24T13:20:00.000+03:002012-10-25T11:50:47.184+03:00Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “It is better to be safe than sorry.” Use reasons and examples to support your response. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Nowadays a
lot of people like to take risks in order to have better outcomes in their
life. Still, others do not like to take their chances and want to play it safe.
I believe that the answer is like a double edged sword. It is not always good
to take risks and then be sorry; however, it is fruitless to constantly be
cautious and act safe.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">First of
all, in econo<b>mic</b> sciences, serious profits usually come with equal <strike>big</strike> risk<b>y</b> choices. It is a law of economics that the higher risk is taken the higher
<strike>would be</strike> the outcome </span><b>would be</b>. A case in point is in a stock market in which the more
shares are obtained the more <strike>is</strike> the profit <b>is</b>. In fact, the outcome could be even more
<strike>adequate </strike><b>satisfactory </b>if, <strike>by</strike> <b>in </b>some way, the risks were
minimized. --> (now you talk about playing it safe which is not the topic of this paragraph). In the last example, this is represented by the fact that a possible
investor knows information, like <b>exactly </b>when a company <b>is going to </b>introduce a new product in the
public, which lead<b>s</b> their decision into buying the proper share. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However,
play<b>ing</b> it safe has also its benefits. Immense risk taking could be a problem
since the result <strike>it </strike>is not always guaranteed. Risk, in other words, is like
gambling; the one day it may offer a lot, but, the other <strike>day</strike> may be proved an
incredibl<b>y</b> big loss. (More specifically-> not needed) the example mentioned in the previous
paragraph clearly illustrates this point. A high number of shares may give a vast
amount of wealth, but, at the same time, could lead a potential individual into
bankruptcy. Then, having taken precautions could be very advantageous in case of
an unexpected disaster like this. So, having saved some money for emergencies
could be proved very helpful. Thus, this is another point in which playing it
safe is beneficial. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">For all the
aforementioned reasons, I feel that sometimes it is better to be sorry having
taken some risks, but, at some others cases it is better to play it safe by taking
careful decisions. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Comments: Simply WOW! You gave the examples you wanted very successfully! You took a risk by referring extensively to economics, but you reaped the benefits! --> 4/5! Well done! Great vocabulary and organization.</span></div>
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