HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

CHANGE
“
“Nothing is constant except change.”
—Heraclitus (ca. 513 B.C.E.), Greek philosopher

RELATED VOCABULARY:

fashion | makeover | inevitable | adjust | resistance

rehabilitation | optimistic | pessimistic | resilient

VOCABULARY USAGE THROUGH CONVERSATION:

Q1. Has your lifestyle changed in the last ten years?

Q2. Have your ideas about happiness and contentment changed as you have grown
older? How?
Q3. How have your looks changed in the last ten years? If you could have a free
makeover, what physical changes would you seek? Why?
Q4. Do you try to keep up with technological changes? What skills have you acquired
in the last five years?
Q5. What is a custom or tradition that you would like to change in your country? Why?
Q6. What changes do you hope for in the next decade?
 HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

Korea is the world’s top producer of unhappy

school children
By many measures, Korea is doing very, very well. Unemployment is low, exports are
booming and South Korean students are some of the best performing in the world. Young
South Koreans are far above average in math and reading, according to a study. But there is
one measure where Korea is at the bottom of the list: happiness. It’s no secret that many
Korean students are miserable, especially in high school, as they prepare for the highly
competitive College Scholastic Ability Test, which determines entry into college. Adding to the
stress are expectations from Korean parents, which are some of the highest in the world,
according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Source: QZ)

1. Comment on what the writer says about Korea’s economic success and the
unhappiness of its children. Do you think that there is a connection between the two?
Is it possible that one causes the other?
2. Comment on this part of the article: “Compounding the stress are expectations from
Korean parents,
Vietnamese parents which are some of the highest in the world.” What do Vietnamese
Korean
parents commonly expect their children to do? Do you think that these expectations
are so high that they cause stress to the children?
3. Is it natural for parent to expect things of one’s children? What did your own parents
expect of you? Were you able to meet their expectations? What do you expect of your
own children? What do you do to help your children achieve success?
 HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

Appositives
Appositives are two words or word groups which mean the same thing and are placed together. Appositives
identify or explain the nouns or pronouns which they modify:

Our teacher, Professor Lambert, loves grammar.

We can say that "Professor Lambert" is an appositive or is in apposition to "our teacher." "Professor Lambert"
identifies or explains "teacher.'

Appositive Phrases
An appositive phrase includes an appositive and its modifiers:

My favorite place, the English building, is located on the Quad, a grassy square in the middle of the
campus.

Restrictive Appositives
A restrictive appositive is necessary to maintain the meaning of the sentence and does not require commas.
Usually, a restrictive appositive is a single word closely related to the preceding word. It "restricts" or narrows
the meaning of the word it modifies:

The musician Harry Connick will come to Champaign.

("Harry Connick" restricts the general term "musician.")

My sister Mary has four dogs.

Nonrestrictive Appositive
A nonrestrictive appositive may be omitted without changing the basic meaning of the sentence. A
nonrestrictive appositive is separated by commas. Commas are always used when the word which the
appositive modifies is a proper noun:

Harry Connick, the musician, will come to Champaign.

("Musician" offers additional information about the specific name "Harry Connick")

There are many parades for Mardi Gras, a religious festival celebrating the last day before Lent, in
New Orleans, a city in Louisiana.

Punctuation Note
A dash or colon, as well as a comma, can be used to set off appositives:

For the prisoner there was only one goal--escape.

QUICK QUIZ: Identify the appositive phrase in each of the following sentences.

Q1. Queen Victoria, one of England's greatest monarchs, ruled for sixty-three years.
Q2. Jane made the salad, a tossed one with French dressing.
Q3. Harvey Jensen, the pro at the country club, is giving me golf lessons.
 HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

Q4. James Hilton's book, Lost Horizon, has been filmed twice.
Q5. Chemistry, Sue's favorite subject, is easy for her.
Q6. Jerry is visiting in Peoria, his old home town.
Q7. Mr. and Mrs. Miller, our neighbors for the past eight years, are moving to Dallas.
Q8. Have you ever read The Red Pony, a novel by John Steinbeck?
Q9. Groucho Marx, the star of many film comedies, also had his own television show.
Q10. The boys repaired our television set, an eighteen-year-old portable.
Q11. The poem, one of Robert Frost's best, is called "The Death of the Hired Man."
Q12. I can't find my notebook, the one I use for history class.
Q13. Dick's new suit, a gray flannel one, makes him look much older.
Q14. We enjoy walking, an exercise which requires no great skill.
Q15. The theater, an old and drafty one, is nevertheless always crowded.
Q16. My math teacher, Miss Holmes, has taught for twenty years.
Q17. The garage, a two-car one, is attached to the house.
Q18. My sister, a graduate of the University of Iowa, is now studying law.
Q19. Our dog, a cocker spaniel, is ten years old.
Q20. Mrs. Norbert, the president of the company, will speak at the dinner.
 HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

Picking up the tab at the restaurant

It’s time to pay the bill at Carmen’s Bistro. Tanya and John discuss who will pay it.
Then they talk about how much to tip.

