Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Vocabulary Influences

Here's the kind of vocabulary test you make up after staying up late to watch the latest episode of "Burn Notice."

Part II.
a. mercenary d. arbitrary g. adamant j. encounter
b. infirmity e. zeal h. eccentric
c. taint f. sabotage i. retort

____ 1. The spy unit attempted to ___ the plan to capture the president on Labor Day.

____ 2. The commanding officer was ___ that they not shed blood during the mission, cost what
it may in regard to convenience.

____ 3. The opportunity to put their specialized training to use made the five men of the unit feel
great ___ to accomplish their mission.

____ 4. One of the spies, Brad, had lost a friend on his last mission, and this he allowed to ___
his life and his work. He could barely focus on spycraft, so eaten up was he with revenge.

____ 5. His teammates dismissed his extraordinary bloodlust as merely ___ behavior; but they
were about to discover that they had underestimated him.

____ 6. Brad’s desire for revenge only grew, and soon became a(n) ___ of the mind.

____ 7. In preparation, Brad targeted any possible threat to the mission with ___ indifference, 
seeming to make no distinction between friend and foe.

____ 8. The others were familiar with ___ soldiers and spies, who would sell out to the highest
bidder, but Brad wasn’t concerned with money. It was about getting even, and it compromised the mission.

____ 9. Their mission that day became known as the Labor Day ___ , when the spies came
face-to-face with a terrorist organization, and only through the inexperience of the
terrorists did the president survive.

___ 10. When asked how such an event could have been allowed to happen, the usually witty
commanding officer’s unsatisfactory ___ was, “Sometimes you make a mistake, and you have to deal with the consequences forever. And sometimes you make a mistake, and you don't have to deal with those consequences.”


Spared

My brother was in a car accident a few weeks ago. He's fine. Car's totalled. It was not his fault. Insurance will cover it all.

My sister had a biopsy done. It's not cancer.

My three-year-old friend was inspired by God to pray for me right before what turned out to be a trying day.

A friend who I've helped fight for is still living.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Sherpa

Don't get me wrong, a bunch of kids knew what a "sherpa" was, and got the bonus question right. But those who didn't know guessed that a "sherpa" was the following:

"a medical tool"
"a type of tent"
"is a plant"
"a mountain of dirt covered by ice... I think."