Group Class Notes (Vocabulary)(Raph)

Original:

A Bad Day at Work

Jason is having a terrible day at the office today. He has piles of paperwork to do and his coworker called in sick. Also, his boss is out of town on a business trip and unreachable. Some clients have been calling all day trying to talk to him, and Jason just doesn’t know what to tell them. What a terrible day!

Upgraded:

A / One Bad / terrible / not good / horrible / horrific / dreadful Day at Work / job / the office

Jason is having / experiencing a terrible day at the office today. He has piles / a lot / lots / a crazy number of paperwork / documents / papers / files to do, and his coworker / colleague called in sick / asked for a sick leave. Also / And / In addition to that / Additionally / Furthermore / Besides, his boss / leader / manager / supervisor / director is out of town / away / in another city on a business / work / commercial trip / voyage / journey / tour and unreachable / unavailable. Some / several / numerous / many clients / customers have been calling / making phone calls / phoning all day trying / attempting to talk to / contact / communicate with / reach him, and Jason just doesn’t know / has no idea / is unsure what to tell them. What a terrible day!

Vocabulary

Synonym (n): 1- a word or phrase that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.
E.g.: The words “small” and “little” are synonyms.
E.g.: “Incorrect” is a synonym of “wrong”.

Antonym (n): 1- a word or phrase that has the opposite meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.
E.g.: “Big” and “small” are antonyms.
E.g.: “Rich” is an antonym of “poor”.

Reach (v): 1- to communicate with someone in a different place, especially by phone or email:
E.g.: I’ve been trying to reach you on the phone all day.
E.g.: I couldn’t reach you all day.
E.g.: I couldn’t reach my mom last week when I called her.
E.g.: Her parents started to worry when they couldn’t reach her on her cell.

Unreachable (adj): 1- unable to be reached or contacted.
E.g.: Have you heard from Mike? I’ve been trying to talk to him, but he’s been unreachable all day.
E.g.: Carol has been unreachable since she went on a business trip last week.
E.g.: He’s always unreachable when he’s playing computer games.

Coworker (n): 1- a person who works with you; colleague.
E.g.: I went for lunch with my coworkers today.
E.g.: It is a difficult project, but luckily my coworker is helping me with it.
E.g.: My coworker always helps me with my work.

Pile (n): 1- a number of objects, put one on top of the other. 2- a lot of something.
E.g.: He took the books and put them in a pile on his desk.
E.g.: I’ve got piles/a pile of things to do today.
E.g.: My boss has given me a pile of things to finish.
E.g.: My husband left me piles of dishes to wash!

Horrific (adj): 1- very bad and shocking:
E.g.: There was a horrific accident on Huaihai road today.
E.g.: He was accused of a horrific crime.
E.g.: The weather was horrific last winter in Minnesota.
E.g.: I had a horrific nightmare last night.

Dreadful (adj): 1- something terrible, that causes fear, shock, or suffering.
E.g.: The news report was so dreadful that I just had to switch it off.
E.g.: The dreadful events of that day will never be forgotten.
E.g.: The consequences could be dreadful.
E.g.: That dreadful movie made me have a horrific nightmare.

Furthermore (adv): 1- in addition; more importantly.
E.g.: The house is beautiful. Furthermore, it’s in a great location.
E.g.: I didn’t go because of the weather. Furthermore, I didn’t want to go.
E.g.: I think she is a great teacher. Furthermore, she’s very fun to talk to.
E.g.: I believe this is a great plan. Furthermore, it will save us a lot of money.

Voyage (n): 1- a long journey.
E.g.: He was a young sailor on his first sea voyage.
E.g.: The long voyage will always be something we will remember.

Numerous (adj): 1- many.
E.g.: We have discussed these plans on numerous occasions.
E.g.: The report contains numerous mistakes.
E.g.: There are numerous reasons why the project has failed.
E.g.: Numerous people attended the event.
E.g.: I have numerous mugs from Starbucks.
E.g.: I have numerous things to do tonight.

Attempt (v): 1- to try to do something, especially something difficult:
E.g.: He attempted to escape through a window.
E.g.: He attempted a joke, but no one laughed.
E.g.: There’s no point in even attempting an explanation – he’ll never listen.
E.g.: I attempted to reach him, but his phone was powered off.
E.g.: I’m attempting to make a sentence, but it’s difficult.