WORK SHEET #96 of Dr. Jedidiah's Diary

WORKSHEET #96

Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #96 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary

 

1.      His fashion is strictly edited, off_____ and gorgeous in a refined, luxurious and expensive way. (*meaning “unusual; unconventional”)

 

2.      Gary said the purse was an invaluable designer handbag, but I thought it looked no more than a dime a _____________. (*meaning “things that are very common, abundant, easy to find, and generally low in value or specialness”)

 

3.      Tim was so wh_________ over Kate that he never left her side. (*meaning “completely controlled by one’s girlfriend or boyfriend”)

 

4. The resident was suspicious, confirmed the check was a ph_______ and did not deposit the check. (*meaning “not genuine; fraudulent”)

 

5. Mary handled the difficult situation with the utmost mans_________. (*meaning “gentleness, mildness, and meekness of manner, often in dealing with others”)

 

6. He g__________ as he stepped into the icy water. (*meaning “a sudden, sharp inhalation of breath caused by shock, pain, surprise, or difficulty breathing”)

 

7. “I don't know why they like my stupid book so much," he h__________brags. (*meaning “noun/ verb: disguised boast masked as a complaint, self-deprecation, or false modesty to appear relatable while showing off”)

 

8. Ryan doesn’t trust Anna because Anna was always lying through her _________. (*meaning “to say something completely untrue”)

 

9. She c_______d and sung a lullaby to the baby for a while after changing his diaper. (*meaning “to speak in a soft, gentle voice; to murmur”)

 

10. This is an O.___. (*meaning “someone or something that is an original or originator and especially one that is highly respected or regarded”) muscle car built just for street racing.

 

11. Sierra is skilled in the art of m_______di and can create stunning designs.  (*meaning “the practice of making designs on someone’s hands with henna; central to South Asian celebrations, especially weddings, symbolizing luck, prosperity, and joy”)

 

12. Jessica’s gown was of gray __________ré, ornamented with pearly beads. (*meaning “ripple-like pattern (Moire effect is a visual perception that occurs when viewing a set of lines or dots that is superimposed on another set of lines or dots, where the sets differ in relative size, angle, or spacing”)

WORK SHEET #95 of Dr. Jedidiah's Diary

WORKSHEET #95

Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #95 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary! 

1.   The pilot was a man with nerves of _____________ who had stayed calm and focused throughout the emergency landing. (*meaning “an impressive ability to remain calm in dangerous or difficult situations”)

 

    2.   All the runners of the varsity track team started to swi______ sports drinks in the locker. (*meaning “to drink … to excess/ to guzzle (a drink)” )

 

    3.   Jane and her boyfriend decided to spl_______ up and move on to the next phase of their lives respectively and respectfully. (*meaning “to end the relationship with someone and leave that person”)

 

    4.   US_______ conducts thorough investigations and often works with independent arbitrators to resolve anti-doping violations. (*Acronym for “United States Anti-Doping Agency”)

 

    5.   Ralph must be as mad as a h__________! How could he ever ask her out? She is his boss’s one and only daughter. (*meaning “completely crazy, insane, or irrational”)

 

    6.   Are you ___________ with joining us for the movie night? (*meaning “to approve of, agree to, or be okay with an idea or plan”)

 

    7.   During Yom Kippur, her family enjoyed their Jewish traditional kre_________ in the chicken soup. (*meaning “(in Jewish cooking) triangular noodles filled with chopped meat or cheese and served with soup”)

 

    8.   The corn and fava beans in the su_______h (*meaning “an American dish of corn and lima beans cooked together”) were crisp-tender and bursting with flavor.

 

    9.   Ted, the FBI-trained crisis neg_______r, (*meaning “the expert who de-escalates volatile life-and-death incidents”) moved near the potential jumper, who had the other end of the rope tied to the bridge.

 

(*”spurious” and “to ginger up” have been chosen and practiced in the previous work sheet (#94) as well. Thus, we skipped them here. ) 

WORKSHEET #94 of Dr. Jedidiah's Diary

WORKSHEET #94

Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #94 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary! 

 

    1.   I wanted to gin______ up my power point presentation by including some music. (*meaning “to make somebody or something more exciting or lively; to jazz up or to juice up somebody or something”)

 

    2.   All of a sudden, Pete came to her life and metamor_________d (*meaning “(used as both transitive and intransitive verb) to change the form or nature of ….; to transform”) her rusty and listless days. Her depression is a history now.  

 

    3.   I found his music somewhat bizarre and sel__________ (*meaning “archaic adjective meaning strange, rare, uncommon, or wonderfully unusual”), but it was a real earworm that never gets out of my head.

