Portfolio II

Name:
Curse: Advance 9 reading and writing
Schedule:
Vocabulary log:
1. Chasing: chase something to try to obtain or achieve something, for
example money, work or success.
-Too many people are chasing too few jobs nowadays.
2. Mundane: not interesting or exciting.
-I lead a pretty mundane existence.
3. Splodge: a large mark or spot of ink, paint, mud, etc.; a small area
of colour or light
-He had a splodge of oil on his cheek.
4. Grace: something to make something more attractive; to decorate
something
-The table had once graced a duke's drawing room.
5. Philanthropists: a rich person who helps the poor and those in need,
especially by giving money
-He was a wealthy businessman and philanthropist.
6. Journey: to travel, especially a long distance
-They journeyed for seven long months.
7. Handicap: a permanent physical or mental condition that makes it
difficult to do some things that most other people can do.
-She was born with this disability was then called a handicap.
8. Struggle: to try very hard to do something when it is difficult or
when there are a lot of problems.
-Local workers were still struggling to find employment.
9. Hopelessness: the fact of being extremely bad or without ability or
skill
-Despite his hopelessness as a boyfriend, he is capable of empathy.

10. Glisten: to shine

-Her eyes were glistening with tears.
11. Boyish: looking or behaving like a boy, in a way that is
attractive.
-His boyish good looks made him popular with girls.
12. Hazel: a small tree that produces small nuts (called hazelnuts)
that can be eaten.
-In the forest I went there were many hazels.
13. Wander: to walk slowly around or to a place, often without any
sense of purpose or direction.
-She wandered aimlessly around the streets.
14. inquisitiveness: a strong interest in learning about many
different things.
-She was impressed by the inquisitiveness of the children.
15. Sordid: not moral or honest.
-It was a shock to discover the truth about his sordid past.
16. Dilapidated: old and in very bad condition.
-The old house was in a somewhat dilapidated condition.
17. Dealing: the relations that you have with somebody in
business.
-I knew nothing of his business dealings.
18. Squirm: to move around a lot making small twisting
movements because you are nervous, uncomfortable, etc.
- The children were squirming restlessly in their seats.
19. Yearning for: a strong and emotional desire for
somebody/something.
-He looked at her with yearning.
20. Willing :(to do something) not objecting to doing something,
having no reason for not doing something.
-Many consumers are willing to pay more for organic food
Page 44:
1. Frank McCourt had many obstacles in his life. What do you think was Frank
McCourt’s greatest obstacle? How did he overcome it?
-The biggest obstacle in his life was having the inability and insecurity to
express his thoughts and feelings with others. Frank McCourt could not
express his childhood problems with others, perhaps because of shame or
simply he did not have enough courage until his students were the ones
who helped him overcome that. His work as a teacher helped him see in
each of his students, that value that he did not have. They were able to
express their life and Frank began to look for similarities and differences
between his life and that of his students. Some described that their life or
simply a dinner, was perhaps not as they expected; their families were
separated, and they always argued. With the help of his students and even
the death of his mother, Frank was able to overcome that obstacle that
prevented him.
2. How did Frank McCourt’s students give him the courage he had been
lacking to overcome his obstacles?
-Frank's students encouraged him by telling him why not write a book
instead of reading from a canvas bag full of notebooks because his
childhood was so interesting. Another way the students helped him was
that Frank saw great courage in his students and he tried to compare
himself to them and wondered when you would dare to have as much
strength and courage as them. And thanks to those comparisons that Frank
made, he was able to tell his story of poverty and abandonment.
Page 49:
Frank and Runyan are people who despite different difficulties that life
presented to them, were able to face it and overcome it. In the case of Frank
McCourt, the obstacle he faced was in his childhood, presenting poverty in his
family, not extreme, but with absent needs. I also present what was the
abandonment and that need to have to move from country to country and not
have the opportunity of a good education. And the biggest obstacle in
adulthood was the shame that did not help him to prosper or enhance that
talent that he had. In the case of Runyan, his obstacle was the blindness that
he presented from the age of 9, when his sight degenerated. Another obstacle
was that she no longer wanted to continue studying and felt bad because she
was once told that she should not expect to have grades like her peers because
of her physical condition. They both had people who influenced and helped
them face those obstacles that they presented. Both were helped by their
mothers, only in Frank's case he also received help from his students who
inspired him to get ahead. His Frank personality helped him face his obstacles,
that humor he had and the love of reading and writing. Runyan was helped by
her self-sufficiency and her willingness not to ask for special treatment and to
feel proud of herself. Both managed to acquire a talent that resulted from the
challenges they faced. Frank was able to finish his book, continue writing and
teaching and Runyan was able to teach, speak in public, train, write, become an
athlete.
Page 51:
1. Imagine you are the skateboarder’s mother. Write a letter to Marla
Runyan. Explain how she helped and inspired you and your son.
-It is a pleasure to be able to write to you, Runyan. You have been an
inspiration in my family, especially for me and my son who, like you,
suffers from the same disease. Some time ago my son had told me that
he wanted to be a skater, but for fear that the bad lake was going to
happen to him in his practices due to his illness, I had flatly denied it.
Time later I began to know more about you and your story impressed me
too much. That capacity and self-sufficiency that you had helped a lot to
prosper in your life and to be able to reach your goals. I've been thinking
about it, and I want my son to also find his own way and try to be self-
sufficient. So, what I just told him is ¨go find the ramp¨

