Thursday Tidbit-Less or -ful

-less or -ful  

 

There are many words in the English language that end in the suffixes –less  or –ful. The root word Less means “not sufficient or lacking in” while full , is it’s opposite meaning ”complete or a lot of.” The list below contains root words that take on either less or ful. However, be careful! Not all root words can take on both suffixes (i.e. a team can be winless, but it can’t be winful). Here is a list of words that can use both suffixes, which basically have the opposite meaning.

-less	-ful
Useless	Useful
Meaningless	Meaningful
Flavorless	Flavorful
Merciless	Merciful
Careless	Careful
Colorless	Colorful
Helpless	Helpful
Thoughtless	Thoughtful
Purposeless	Purposeful
Painless	Painful

Check Yourself

Underline the correct word to complete the sentence.
1. I’m glad my boss worked with me a lot on the project because I had no clue. He was very (helpful / helpless).
2. Some people can handle getting a tattoo, but I can’t. I think it is too (painful / painless).
3. If you speak to me in a language I don’t understand, it is (meaningful / meaningless) to me.
4. This food has no spices or anything. It is completely (flavorful / flavorless).
5. My younger brother spends all his time playing video games. When it comes to helping around the house, he is (useful / useless).
6. The visiting team beat us 63-0 in football. They were completely (merciful / merciless).
7. I need you to be (careful / careless) when picking up the baby.
8. The scenic views in Costa Rica are very (colorful / colorless).
9. He has thought of every detail for the project. He works in a very (purposeful / purposeless) manner.
10. My co-workers gave me some flowers while I was in the hospital. They were extremely (thoughtless / thoughtful).

Answers to last week’s Check  Yourself

1. I received a phone call (during / for) my lunch hour.
2. He studied at Harvard (for / during) three years.
3. I have been awake (during / for) one hour.
4. I really enjoy ice skating (during / for) the winter.
5. She has been wearing glasses (during / for) at least 5 years.
6. The police intervened (for / during) the riots.
7. Class usually lasts (during / for) 3 hours.
8. I waited in line at the bank (during / for) a long time.
9. I don’t like it when people call me (during / for) dinner time.
10. He has a hard time seeing while driving (during / for) the night.

The Wierd and the Wonderful

Tourists stranded after booking hotel on wrong side of the world

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

 

 

Eastbourne, East Sussex (left) and Eastbourne, New Zealand

South African holidaymakers searching for their hotel with "splendid views" of the pier in Eastbourne, Sussex, had one problem. They were 12,000 miles away in Eastbourne, New Zealand.

Michael and Sunette Adendorff thought something was wrong with their hire car's GPS as they drove around in circles in the Wellington suburb, looking for the £90-a-night Majestic Hotel on Royal Parade.

When they pulled into the local chemist's shop to ask directions, they were shocked to discover that Eastbourne (population 4,600), New Zealand, does not even have a hotel.

Shop assistant Linda Burke said: "They just walked in and asked me where Royal Parade was, with the Majestic Hotel.

"I said: Oh no, there's no hotel here.

"I looked at it and said: That's in the UK, that's in England.

"He checked on the internet and said he did think it was funny they charged him in pounds."

Ms Burke rang around but discovered all the local bed and breakfast places were full, so she offered them a room for the night in her house.

The couple, who were exploring New Zealand while visiting the country to watch South Africa play in the Rugby World Cup, had mistakenly booked into the hotel in Eastbourne, Sussex, on the internet.

"I booked into the right hotel, just in the wrong country," Mr Adendorff told the Dominion Post newspaper.

Despite the good-natured ribbing they received, the couple said Eastbourne was very nice and the locals were friendly.

"I don't know how Eastbourne in England popped up in the comparisons on the internet," Mr Adendorff said.

They were unable to get a refund from the Majestic Hotel because their cancellation was at such short notice.

Word of the Day

Chemist
chem·ist: \ˈke-mist\
Origin: New Latin chimista, short for Medieval Latin alchimista
First Known Use: 1562
Noun
1a, obsolete: alchemist; b: one trained in chemistry
2 British: pharmacist

More Vocabulary

Holidaymaker: n. chiefly British: vacationer
Pound: n. the basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom —called also pound sterling
Ribbing: n. friendly jokes about someone

Tuesday´s News

Acapulco woman makes street children her mission

From: www.cnn.com

Ask Rosa Maria Cruz-Muller how many children she has, and she'll answer you with a shrug. The answer is in the hundreds, perhaps thousands. The 53-year-old government employee has three biological children. The rest she rescued from the streets took them home and gave them a new life ... away from drugs, abuse and an early death.