 

    4.   Brian knows that the higherups in his company are creating the entirely sp_______us impression that the company is thriving and prospering. (*meaning “not genuine or authentic/ true”)

 

    5.   I can never forget the day in 1983 when Michael Jackson debuted his moonwalk during his performance of "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25 show. A fourteen-year-old girl was completely ensor_______d by the magic of his one-of-a-kind song and dance. It was out of this world! (*meaning “to bewitch/ enchant/ fascinate someone as if by a magic spell”)

 

    6.   Some movies that most renowned critics la______ (*meaning “to highly praise, extol, or publicly commend them for achievements”) do not draw my attention at all. That’s why my hubby and I have a s_____t (*meaning “a minor, petty argument” over which movie to watch on Friday nights.

 

    7.   At the Irish w________ (*meaning “a tradition associated with death and funerals, yet surprisingly, it is a kind of celebration), my friend’s grandma made a toast before she read her eulogy for her late husband.

 

    8.   Trump and his crazy administration should be aware that their atrocious way of treating people in this country could never ever make them sit still in qui________. (*meaning “quietness or stillness; inactivity or dormancy”)

 

    9.   Hank did his very best to avoid bankruptcy, but unfortunately he was not a man of business acumen. It is _________________! (*an idiom used to accept an unchangeable, often frustrating, or difficult situation as it exists without trying to alter it. It signifies resignation, reality-check, or "that's life")

 

   10. I was able to avoid the shower under the thick fron_______ce, which felt like a perfect shelter for me in the moment. (*meaning “general leafy foliage. It is used to describe the lush greening of plants, trees, and forests, particularly during spring.”)

Time to play the latest Sunday Puzzle from the On-Air Challenge!

I'm going to give you some clues. The answer to each one rhymes with the last word in the clue. (Focus on the “sound”, NOT the “spelling”)

Ex. The sky's hue -->  Blue

 

1. Toy that flies to great height

 

2. Pistol, for one

 

3. Funeral fire

 

4. Things you count when you have trouble getting to sleep

 

5. Friars event with a celebrity host

 

6. Brand of pen that you can click

 

7. Place to acquire knowledge

 

8. Have uncertainty about

 

9. King Felipe VI's domain

 

10. Three plus one more

 

11. Locale for someone who needs bail

 

12. One-tenth of a bowling game

 

13. Like the runner that all the others have passed

 

14. Quick blow on a flute

 

15. Superior to all the rest

 

16. Was rank

 

17. New addition to a family, maybe

 

ANSWER KEYS  

    1.  KITE

    2.  GUN

    3.  PYRE

    4.  SHEEP

    5.  ROAST

    6.  BIC

    7.  COLLEGE

    8.  DOUBT   

    9.  SPAIN

    10. FOUR

    11. JAIL

    12.  FRAME

    13.  LAST

    14.  CHUTE

    15.  BEST

    16.  STANK

    17.  BABY

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE SERIES #8. "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk" (Documentary Film)

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE

Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.

 

# 8. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk (2025, documentary film directed by Sepideh Farsi)

“I am used to all these bombings, destruction, no food,…..and this situation feels like normal here. I think I am in prison. But I don’t feel like a normal person in this situation. I don’t eat normal food, I don’t do normal things, I don’t walk in a normal street, and I want to be in a normal place and the nature breathing in clear air. We say “Fatra o beta’addi” which means “This time will pass”

 

-      =>   The 25 year-old Palestinian photojournalist Fatma is describing how her daily life begins and ends. The indescribable war-zone situation has made her and her folks get used to the abnormality of their lives, but she doesn’t give up on the hope that all this shall pass in any time soon.

 

“It’s okay, Sepideh, it’s okay….You are here, and that’s enough. It’s okay. It’s enough that you hear me and share my feelings. I’m so glad to be heard. I’m so glad that you are beside me. I hope all of this ends and I will see you in another place in this world….or in Gaza. I hope you can come to Gaza, and I take you to my home or walk with you in all of the streets in Gaza.”

“Although I have very little hope to live my own life, I have an idea that I must keep going and document everything to be in this history…to be me, and to tell my children about what I have lived and what I have survived. Everything is destroyed everywhere, and I want to get out of here….but can’t do that….because here I have my family, my memories, my friends, my everything. We have just Gaza. This is our land were we were born and live. I don’t know when, but I believe everything will end. Hope to see you soon!”

 

-        =>  As a photojournalist, Fatma held on to her calling to do the right thing: Capture everything with her camera so that she could let the world face the truth and the future generations learn about what life had been like in Gaza

 

On April 16^th, 2025 at 1:00 A.M., Fatma and six other members of her family were killed in their sleep, by an Israeli strike on their house.  On May 2^nd, 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed the “killing of 211 journalists in Gaza since October 7 2023, including 28 woman journalists.

