English 1 Week 6: Advanced Vocabulary & Reading
1. Advanced Vocabulary Bank
| Word | Meaning | Synonym |
|---|---|---|
| Honour | To bring dignity or respect to | Ennoble |
| Expedite | To make a process happen sooner/faster | Hasten, Speed up |
| Refurbish | To renovate or give a new look | Renovate, Restore |
| Impulsive | Doing things suddenly without thought | Rash, Spontaneous |
| Combat | To take action to reduce/destroy | Fight, Battle |
| Reluctantly | With hesitation or unwillingness | Hesitantly |
| Vague | Unclear or undefined | Unclear (Antonym: Clear) |
| Devilry | Wicked activity or mischief | Mischief |
2. Reading Strategy: Context Clues
When you see a new word, look at the surrounding words to guess its meaning.
Example: “The Athenians refurbished their weapons and moved to the plain of Marathon.”
- Clues: “Weapons”, “Moved to plain” (War context).
- Guess: You don’t throw away weapons before war, you fix or improve them.
- Meaning: To give a new look / strengthen.
Example: “As the summer progressed, so did our game.”
- Clues: “Summer”, “Game”.
- Meaning: Moved forward, continued, developed.
3. Practice Set
- “To make an action happen sooner”: Expedite.
- Antonym of Vague: Clear.
- Meaning of Devilry: Wicked activity.
🧠Level Up: Advanced Practice
Question 1: Context Clues
Problem: “The cacophony of the market made it hard to hear.” Meaning: Loud, confusing noise. Clue: “Hard to hear”.
Question 2: Synonyms
Problem: Synonym for Ameliorate?
- (a) Worsen
- (b) Improve Answer: Improve.
Question 3: Tone Identification
Problem: “The author’s description of the war was harrowing.” Tone: Serious, disturbing, intense.