Everybody calls her Mama Rosy. She describes herself as somebody who "gives love to street children." By all accounts, she has done that for a long time.

For more than three decades, Mama Rosy's mission has been to rescue children from the streets in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco. Where others see petty criminals, drug addicts and young prostitutes, she sees abandoned children in need of love.

She goes to places many would consider dangerous, looking for children nobody cares about. Most often, she walks around a bridge near the Acapulco pier, where many street children find shelter from the tropical sun.
During a recent walk around the bridge, Mama Rosy gave some children clothes. She took two boys who were particularly hungry to a nearby supermarket and bought them food and sandals with her own money. "They need so much love," she said as she saw them walking away.

She has gained the children's trust by always being available, always. "I go with them and I talk to them and when a new one comes here the other ones (tell) him, 'Here's Mama Rosy. When you need something, this is the address, go with her' and it's like a chain," Mama Rosy says.

She also frequently goes to the pier looking for children begging for money or doing drugs. This is also a place where they're picked up by pedophiles so her goal is to try to get them away from there as soon as possible.
One of the children she rescued is now a young man who works at the pier maintaining boats. As soon as he sees her at the pier, he comes out of the water and gives her a wet hug.

Children are welcome at her home in downtown Acapulco 24 hours a day, where they can always get a hot meal and a shower. Others keep coming back now as adults with a family; Mama Rosy already counts 24 non-biological grandchildren.

Dythra Lopez, who was lost in a world of drugs when Mama Rosy found her at age 16, is now a manager at a convenience store. No matter how much she resisted, no matter how many times she ran away, Mama Rosy, she says, was always asking her to quit drugs in a loving, patient way. "She earned our love, trust and respect little by little and became like a mother to us, the mother none of us had," Lopez said.

But for every success story there’s heartbreak. Many of the kids she tries to rescue simply disappear without leaving any trace. Others move to different cities. Some have been violently murdered or ended up serving prison time.

Last year a 16-year-old girl who called herself "Jahaira" and who, according to Mama Rosy, was working as a street prostitute to pay for her drug habit suddenly became ill. Mama Rosy took her to the hospital where doctors gave her a serious diagnosis. She was dying of AIDS. Mama Rosy scrambled to find any relatives and managed to bring Jahaira's grandmother to her death bed. The 16-year-old girl died the following day.
Mama Rosy cries as she reads letters from Jahaira. "I always remember her. She was a beautiful girl. Very happy, how do you say, traviesa, a prankster! But she was only a girl and only 16 years old."

Mama Rosy has three biological children, including Vanessa Santoyo, who routinely helps with the children who suffer from both physical and emotional wounds. Santoyo describes her mother as her "hero; the best mom of the world for me and the other kids."

Her nonstop labor of love also includes visiting marginalized neighborhoods, bringing gifts and hope. Mama Rosy admits that sometimes it's overwhelming, but says she's not about to stop helping children anytime soon. "As long as there are children in need," she says, "there will always be Mama Rosy for them."

Word of the Day

Wound: \ˈwünd, archaic or dialect ˈwau̇nd\
Origin: Middle English, from Old English wund; akin to Old High German wunta wound
First Known Use: before 12th century
Noun
1: a : an injury to the body (as from violence, accident, or surgery) that typically involves laceration or breaking of a membrane (as the skin) and usually damage to underlying tissues b : a cut or breach in a plant usually due to an external agent
2: a mental or emotional hurt or blow
3: something resembling a wound in appearance or effect; especially : a rift in or blow to a political body or social group

Move Vocabulary

Beg: v. to ask for as a charity
Chain: n. a series of things linked, connected, or associated together
Decade: n. a period of 10 years
Marginalize: v. to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group
Overwhelm: v. to affect (someone) very strongly
Petty: adj. having little or no importance or significance
Pier: n. a structure (as a breakwater) extending into navigable water for use as a landing place or promenade or to protect or form a harbor

Love those Phrasal Verbs

Run away: to flee or escape; leave a place of confinement or control with the intention of never returning

• Randall ran away from home three times.

Thursday Tidbit - For or during?

For/during 

In Spanish, the use of the word durante often causes some confusion when Spanish speakers try to use during in English. It is used differently in English than it is in Spanish. In most cases, the use of the word durante in Spanish would translate to for in English. Let’s look at a few examples of for and during:

During


In English, we use the preposition during express a period of time or event during which, another thing happens. Here are some examples:

Someone turned off the music during the party.
During my high school years, I was very active in sports.
We always go to the beach during the summer months.

