ridiculous

 ridiculous

= something that is very silly, absurd, or unreasonable, often causing laughter or disbelief because it is so strange or foolish

It was ridiculous how long the line was at the campus cafeteria.

Susan thought it was ridiculous to carry heavy books all day.

Mark thought the idea of racing without training was ridiculous.

The price for that old car seemed ridiculous to Mark.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "ridiculous":

Synonyms:

absurd

silly

ludicrous

preposterous

Antonyms:

reasonable

sensible

logical

serious

Multiple Choice Question:

Question: What does "ridiculous" mean?

A) Very serious

B) Very silly

C) Very fast

D) Very smart

The Lifetime Pizza Promise

Susan sat through her morning lecture like a dedicated student, taking notes and nodding at all the right moments. When the professor finally finished, she rushed to the front and bombarded him with so many questions that he probably regretted ever teaching that class. By the time Susan escaped, the clock struck one, and the campus was eerily quiet. All her classmates had vanished into the lunch crowd, leaving her to eat alone. "No big deal," she sighed, "I am my own best company."

She marched to the cafeteria, but it was ridiculous how long the line was at the campus cafeteria. Students snaked around tables like hungry penguins. Susan's stomach growled louder than her last exam grade. She was about to give up when she spotted Mark, the successful businessman, shaking hands with the professor near the exit. They were finalizing some mysterious business deal that probably involved selling textbooks at triple the price.

Susan waited patiently. The moment Mark waved goodbye to the professor, she pounced. "Mark! Remember your promise? Lifetime pizza reward!" Mark checked his expensive watch, sighed dramatically, and said, "Fine, but my sports car has a strict no-whining policy."

They zoomed off to the fanciest pizza house in town. Two hours later, Susan realized she had completely missed her afternoon lectures. Mark had skipped an entire afternoon of work. As they wiped tomato sauce from their faces, Mark smiled and said, "Well, I didn't get any work done, but it's always good to talk with a creative person like you, Susan!" Susan grinned. Some rewards were worth the chaos.

Question 1:

Why did Susan decide to leave the campus cafeteria without buying lunch?

A) Because Chloe called her to eat at a fancy restaurant.

B) Because the pizza house was giving away free food.

C) Because the line was too long and she felt very hungry.

D) Because Mark told her the cafeteria food was terrible.

Question 2:

In the sentence "It was ridiculous how long the line was at the campus cafeteria," the word ridiculous means the line was ______.

A) surprisingly short and easy

B) silly and unreasonably long

C) full of funny jokes

D) moving very quickly

cite

 cite

= to quote or reference a source

Mark must cite the book before he mentions its data.

Mark will cite the study when he talks about performance training.

Susan needs to cite her sources for the university essay.

Susan must cite the article she used for her nutrition facts.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "cite":

Synonyms:

reference

quote

acknowledge

document

Antonyms:

omit

ignore

withhold

conceal

Question: What does "cite" mean in essays?

A) Skip source

B) Quote or cite source

C) Hide evidence

D) Ignore references

The Great Holiday Debate

Mark, a very successful businessman, and his girlfriend Chloe were sitting in a local cafe, aggressively planning their next holiday. Susan, a university student studying at the next table, couldn't help but eavesdrop on their ridiculous conversation.

"We absolutely have to go to Italy!" Chloe declared, waving her menu in the air. "I want to eat a giant mountain of pizza, take glamorous selfies at the Colosseum, and watch Ronaldinho play soccer live!"

"Ronaldinho?" Mark scoffed, adjusting his expensive tie. "Honey, he is Brazilian, and he retired years ago!"

"Actually, he just came out of retirement to play in Italy's Serie C!" Susan interrupted from the next table, looking up from her textbook. "It's huge news!"

Chloe smirked triumphantly at Mark. However, not wanting to lose the argument, Mark cited a few reasons why he didn’t want to travel to Italy for his holiday.

"Even if Ronaldinho is back, my main concern is public safety," Mark said sternly. "There is so much shoplifting and robbery happening over there!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh, we won't use any luxury things when traveling to Italy. It will be fine! Maybe we can wear the cheapest digital watch, wear a broken shirt, and rent a lemon car to travel around Italy. I believe it is very safe, honey!"

Mark gasped in horror. "As a very successful businessman, I don't want to wear the cheapest digital watch, wear a broken shirt, and even drive a lemon car to travel! If my important Italian clients saw me in this kind of form, they will think I went broke and cancel all the contracts with me. It'll be a disaster, Chloe!"

Chloe pondered a lot and didn't know how to reply because the money in their minds really mattered.

Then, Mark had an idea and said, "Why not go to Dubai? The oil is much cheaper than water. We can rent lots of supercars to drive!"

Chloe replied, "Oh, come on. It's way too hot there, we can't survive!"

Then, after lots of hours of discussions, they still didn't decide where they should go for their holiday! Susan packed her books and left, chuckling at the hopeless couple.

Questions

1. How did Mark learn that Ronaldinho was playing soccer in Italy again?

A) Mark told her while they were eating pizza.

B) Susan, the university student, mentioned that he came out of retirement to play in Serie C.

C) An Italian client called Mark to give him the news.

D) She read about it in a travel brochure for Dubai. 

2. The word "cite" means to quote or reference a source or a reason. Which of the following sentences uses the word "cite" correctly?

A) The scientist cited a famous research paper to support his new theory.

B) I need to cite my bicycle to the mechanic because the brakes are broken.

C) She cited the birthday cake into eight equal pieces for the guests.

D) The teacher asked the students to cite loudly so she could hear their voices.

amble

 

amble

= to walk at a slow and relaxed pace 

慢慢走／閒逛／悠閒地走；

Mark always ambles along the beach when he needs to clear his mind.

