characterize

 characterize

= to describe the main qualities or characteristics of something, often in a way that helps you understand what it’s like

Mark characterizes his leadership style as calm and decisive. 

Mark characterizes his IT work as creative and problem-solving.

Susan characterizes college life as exciting and full of new chances. 

Susan characterizes sports as something that makes her feel confident.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "characterize":

Synonyms:

describe

define

depict

portray

Antonyms:

ignore

overlook

obscure

misrepresent

Question: Which sentence best uses “characterize” to mean “describe the main qualities”?

A) The report characterizes her as late for work.

B) The report ignores her schedule.

C) The report hides her qualities.

D) The report misrepresents her completely.

The Calm, the Crazy, and the Comeback

Mark characterizes his leadership style as calm and decisive, whether steering his tech startup or dodging falling popcorn at a stadium.

Today, Mark proudly announced to his girlfriend Chloe and her hyperactive niece Susan, "I’ll bet $1000 that the Mud-Puddle Rovers will win this football race!"

"Kids read this column, Mark. Keep it legal," Chloe sighed, adjusting her sunglasses.

Roaring in his shiny red sports car, Mark parked next to a tractor. Inside, Susan poked a broken plastic seat and groaned, "All the seats are busted. You're broke, Mark."

By halftime, the Rovers trailed 0-2. Beads of sweat dotted Mark’s brow. "Susan Bond, losing is not an option. Ideas?"

Susan grinned, pulling out a tactical clipboard. "Plan A: Cut the stadium power. Plan B: Weather-drones with giant magnets. Plan C: I sub in and score blindfolded. Plan D: Unleash 50 robot rabbits with laser-nibbles!"

Mark gasped, "Pure tactical genius!"

"Relax," Chloe said calmly, sipping juice. "Their star striker enters now."

True to Chloe’s word, the star striker waddled in, scored three chaotic goals, and snatched a 3–2 victory. Mark cashed his winnings, and they celebrated over luxury burgers.

Questions

1. Which sentence best describes Mark’s leadership style based on the story?

A) Panicky and disorganized when things go wrong in business and sports.

B) Calm and decisive, applying the same steady mindset to real life and work.

C) Silent and invisible, letting everyone else make decisions.

D) Aggressive and illegal, relying on robot rabbit attacks.

2. Which of the following sentences uses the word characterize correctly according to the provided definition?

A) The chef decided to characterize the beef stew into the oven for two hours.

B) Critics characterize the sci-fi novel as a wild mix of bad science and great humor.

C) I need to characterize my shoes before it starts raining outside.

D) She tried to characterize the bus stop by running very fast past it.

claim

 claim

= to say something is true (often without proof)

Mark claims his sports car is the fastest in his city.

Mark claims fishing on weekends reduces his stress.

Susan claims she found a secret spot for snacks near class. 

Susan claims she studied harder than everyone last week.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "claim":

Synonyms:

assert

state

declare

maintain

Antonyms:

deny

refute

contradict

retract

 

Question: Mark __ he solved the bug last night.

A) claims

B) denies

C) apologizes

D) forgets

The World's Most Useful Sports Car

Mark claims his sports car is the fastest in his city. He spent a fortune on the shiny red engine, the leather seats, and a giant spoiler that looked like a giant flying wing. However, his girlfriend, Chloe, was not impressed at all.

"So? You want to win the GT championship?" Chloe asked, rolling her eyes as Mark polished the vehicle for the third time that morning.

Mark felt sad and replied, "Oh, come on, honey! My car is the best!"

Chloe just sighed. A fast car could not pay the bills or clean the house, so it was completely meaningless to her. She turned around and walked into the kitchen to cook their lunch. She was preparing a massive, mouth-watering grilled chicken.

Suddenly, disaster struck! The heavy chicken slipped out of Chloe’s hands. As she tried to catch it mid-air, she slipped on the greasy floor, fell hard, and twisted her ankle badly.

Mark heard the loud crash and ran into the kitchen. "Oh my god, honey! Are you ok?" he shouted.