Tanya: Let me pick up the tab.

John: No, it’s my treat. The guy is supposed to pay on a date!
Tanya: Says who? I don’t want you to pay for me every time we go out! Let’s go Dutch this
time.
John: No, I’ll get it. I insist.
Tanya: Okay, but next time it’s on me.
John: Let’s see ... The total without tax is $ 74.75.
Tanya: Do you think we should leave 15 percent* or more?
John: The service was so-so. Our waiter was no great shakes. He seemed put out when we
complained about our food.
Tanya: What did he expect? The food left a lot to be desired! This is supposed to be such a
great restaurant. I don’t know what happened.
John: I guess it’s gone downhill. I’ll leave 15 percent. I could leave less, but I don’t want to be
a cheapskate!
Tanya: Yeah, we may want to come back here someday.
John: Come back here? When hell freezes over!

* It’s standard to tip waiters and waitresses 15-20 percent in the U.S. They are unhappy when they
get less than 15 percent.

IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

cheapskate – someone who doesn’t like to spend money; a cheap person

Example: Dana is such a cheapskate. She brings her own tea bags to restaurants and asks for a cup of
hot water.
(to) go downhill – to become worse over time; to deteriorate
Example: The service at the Seaside Bar & Grill has really gone downhill. We waited 45 minutes for our
food to arrive!
(to) go Dutch – to split the bill
Example: Amanda didn’t want her boyfriend to pay the entire restaurant bill, so she suggested they go
Dutch.
I insist – I will pay (say this when you do not want to argue anymore over who will pay the bill — it’s usually the last
word)
Example: “Dinner is my treat.” — “No, you paid last time. I’m paying tonight. I insist.”
it’s my treat – I’ll pay the bill
Example: “Let me pay for dinner tonight.” — “No, I invited you to dinner, so it’s my treat.”
it’s on me – I’ll pay
Example: Put your wallet away. It’s on me.
(to) leave a lot to be desired – to be bad or lacking in some way
Example: Josh chews with his mouth open and rests his elbows on the table. His table manners leave a
lot to be desired.
no great shakes – not so good; fair; unimpressive
Example: The person we just interviewed for the job was no great shakes. I think we can find somebody
better.
(to) pick up the tab – to pay the bill
Example: Everybody left the bar before the bill came, so I was stuck picking up the tab for our entire
group!
put out – annoyed; inconvenienced
Example: Joel seemed really put out when I asked him if he could drive me to the airport.
so-so – average; not very good
Example: Paul and Nora weren’t thrilled with their tour of Portugal. It was just so-so.
When hell freezes over – never
Example: Will the boss invite us all over to his house for dinner? When hell freezes over.
 HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014

Practice the Expressions: Fill in the blanks using the following expressions:

pick up the tab went downhill let's go Dutch

on me cheapskate put out
it's my treat leaves a lot to be desired when hell freezes over
so-so

Kara: I had a date last night with Steve, that guy I met online last week. We went to
that new restaurant downtown, Zanzibar.
Leah: How was the restaurant?
Kara: It was __________. The appetizers were good, but my fish was lousy.
Leah: So what did you think of Steve?
Kara: Things were going okay, until the bill came. Then things __________. When the
bill came, he suddenly seemed __________.
Leah: Why? He’s not used to getting a bill at a restaurant?!
Kara: He looked at it and then said, __________.”
Leah: He made you pay for your own meal? What a _____!
Kara: So I told him, “No, dinner is __________.”
Leah: You’re kidding? You offered to __________?
Kara: Yes, I offered and he accepted.
Leah: Wow! Such cheap behavior __________.
Kara: At the end of the evening, he did say, “Next time we go out, __________.”
Leah: And when will you be going out with him again?
Kara: __________!
HORIZONS VOLUME 116 | SEPTEMBER 15 ~ 19, 2014