VIP Class Notes (Raph)[S]

Vocabulary

Consecutive (adj): 1- Consecutive events, numbers, etc. follow one after another without an interruption.
E.g.: This is the fifth consecutive weekend that I’ve spent working.
E.g.: Unemployment has risen again for the third consecutive month.

Pseudo- (prefix)pretended and not real.
E.g.: He got into a pseudo-religious group that changed his views completely.
E.g.: He’s just another pseudo-intellectual who doesn’t actually know anything.

Reign (n/v): 1- to be the ruler of a country. 2- to be the main feeling or quality in a situation or person.
E.g.: Queen Victoria reigned over Britain from 1837 to 1901.
E.g.: The bomb attacks produced a panic which reigned over the city.

Pantheon (n): 1- a small group of people who are the most famous, important, and admired in their particular area of activity:
E.g.: Malcolm X definitely has a place in the pantheon of black civil rights heroes.

Herald (v): 1- to be a sign that something important, and often good, is starting to happen, or to make something publicly known, especially by celebrating or praising it.
E.g.: The president’s speech heralds a new era in foreign policy.
E.g.: This drug has been heralded as a major breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer.

Original:

It’s a story about a man who changed his last name to his wife’s last name, which caused a big stir. He made this decision because his wife has a daughter in a previous relationship and this girl told him that she didn’t want to go to school with a different name and this guy can understand her feelings. He didn’t mention his plans to his family, because he thought it was not a big deal, but when his father and brother find out that he changed his name on Facebook they felt very angry and unhappy. His dad told him that it was a big slap for him and the family, but the most surprising reaction came from his workplace. One of his bosses find out he changed his name and said he should consult him before he changed his name, otherwise it might bring some bad influence to the business of the company, because the clients may assume that he is a same-sex marriage and the boss suggested the guy changing his signature in the email to make it clearly that he married a woman.

Edited:

I read a story on BBC about a man who changed his last name to his wife’s last name, which caused a big stir. He made this decision because his wife’s daughter from a previous relationship told him that she didn’t want to go to school because she had a different name from his. He took action without mentioning his plans to his family, because he thought it was not a big deal, but when his father and brother found out that he had changed his name on Facebook, they felt very angry and unhappy. His dad told him that it was a big slap on his and the family’s faces. The most surprising reaction, though, came from his workplace. One of his bosses found out he changed his name and said he should have consulted him before doing it. He argued that this might bring some bad influence to the  company’s business, because the clients may assume that he is in a same-sex marriage. The boss then suggested that he should change his email signature to make it clear that he is married to a woman.

Pronunciation

Felt: /felt/

Military: ˈmɪl.ə.ter.i/

Ally: /ˈæl.aɪ/

Consecutive: /kənˈsek.jə.t̬ɪv/

Pseudo-: /suː.doʊ-/

Pantheon: /ˈpæn.θi.ɑːn/

Reign: /reɪn/

Herald: /ˈher.əld/