Chloe shouted with pain, "Call an ambulance! Quick!"

Mark calmly replied, "No need, let me use my supercar to drive you to the hospital!"

Mark picked up Chloe, carried her outside, and strapped her into the passenger seat. He hit the start button, and the engine roared like a hungry lion. Mark zoomed through the traffic, dodging slow trucks and making sharp turns. Trees and buildings turned into a blurry red streak outside the window.

Within just three minutes, they slammed to a halt right in front of the emergency room. The doctors rushed Chloe inside to treat her ankle.

While resting on the hospital bed, Chloe looked at Mark with a whole new perspective. She finally realized that a high-performance car could actually save the day.

Mark smiled gently and said to Chloe, "No worries—just get well soon."

Chloe chuckled, "Next time, just promise to use all that speed to pick up takeout instead of sending me to the hospital!"

Questions

1. According to the story, why did Chloe change her mind about Mark’s sports car?

A) Mark used it to win a professional GT championship race.

B) Mark drove her to the hospital extremely fast after she got hurt.

C) The car had very comfortable leather seats that healed her ankle.

D) Mark promised to sell the car to buy her a giant grilled chicken.

2. The word "claim" means to say something is true, often without proof. Which sentence below uses the word "claim" correctly?

A) Ben claims that he can jump over a five-foot fence, but nobody has ever seen him do it.

B) Ben claims his dinner very fast because he was extremely hungry after school.

C) Ben claims to the hospital yesterday to visit his injured friend.

D) Ben claims a red sports car along the highway to get home quickly.

citation

 citation

= proof of where something came from—like a link or reference showing the information isn’t just your own guess

Mark added a citation to credit the author of his fishing tips.

Mark used a citation to support his weekend meditation article.

Susan included a citation so her class essay looked credible.

Susan used a citation so her teacher could verify her facts.

Some synonyms and antonyms for “citation”:

Synonyms:

reference

source

footnote

acknowledgment

Antonyms:

no source

unverified claim

no reference

unsupported statement

Question: In writing, what does a citation mainly do?

A) Shows the source

B) Changes the facts

C) Deletes the quote

D) Makes it longer

The Pizza Paper

Susan, a hardworking university student, was typing furiously on her laptop. Finally, she hit the print button. Susan included a citation so her class essay looked credible. She really wanted to impress her strict teacher!

She proudly showed the freshly printed paper to Mark, a successful businessman, who was visiting town with his elegant girlfriend, Chloe.

Then, she gave it to Mark and Mark replied, "Oh, let me see... Wow, it's incredible! You did a great job."

Susan stretched her arms and smiled brightly. "My class essay is finally completed! Time to relax!"

To celebrate her hard work, Mark, Chloe, and Susan went to a famous local Italian restaurant to eat pizza. When the waiter brought their steaming hot meal, Susan looked a bit disappointed.

Susan said, "The pizza without pineapple and sausage looks pale... It is just cheese and tomato."

Mark, who loved traditional food, smiled. "No, please try. It is a classic Margherita pizza."

Then, Susan eagerly picked up a slice. She tried it, but suddenly, a huge, hot string of melted cheese dropped down directly onto her printed essay! She had placed it on the table to keep it safe.

"Oh no!" Susan gasped, trying to wipe the yellow grease off her hard work.

Mark laughed out loud. "Your essay is also hungry, just let it have a bite!"

Chloe giggled, but Susan was panicking. However, it seemed the essay was too dirty to hand in to the professor. Sadly, the class started in twenty minutes, so it was hard to print it again and hand in the essay on time.

Susan felt frustrated, looked at the greasy orange stain, and said, "Umm... I hope the professor won't mind."

Then, she ran to the university and handed it in.

After a few days, her professor handed out all the graded essays to the classmates. He stopped at Susan's desk and replied to Susan loudly, "I am always hungry when I hold your essay. It seems delicious! Susan, thank you very much!"

The entire classroom erupted in laughter. Susan felt deeply embarrassed and made sure this kind of thing would never happen again!

