Interactive Vocabulary - Amy E. Olsen 2017

Chapter 8. Peculiar Events
Part II. The Unusual

People Really Do This

Wife Carrying

Born out of the former practice of capturing women from nearby towns to bring back as wives, Sonkajarvi, Finland, devised the Wife Carrying World Championships in 1992. The event involves a 277 yard (253.5 meter) run through sand, grass, and gravel with a woman on the man's back (she needn't be his wife). To stay in contention for the title, par­ticipants must successfully make it through two dry obstacles (such as log hurdles) and one water obsta­cle (such as a waist-deep pool of water). The con­testants' biggest quandary must certainly be how to carry the women. Techniques used include piggy back, the fireman's carry, and the Estonia carry. The Estonia method has the woman upside down with her arms around the man's waist and her legs enfolded over his shoulders. This method has proved to be quite successful in allowing the man to keep his balance and more eas­ily maneuver the course. In addition to prizes, an incentive for winning the race is receiving the equivalent of the wife's weight in beer. Though all of this may seem like a laborious undertak­ing, the event attracts competitors from Japan, Canada, the United States, Australia, Kenya, and several European countries.

Tomato Throwing

Try to envision 40,000 people covered in tomato pulp. If you can imagine this, you have a good idea of what the aftermath of La Tomatina looks like. On the last Wednesday in August, Bunol, Spain, transforms its main square into a food-fighting arena, and the only food is the tomato. About 300,000 pounds of ripe tomatoes are trucked into the town. People begin to converge on Bunol the week before when the town holds a street festival with food, music, parades, and fireworks. On the morning of the tossing, merchants cover their buildings with large sheets of plastic to protect against the onslaught of tomatoes. The fray begins around 11 a.m. with the firing of a rocket. Then people madly throw tomatoes at each other. Everyone is a fair target. Old clothes are strongly recommended. After an hour, another rocket calls the event to an end. Contradictory stories hide the true origin of the event. It is said to have started in 1944 or 1945, possibly from an argument in a restaurant that got out of hand, or as a crowd's response to an unpopular musician or politician. Whatever the origin, La Tomatina's fame has continued to grow. An impartial observer watching people hurl tomatoes at each other might think the town had gone crazy, but the participants love it.

Predicting

For each set, write the definition on the line next to the word to which it belongs. If you are unsure, return to the reading on page 54, and underline any context clues you find. After you've made your predictions, check your answers against the Word List on page 59. Place a checkmark in the box next to each word whose definition you missed. These are the words you'll want to study closely.

Set One

difficult

to manage with skill

something that motivates greater effort

a confused state

a determination to win in competition

□ 1. contention (line 7) ...

□ 2. quandary (line 11) ...

□ 3. maneuver (line 15) ...

□ 4. incentive (line 15) ...

□ 5. laborious (line 16) ...

Set Two

fair

differing

imagine

a fight

to come together

□ 6. envision (line 19) ...

□ 7. converge (line 25) ...

□ 8. fray (line 29) ...

□ 9. contradictory (line 31) ...

□ 10. impartial (line 34) ...

Self-Tests

Circle the correct meaning of each vocabulary word.

1. contradictory:   consistent  opposing

2. impartial:    fair    prejudiced

3. converge:    meet   separate

4. fray:     assist   battle

5. maneuver:    to be direct  to scheme

6. envision:    foresee   surprise

7. laborious:    lazy    hard-working

8. incentive:    motivation  obstacle

9. quandary:    comfort   difficulty

10. contention:   agreement  argument

2 Finish the sentences using the vocabulary words. Use each word once.

Vocabulary list

converge contradictory laborious  envision quandary

impartial fray   maneuvering incentive contention

1. I was in a ... about whether to go to my high school reunion or a friend's wedding. Luckily for me, the wedding was postponed.

2. I tried to be ..., but deep inside I really wanted the team from my hometown to win the championship.

3. My team was in ... for first place until I missed what should have been an easy shot.

4. Being able to join my friends at the movies on Sunday night is a strong ... for getting my homework done by Sunday morning.

5. We will all ... on my brother's house to celebrate the 4th of July this year. There will be at least twenty of us gathering for a barbecue and our annual badminton championship.

6. I hate to be ..., but I can't agree with my cousin that this summer has been beautiful. We have had lots of cloudy and rainy days.

7. Doing a research paper seemed ... to me until I looked at it as a big puzzle. Then it seemed almost easy as I put the various pieces of it together.

8. My pants are beginning to ..., but that isn't too surprising since I have been wearing them two to three times a week for the past seven years.

9. The driver did an excellent job of ... the car through the obstacle course. She didn't hit one pylon or other object.

10. From our phone conversation, I couldn't ... how my friend had remodeled her kitchen; I had to visit her to see what it looked liked.

3 Put a T for true or F for false next to each statement.

1. You would be in contention for a prize if you were one of the three finalists in a contest.

2. Winning a free trip for nine friends and yourself is a strong incentive for entering a contest.

3. Deciding what to major in can be a quandary for some people.

4. Most people like to be around someone who is contradictory all the time.

5. People tend to converge around a table once the dessert is set out.

6. It would be easy to maneuver a Jarge truck through a garden without destroying any flowers.

7. It is easy for most people to envision where they will live and what job they will have thirty years from now.

8. Most people find relaxing in a lounge chair a laborious task.

9. A day spent listening to a jack hammer could fray a person's nerves.

10. It is easy to be impartial about a project one has put hours into doing.

Adirondack chairs

4 Use the vocabulary words to complete the following analogies. For instructions on how to complete analogies, see Completing Analogies on page 6.

Vocabulary list

contention converge envision  impartial  fray

quandary incentive  laborious contradictory maneuver

1. mowing the neighbor's lawn : kindness :: what to wear on a big date : ...

2. run : race :: ... : winning the lottery

3. laugh : a joke :: ... : to get a better office

4. expensive : cheap :: supportive : ...

5. dancer : nimble :: judge : ...

6. empty : blank :: meet : ...

7. math : subject :: getting $15 for every "A" : ...

8. shout: yell:: ... : opinion

9. rehearsal : play :: disagreement : ...

10. separate : unite :: ... : easy

Interactive Version: Use the photo of the thumb wres­tling (a thumb wrestling world championship is a real event) or use one of the photos in the reading on page

54 to envision yourself as a participant and impartial observer at a peculiar event. Write two notes, one from each viewpoint. Use at least three of the vocabulary words in each note. Feel free to add word endings (i.e., -ed, -ing, or -s) as needed.

As a participant

As an impartial observer …

Conversation Starters

Gather three to five friends or classmates and use one or more of the conversation starters below. Before you begin talking, have each person write down six of the vocabulary words he or she will use during the conversation. Share your lists with each other to check that you did not all pick the same six words. Try to cover all of the words you want to study whether you are reviewing one, two, or more chapters.

1. Where is some place you have always wanted to travel?

2. What is one of your favorite animals? Why do you especially like this animal?

3. Which of the two events in the Chapter 8 reading would you prefer to participate in? Why?

4. What is the most unusual event you have been in or the strangest place you have been? Explain why the experience was unusual.

Words to Watch

Which words would you like to practice with a bit more? Pick 3-5 words to study, and list them below. Write the word and its definition, and compose your own sentence using the word correctly. This extra practice could be the final touch to learning a word.