For


There are many uses of for in English, however when referring to time, it is used to express a period of time in which something was happening for the entire length of the time period mentioned. Here are some examples:

I’ve lived in the same apartment for 12 years.
I traveled in Spain for 3 months.
He was exercising for 2 hours.

Check Yourself

Underline the correct preposition (for or during) to complete the sentence.

1. I received a phone call (during / for) my lunch hour.
2. He studied at Harvard (for / during) three years.
3. I have been awake (during / for) one hour.
4. I really enjoy ice skating (during / for) the winter.
5. She has been wearing glasses (during / for) at least 5 years.
6. The police intervened (for / during) the riots.
7. Class usually lasts (during / for) 3 hours.
8. I waited in line at the bank (during / for) a long time.
9. I don’t like it when people call me (during / for) dinner time.
10. He has a hard time seeing while driving (during / for) the night.

Answers to last week’s Grammar Tidbits

1. You’re not allowed to put drinks (on / onto) the table.
2. There is a lot of cat hair (in / into) my pockets.
3. Can you put some ice cubes (in / into) my drink, please?
4. They called the contestants (on / onto) the stage.
5. I entered the information (in / into) the computer.
6. He kept looking (in / into) my eyes.
7. He put too many spices (in / into) the tacos.
8. The cat jumped (onto / on) the table.
9. They sent the shuttle (in / into) space.
10. You should put your computer (into / in) your trunk when parking.

The Wierd and the Wonderful

Alaska woman punches bear in face to save her tiny dog

From: www.msnbc.msn.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A 22-year-old Alaska woman said on Wednesday she punched a black bear in the face to save her small dog from being carried off and possibly eaten.

Juneau resident Brooke Collins said she hit the bear Sunday night to save the life of her dachshund, Fudge. She said she discovered the bear crouched down, clutching Fudge in its paws and biting the back of the dog's neck.

"It had her kind of like when they eat salmon," Collins said Wednesday. "I was freaking out. I was screaming at it. My dog was screaming. I ran up to it ... I just punched it right in the snout and it let go."

Collins said her boyfriend then scared the bear away. "I think it was more startled than anything," she said.
Collins, a hairdresser who has lived in Juneau most of her life, said she is accustomed to bears and knows how to take precautions around them.

She also knew about this particular bear before Sunday's attack because it has been hanging around the neighborhood.

In this case, however, Fudge darted out the door before anyone checked the vicinity, she said.
The dog, an older female, was not seriously hurt in the attack, but Collins said she is tending to the animal's wounds and keeping her inside for now. Collins said she is also taking other precautions with her second dog.

Black bears frequently roam the downtown section of Alaska's capital city, which rests against a steep mountain slope and is surrounded by a dense rain forest.

Bear encounters are on the rise this year, despite efforts by local residents to lock away garbage and remove items that might attract the animals, said Neil Barton, a Juneau-based biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

"This year, I think, is a lot worse than last year. I would attribute that to lack of a berry crop," Barten said.
Production of berries around Juneau has been poor this summer, removing a key food source from the bears' diets.

"If they are not available, the bears look for other sources of food," he said.

Bears and dogs sometimes snarl at each other, but actual attacks on dogs are unusual, he said.

Collins said her dog Fudge has chased bears but never been attacked before.

The black bear she punched returned Tuesday, she said, because it was a trash pick-up day.

Word of the Day

Attribute
at·tri·bute: \ˈa-trə-ˌbyüt\
Noun
Origin: Middle English, from Latin attributus, past participle of attribuere to attribute, from ad- + tribuere to bestow — more at tribute
First Known Use: 14th century
1: an inherent characteristic; also : an accidental quality
2: an object closely associated with or belonging to a specific person, thing, or office <a scepter is the attribute of power>; especially : such an object used for identification in painting or sculpture
3: a word ascribing a quality; especially : adjective

More Vocabulary

Clutch: v. to grasp or hold with or as if with the hand or claws usually strongly, tightly, or suddenly
Crouch: v. to lower the body stance especially by bending the legs
Snarl: v. to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth
Snout: n. the part of an animal's head projecting forward and containing the nose and jaws; muzzle
Tend: v. to apply oneself to the care of : watch over

Love those Phrasal Verbs

Hang out: (Informal)  to loiter in public places:
We have nothing to do on Saturday night but hang out.

Tuesday´s News

Costa Rica Study Results: More Beans, Less White Rice Tied To Less Diabetes

From: www.insidecostarica.com

(Reuters Health) -- Beans and rice are a classic combination throughout the western hemisphere, but a study in Costa Rica finds that the bean half of the equation may be better for health.

