1. accord - harmony; to make an agreement.
It's nice when everything is in accord and peaceful - war is such a terrible thing.

I chose this image because of the symbolism of shaking hands. When people shake hands, it usually means they are agreeing on something. One of the definitions of accord is to make an agreement, and to be in harmony. If people are agreeing, they aren't fighting or are at odds - they are coming together and unifying something. This to me represents accord.

2. bias - an inclination or prejudice.
It's important that judges have no bias when it comes to determining cases.

3. incognito - having your identity concealed.
Going incognito is important to spies so that they don't get captured and killed by their enemies.

I chose this image because to me it's a silly but accurate way of representing the term incognito. When someone is incognito, they conceal or hide their identity. They don't want to be recognized. This pair of glasses is one of the most commonly known disguises for people to use - yes, people don't actually use it when they want to really not be recognized, but the symbolism behind this image represents what people are trying to do.

4. deduct - to take away from.
The store owner was very kind - if someone couldn't pay for an item, she would deduct a small amount of money from the price.

5. paradigm - an example or pattern.
Mel was a great paradigm - she was always on time and would go out of her way to help others.

6. plagiarize - to copy off of someone else's work.
If you plagiarize in college, you are likely to be expelled.

I chose this image because it shows a woman photocopying something, which is essentially what a plagiarizer does. When someone plagiarizes, they take someone else's work and make it their own. It is similar to what someone does when they photocopy - they make an exact replica of something that has already been created.

7. objectivity - to try and remain impartial.
It can be hard to maintain a mindset of objectivity when your are judging a case in which one of your friends in a participant.

8. precipitous - hasty or steep.
The precipitous cliff scared Emily stiff.

I chose this image because it is the direct definition of precipitous, which means hasty or steep. This demonstrates someone falling off of a cliff edge. Cliffs can be steep or come off of the side of a steep mountain. Also, if someone is in a great haste, for example to get someone, and they don't notice the edge of the cliff, they could fall off - haste is also another definition of precipitous. This image makes me think of great heights and steep edges, just like the word precipitous does.

9. recapitulate - to summarize; repeat.
Sara didn't enjoy having to recapitulate the instructions because people in her classroom weren't listening.

10. reciprocate - to do in return; to go back and forth.
The sister was happy to know that the guy she liked reciprocated her feelings.

I chose this image because a hug requires someone to return the feelings. A hug can't be fully completed by someone by themselves - there has to be a second person in order to complete it. That's just like reciprocating - the feelings are returned to the original person.

11. empathy - understanding someone's situation, identifying yourself with someone.
Christina felt empathy for the people who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina.

flourish - to thrive; prosper
Laura flourished in college because of the ability to be an individual.

guerilla - a member of a band of soldiers that uses guerilla tactics such as surprise raids and sabotage.

The guerilla members surrounded the small village in an attempt to capture their leader.

renegade - someone who deserts a group or party.
She became a renegadebecause she felt that no one understood her and her group never listened to her ideas.

repose -to rest; calm.

Laura took a quick repose because she was exhausted after having worked all night.

stereotype - convention; to create a set form towards members of a group.
Stereotypes are often a negative thing because people don't bother to get to know the real person.

symbiosis - a mutually beneficial relationship between two people.

The symbiosis between the whale and bacteria-eating fish is a beautiful thing.

tariff - charge; list of customs on imports or exports.
The tariffs imposed by the government often times makes things more expensive than they need to be.

tempo - rate, rhythm, or pattern.
The song's tempo was very fast, so he had a hard time keeping up.

tranquility -calmness; peacefulness.

The tranquility of the lake soothed Amy, and she fell asleep by the edge of the water.

tumult - uproar; riot.
Outside of the bar a huge tumult was taking place, concerning the bar owner.

tundra - a treeless area in the arctic region.

The frozen tundra is a perfect place for polar bears to frolic and play.

unanimous -in complete agreement.
The decision was unanimous amongst the jury members - the man was guilty.

Dogs are considered to be man's best friend. This definitely applies in the case of Barder. Barder was a mutt, who roamed around the streets, constantly searching for food. He was alone in the world. One day Barder was rifling through the Saley's trash cans, hoping to find something for dinner. However, before he had the chance to snap up a gnawed chicken drumstick he'd found, a little boy walked outside of the house and walked up to Barder. Filled with the curiosity of a five year old, he trotted alongside Barder and began to pet him. Barder was extremely alarmed and afraid - what was this boy doing?

All of a sudden the boy jumped onto Barder's back, riding him like a horse. The boy was small, with a large bright orange turban on his head. The instant the boy grasped Barder's tufts of hair on his neck, they started to rise. Barder began to frantically yelp, worried and frightened as to what was going on. They rose up over the Saley's house, far over the whole town. Surprisingly, the little boy could control Barder's movements through his tufts of hair. A sharp pull to the left sent Barder spinning to the left, and a sharp tug to the right sent him spinning off to the right. They were gliding among the stars as it was now nighttime. How was this happening? And how could they get down?

They kept soaring through clouds in the sky, frigid in the cool air. Suddenly the little boy's turban was blown off! They began plummeting towards the ground at frightful speeds. On the way down, the little boy passed his turban and grabbed it, placing it back onto his head. They stabilized and began rising again. Clearly the turban controlled the flight. The boy gently lifted off his turban once again so that he and Barder could land safely. Once completed, they went their separate ways and never saw each other again.

Elika, my government teacher, assigned me the task of choosing a picture from a collection taken by Bill Sullivan, and then write a story about the character. The following is what I came up with based on the character below.


Katherine Milligan pushes her way through the subway turnstiles, onto the busy New York street. She is rushed, trying to shove through the crowds as she is already late. Late for what, you ask? Her book club. Katherine is part of a book club filled with military wives in New York. They get together once a week and discuss a chapter of a book - currently they are reading 1984, a novel written by George Orwell. The book club was a way for the women to escape the reality that their husbands were risking their lives overseas. To escape the terror of knowing that they may never see the loves of their lives ever again. It was especially helpful for all the women to read together, because they understood what it was like. To sit up late at night crying into your husband's t-shirt. To pray to God every night that he comes home in one piece.

Katherine kept her head down and plowed through the crowds, desperately trying to make her way to the cafe a few blocks away. Rain was pouring down, beating onto the hood of her jacket. Her feet kept sloshing into puddles - she was exhausted and ready to collapse into a huge stuffed armchair. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she found the neon sign signalling the fact that she had arrived at the cafe. Swinging open the door, she darted inside, ready for respite from the torrential rains.

The heat from the steaming coffee makers inside the cafe warmed Katherine up. She breathed a sigh of relief, ready to start discussing the book. Her eyes scanned the room until they rested on her friends, who had managed to grab the cozy corner with huge armchairs they always liked to monopolize during their book club. Heading over, she smiled at her friends, excited to delve into another time period opened up to her by George Orwell. She sank into an armchair, threw her bag onto the floor and opened up her novel. "So, where do you want to begin girls?".

Credit to: http://www.janvonholleben.com/?page_id=4 for the photo!