2. Imagine you are one of Frank McCourt’s former students. You have just
graduated from college. Write a letter to Frank McCourt. Explain how he
helped and inspired you to overcome an obstacle.
-Dear Professor Frank, I am one of your students whom you taught. I just
graduated from university, and I wanted to comment and at the same
time thank you, because you have inspired me to overcome my obstacles.
I was also a very shy person, and I was embarrassed to be able to socialize
and express myself with people about big things and projects that I had in
mind. this happened in my university, before graduating, I had great
ideas, but I had a hard time saying it for fear that they might think it
might be wrong. In those moments I remembered it and I also began to
compare myself with you, because you could and I, who do not have any
physical or psychological impediment, cannot. I began to lose that fear in
expressing my ideas. And now I'm the most outstanding student in public
speaking and political science.
Page 60:
STEP 1: Choose a famous person you admire or a person from the list
below who has overcome an obstacle.

Stephen Hawking:
Stephen Hawking was very famous because of his disability, associated
with ALS. He developed this disease at the age of 21 and lived with it until
he was 76 years old. Many wonder how it was possible, since people with
ALS survive a few years after diagnosis, usually late. This disease was
limiting his movements more and more, but it never reduced his scientific
work, even though the diagnosis predicted that he would only live to be
24 years old.
His goal for many years was to find a theory that describes our Universe.
He managed to popularize science and transmit his ideas to millions of
people around the world. His 'cameos' in television shows, series and
documentaries also helped his popularity.
Hawking's work on black holes helped prove the idea that there was a Big
Bang at the beginning of everything. Although it had been developed in
the 1940s, the Big Bang theory had not yet been accepted by all
cosmologists.
What encouraged Stephen to follow his goal was his work and good sense
of humor, he once indicated in a report.
Vinvent van Gogh:
Vincent van Gogh was a well-known painter for his talent and for his very
particular way of painting. Van Gogh suffered from psychological
problems which prevented him from progressing in his paintings. Van
Gogh presented pictures of suicide, epileptic episodes, depressive crises,
as well as auditory and visual hallucinations associated with religious
themes, since he was the son of a protestant pastor.
In his youth he went to live in Paris with his brother Theo. At that time
Van Gogh met many contemporary painters like Gauguin, who later
began to live together and had a problem in which Van Gogh came to
attack Gauguin with a razor. Van Gogh repented and it was there that
they released some versions that say that he cut off his ear so as not to
feel guilty and sent it to Gauguin, who was not moved and what he did
was brand him as dangerous and crazy. After that event, Theo convinced
him to enter a psychiatric hospital, where he remained for 12 months.
Unfortunately, Van Gogh could not overcome these obstacles. His success
came when he had already passed away.