Among nearly 2,000 men and women, researchers found that people who regularly swapped a serving of white rice for one of beans had a 35 percent lower chance of showing symptoms that are usually precursors to diabetes.

"Rice is very easily converted into sugar by the body. It's very highly processed, it's pure starch and starch is a long chain of glucose," said Frank Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, who was part of the study team.

"Beans compared with rice contain much more fiber, certainly more protein and they typically have a lower glycemic index - meaning they induce much lower insulin responses," he told Reuters Health.
Hu's group looked at the diets of nearly 1,900 Costa Rican men and women participating in a study of risk factors for heart disease between 1994 and 2004. None of the participants had diabetes at the start of the study.
As Costa Rica has become richer and more urbanized, rice consumption has risen while intake of beans has fallen, Hu said. Meanwhile, the rate of diabetes in the country has soared.
The extra rice might be at least partly to blame, the Harvard group concludes. They found that people who ate more white rice over time had higher blood pressure and elevated levels of sugar and harmful fats in their blood as well as lower levels of "good" cholesterol.

Those factors, along with a high waist circumference, are all elements of the so-called metabolic syndrome, which is a major risk factor for both type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

People who ate at least two servings of beans for every serving of white rice tended to be at lower risk for metabolic syndrome. In those who substituted a serving of beans for a serving of white rice the risk of metabolic syndrome was reduced by 35 percent, the researchers report in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Although rice may be a larger part of diets outside the U.S., the findings have important implications in this country, Hu said. Americans are consuming more rice than ever, up from 9.5 pounds per person in 1980 to 21 pounds per person in 2008, government figures show. Consumption of dry beans is markedly lower, at about seven pounds a year per person, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That's a bad trend, said Hu, especially if people are eating white rice rather than brown rice. From the body's perspective, a serving of white rice "is like eating a candy bar - the fiber and other nutrients are stripped away," said Hu, who added that the trend "will have long-term metabolic effects."

"It would be useful to introduce more legumes, including beans, into our diet to replace white rice and some of the red meat," he told Reuters Health.

The Harvard team's findings do not prove that white rice raises diabetes risk or that beans lower it.
In previous research, Hu and his colleagues have found that eating brown rice may protect against type 2 diabetes.

"It doesn't surprise me that you get better health outcomes in bean eaters," said David Jenkins, a nutrition researcher at the University of Toronto who developed the concept of the glycemic index to help diabetics gauge the effect various foods would have on their blood sugar. "Beans are notable among plant foods" for having a modest effect on blood sugar, he explained.

Although Jenkins said the health benefits of different beans might vary, "as a class they hang together pretty well, and much more uniformly than other foods."

Word of the Day

Hemisphere
hemi·sphere: \ˈhe-mə-ˌsfir\
Origin: Middle English hemispere, from Latin hemisphaerium, from Greek hēmisphairion, from hēmi- + sphairion, diminutive of sphaira sphere
First Known Use: 14th century
Noun
1a : a half of the celestial sphere as divided into two halves by the horizon, the celestial equator, or the ecliptic; b : half of a spherical or roughly spherical body (as a planet); specifically : the northern or southern half of the earth as divided by the equator or the eastern or western half as divided by a meridian; c : the inhabitants of a terrestrial hemisphere
2: realm, province
3: one of two half spheres formed by a plane through the sphere's center
4: a map or projection of a celestial or terrestrial hemisphere
5: cerebral hemisphere

More Vocabulary

Circumference: n. the perimeter of a circle
Epidemiology: n. a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population
Gauge: v. estimate, judge
Legume: n. the fruit or seed of plants of the legume family (as peas or beans) used for food
Swap: v. exchange

Monday's News

Exercise

Watch the video and then try to unscramble the words below.

kplalbar        _________________________

ebule hpcip   _________________________

enomtoblit    __________________________

kbreeeanv    __________________________

wlasloec       __________________________

mumtocer     __________________________

gzinsdwnoi    __________________________

eewrayf        __________________________

gererm          __________________________

smooe          __________________________

zetprel          __________________________

arnooc          __________________________

hqasus         ___________________________

wsbauy        ___________________________

rlwiteolarh    ___________________________

Answer´s to last week´s video exercise.

Anchovy - a small fish that has a salty flavor

Dauntless - fearless

Lackluster - lacking in sheen, brilliance, or vitality: dull, mediocre

Puppy dog - a domestic dog; especially: one having the lovable attributes of a puppy

Besmirch - to cause harm or damage to (the reputation of someone or something)

Eyeball - the entire round part of the eye

Hobnob - to associate familiarly

Plaque - a flat thin piece (as of metal) used for decoration