Mark 當他需要放空、整理思緒時，總會慢慢地沿著海灘走。

After dinner, my parents ambled through the park to enjoy the cool evening air.

吃完晚飯後，我的父母悠閒地在公園散步，享受涼爽的夜晚空氣。

The dog ambled happily beside its owner as they strolled through the neighborhood.

他們在社區裡散步時，那隻狗開心地跟在主人旁邊慢慢走。

He often ambles through the art gallery, letting the paintings inspire his creativity.

他常常在美術館裡慢慢閒逛，讓那些畫作啟發他的創意。

Some synonyms and antonyms for "amble":

Synonyms

Stroll 

Walk 

Wander 

Antonyms

Rush

Sprint 

Hasten  

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

Which of the following best describes the meaning of "amble"?

A) To walk briskly with a sense of urgency

B) To stroll leisurely in a relaxed manner

C) To run quickly in a competitive manner

D) To wander aimlessly without purpose

revelation

 revelation

= the act of revealing or disclosing something 

The financial report contained a revelation that surprised Mark.

Mark’s running coach gave him a revelation about his technique.

The documentary offered new revelations about the case.

The revelation of the truth shocked everyone.

Some synonyms and antonyms for "revelation":

Synonyms:

disclosure

unveiling

announcement

exposure

Antonyms:

concealment

secrecy

hiding

suppression

Question:

What does "revelation" most closely mean?

A) Hiding information

B) Revealing something new

C) Forgetting something

D) Ignoring facts

The Chairman’s Luxury Expense

Mark was a successful businessman who wanted to grow his fortune. He spent weeks researching listed companies to find the perfect investment. Finally, he found a company that seemed amazing and decided to buy its stock.

He sat down with a hot cup of coffee to read the annual report. However, as he flipped through the pages, the financial report contained a revelation that surprised Mark.

In the report, the chairman proudly wrote, "To serve our important clients better, I just bought a luxury yacht using the company’s money! It cost over a million dollars, but every client was super satisfied when signing deals on the water!"

Mark blinked in disbelief, but it got worse. The chairman added, "Time is money! So, I also used company funds to buy a private plane. Now I can fly across countries to check on our business. It's really worth it!"

Mark almost choked on his coffee. Buying a yacht and a plane with company money was completely absurd! Feeling totally confused and panicked, Mark rushed to ask Susan, a smart university student, for help.

Susan read the report, burst out laughing, and said, "Mark, you shouldn't buy this stock! The chairman isn't managing a company; he's planning his dream vacation!"

Mark canceled his stock purchase immediately. He was so relieved that he took his girlfriend, Chloe, out for a romantic dinner instead—and he made sure to pay with his own money!

Questions

1. Why did Mark decide not to buy the stock in the end?

A) The company was losing money on all of its deals.

B) Susan convinced him that the chairman was spending company funds on personal luxuries.

C) Chloe told him to spend his money on a romantic dinner instead.

D) The annual report was far too difficult for him to read.

2. Which sentence correctly uses the word "revelation" as used in the story?

A) The sudden revelation that the bakery was closing made everyone sad.

B) Mark decided to revelation a new private jet for his personal business trips.

C) The chairman was very revelation about how much money the yacht cost.

D) Susan revelation the financial report to help Mark understand it.

analogy

 analogy

= a comparison between two things that are alike in some way

Mark used an analogy to explain his business strategy clearly.

Mark compared his sports car's speed to a cheetah using an analogy.

Susan made an analogy about friendship growing like plants.

Susan gave an analogy comparing university challenges to climbing hills.

Some synonyms and antonyms for analogy:

Synonyms:

comparison

parallel

correspondence

similarity

Antonyms:

difference

contrast

disparity

dissimilarity

Question:

What is an analogy?

A) A difference between things

B) A direct comparison of similar things

C) An unrelated statement

D) A fact only about science

The Secret Weapon of Team Susan

When Susan walked into the university, she saw something exciting on the notice board: a robot running competition! Although she studied literature, not engineering, she immediately asked two stressed-out engineering classmates to join her team.

Creating the robot was a total disaster. Screws flew everywhere, wires caught fire, and the robot’s leg fell off three times. Her teammates wanted to give up, but Susan cheered them up. Susan gave an analogy comparing university challenges to climbing hills. "If we fall down, we just crawl up!" she cheered.

On the night before the race, the robot still refused to move. It just sat there like a metal potato. Everyone was sad, but Susan smiled. “Don’t worry! I have a secret weapon. I’ll call my millionaire uncle!”

She called Mark, a successful businessman with lots of coding experience. “Mark, I have a mission for you!” Susan shouted.

Mark sighed on the phone, "Oh, what's up, Susan Bond? Any award this time?"

After hearing her desperate plea, Mark agreed to help. Mark’s girlfriend, Chloe, even brought them pizza while Mark stayed up all night programming a dynamic new chip. By morning, the robot was fully alive and wildly energetic.

At the final race, their tiny robot zoomed past the finish line so fast that it melted its own rubber wheels. They won first place, beating the robot of the engineering professors! Susan hugged her team and shouted, "Never underestimate a literature student with a millionaire on speed dial!"

Questions

1. According to the story, why did Susan use an analogy about climbing hills?

A. To teach her teammates how to hike safely near the campus.

B. To encourage her frustrated teammates not to give up on the robot.

C. To explain why the robot needed stronger legs to run uphill.

D. To show her teammates that engineering is easier than climbing mountains.

2. Which sentence uses the word "analogy" correctly based on its meaning?

A. Susan bought an analogy from the store to fix the broken robot chip.

B. Mark used an analogy to fast-forward the robot to the finish line.

C. The teacher drew an analogy between a computer brain and the human mind to help students understand.

D. They won the competition because their robot had the fastest analogy in the race.