Questions

1. Why did the professor say Susan's essay made him hungry?

A) Because Susan wrote her whole essay about Italian restaurants.

B) Because Mark and Chloe bought the professor a slice of pizza.

C) Because the essay had a big, greasy pizza cheese stain on it.

D) Because the professor forgot to eat breakfast before class.

2. Read this sentence from the story: "Susan included a citation so her class essay looked credible." Based on the provided definition, what does the word "citation" mean?

A) A type of melted cheese used on traditional Italian pizza.

B) A funny joke told by a successful businessman.

C) A proof or reference showing where the information came from.

D) A small spelling mistake made by a university student.

ultimately

 

ultimately

= finally 

最終／終究;

The police went after him, but ultimately he remained at large.

警方追捕他，但最終他仍然逍遙法外。

Mark worked hard for years, and ultimately, his efforts paid off.

Mark 努力了多年，最後他的付出終於有了回報。

Susan tried several diets, but ultimately decided to seek professional help.

Susan 嘗試了好幾種飲食方式，最終決定尋求專業協助。

The charity event was delayed for more than a month, but ultimately, it turned out to be a success.  

慈善活動延遲了超過一個月，但最後證明還是成功了。

Some synonyms and antonyms for "ultimately":

Synonyms:

Finally

Eventually

In the end 

Antonyms:

Initially 

First 

At the start

#English #Vocabulary #EnglishLearning #Grammar #英単語 #英語学習 #TOEIC #IELTS

What does "ultimately" mean?

A) At the beginning

B) In the end

C) Occasionally

D) For a short time

foreshadow

 foreshadow

= to hint at or suggest something that will happen later, especially in a story

The dark clouds foreshadowed rain during Mark’s weekend run.

A sudden drop in sales foreshadowed trouble for Mark’s business.

Mark’s new investment foreshadowed another successful year.

The delicious smell from the café foreshadowed a tasty lunch for Susan.

Some synonyms and antonyms for “foreshadow”:

Synonyms:

Foretell

Predict

Portend

Presage

Antonyms:

Follow

Succeed

Result

Postdate

Question: What does “foreshadow” mean?

A) Hint at what comes later

B) Explain what happened before

C) Hide something from view

D) Change something completely  

The Jogging Trap

Mark was a successful businessman and a professional runner who loved spending his weekends running for meditation. On a sunny Saturday morning, Mark prepared to go jogging by himself. Before he left, he asked his robotic clone, robot Mark—who spent Fridays handling corporate meetings so the real Mark could enjoy free time—about the weather.

The robot Mark sighed, "No worries, it is pretty good. No rain and a bit of cloud cover the sun. It is perfect for your running practice."

Mark replied, "I see. Great... See you then."

He stepped outside and began his usual routine. However, the dark clouds foreshadowed rain during Mark’s weekend run. Within ten minutes, he noticed the gloomy sky. Soon, the rain poured heavily, and Mark had nowhere to hide or shed water.

Completely soaked, he looked like a walking sponge. Instead of turning back, Mark kept running because he refused to waste his precious schedule. After a grueling hour of practice, he finally squished his way back home.

The moment he stepped inside, Mark walked to the living room window to check the sky. To his utter shock, the sun was shining brightly, as if it were mocking him!

Robot Mark rolled over on metallic wheels, holding a cup of hot coffee. "Did you enjoy your spontaneous swimming session?"

Mark glared at his robot, wondering if his next weekend meditation should involve reprogramming artificial intelligence.

Question 1

Why did Mark keep running even after the heavy rain started?

A) He wanted to test his waterproof running shoes.

B) He did not want to waste his scheduled running time.

C) He was trying to catch up with his niece, Susan.

D) Robot Mark forced him to stay outside.

Question 2

Based on the story, which of the following best defines the word foreshadowed as used in the sentence "The dark clouds foreshadowed rain during Mark’s weekend run"?

A) To hide or block completely from view

B) To cause something to happen immediately

C) To act as a warning or hint of something that will happen later

D) To clear away bad weather quickly