A Game of Checkers

Words to know comfort (n.) = physically or mentally relaxed state news commentator (n.) = a news broadcaster terrorist (n.) = a person who kills, kidnaps, or bombs certain (adj.) = particular rude comments (n.ph.) = impolite sayings apparently (adj.) = clearly; evidently speller (n.) = someone who spells a name or word spray-painted (v.) = painted with spray property (n.) = wealth; belonging; possession apologizing (v.) = expressing regret or sorrow

Words to know (2) errors (n.) = mistakes preventable (adj.) = can be prevented inserting (v.) = putting in priceless (adj.) = very valuable bypassing (v.) = avoiding dealing with costly (adj.) = expensive nervous (adj.) = worried purchasing (v.) = buying perceived (v.) = thought alleged (adj.) = accused but not proven

Words to know (3) file (v.) = make something officially lawsuit (n.) = a case in court of law levy (v.) = demand penalties (n.) = punishments reluctant (adj.) = unwilling; hesitant expose (v.) = involve outlets (n.) = sources employ (v.) = hire relatively (adv.) = nearly; almost script (n.) = written version; account; story

Words to know (4) manuscript (n.) = handwritten version assigned (v.) = given; allotted accuracy (n.) = correctness sequence (n.) = series; order quotations (n.) = words or phrases from a book ignored (v.) = unaware; uninformed; not know find out (v.) = learn; study; search ethical (adj.) = moral; knowing what is right or wrong accurate (adj.) = correct involves (v.) = concerns

Words to know (5) copy (n.) = written material submit (v.) = send; turn in; hand in copy editor (n.) = a person whose job is to correct written material before publishing occasionally (adv.) = sometimes severe (adj.) = serious; critical; undesirable time restrictions (n.) = time limits pressing (adj.) = needing immediate act legendary (adj.) = old (story) thoroughness (n.) = care and completeness

Words to know (6) reputation (n.) = high quality; fame declined (v.) = worsen emphasizing (v.) = focusing restore (v.) = bring back glory (n.) = fame; reputation; admiration rumor (n.) = gossip gestured (v.) = expressed emotions eager (adj.) = anxious granted (v.) = admitted; accepted stepping-stone (n.) = a way to achieve something

Words to know (7) eliminated (v.) = removed; ridded afford (v.) = let something happen slipped through (v.) = dropped out; thrown away account (n.) = story; written paper sparked (v.) = started; caused riots (n.) = disorders; mobs; violence evidence (n.) = proof; support statements (n.) = expressions; saying; utterances verify (v.) = confirm eventually (adv.) = finally

Words to know (8) retracted (v.) = withdrew; removed indication (n.) = a sign damage (n.) = drawback; deterioration vital (adj.) = essential; necessary; important amended (v.) = corrected consequently (adv.) = so; as a result circulated (v.) = spread; distributed realm (n.) = radius; reach; range

Exercises Reading comprehension 1. F2. T3. T4. F5.F 6. T7. F8. T9. T 10.T Reading strategy The Voricks a. – b. The Voricks buy the house and the alleged “terrorist” moves elsewhere. c. A news commentator says on TV that a terrorist lives at the Voricks’ address. d. People harass (annoy) the Voricks

Exercises (2) The New Yorker a. The magazine is known for good fact-checking. b. The quality of fact-checking declines. c. – d. The fact-checking department becomes famous once again.

Exercises (3) The Newsweek story a. A single source tells the magazine about misbehavior by soldiers. b. Newsweek publishes a story about it. c. Riots over the report kill more than a dozen people. d. Nobody can be found to confirm the story.

Exercises (4) Step I Vocabulary: Word level 1. clearly2. expert 3. admit4. unethically 5. hopes6. amended 7. submitted to8. accept

Explanation of words seemingly = apparently = evidently (adv.) seemingly = appear to be true or clear apparently = seem clear and obvious evidently = obviously true uninformed = ignorant = clueless (adj.) uninformed = having no knowledge ignorant = having no knowledge; stupid; silly clueless = showing no clue; stupid

Explanation of words (2) notice = perceive = see (v.) notice = see; be aware of perceive = see; realize see = notice hesitantly = reluctantly = unwillingly (adv.) hesitantly = uncertainly; unwillingly reluctantly = unwillingly unwillingly = hesitantly

Explanation of words (3) admits = grants = concedes (v.) admits = acknowledges; grants grants = admits; acknowledges concedes = grants; admits emphasized = stressed = highlighted (v.) emphasized = focused; stressed stressed = emphasized highlighted = focused; drew attention to

Explanation of words (4) showed up for = put up with= tolerated (v.) showed up for = tolerated put up with = tolerated; accepted tolerated = put up with assign = apply = attribute (v.) assign = attribute; allot; give; launch apply = give; use attribute = assign; ascribe

Exercises Step I Vocabulary: Word level (2) B. Matching 1. d2. e3. g4. a5. h 6. f7. c8. b

Exercises Step II Vocabulary: Sentence level 1. The driver was in a hurry, so he ignored the speed limit. (ignored = decided not to follow) 2. The driver said he was ignorant of a change in the speed limit, but still got a ticket for speeding. (was ignorant = didn’t know) 3. The police officer told him that the ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. (the ignorance of = not knowing)

Exercises 4. While the reporter was in Malawi she embarrassed herself several times because she was ignorant of the local customs. (was ignorant of = wasn’t familiar with) 5. The editor dropped the story because she felt the reporter had deliberately ignored information that didn’t support his point of view. (deliberately ignored = purposefully left out) 6. The editor told him that ignoring a problem will not make it go away. (ignoring = pretending not to notice)

Exercises Step II Vocabulary: Sentence level E. Replacing 1. In 1981, a reporter for the Washington Post newspaper submitted a story, titled “Jimmy’s World,” about an 8-year-old drug addict living in the nation’s capital. (submitted = turned in) 2. The sad story created a stir, and the reporter, janet Cooke, became a kind of media superstar. A few months later, she was granted a Pulitzer Prize, the highest award in American journalism, for her work on the story. (granted = given)

Exercises 3. Meanwhile, Washington’s mayor, Marion Barry, assigned a huge effort, involving dozens of city employees, to find Jimmy. (assigned = launched) 4. Soon, it became apparent to city officials that the boy probably did not exist. (apparent = clear) 5. Successive investigation found problems not only with the story but also with Cooke’s statements about her education and previous experience. (successive = one after another)

Exercises 6. A few days after the prize was awarded, however, the Post confirmed that the story was a fake and submitted an apology to its readers. (submitted = issued) 7. Cooke resigned from the Post and gave back her prize. She assigned the blame for the problem on her editors, who, she claims, put unbearable pressure on her to produce a big story. (assigned = laid)

Exercises 8. At the Post, publisher Dan Graham – a successor, Katherine Graham – set up measures to better check the credentials of reporters it plans to hire. (successor = someone who inherited a powerful position from his/her legendary mother/father)