Month: November 2020

Analyzing the Text

Metallic implies a screeching, artificial sound like a machine. The word “experiment” is a scientific term. Conducting implies that the parents have control, and that something is being manipulated. The diction in the first stanza labels the poem as science fiction.

5pm is the end of afternoon and the beginning of evening, which correlates with the author’s theme of oncoming death (night/ darkness).

The lungs remind the reader that the speaker is annoyed by the sound the brother and sister are creating, though their mother is proud that they are strong and healthy children. Pink indicates that the lungs are healthy.

The speaker suggests that the screams of the children will kill them, which is clear through her reference to Elijah and mention of heaven. The sky is blue on Earth, but the speaker implies that it would be red as the characters ascend (like viewing the sunset), then gold near the sun and black as the sky which holds the stars. This correlates with the common Christian idea that heaven is above the Earth, somewhere in the stars.

The speaker hopes for information about the afterlife. Her mention of a furnace alludes to the possibility of hell. The speaker is anxious to know what lies ahead, and hates that the living do not know but live their lives wondering/ speculating.

If the stereo is playing with the “shuffle” setting, the speaker is impatient because he/she cannot listen to one song/ genre. It also shows that the stereo is what humans listen to, but this is insignificant in comparison with the possibilities of the afterlife.

It suggests that the kids are animalistic or unintelligent. They are unprepared for what lies ahead, like the apes before the journey.

Performance Task

screams, cries, wind, racket, stereo, chopping, hiccough

Screams are associated with pain. Cries; sadness. Wind; quiet, soft, nature. Racket; busy, obnoxious. Stereo: loud, songs, happy. Chopping: repetitive. Hiccough: annoying, natural, surprising.

These sounds and their connotations indicate the unhappiness and bustle (impatience) of the speaker’s life and contrast his/ her wish for constancy and knowledge.

Vocabulary Strategy: Patterns of Word Change

Covered, uncover, undercover, recover, discover

React, action, activate, deactivate, acting

Republic, publication,

Movement, remove, unmoved, mover

Distrust, untrustworthy, trusting, trusted

Critical Vocabulary

No, because it leads to deforestation which is harmful to the environment.

It might face internal conflicts about how to govern, threats from enemies, and a lack of resources.

Economic stability and prosperity can lead to deforestation because citizens have the time and money to build structures using the timber from trees.

An appropriate response would be to face the situation head on, and work together to develop strategies to fix the problem or fight the threat.

Yes, this would mean that my friend has become ill.

Analyzing the Text

He says they are factors, which means they may or may not contribute to the destruction of each individual civilization. This creates a frame by separating different causes; all may contribute or only one.

Societies that did not fail adapted; they were willing to change. It is also necessary to note that successful civilizations had kings/ leaders that did not ignore the problems of the society despite their life of privilege.

This is effective because he shows qualities of failed societies then of successful ones, and shows how America is acting like people of failed societies so it is necessary for the country’s citizens to change their perspective and not isolate themselves by social class. His argument ends with a call to action.

His call to action in the last paragraph ends with a question, which is important because it makes the reader think about how the work applies to his or her life. He argues that we as a society have the ability to predict problems and prevent them because we know World History.

Critical Vocabulary

He was already not communicating with her even when he was awake.

His colleague took action to destroy his lab demonstrating that they were now enemies.

He quickly received job offers because employers knew he would be productive for them.

It is spring because the plants are just coming to life and beginining to grow.

Analyzing the Text

The speaker gives commands which explain whether the reader is the correct audience. It is a message from the text, or an interior method of technology.

These people are the pessimists of society. The optimists are labeled and given dialogue in line 25. The lack of action in their lives creates suspense for them.

This is regarding the concept of copyrights and patents. Once all the good ideas are claimed, human beings find themselves restless and feeling useless. It introduces the idea that there is a capacity to “genius” and intellectuality.

The speaker suggests that people born in the 20th century are the last generation of mortal human beings. He or she admits that they tried to restore that generation to youth but it failed.

Robin Chen attempted to become immortal. She was the last human being on Earth. The speaker’s tone is ironic because he is jealous of Chen’s ability to die and angry that she had such a positive view of the world he despises.

It is ironic because she idealizes their world and is jealous of their immortality and simulation, but after her death they are jealous that she can die and experienced a physical Earth.

Humans desire immortality so they join a virtual existence. It is a “time of drama” because of intellectual innovation, which has now plateaued and is nonexistent.

It is part of the simulation, which does not include animals or plants from Earth.

The theme of this story is that humans always want what they don’t have. Life is valuable because it is fleeting. Technology can take over humanity.

Vocabulary Strategy: Etymology

alchemy: Arabic al-kīmiyā’ < al the + kīmiyā’ branch of medieval science whose goal was the transmutation of baser metals into gold; algebra: Arabic al-jabr < al the + jabr restoration (of anything which is missing, lost, out of place, or lacking); geometry: ancient Greek γεωμετρία science of measuring; hexagon: Greek ἑξάγωνον, neuter singular of ἑξάγωνος six-cornered; isoceles: Greek ἰσοσκελής equal-legged; nadir: Arabic naẓīr opposite to, over against; trigonometry: Greek τρίγωνον triangle + -μετρία -metry; zenith: Arabic samt , in samt ar-rās lit. way or path over the head

The meaning of the root word connects to the current meaning in a direct way, though it has become more specific over time. For example: zenith, which comes from the Arabic for ‘path overhead’ and currently means the spot directly overhead. It has moved from the general path above, to the specific location. Other terms do the same.

Knowing the etymology of words makes the meaning more complex, giving it layers of intention. If you know that a term originates in a specific language and culture, you can make connections from its past meaning to its current. The etymology of words helps direct understanding. I was surprised by the composition of algebra, or Arabic for al+jabr, which means restoration. Currently it means only the science of algebra, but it was interesting to find out its general use in Arabic.

Critical Vocabulary

the brain has many different parts which must all function simultaneously to create the desired outcome.

The technology was developing and expensive so people did not have access to them.

It. Is an estimate based on only the information currently known, which could change.

it is mathematic and requires specific steps.