 

·       ** Jean’s small thoughts:

The title of this documentary film “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk” is a direct quote of the interviewee, the young Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona in the film. The words signify the profound peril and bravery that are necessary to document the war’s harsh and raw reality. She had never lost smile and hopes despite the never-ending airstrikes and bombings occurring right in front of her every single day. In the spotty videocalls between Fatma and the director Sepideh Farsi, their strong bond and heartfelt wishes for each other was always there like the invincible cacti in barren deserts. 

It was tragic timing that Fatma was fatally struck in an Israeli airstrike alongside most of her family, merely a day after the film’s acceptance to the Cannes Film Festival in April 2025.

Born, having lived, and died in the same place named Gaza - which Fatma had always thought as the only land she and her family should be rooted – Fatma never dreamed of leading her life outside the city. Who took the one and only thing that she held on to today? Who has the right to take someone else’s hope? Who made the people of the land walk with soul in their hand? Who killed even the faint smile that pretended to be normal in the land of abnormality?

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE SERIES #7: film The Judge (2014)

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE

Do you take delight in watching films, listening to pop music, or reading books? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.

 

# 7. The Judge (2014)

 

“This family is a (fuxxing) Picasso painting.” : 

-        This is a line said by the main character Hank Palmer, who is a successful and high-priced defense attorney in the big city, when he came back to his small home town for his mother’s funeral. He said it to his older brother, referring to the messy, complicated, and irreconcilable relationships among the family members. Just like the abstract style of Picasso painting, Hank feels that his family was not looking normal but rather maladjusted and morbidly distorted inside.

 

“I loved you then and I love you now. I do. I love how you are simultaneously the most selfish and the most generous person I know. I love how you hate a bully while being one. But your constant second-guessing of others, that crystal-ball bullshit? That hyperverbal vocabulary-vomit thing that you do? I disappeared around you, Hank.”: 

-        This is a line said by Hank’s high school sweetheart, Samantha who is still living and running a tavern in their hometown. She was into Hank head over hills, but she was exhausted and overwhelmed by his strong ego and ‘difficult-to-please’ personality. She felt that Hank was always acting like he was way above everyone else when it comes to interpreting circumstances and predicting the future through his fast-paced talking. It explains that while she trusts and loves Hank, his arrogant, controlling, and fast-talking nature forced her to lose her own identity and confidence in the relationship.

 

“Everyone wants Atticus Finch until there's a dead hooker in a bathtub.”:

-        Hank is cynically pointing out the absurdity of harsh reality where people pretend to uphold moral justice and truth like the ideal lawyer Atticus Finch in the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, whereas they tend to lean on flexible lawyers, expecting them to cover up the inconvenient or dirty truth. Hank makes big money by defending guilty people because he knows "innocent people can't afford him," contrasting his pragmatic approach to the idealist, moralistic view.

 

·   **   Jean’s small thoughts:

While watching the 2014 film The Judge, I was struck by parallels with my home country, South Korea. The former First Lady, Kim Keun-hee, was involved in numerous controversies related to market manipulation and bribery cases, yet received a sentence of only one year and eight months in prison. This case has highlighted concerns regarding the effectiveness and integrity of Korea's law enforcement and justice system.

Also, this movie powerfully reminded me that forgiveness can blossom in life’s most unexpected moments, bridging gaps between long-lost family, lovers, and friends.

CHAPTER IV: WORKSHEET #93 of Dr. Jedidiah's Diary

WORKSHEET #93

Let’s practice some expressions from the episode #93 of Dr. Jedidiah’s Diary! 

 

1.   Obviously, he is a heartless dictator who sees people of his own nation as purg________.  (*meaning “something that is able to be purged/ eliminated/ removed”)

 

2.   I was totally bem______ by the critics’ abstruse arguments about the newly released movie. (*meaning “confused/ puzzled”)

 

3.   Hank can __________ off any styles. He looks dapper and snatched in any clothing. (*meaning “to succeed in achieving or winning something difficult”)

 

4.   What’s the weather like in your neck of the _________s? (*meaning “a particular area or locality”)

 

5.   Trump is putting this country in crisis with his weapon called “tariffs” as his one and only way of retal_________ing against foreign countries. (*meaning “to repay or to make an attack or assault in return for a similar attack”)

 

6.   The politician is notorious for pre________ ing whenever reporters ask him difficult questions. (*meaning “to speak or act in an evasive way, delaying, or avoiding telling the direct truth, often to mislead”)

 

7.   It took a while for the medical team from the U.S. to get adjusted to the caci___________ period in Congo. (*meaning “dry season, heavy mist, or cold drizzle that occurs in parts of Africa (specifically the Congo basin/Angola region”)

 

8.   While he was locked up in the penitentiary, Frank worked in the kitchen, cooking three meals a day for thousands of in________s. (*meaning “a person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital”)